The cult known as the Jehovah's Witnesses have amessed a two million dollar tab with the state of California, and that tab grows by $4,000 every day, all because the group won't hand over internal documents that detail alleged child sex abuse in its churches; also known as Kingdom Halls. A San Diego man named Osbaldo Padron has made several claims that he was sexually abused as a child in the 1990s by an adult congregation member and filed suit against the Jehovah's Witnesses for not stepping in to stop and protect him. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the church allegedly knew in 1982 that Gonzalo Campos had molested a child; Campos later admitted to abusing at least eight kids between that year and 1995 (he fled to Mexico in 2010). Padron wants internal documents that he believes has vital evidence to be released, but the Jehovah's Witnesses won't hand them over, in violation of a court order.
The Jehovah's Witnesses have long held a vicious record of child sexual abuse within it's ranks, and a history of shielding those persons as well. These latest allegations come as other christian organizations & cults have settled massive lawsuits.
In 2015, it was disclosed that the Australia Branch of Jehovah's Witnesses had records of 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse, relating to more than 1,800 victims since 1950, none of which were reported to police, according to the Australian Royal Commission.
In 2002, Jehovah's Witnesses' Office of Public Information published its policy for elders to report allegations of child abuse to the authorities only where required by law to do so, even if there was only one witness. The organization says that individuals known to have sexually abused a child are generally prohibited from holding any position of responsibility,and that, unless considered by the congregation elders to demonstrate repentance, such a person is typically disfellowshipped; a form of removing a person from the church for set period of time.
In 2016 a UK judge upheld a ruling against the Jehovah's Witnesses for failing to protect a victim of child sexual abuse, and the supreme court rejected an attempt by the Watch Tower Society to block a commision inquiry into how the organization handles allegations of abuse.
If allegations of child abuse satisfy the organization's religious tenets, an internal judicial committee is formed, and the accused individual may potentially be relieved of positions of responsibility in the congregation. Anyone found to have sexually molested a child, based upon the criteria established by the organization, and deemed by the elders to not demonstrate sufficient repentance is disfellowshipped from the congregation and shunned.
The elders are instructed to gauge the abuser's repentance based upon their subsequent visible support of congregation activities, such as attending congregation meetings, and actively supporting the denomination's door-to-door work. The sustained participation in the group's activities has resulted in sexual predators remaining in good standing in the congregation.
Congretation elders were aware that Campos had previously abused at least one other child, but assigned Campos to instruct Lopez. For failing to protect Lopez from a known offender and for its subsequent refusal to co-operate with the court, the Watch Tower Society was ordered to pay US$13.5 million to the plaintiff. The Watch Tower Society appealed the ruling. The appeal court vacated the judgment, granting that lesser sanctions might compel the Watchtower Society to comply with the court's requirements. The law firm representing Lopez has filed similar cases in the 5 other states including California.
We may find love in many places, but sometimes we find it in Africa. Welcome to a place where we can talk. In this digital era we find ourselves in today love is often marginalized to the mundane 'meme' or 'emoji', often rendering itself to us in an occasional text. In an effort to reflect on the meaning of love in all of its many facets lets examine 50 'Love Proverbs' from our motherland that strengthens our desire, passion, and will to love... Enjoy!
1. A letter from the heart can be read on the face. Kenya
2. Coffee and love taste best when hot. Ethiopia
3. Do not treat your loved one like a swinging door: you are fond of it but you push it back and forth. Madagascar
4. Don’t be so in love that you can’t tell when it’s raining. Madagascar
5. Don’t try to make someone hate the person he loves. For he will go on loving but he will hate you. Senegal
6. Even as the archer loves the arrow that flies, so too he loves the bow that remains constant in his hands. Nigeria
7. He who loves, love you with your dirt. Uganda
8. He who loves the vase loves also what is inside. Africa
9. If a woman doesn’t love you, she calls you "brother." Côte d’Ivoire
10. If anyone makes you laugh, it is not always because they love you. Kenya
11. If love is a sickness, patience is the remedy. Cameroon
12. If the full moon loves you, why worry about the stars? Tunisia
13. If you are ugly you must either learn to dance or make love. Zimbabwe
14. If you marry a monkey for its wealth, the money goes and the monkey remains. Egypt
15. It’s much easier to fall in love than to stay in love. Africa
16. Let your love be like the misty rain, coming softly but flooding the river. Liberia
17. Love doesn’t listen to rumors. Ghana
18. Love doesn’t rely on physical features. Lesotho
19. Love for something makes a man blind and deaf. Sudan
20. Love has to be shown by deeds not words. Swahili
21. Love is a despot who spares no one. Namibia
22. Love is a painkiller. Africa
23. Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls. South Africa
24. Love never gets lost it’s only kept. Africa
25. Marriage is like a groundnut; you have to crack it to see what is inside. Ghana
26. Never marry a woman who has bigger feet than you. Mozambique
27. One thread for the needle, one love for the heart. Sudan
28. Truth should be in love and love in truth. Swahili
29. One who marries for love alone will have bad days but good nights. Egypt
30. Pretend you are dead and you will see who really loves you. Africa
31. The quarrel of lovers is the renewal of love. Morocco
32. To love someone who does not love you is like shaking a tree to make the dew drops fall. Congo
33. To love the king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better. Africa
34. When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow. Ethiopia
35. Where there is love, there is no darkness. Burundi
36. You know who you love but you can’t know who loves you. Nigeria
37. The loving heart always helps. Uganda
38. To be smiled at isn't to be loved. Kenya
39. The way you got married isn't the way you'll get divorced. Africa
40. A bird can be guarded, a wife can't. Africa
41. A man without a wife is like a vase without flowers. Africa
42. A man that does not lie shall never marry. Zimbabwe
43. One who plants grapes by the road side, and one who marries a pretty woman, share the same problem. Ethiopia
44. If there were no cold Friday evenings and boring Saturdays, no one would get married any more. Morocco
45. A married couple is neither enemies nor friends. Somalia
46. Wood already touched by fire isn't hard to set alight. Africa
47. Where there is love there is no darkness. Burundi
48. It is better to be loved than feared. Sierra Leone
49. Love is like a baby: it needs to be treated tenderly. Congo
50. If there is cause to hate someone, the cause to love has just begun. Africa
(RT) An armed conflict between Riyadh and Tehran would have a major impact on oil markets and the global economy. RT asked experts what a war between the two Middle East superpowers would mean for crude prices.
If a conflict happens, oil prices could increase 500 percent.
Ivan Karyakin, an investment analyst at Global FX, points out that the area of possible conflict pumps a third of global oil. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar together produce about 28 million barrels per day, which is slightly less than 30 percent of global production; prices will go up immediately to $150-180 per barrel, he said.
“Then everything will depend on the duration of the conflict. The world market will survive two or three days of the conflict. If the conflict lasts a week, then prices will rise to $200 or higher, and this will have long-term consequences"
A sharp jump in oil prices and other hydrocarbons will threaten the stability of the entire global economy, as it will lead to a surge in inflation, warns Andrey Dyachenko, Head of Private Solutions Department of Сastle Family Office in Russia “At the time of relatively low growth rates, a significant jump in inflation will lead to the impoverishment of a large part of the world population.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug in the United States with a digital ingestion tracking system in an unprecedented step to ensure that patients with mental disorders take the medicine prescribed for them.
The drug Abilify MyCite was developed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Abilify was first approved by the FDA in 2002 to treat schizophrenia, and the ingestible sensor, made by Proteus Digital health, was initially approved for marketing in 2012. The agency says the digitally enhanced medication "works by sending a message from the pill's sensor to a wearable patch."
Dr. Mitchell Mathis of the FDA says officials support "use of new technology in prescription drugs and is committed to working with companies to understand how the new technology might benefit patients and prescribers."
(ARICANEWS) The African Union has spoken on the political situation in Zimbabwe where the army have seized key state institutions including the state broadcaster.
President of the political bloc and Guinean president Alpha Conde in an interview with the AFP news portal said the military intervention “seems like a coup” further urging that they cease their actions for the return of constitutional order.
A statement issued by Conde said the A.U. immediately calls for the restoration of constitutional order and calls on all stakeholders to show responsibility and restraint, to ensure respect for lives, fundamental freedoms and integrity of Zimbabwe.”
READ MORE CLICK HERE