Armenia. Again.

from jw-media.org

For Immediate Release


July 1, 2011

(Armenian)



Another facility owner pressured to cancel Witnesses’ convention in Armenia



Jehovah’s Witnesses unable to enter conventions facility.

PARAKAR, Armenia—The owner of a facility in the city of Parakar was pressured by government officials and priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church into cancelling a three-day religious convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses scheduled for July 1-3, 2011. Approximately 800 Jehovah’s Witnesses who planned to attend have been deprived of their right to assemble for worship.



Jehovah’s Witnesses peacefully held a convention at this same facility on June 24-26, 2011. However, on the last day, several priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church attempted to disrupt the convention. Over the next few days, the facility owner was relentlessly pressured by government officials, including parliamentarians and police officers, to cancel this week’s convention. After being informed that the order came from “very high up,” the owner stated that he would comply and unilaterally cancelled the legally binding contract.



This is the second religious convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be cancelled within a three-week period. On June 10, just a few hours before the start of their “Let God’s Kingdom Come!” District Convention at a rented auditorium in Vanadzor, Jehovah’s Witnesses were forced to leave the rented facility because the owner refused to honor the contract, effectively cancelling the Witnesses’ convention. During the summer of 2010, three conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses held at private rented facilities were cancelled by the owners following similar pressure.



On October 8, 2010, and again on June 27, 2011, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Armenia wrote to President Serzh Sargsyan, respectfully requesting his assistance so that the Witnesses can exercise their Constitutional right to freely assemble and hold peaceful religious conventions in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.



In a similar case dealing with the disruption of a religious convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Armenia’s neighboring country, Georgia, for failing “in their duty to take the necessary measures to enable [Jehovah’s Witnesses] to exercise freely their rights to freedom of religion.”—Case of 97 members of the Gldani congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and 4 others v. Georgia, 71156/01, 3 May 2007.



Media Contacts:

Armenia: Tigran Harutyunyan, tel. +374 10 27 45 44

Belgium: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +32 2 782 0015

Britain: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +44 20 8906 2211

United States: David Semonian, Office of Public Information, tel. +1 718 560 5600

Last updated 01 July 2011 18:40:00 GMT



Copyright © 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.

Good news

Are you upset that the world is like this?

2 Tim 3:1-5
1 But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, 3 having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, 4 betrayers, headstrong, puffed up [with pride], lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power; and from these turn away.

Don't worry.  This happened in 1914:

Rev 12:7-12

7 And war broke out in heaven: Mi´cha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10And I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. 12 On this account be glad,YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”

And because of that, very soon this is going to happen:

Dan 2:44

44 “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite;

and then this:

John 5: 28,29

28 Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment. 30 I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative; just as I hear, I judge; and the judgment that I render is righteous, because I seek, not my own will, but the will of him that sent me.

and this:

Is 9:7

 7 To the abundance of the princely rule and to peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom in order to establish it firmly and to sustain it by means of justice and by means of righteousness, from now on and to time indefinite. The very zeal of Jehovah of armies will do this.

and this:

Is 11:3-5

And he will not judge by any mere appearance to his eyes, nor reprove simply according to the thing heard by his ears. 4 And with righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth. And he must strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the spirit of his lips he will put the wicked one to death. 5 And righteousness must prove to be the belt of his hips, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

and finally this:

Rev 21:3,4

3 With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. 4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

How can you benefit from this?

John 17:3

. 3 This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.

and who can you learn more from?

Those who are following this command:

Mt 28:19,20

19 Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”

Is 43:10

10 “YOU are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “even my servant whom I have chosen, in order that YOU may know and have faith in me, and that YOU may understand that I am the same One. Before me there was no God formed, and after me there continued to be none. 11 I—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior.”

European Court of Human Rights Vindicates Jehovah's Witnesses in France

from jw-media.org

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS VINDICATES JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES IN FRANCE

STRASBOURG, France––Today the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the government of France violated the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses when it attempted to impose a retroactive 60% tax on all religious donations made by Jehovah’s Witnesses in France between 1993 and 1996.

In total, the French government sought to obligate the Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses of France to pay 58 million Euros (over $82,000,000 US), which far exceeds all the assets of the Association. No other major religion in France has ever been submitted to such excessive taxation.

The unanimous court decided that the government’s actions violated the religious freedom of Jehovah’s Witnesses as guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights. It ruled that the contested tax resulted in the Association’s “essential funding having been cut, and thus it was no longer able to guarantee to its followers the free exercise of their religion in practical terms.” The tax threatens the survival or “at least seriously interfered with the internal organization, the operation of the association and its religious activities.” The court also found that because the law relied upon by the tax authorities in France was “imprecise” and its application “unforeseeable,” the violation with religious freedom could not be justified.

Throughout this case, Jehovah’s Witnesses argued that the discriminatory taxation had been imposed with the purpose to cripple the worship practiced by over 123,000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses in France. It was one of the many steps taken by anti-sect parliamentarians to mischaracterize and marginalize Jehovah’s Witnesses. Today’s decision by the court sends a strong message to the government of France that it must uphold the right to religious freedom for all its citizens.

The Witnesses expect that the honest-minded people of France will see beyond the campaign of misrepresentation perpetrated by a few parliamentarians motivated by virulent hatred of those who choose to think differently and manifest their religion as a way of life. Members of the religious community living in Louviers at the Association’s headquarters obviously welcomed the news of the victory.

“We have always been confident that our position in this matter was correct. It was unjust for the government to use taxation as a weapon against the fifth largest religion in France,” said Michel Blaser, president of the Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses of France. Mr. Blaser also noted, “Jehovah’s Witnesses are scrupulously honest when it comes to paying taxes. The donations Jehovah’s Witnesses give to their religion should not be taxed any more than the offerings at any other church. This case is a victory for the human rights of all who live in France and hopefully will mark the end of religious harassment for residents of France who are Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Media Contacts:
France: Guy Canonici, tel. +33 2 32 25 55 55
United States: J.R. Brown, tel. +1 718 560 5600

Last updated 30 June 2011 17:42:00 GMT

Copyright © 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.

Diana's conversation with her son.

Dee: "bryson, do you like ice cream?". Bryson: "yes".
Dee: "do you like root beer?".
Bryson: "yes".
Dee: "do you want to try them both together? What do you think about that?". Bryson: (squinting and whispering)"BIGFOOOOOT"

funny. this is about what you'll need already running to stay profitable ahead of difficulty

from http://elihodapp.com/when-someone-says-their-machines-are-rack-mou

When someone says their machines are "rack mounted" in the BitCoin mining world, it turns out this is what they mean:

Restaurant blogger jailed for criticising salty noodles

from telegraph.co.uk

"

A court in Taiwan has jailed a woman for 30 days after she complained her noodles were "too salty".

Mrs Liu was sentenced to 30 days in jail, a further two years of probation, and ordered to pay £4,300 in compensation to the restaurant for the damage she had caused Photo: AP

By Malcolm Moore, Shanghai

12:17PM BST 24 Jun 2011

The Taiwanese woman, who has only been named as Mrs Liu, enraged the owner of the Sichuan Flavour Beef Noodle Restaurant in the central city of Taichung after posting a negative review on the internet.

Mrs Liu, who has a wide-ranging but relatively little-read blog covering food and interior design, visited the restaurant in 2008.

She complained that the food was "too salty", that there were cockroaches, and that the owner was a "bully", according to the Taipei Times.

Beef noodle soup is one of Taiwan's most popular national dishes, and restaurants are judged mercilessly on the fragrance and quality of their offering.

After learning about the negative review from a customer, the restaurant sued Mrs Liu for defamation.

The high court in Taichung decided that Mrs Liu had been within her rights to comment on the cockroaches, since this was a "narration of the facts".

However, the judge ruled that since she had only eaten one dish of fried noodles, she was unqualified to pass judgement on the seasoning of the rest of the restaurant's menu.

Mrs Liu was sentenced to 30 days in jail, a further two years of probation, and ordered to pay £4,300 in compensation to the restaurant for the damage she had caused. She was also told to apologise and refused the right to appeal.

The owner of the restaurant, named as Mr Yang, said he hoped the case would teach her a lesson. Huang Cheng-lee, a lawyer in Taichung, said restaurant reviewers should remember to be "truthful, objective and fair".

"

As someone who will never visit the 

Sichuan Flavour Beef Noodle Restaurant

I would like to express the opinion that _____to me_____ the food, atmosphere, and service, but ESPECIALLY THE FOOD _____seems like_______ it would make me vomit out my nose.  And have uncontrollable orange diarrhea.

that is all.

Let God's Kingdom Come.

from jw-media.org

Jehovah’s Witnesses blocked from holding two conventions in St. Petersburg due to official interference

Evidence of pressure on facility management from FSB and local authorities

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—The management of the Yubileyny Sports Palace has rescinded a contract with Jehovah’s Witnesses, effectively canceling the two district conventions that the Witnesses were planning to hold there.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been inviting the public to attend their 2011 “Let God’s Kingdom Come!” conventions throughout the world. Two of these conventions were to be held at the Yubileyny Sports Palace, with an expected combined attendance of 13,000 from St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, after the Witnesses finalized a contract with the facility’s management on April 15, 2011.

However, FSB representatives visited the management of the sports complex in late May 2011 and demanded that the contract documents be handed over to them. Shortly thereafter, a letter dated June 2, 2011, and signed by Konstantin Zheludkov, the Head of the Petrogradsky District Administration of St. Petersburg, was sent to the management of the Yubileyny Sports Palace. The letter included arguments against accommodating the conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses and statements directing the facility’s management to rescind the contract with the Witnesses.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a right to hold peaceful religious services and make use of various venues—including sports complexes—for this purpose, in harmony with the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations and the Federal Law on Physical Culture and Sports in the Russian Federation. However, the management of the Yubileyny Sports Complex sent a letter on June 2, 2011, to the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses, informing them that the complex will not be available for their conventions, alleging “maintenance” concerns.

Media Contacts:
Russia: Grigory Martynov, tel. +7 812 702 2691
Belgium: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +32 2 782 0015
United States: J. R. Brown, tel. +1 718 560 5600

bitcoin

6870 :  260 Mhash/s
5770:  170 Mhash/s

fyi

mtgox.com, while (previously?) the largest, is only one of many bitcoin exchanges, and is not synonymous with bitcoin itself

that is all

good day to you.

Overheard, no other details desired:

"No it ain't, it's pudding."

Please keep this in mind if you go to a convention. If you are on this planet, this could happen to you too.

from jw-media.org

Pressure on facility owner forces cancellation of Witnesses’ convention in Armenia

VANADZOR, Armenia—Just a few hours before the start of their “Let God’s Kingdom Come!” District Convention at a rented auditorium in Vanadzor, Armenia, Jehovah’s Witnesses were forced to leave the facility because the owner refused to honor the contract, effectively canceling the Witnesses’ convention.

Approximately 600 Witnesses planned to attend the three-day convention scheduled for June 10-12, 2011. When the Witnesses arrived for the program, the entrance to the auditorium was locked. The owner claimed that he had received a telephone call from someone threatening to bomb the facility if it was used by Jehovah’s Witnesses. The owner also told representatives of Jehovah’s Witnesses that he was willing to allow the convention to take place only if he received approval from the Armenian authorities. Despite appeals to the police and regional authorities by representatives of the legally registered community of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Republic of Armenia, the convention was canceled.

In a meeting with representatives of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the mayor of the Lori District (which includes the city of Vanadzor) confirmed that he had called the owner of the convention facility on June 9, 2011, and told the owner to “consider the consequences” of renting the facility to Jehovah’s Witnesses. The mayor then stated that his comments to the owner were not meant as a threat, but rather a statement that violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses from members of a youth group could break out at the facility. The mayor agreed to notify the owner on the evening of Friday, June 10, 2011, that the mayor’s office had no objection to the convention being held the following two days. However, the owner chose not to provide the facility to the Witnesses for the convention.

The cancellation of this convention follows a pattern of harassment and denial of religious freedom that occurred during the summer of 2010 when owners of convention sites in Vanadzor, Gyumri and Yerevan were pressured into canceling venue contracts made with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Most owners were too fearful to reveal the source of the pressure, but some described visits by representatives of the authorities who were said to be carrying out orders from higher governmental authorities. On October 8, 2010, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Armenia wrote to President Serge Sargsyan, respectfully requesting his assistance so that the Witnesses can exercise their right to hold peaceful, annual religious conventions without interference. The Witnesses also requested that the President intervene on their behalf with local authorities to protect their right to assemble, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Contacts:
Armenia: Tigran Harutyunyan, Tel. +374 93 900 482
Europe: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, Tel. +44 20 8906 2211; Tel. +32 2 782 0015
United States: David Semonian, Office of Public Information Tel. +1 718 560 5600

this looks awesome

http://www.cherohala.org/index.html

we will let you know

Mobs in India attack Jehovah’s Witnesses with impunity-from jw-media.org

Mobs in India attack Jehovah’s Witnesses with impunity

BANGALORE, India—Incidents of mob attacks against Jehovah’s Witnesses have been reported with increasing frequency in some states in India. The attackers gather in gangs of 20 to 50 individuals to intimidate small groups of Witnesses engaging in the peaceful Christian ministry that they are well-known for. Some of the mobs threaten to murder and rape the Witnesses.
On March 26, 2011, in the southern state of Karnataka, a group of four Witnesses (three adult females and one adult male) had just finished enjoying several friendly conversations with people in a village near the town of Madikeri, when they were approached by a man who inquired about the purpose of their visit. The man began placing cell phone calls to individuals belonging to the groups Bajrang Dal (a militant Hindu organization) and Jagran Vedike. This led to a mob of 50 people surrounding the Witnesses, threatening the three women with rape, and attempting to tie the man to a tree, douse him with kerosene, and burn him alive. After several minutes of abuse, the police arrived and brought the Witnesses to the station for questioning. All four Witnesses were arrested and ordered to spend four days in jail before being released on bail. On April 1, 2011, a member of the Witnesses’ human rights legal staff, along with three of his associates (one of the associates being a non-Witness), traveled to the village where the mob activity occurred to obtain firsthand information. However, the four were ambushed by a mob on their way back. The Witnesses in the group were verbally abused, beaten with belts and sticks, stripped of their clothing, and then forced to walk in a half-naked state along a public road. The non-Witness was not assaulted. Thereafter, the mob called a few local television stations to come and film the incident. The Witnesses were then taken to the police station where they were criminally charged, based on the fabricated statements of the mob. They were released from jail six days later. A similar incident occurred on the same day in the state capital of Bangalore. Two Jehovah’s Witnesses were speaking to a man on the topic of raising children in today’s challenging society. Although the man was initially friendly toward the Witnesses, they noticed the man making a phone call urging a friend to come to his apartment while the Witnesses were still there. The Witnesses also observed that the friend, upon arrival at the apartment, began calling several others. Sensing what was happening, the two Witnesses tried to leave peacefully, but were prevented from doing so by a growing mob. The mob began beating the two Witnesses along with two other Witnesses who were also present in the area. Finally, the attackers dragged the four Witnesses to the police station and contacted a local news station. One of the attackers inside the police station tore his own shirt, and then went outside claiming that the Witnesses had assaulted him and tore his shirt when he refused to convert. The man was interviewed by a reporter and his fabricated statement was later publicized in the local news coverage of the incident. All four Witnesses spent one night in jail and were released the following day on a cash bail of 10,000 INR ($226 US) each.
Criminal complaints have been filed in all three incidents, requesting the police to investigate and prosecute the violent actions of those responsible for the mob attacks. These attacks are a clear violation of constitutional rights protecting freedom of religion in India.

Contacts:
Belgium: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +32 2 782 0015; mobile +32 475 58 10 36
Britain: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +44 208 906 2211
United States: J. R. Brown, tel. +1 718 560 5600

Last updated 07 June 2011 17:37:58 GMT

sigh

FDA finally admits chicken meat contains cancer-causing arsenic (but keep eating it, yo!)

bitcoin continuing update

if you remember, on 6/04/11 at around 8 pm I wrote:
so, obviously, im not giving financial advice, and you would be very foolish to listen to me if i were, but if you went out after reading my post yesterday and put $100 "us dollars" into bitcoins when they were around $13 per, and sold them now when i post this follow up when they are $18.99 per, then you would be +$46.08 (minus fees for various exchanges)

obviously, past performance is no guarantee of future gains, but theres that.

i accept donations in bitcoin
send to 15Q4A2b8iRFXfFpvMGzJhe7tiTzFkyJknJ




just to update, the mtgox.com bitcoin exchange now lists 1bitcoin=$31.00, so using the same example, please note:

initial investment:		$100.00
		06/03/11		06/04/11		06/08/11
cost of 1 bitcoin		$13.00		$18.99		$31.00
$100 bought		7.6923	bitcoins on 06/03/2011
	initial investment of $100 now worth:			$146.08		$238.46

Fluoride

bitcoin

if you are interested in helping me out a (very) small amount, open up piratesarecool.com on your chrome browser and leave it running forever.  theres a very very very slow javascript bitcoin miner embedded in the page, and i will update here if it ever produces even a fraction of a bitcoin.

as always, i accept bitcoin gifts too, send to  15Q4A2b8iRFXfFpvMGzJhe7tiTzFkyJknJ

thanks!

update on bitcoin

so, obviously, im not giving financial advice, and you would be very foolish to listen to me if i were, but if you went out after reading my post yesterday and put $100 "us dollars" into bitcoins when they were around $13 per, and sold them now when i post this follow up when they are $18.99 per, then you would be +$46.08 (minus fees for various exchanges)

obviously, past performance is no guarantee of future gains, but theres that.

i accept donations in bitcoin
send to 15Q4A2b8iRFXfFpvMGzJhe7tiTzFkyJknJ

Yum