Yes, I remember George and his brother James. I seem to remember that George came into Bethel with a bit more financial independence than most of us had. But he was nothing close to a snob. He was very likeable, generally cheerful and sincere.
Posts by fjtoth
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2Did anyone know George Shammas?
by Bubblie inhe used to work for mighty tools.
he died a month or so ago.
his wife theresa was about twenty years younger than him so she is still around somewhere near atlanta, ga. they had two daughters now married to dubs..
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In Germany, the Watchtower logo must be removed from all kingdom halls
by processor inaccording to german april issue of our kingdom ministry, the watchtower logo must be removed from all kingdom halls:.
it sais that the watchtower logo - a stylised watchtower or a watchtower with a bible - is used by the watchtower society.
thus, it should not be used by congregations or private persons, neither on kingdom halls, stationary or anything else.
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fjtoth
At least one famous Nazi concentration camp had a guard tower that resembled the WT logos used on some Kingdom Halls, such as those that appear in the above photos. Such logos do not look similar to the the Society's official logo.
Pictures of concentration camp towers have appeared off and on in German magazines and are representative of Nazi anti-semitism. Possibly the Society's higher-ups are fearful that Kingdom Halls bearing a watchtower logo might give the impression of being meeting houses for Jew haters. This is, after all, a period when anti-semitism is on the rise in Europe.
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WatchTower: an occult name origin?
by cameo-d init seems the occult origins of the word "watchtower" has been around for a very long time.
did the founders of the watchtower bts choose that banner name to reveal the origins of their spirit guides?.
a watchtower is a spirit guardian of one of the four cardinal points in both ceremonial magic and the neopagan religion of wicca.. alternately, the watchtowers are the abodes of the guardians.. often believed to represent the four elements, the watchtowers are invoked during ritual to cast the magic circle.. in many wicca and witchcraft systems the watchtowers are evocational symbols of spiritual beings known as the watchers or the grigori.
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fjtoth
Other Second Advent denominations have used a watchtower as their symbol, believing they are "God's watchman." In the 1850's, C. T. Russell's friend George Storrs published a book called The Watch Tower: Or, Man in Death; and the Hope for a Future Life. An out of print edition of this book is available at Amazon.com. (See here.) Herbert W. Armstrong often spoke of the Worldwide Church of God as God's "Watchman to the House of Israel."
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BIG NEWS! Leader of German Watchtower History Archives Resignes and Leaves Branch Office!
by GermanXJW injohannes wrobel, the founder of the watchtower history archives in germany, responsible for the stand firm-video and the stand-firm-exhibitions resigned in november 2008 and left the german branch office.
he was also the responsible person for many of the wt sponsored websites on jw in the 'third reich'!.
there are no further details known yet but this could be big news!.
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fjtoth
"I repent in sackcloth and ashes"
How can we know for sure that your repentance is sincere and genuine? Have you met yet with a committee? Did you allow the committee to question you about your every thought and emotion when you made your 'disrespectful' statement? If the committee decides to reinstate you, we might forgive you and forget your trespass, perhaps in 5 or 10 years. Don't accept their forgiveness without missing its purpose. Even though you might get reinstated, your record is forever marred, well, at least until Armageddon when perhaps--only perhaps--the Lord will demonstrate that you're good enough. But remember, this is only a maybe!
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BIG NEWS! Leader of German Watchtower History Archives Resignes and Leaves Branch Office!
by GermanXJW injohannes wrobel, the founder of the watchtower history archives in germany, responsible for the stand firm-video and the stand-firm-exhibitions resigned in november 2008 and left the german branch office.
he was also the responsible person for many of the wt sponsored websites on jw in the 'third reich'!.
there are no further details known yet but this could be big news!.
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fjtoth
"I don't know who was mocking him?"
On the preceding page (page 4), somebody called him an "old goat."
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BIG NEWS! Leader of German Watchtower History Archives Resignes and Leaves Branch Office!
by GermanXJW injohannes wrobel, the founder of the watchtower history archives in germany, responsible for the stand firm-video and the stand-firm-exhibitions resigned in november 2008 and left the german branch office.
he was also the responsible person for many of the wt sponsored websites on jw in the 'third reich'!.
there are no further details known yet but this could be big news!.
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fjtoth
"I think he was advanced in his years and it was his time to retire."
He's engaged in a business outside of the branch. That doesn't seem to me like he's retiring. And why would he leave the branch in his old age and start life anew when the branch has what they call an "infirmary" for the care of their older members?
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JW Mom killed in house
by Wordly Andre inhttp://www.pe.com/localnews/murrieta/stories/pe_news_local_s_sdead29.4016de2.html
murrieta - a 40-year-old mother of two was killed in her murrieta home monday morning, authorities said.
coroner's officials identified the woman as isabelle jarka.
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fjtoth
The Californian, Temecula, California
MURRIETA: Hearing begins for Murrieta man charged with wife's murder
Detective testifies that crime scene looked 'staged'
By JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 22, 2008 10:43 PM PDT
FRENCH VALLEY ---- The ransacked home in which a Murrieta woman was found murdered in April looked like it was set up to appear as if it had been the work of a burglar, a detective testified Wednesday.
Kelle Lee Jarka, 40, has been charged with murdering his wife, Isabelle, and doing so for financial gain. He has pleaded not guilty.
A preliminary hearing started Wednesday at Southwest Justice Center after which Judge Timothy Freer will determine whether there is enough evidence for Jarka to stand trial.
Jarka was arrested about a month after his 40-year-old wife was found dead April 28 in the upstairs master bedroom of their Tamarisk Street home.
Jarka told detectives he was out getting coffee and baby formula when someone broke into the home and killed his wife, police said at the time.
But Jarka's account of what happened didn't match what detectives say they found during their investigation, according to police.
"I felt this crime scene was staged," Murrieta police Detective Andrew Dorcas testified Wednesday.
Dorcas, who said he has handled hundreds of burglary cases as both a Los Angeles and now Murrieta police officer, explained that he based his opinion on the way things looked inside the Jarka home.
There were three drawers on the floor of the master bedroom upstairs that "appeared to be placed, put there, not just tossed as a burglar would do," Dorcas said.
The detective testified that slightly more than $500 cash was still in another drawer, about 5 feet from the ones that had been removed.
A laptop computer was also found "in plain sight" downstairs, Dorcas said, but a cabinet where a desktop computer tower normally would have been stored was empty.
Deputy District Attorney Burke Strunsky asked Dorcas about damage found to the door frame of a door leading from the side of the house to the attached garage.
Jarka's account, police said, was that he ran his errands that morning in his white Lexus sport utility vehicle and pulled back into the garage where he found the side door forced open.
"I felt the vehicle was in the garage when the door was forced open," Dorcas testified.
The white SUV was parked closest to that door, next to another smaller gray Lexus SUV also in the garage, police said.
Dorcas said detectives found a fleck of paint on the left front fender area of the larger white SUV. A Department of Justice criminalist told police that a test of that paint fleck matched paint from the nearby damaged door frame, Dorcas said.
The detective testified that, before the paint fleck was discovered, he opened the side door while the SUV was parked in the garage and it did not touch the side of the vehicle.
While questioning Dorcas, one of Jarka's defense attorneys, Mark Johnson, reminded the detective that his client worked in construction.
Johnson also asked him how many detectives had been walking around the area of the damaged door and the SUV. Dorcas estimated about eight detectives.
Inside the white SUV, detectives found a Toshiba laptop computer that was forensically examined by Murrieta police Detective Steve Jarvis.
Jarvis testified Wednesday about some of the things he found on the laptop's hard drive.
He said there were two "welcome" letters with policy numbers from separate life insurance companies, both sent to a Jarka family e-mail address on April 5, about three weeks before the death.
Prosecutors allege that Jarka took out two life insurance policies totalling $1 million on his wife, listing him as the beneficiary.
Although that allegation could have allowed the district attorney to seek the death penalty against Jarka, that is not being done. Should Jarka go to trial and be convicted as charged, he would face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Strunsky asked Jarvis whether he examined the laptop's hard drive for any Web searches made by a user. Jarvis said he did and testified about two specifically.
One included the sentence: "How long does a life insurance policy need to be in effect to pay out?" Jarvis said.
The other was: "Can you suffocate from a pillow," the detective said.
"Can you tell us definitively who typed in that search?" defense attorney Johnson asked Jarvis.
"No, I cannot," the detective answered.
Testimony is scheduled to continue Thursday morning and the hearing is expected to conclude later in the day.
Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or [email protected].The Union-Tribune,San Diego, California
Murrieta man to face murder trial in wife's death
2:35 p.m. October 23, 2008 MURRIETA – A Murrieta man suspected of killing his wife for life insurance money must stand trial for murder, a judge ruled Thursday.
Kelle Lee Jarka, 40, is accused of killing Isabelle Jarka, 40, whose body was found April 28 in the bedroom of the couple's home in the 39000 block of Tamarisk Street.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer ordered the defendant bound over for trial at the end of a preliminary hearing that began Wednesday afternoon and concluded Thursday morning.
Jarka also faces a special allegation that he killed for financial gain, making him eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted.
Jarka told investigators a burglar broke in through a garage side door and killed his wife, who had been beaten about the head and face, Murrieta police Detective Andrew Dorcas testified on Wednesday.
Dorcas said the garage side door had been forced open, but was apparently broken into while Jarka's Lexus SUV was in the garage, even though he had told police he went out to buy baby formula.
The detective also said the alleged burglary did not look genuine because drawers pulled out in the kitchen and bedroom were left too neatly discarded.
“Typically they're thrown across the room or in disarray, not neatly stacked or placed,” Dorcas said. “I felt this crime scene was staged.”
Murrieta police Detective Steve Jarvis testified that he found e-mails from two insurance companies on the defendant's laptop indicating he had recently taken out life insurance policies, and that someone had used the computer to ask how long an insurance policy needed to be in effect “to pay out.”
Jarvis also testified that someone used the computer to research using a pillow to suffocate someone.
Under cross examination by the defense, Jarvis said there was no way to know who actually used the computer.
Jarka reportedly was in debt and has missed some mortgage payments.
Freer set his arraignment for Nov. 6.
The Californian, Temecula, California
MURRIETA: Man to stand trial in wife's murder
Judge says timing, amount of life insurance policies led to decision to hold Kelle Jarka for trial
By JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Thursday, October 23, 2008 7:01 PM PDT
FRENCH VALLEY ---- A Murrieta man charged with the murder of his wife must stand trial, a judge ruled Thursday.
Judge Timothy Freer said among the factors that led to his decision were not only the monetary amount of the three life insurance policies prosecutors say Kelle Lee Jarka took out on his wife, but the timing as well.
The three policies were taken out within about three weeks before Isabelle Jarka, 40, was found bludgeoned to death April 28 in the master bedroom of the couple's home on Tamarisk Street.
Murrieta police Detective Jeff Ullrich testified that, during a search of a file cabinet in the garage, he found copies of the three policies.
Two had "welcome" letters to Isabelle Jarka dated April 5 and a third was dated April 14, Ullrich said. All three listed Kelle Jarka as the sole beneficiary and did not include either of the couple's children, the detective said.
The amount of all three policies totaled $1.05 million, Ullrich said.
None of the policies show who actually took out the policy, he testified during questioning by Jarka's attorney.
The detective also testified about numerous past-due bills found in the home, ranging from a phone bill to the mortgage on the home. Ullrich said of the 14 messages left on a telephone answering machine, six were from bill collectors and one from an individual demanding money that was owed.
Isabelle Jarka died after being hit in the head and face 11 times with a blunt object, according to a coroner's autopsy.
Detective Danny Martin testified Thursday that the first officer at the crime scene said he found the woman's body in a 16-inch-wide pool of blood.
However, when Murrieta police officers first got to the home about 8:45 that morning, Kelle Jarka had no blood on him, detectives say.
Deputy District Attorney Burke Strunsky told the judge it doesn't make any sense that a man married to a woman for 19 years would be free of any blood in a case like this.
"You're gonna grab her, hold her; you're gonna have blood all over you," Strunsky said.
One of Jarka's two defense attorneys, Erin Kirkpatrick, told the judge that the lack of blood helps prove her client's account of what happened ---- that a burglar broke into the home and killed his wife while he ran errands that morning.
"The person who did this is going to have blood all over them," Kirkpatrick told the judge.
During an interview by detectives at the Murrieta Police Station, Jarka said he rolled his wife over to check on her when he got home and saw her, Martin said.
Freer said he infers from the lack of blood on the defendant, "that he didn't check or examine his wife."
Jarka, 40, sat stoically throughout his preliminary hearing at Southwest Justice Center, periodically taking notes with a small pencil provided him by the courtroom deputy.
Jarka was, however, emotional during the 911 call he placed the morning of April 28, his attorney told the judge.
"You can hear the emotion in his voice," Kirkpatrick said. "I think that's some of the best evidence we have."
As a recording of the 911 call was played during Thursday's hearing, a woman who had been in the audience bolted from the courtroom, weeping loudly.
During the call, Jarka sounded out of breath and upset. He could be heard telling the 911 operator, "I think my wife has been killed" and "everything's torn up" in the home.
Martin testified that it took Jarka 26 seconds into the call to tell the operator his wife had been killed.
Kirkpatrick pointed out to the judge that her client made the 911 call as he walked across the street to his mother-in-law's house to get her help.
"He had just seen his wife's body and he does tell (the operator) three times that his wife is dead," the defense attorney said.
Jarka was interviewed by Detective Phil Gomez at the police station from about 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. the day his wife's body was found, Martin testified, giving an account of what Gomez told him happened.
Gomez described Jarka's demeanor as "standoffish" and "nervous," Martin said.
"He didn't seem to show any emotion at all," the detective said.
"At times he tried to cry but no tears would come out," Martin said.
Jarka told Gomez that he and Isabelle had discussed divorce as recently as the Wednesday before she was killed, Martin said, adding that Jarka called his wife "a man-hater."
Kirkpatrick asked Martin whether Jarka was checked for any injuries. Martin said he had been checked, and no wounds or scratches were found on his arms, face or body.
The prosecutor asked Martin about the numerous times Gomez accused Jarka during the interview of killing his wife.
Jarka had "no reaction at all," Martin said. "He'd cross his arms or back up in his chair."
With the allegation by the prosecution that the murder was committed for financial gain, Jarka could have been eligible for the death penalty.
However, District Attorney Rod Pacheco has decided not to seek death, and Jarka now faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life if he is convicted.
Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or [email protected].The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California
Murrieta man to be tried in wife's slaying
11:37 PM PDT on Thursday, October 23, 2008
By TAMMY J. McCOY Noting that life insurance policies were taken out three weeks before his wife was beaten to death, Judge Timothy F. Freer ruled Thursday that there was enough evidence for Kelle Lee Jarka to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder and a special circumstance of murder for financial gain.Three life insurance policies that would pay more than$1 million in the event of Isabelle Jarka's accidental death were taken out between April 5 and April 10, Detective Jeff Ullrich testified.
And the Murrieta couple was contemplating divorce, had numerous debts and clashed over their faith in the days before the 40-year- old wife and mother was beaten to death, detectives testified Thursday.
"One of the biggest problems she had with him was his lack of emotion," said Detective Danny Martin, referring to what Kelle Jarka told investigators.
Jarka called his wife of 18 years "a man hater" in the hours after Isabelle Jarka's slaying, the detective testified.
Martin was the final prosecution witness called during Jarka's preliminary hearing in French Valley.
Defense attorney Erin Kirkpatrick said there was no evidence that Kelle Jarka took out the insurance policies on his wife. Both husband and wife had access to the credit cards used to pay the monthly bills on these policies, she said.
All three policies listed Kelle Jarka as the sole beneficiary and there was no mention of the couple's two children as beneficiaries, said prosecutor Burke Strunsky.
Detective Andrew Spagnolo testified that Isabelle Jarka's mother recalled Kelle Jarka talking about taking out a$2 million life insurance policy.
Isabelle Jarka never mentioned anything about life insurance to her mother, he said.
"He would be the person who would have to die to get the payout?" asked defense attorney Mark Johnson.
Yes, Spagnolo said.
On April 28, Isabelle Jarka, 40, was hit in the head 11 times and found on the floor between the master bedroom and the hallway of the family's Tamarisk Street home, Martin testified.
"She crawled away as she continued to be beat," prosecutor Strunsky later told the court.
During his interview with Murrieta police, Kelle Jarka said he left the home April 28 to buy baby formula and coffee, Martin said.
When he returned, he pulled his sport utility vehicle into the garage and noticed a door was open, Martin testified.
However, police determined the door in question is constructed with springs in such a way that it cannot remain open, Martin said.
In the moments after he reportedly found his wife's body, Kelle Jarka sounded breathless and at times emotional while talking to a 911 dispatcher.
The call begins with Jarka reporting his home was robbed while he was out. Almost 30 seconds into the call he says something happened to his wife.
"I think my wife has been killed," Kelle Jarka tells a Murrieta police dispatcher. "She's laying on the ground with blood on her."
As the 911 tape was played, a few of the couple's 30-plus friends and relatives who attended the hearing dabbed their eyes with tissues.
One woman began sobbing and abruptly left the courtroom.
The dispatcher asks Jarka whether his wife is bleeding and it sounds as if Jarka is crying.
When asked whether he noticed any suspicious people or cars in the area, Jarka sounded like he was yelling when he replied no.
He later asks the dispatcher if she was sending an ambulance for his wife.
Jarka, 40, faces life in prison if convicted.
His next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 6 at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.
Reach Tammy J. McCoy at 951-375-3729 or [email protected]
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Full moon? Drunks - 0 Uzzah - 3 Peaceful Resolutions - 4
by Uzzah inhas anyone else noticed that people were completely screwed up today.
i had people at work freaking out, that normally are normal, others picking stupid battles just for the sake of fighting.. i hit my favourite pub tonight to forget about the day and ended up 'bouncing' three different beligerents.
all three at least 6 inches shorter 50-70 lbs lighter yet they insisted on attempting to throw punches and generally cause a scene.
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fjtoth
These crazy things are happening because India landed a lunar probe on the moon today.
NEW DELHI (AFP) — India rejoiced Saturday over the landing of a lunar probe on the moon's surface that vaulted the country into the league of space-faring nations like the United States, Russia and Japan.
There are always a lot of lunarticks around when man tampers with nature. Next thing you know, they'll be sending a man to the sun. I hope they do it at night because it can get pretty hot up there.
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fjtoth
Muhammad Ali has been quoted as saying, “It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”
JWs are not good marketers, but the WT Society manipulates them by telling them the same things over and over again through literature, meetings, conventions and private counsel by the elders. Like robots, JWs in turn go out among the public, and wherever they get a response, they impose upon their listeners what the WT Society has foisted upon them. Householders and others become convinced, not because the Watchtower message is superior, but because of repeatedly hearing the same things over and over again during the frequent visits made on them by JWs. -
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What prompts one to become a Jehovah's Witness?
by Quirky1 ini know there are many here that were born into the religion and there are those who have family that were or are involved and that usually sparks an interest.. what about those who become interested by their campaining?
what influenced others here to become a jehovah's witness?.
what influenced you?.
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fjtoth
Right from the start, JWs cultivate an "us against them" mindset. Most people agree that there's a lot wrong with the world and they find it easy to agree that the churches should have done more to make things better. Nobody's perfect, so it's easy to find fault with politicians, businesses and the churches. JWs point to one church or preacher who's done something wrong and they paint all religions but their own as guilty of the same thing. Because the JWs have a Bible in their hand, householders are fooled into thinking that they're different from the other churches, especially when JWs repeatedly claim that they are. Family and friends might warn the householder about JWs, and that gives the appearance of confirming the JW warning that the householder will be ridiculed and frowned on for studying the Bible.
Though householders may be satisfied with their own church, they don't get the individual attention from a Sunday sermon such as JWs provide by stopping by regularly to promote their own religion and to condemn the rest. Nothing beats advertising to get the word out, and the WT Society knows how to get JWs to "advertise, advertise, advertise" that they have all God's answers while all others are of the devil.