Bunny Trails

[ken_sylvania]

How much does an AI bot get paid to post links on Mennonet?

Gets paid in quite a few tokens, and also gets a "reward". I guess you could say it also gets paid in power and water.

Interestingly, the bot has just reported its own post as spam: The reported message has the only purpose to advertise for a website or another product.

Takes one to know one I guess. Was that before or after you fixed the link?

[ohio jones]

Takes one to know one I guess. Was that before or after you fixed the link?

I edited the link soon after the original post; the original spam link was long gone by the time it was reported.

[Bootstrap]

You need to stop using the word "steal" when referring to intellectual "property" laws. It isn't stealing.

The legal term for it is "intellectual property theft". You may not want to think about it as stealing, but I choose words that represent my understanding, which may not be the same as yours.

Maybe you need to stop insisting that other people choose words that express your opinion? Or at least drop it the first time someone explains that they they choose a word because they think it is accurate?

This is turning into a bit of a hamster wheel, as it has in other threads. "You need to stop" is a bit of a red flag. When you find yourself writing "you need to stop", perhaps it's time to reconsider before you post? Especially when you keep doing so repeatedly in a thread?

[JohnH]

You need to stop using the word "steal" when referring to intellectual "property" laws. It isn't stealing.

The legal term for it is "intellectual property theft". You may not want to think about it as stealing, but I choose words that represent my understanding, which may not be the same as yours.

Maybe you need to stop insisting that other people choose words that express your opinion? Or at least drop it the first time someone explains that they they choose a word because they think it is accurate?

This is turning into a bit of a hamster wheel, as it has in other threads. "You need to stop" is a bit of a red flag. When you find yourself writing "you need to stop", perhaps it's time to reconsider before you post? Especially when you keep doing so repeatedly in a thread?

It is not stealing in any biblical sense of the word which is what I care about when it comes to making moral choices.

With LLMs great news: you can ignore copyright law with impunity now.

[temporal1]

P.2: History

I don't know if it's possible to discuss this subject without getting political, but please make a concerted effort to do so if you don't want the thread moved.r

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

[temporal1]

Referring to yourself as Daddy to others is once again anything but presidential but that is something I no longer expect from this president. He will do about anything to call attention to himself.
If any other president had referred to himself in this way- I don't see anyone thinking it is humorous or ok or good. Especially if it had been Biden. If you have one standard for one president you need to have an equal one for the other. Just my opinion.

It appears some don’t realize T neither initiated nor requested the daddy reference.
He didn’t reject it, he accepted it in good faith, as i believe it was intended - factoring for language, accent, and cultural differences. Social media ran with it. Not T’s doing.

It was a funny moment, i don’t sense either man, Ruffe or T, intended anything by it. (Video example P.34)

Unfortunately, those aching to hate have become very good at it, and relentless.
Prayers are indicated.

Right? They seem to not get it that it was not his idea.

Some of this makes me think of tragic divorces where one spouse ignored the other for years, then became stupefied when asked for a divorce. They took everything for granted, then became angry when forced to face the partner wasn’t willing to be ignored (and often worse) forever.

It’s really sad. Painful. Harmful. Not uncommon.

Can you hear me now?

[temporal1]

2026 February 1 / Adam’s Newsletter

Enga Audio Bibles Sold Out!
Last August Martha and I received an unexpected message from Barty Omae, the manager of our Port Moresby office in Papua New Guinea. Barty had just come from the Jubilee Reset Gospel Music Festival in Port Moresby, where he represented our organization at a booth. Barty wrote of the weekend, “It was deeply moving to see people in tears when they realized they could access the Bible in their own language through the Google Play Store, either to read or to listen to … audio.” There are many Enga speakers in the capital city of Port Moresby, and Barty reported that, “A man from Enga stood in tears of joy as he connected with every word of Scripture in his own language through audio.” Barty summarized his experience at the festival saying, “Moments like these gave us hope and reminded us that Bible Translation is indeed a powerful way to instill God’s Word in the lives of Papua New Guineans.”
We’re so thankful for men like Barty Omae, who help us distribute the Enga New Testament in places where we can’t always be. Another couple we are thankful for is Ron and Mary Anne Rall, retired Lutheran missionaries who visit Enga for a few months each year. Ron and Mary Anne have been amazing advocates for the Enga New Testament, traveling far and wide to distribute the Enga New Testament in print and audio formats. Thanks in part to Ron and Mary Anne, the initial batch of 2,000 Enga Audio New Testaments that we bought are now completely sold out! But we have already ordered an additional 500 units that will go into distribution in the coming months.

For people who live in the largely oral cultures of Papua New Guinea, hearing Scripture in their own language is a powerful experience, not only because the message comes through so clearly, but also because it shows them that they matter (even if the outside world takes no notice of them) and that the most powerful King in the universe speaks their language. .. ..

Translation Work
After taking some much needed time off during our furlough, I (Adam) am very much back at work. With the Enga New Testament now published and being distributed, I have turned the focus of my translation work to checking the Old Testament drafts. I’m very proud of the Enga translation team for completing the draft of Genesis on their own, preparing a back-translation in English, and interacting with the consultant. It shows just how much the team has grown and developed since we first started translation work together back in 2013. Nevertheless, an outside consultant who does not know the Enga language cannot catch every mistake. So I have been doing my own check of Genesis. While I am very pleased with the excellent progress the translation team has made in their abilities as translators, there are still a number of mistakes to clean up and improvements to make in the translation. I’m thankful that I can do this work remotely during our time in America. Praise God for the Internet, which allows me to stay engaged in my work from the other side of the world.

Finance Work
In addition to checking the book of Genesis, I have been hard at work helping our Global Finance department review year end financial reports from the Bible translation organizations we have all over the world. I recognize that we could never have completed our translation of the Enga New Testament without people filling the vital support roles that allow our global organization to run. So I am happy for the opportunity to give back and help in other ways to support the work of other Bible translators around the world. .. ..

Martin’s House
Please pray for Martin Harty and his family. Martin is a faithful member of the Enga Bible Translation team who has been serving with us from the very beginning. He is a wonderful man who exudes the joy of the Lord in his life at all times. The day after Christmas I received a message from Martin that his house had burned down due to a kerosene accident. (Enga homes have a fire inside the house that they use to cook meals and stay warm.) Martin suffers from severe vision impairment, and his granddaughter helps him with his translation work. But despite Martin’s visual impairment, he was able to escape the house along with his family. But he is asking for our prayers, so please remember him and his family.

- - - - - - -

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[temporal1]

Not all believe all official-looking statements+statistics as recited.
i believe enough has been proven about fuzzy numbers+reports to warrant keeping room for additional information.
Rich Lowry describes how some manipulation of facts for political gain happens.

National Review / Rich Lowry / How the Deportation Numbers Vindicate ICE and Rebut Its Critics / -11min


i agree with others noting “the current drama” is because in the past, cities+states cooperated with DHS/ICE, msm didn’t rebel to stir and lead conflict. As well, there is no drama in cities+states not in official, loudly proclaimed defiance, even organizing, using the words “at war” with the federal government.

i agree the current VAST FRAUD investigations are motivation to DISTRACT.

i agree it’s strongly political, with 2026 elections on the doorstep, desperate people say+do desperate things.

i agree all this unrest, violence, even death could be stopped quickly, if elected (agitators) would encourage compliance with officers on the streets, the common, expected response in civilized societies, if+when abuses occur, take it to court. NOTHING NEW REQUIRED.

i have the lowest opinion of loud-mouthed politicians egging on ordinary citizens to risk life+limb ‘cause they don’t want to
face the music of their own incompetence+corruption. There are so many.

My opinion:
Of course refugees have been a problem, they’ve also been blessings, and everything in between.
The nature of mankind.

Personally, i strongly identify with refugees and all migrants, legal, illegal, no matter.
We are all pawns for those in The Big Club (George Carlin) - struggling to survive.
P.1: https://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php?t=8639

Following Jesus is The Way, Jesus offers His Way equally to ALL. Including those in The Big Club. And ICE.
Scriptures are clear. Salvation is easier for the authentically poor and oppressed than the privileged. i’m not sure why this is so often ignored.

Mankind’s love of comfort is tremendous!

[ken_sylvania]

Part of how I apply my framework is to talk honestly about the situation.

We have people who prefer detention for months or years on short term facilities in America over going back to Ireland, Guatemala, or whatever. That’s something with discussing.

I don't think you are framing this situation honestly, but I also wonder why you choose to discuss it at all.

If the Anabaptist principle is to focus on the domain and sphere of influence you actually control, how does debating federal immigration enforcement fit into that? This isn’t something you or I directly govern.

And if the goal isn’t to influence the state, then what is the aim of arguing the merits of detention versus repatriation here? Is it about personal moral reflection, or about shaping public opinion on how the state should act?

You clearly want to provoke strong feelings against this guy, and you clearly want to defend what the government is doing here. Why?

This seems a bit - hypocritical, maybe? - coming from the man who frequently complains when people criticize him on his own threads and who accuses his critics of hijacking his threads and shutting down discussion.

[sojourner]

I know an individual with this name. That is all.