http://www.geocities.com/wtgreed/article.htm
Watchtower’s Investments
in Warfare Technology
"The first casualty of war is The Truth."
Purpose
The purpose of this review article is to determine whether the Watchtower Society (WT) owns shares of common stocks of armament-related industry and if positive, determine if they perform business transactions with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Background
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society Inc. (WT) portrays itself as a pacifist, neutral, non-profit religious organization and a "direct channel to God". As a sign of respect to God, Watchtower’s members – the Jehovah’s Witnesses – must not accept blood transfusions, take part in any political, governmental or military organization and can not perform business transactions with such institutions. Under some prophetic speculation, the WT teaches its members that the United Nations is the embodiment of "The Beast" spoken of in the Bible's book of Revelation and that Earth is "Satan’s kingdom". The WT claims that the only safe group to be, grow and reach salvation is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. The WT demands from its members high moral, social and "Christian" standards while condemning immorality and materialism.
Once the new recruits accept the idea that the Watchtower is a "direct channel" of communication to God, they are told to accept every word coming from the headquarters located in Brooklin, NY. Questioning the doctrine or breaking any of its rules is equated to doubting the word of God himself and it is often severely punished by disfellowshiping (expulsion), which means this person must be shunned and ostracized by his/her own relatives and friends. Preventing independent thinking trough fear and guilt is a very effective thought-stoping process which allows the indoctrination process to implant more phobias and further the individual's need to belong and seek "shelter" under the mother organization, the Watchtower.
Main Information Sources (Accessible trough enclosed hyperlinks, some of which are repeated as a reference to the cited statements. Note: In some cases the referred documents are extensive so electronic word searches are recommended.).
Reg Tech/Regi News releases.
Advanced Ceramics Research
U.S. Navy
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The primary mission of the SEC is to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the securities markets. To achieve this, the SEC requires public companies to disclose meaningful financial and other information to the public. The SEC also oversees other key participants in the securities world, including stock exchanges, broker-dealers, investment advisors, mutual funds, and public utility holding companies. The SEC is concerned primarily with promoting disclosure of important information, enforcing the securities laws, and protecting investors who interact with these various organizations and individuals. Crucial to the SEC's effectiveness is its enforcement authority.
SEC filings by REGI US Inc. reveal partial ownership by the Watchtower Society of at least three related companies:
Partnership relations between these companies are so tight they have called themselves "Sister Companies". Rand Cam Engine Corp. is a privately-held company and not much data was available. Reg Technologies Inc. is a Canadian investor’s group that since 1986 has financed most of the research done on the Rand Cam™ engine. Rand Energy Group Inc. was created in October 1986 and it is controlled by both Rand Cam Engine Corp.; Rand Energy Group Inc. controls Regi U.S. Inc., which is ultimately controlled by its main investor: Reg Technologies Inc. Both the private and common stocks held by the Watchtower Society on the "Sister Companies" were donated. The focal point of this group is to market a new engine technology called Rand Cam ™ (RC™).
Finances
REGI U.S., Inc. was incorporated in the State of Oregon, USA on July 27, 1992. The basic research and development work done on the RC™ engine and other products is being coordinated and funded by Reg Tech.
REGI US Inc. was created in 1986 and it does not own properties. They currently utilize office space leased by Reg Tech in a commercial business park building located in British Columbia, Canada. REGI’s only assets are their intangible assets, being patents and intellectual property rights. They do not have employees other than a Marketing Corporate Director and a design engineer. The majority of prototype construction and testing costs continues to be borne by potential licensees and manufacturers. REGI owns 5,073,200 shares and plans to sell shares as needed to meet their ongoing funding requirements if traditional equity sources of financing prove to be insufficient. REGI US Inc. has not generated any revenues nor profitable operations since inception and has a severe working capital deficit as of April 30th 2002, of $5,308,000. In September 21st 1994, Reg Technologies Inc. announced that REGI US Inc. (its subsidiary) had started trading on the OTC Bulletin board (Symbol RGUS) but the actual SEC registration is dated 06/06/1996 (REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 33-96974). Insiders of REGI now currently hold 6,017,850 common shares, representing control of approximately 53.31% of the total voting power. Accordingly, the present insiders continue to elect all of their own directors and generally control their affairs.
Patents, Rights & Agreements
Rand Energy Group, Inc. owns the RC™ technology worldwide rights exclusive U.S. since 1992, whereas REGI owns the U.S.A. rights to the RC™ technology and its variations.
In October 2000, Reg Technologies Inc. acquired a 50% interest in the rights to a H2O hydrogen separator technology.
Some of REGI’s patented products derived from the RC™ Technology are: A compressor, a pump, the Cold Turbine Engine Generator and the Rotary Diesel Engine prototypes. Following are some agreements made public:
In 1995, REGI bought for $200,000 a limited sublicense to market and distribute in Canada the rights to Machine Vision Technology, but in October of the same year it sold it to Reg Technologies, its main investor. This technology has industrial and medical applications but is also being tested by Carnegy Mellon University for the military’s "Intelligent Transportation Systems" for missile delivery, or "Precision Landing." It is also being tested by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA. with grants from The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization for "Real Time Intelligent Target Detection" and for Automatic Target Recognition
In May 1994, Reg Technologies, Inc. entered into a consortium agreement with Hercules Aerospace Company to further develop the diesel version of the RC™ Engine in concert with the West Virginia University team.
In 1995, Hercules Aerospace Company merged with Alliant TechSystems, Inc and Alliant completed the drawings on the Diesel Engine under a contract signed with REGI US Inc.
In 1996, several new aircraft engine prototypes were designed along with Global Aircraft Corporation for the General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) program by NASA. This $8.5 million program fell apart in November 1996 when REGI’s prototype engine leaked oil during the final tests (this is an inherent problem of most rotary engines). This contract was not awarded to REGI.
In December 6th 2001, Watchtower’s "Sister Companies", publicly announced that a $850,000 U.S. Navy contract, topic# N01-144 (contract # N00014-01-M-0208) had been awarded to Advanced Ceramics Research prime contractor , and REGI to build and test a Naval 0.5 horsepower ceramic engine which would allow for low radar signature and high temperature operation. This new motor is being developed for powering the U.S. Navy's new Smart War-fighter Array of Re-configurable Modules "SWARM", now renamed Silver Fox , a low cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Recently, two more programs have just been funded (NAVY CONTRACT #s N41756-02-M-2026 and N41756-02-M-2037) by the Naval Surface Weapons Center for the development of high efficiency ceramic diesel engines for Silver Fox (SWARM) applications. The designs under development in these programs are scalable to larger conventional drone sizes. The ceramics reduce the need for lubrication oil, increase the operational temperature in the combustion and eliminate metal from the engine to reduce weight and improve detection avoidance. In July 2002, the Office of Naval Research tested Advanced Ceramics Research's drone in Simi Valley, Calif., said Allen Moshfegh, science officer working on robotic warfare developments for the Navy. The small craft successfully completed maneuvers before high-ranking Defense officials. The test was part of an ongoing series of demonstrations the company hopes will result in huge demand for the aircraft. In its current prototype phase the handcrafted fiberglass and foam Silver Fox units run about $20,000 each. With injection-molded components and ramped-up production, the price should drop to about $ 5,000 by 2003, and fall to below $ 2,000 by 2004. Starting in 2004, 10,000 Silver Fox planes will be produced annually, for sales totaling about $20 million dollars annually.
In April 4th 2002 REGI announced that they signed an agreement to grant a 5-year contract to Advanced Ceramics Research for the RC™ based motors up to 10 H.P. for the Navy Contract SBIR No 1-144.
In May 29th 2002, REGI signed a license agreement with Advanced Ceramics and Radian Military parts to further develop their Diesel Cam technology for the US Navy’s Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAVs).
In November 13th 2002, REGI US anounced a "42 Horsepower Diesel Engine -- for unmanned vehicle applications for helicopters (The Dragon Warrior). The design phase of this project is complete and fabrication of the engine has commenced. Planning for the test facility and test plan is also underway."
In February 24th 2003, Advanced Ceramics announced that SWARM orders booked in the first quarter are nearly $8 million. SEC filings reveal that REGI is receiving -from Advanced Ceramics- a royalty fee of 5% of the purchase price for any commercial and Navy applications.
In March 2003, USAFA Disovery Magazine (U.S. Air Force Academy) anounced that the USAFA is procuring five Navy Silver Fox UAVs. They will develop a proof of concept with wheeled robots this year with the goal of modifying the algorithms for UAV cooperation next year.
In April 8th 2003, the Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) had a press release stating that the Silver Fox (SWARM) was being deployed to aid marine corps in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Observers said the drones for the most part performed well on field duty.
RESULTS
The Watchtower Society, a religious organization, owns a large percentage of (at least) three "Sister Companies": Rand Cam Engine Corp., Rand Energy Group Inc., and Regi U.S. Inc. These companies are dedicated to research, development and marketing of Rand Cam™ engine technology of which they own the rights and several patents.
None of the Watchtower’s "Sister Companies" fabricate neither bombs nor ammunition of any kind. However, REGI’s management systematically seeks out –and has obtained- U.S. Department of Defense’s awards, funding and subcontracts to supply the U.S. Department of Defense with RC™ technology. REGI’s management has signed numerous agreements with some powerful warfare-technology contractors. An experienced military contract negotiator was appointed as REGI’s Marketing Corporate Director. He is now providing engine technology for the U.S. Navy's new Silver Fox (SWARM).
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., of Stratford, Conn., has developed another small UAV, an unmanned helicopter system for the Marine Corps, called Dragon Warrior , designed for use in both urban and dispersed battlefield situations. The system features REGI's new 42 hp engine produced by Radian:
The Watchtower’s Governing Body have concealed the truth about these assets and their transactions with NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense from its own members and the public in general.
A Brief Description of Silver Fox (SWARM)
The basic concept was developed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center. The SWARM are low cost, expendable, unmanned air vehicles, operating in a swarm as a cooperative group, replacing individual losses by re-configuration of the remaining units to complete the mission. Careful consideration went into the decision to make the the SWARM an expendable vehicle. The primary reason it will be expendable is that the major cost for any system is maintenance, not acquisition. This means the SWARM will incur no maintenance costs; Design incorporates self destruction of electronics upon engine stoppage. Now in its functional stage, and subsequent debut in Operation Iraqi Freedom, this UAV has been renamed The Silver Fox.
The SWARM project was actually launched by ACR in June 2000 with a $70,000 US Navy contract for a small UAV originally designed to locate and mitigate whales near Navy ships. Each "module" is a 4-foot-long, 20-pound plane with a 4-foot wingspan and a 4-pound payload-enough capacity for any type of camera, microphones for eavesdropping, mini chemical and biological detectors, or even, potentially, a small weapon; The Silver Fox is scalable for up to a 40 lb. payload. The small aircraft bearing the engine in question, will be primarily used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles, but payloads, the sensors and the packages can be tailored to the mission.
The US Navy officials who evaluated the prototype’s performance did not only approved it, but SWARM concept was quickly expanded far beyond whale-watching and into developing UAVs that can be easily reconfigured to accommodate a multitude of payload and mission requirements over hostile territory, and recently it was renamed Silver Fox for its debut in the Gulf War II. One new concept on board the Silver Fox is the "Global Positioning System (GPS) Jamming Situational Awareness" for Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS); This information is then passed to the GPS-guided weapon prior to launch. The Silver Fox then provides data directly to the projectile in flight (NAVSYS CORP.) to support this back-up navigation mode. As an example, imagine that a swarm of Silver Fox planes is patrolling and one is shot down by a hidden missile launcher. A second plane, recognizing the absence, searches the area and finds a suspicious building. A third spots the hot afterglow of the missile launch with its infrared camera, confirming the sighting. Next, the two planes transmit their data to a fourth Silver Fox plane equipped with a transceiver, which broadcasts all images to central command for analysis. If officers agree that the planes have identified an enemy surface-to-air missile launcher, they can instruct a fifth Silver Fox plane to "paint" the target with laser light that will guide the smart bombs sent to attack it.
These are just two of the numerous Defense awards available to develop the use of Silver Fox (SWARM) for surface to air missile (SAM) site continuous monitoring. An important feature of the "swarm" concept is that one operator will be able to operate 10 or more drones as compared to current technology, which requires 10 to 20 operators to operate one drone.
The Silver Fox was deployed in April to aid marine corps in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Observers said the drones for the most part performed well on field duty. "We sent an ONR team into the theater to deploy the Silver Fox following its transition from the original design," said Captain John Hobday, a naval reservist and director of Tech Solutions. Regarding its current mission, Rear Admiral Cohen said: "It's now being tasked to help our Marines on the ground." It isn't the only tactical UAV slated for testing during the second Gulf War. But the Fox has capabilities the other drones in its class lack. That task may change yet again, as more Silver Foxes are built. "If you could design a little weapon that weighs half a pound," the Office of Naval Research's Mittleman mused, the drone could become more than a mere observer. "The Silver Fox could become a robotic fighter, dealing pain from 500 feet."
Discovery Channel reports that eight Silver Foxes currently are receiving heavy use on the battlefield, and none has been shot down yet. While Senator John McCain (Arizona)" stated that "ninety Silver Fox systems were deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom with great success." [Click HERE for videos on the most recent Silver Fox (SWARM) flight tests in Arizona.]
Discussion
REGI’s first press release dated May 11, 1994 opens up with enthusiasm to have a product with which they can tap into an annual $20 Billion market and plans to align the U.S. Department of Defense as their first customer:
"Reg Technologies, Inc. entered into a consortium agreement with Hercules Aerospace Company (a Fortune 500 Company) to further develop the diesel version of the Rand Cam™ Engine in concert with the West Virginia University team. The diesel engine will be developed for military and commercial applications. The annual market potential for the diesel engine market in North America is $20 Billion U.S.. Reg Technologies, Inc. plans to license Hercules, Inc. for Department of Defense applications in consideration for the development and commercialization of the Rand Cam™ Diesel Engine, and other benefits to Reg Technologies, Inc.
The management of Reg Technologies, Inc. is confident that the ensuing year will result in a successful working model of the Rand Cam™ Engine that will produce significant revenue from license agreements. The Wankel Rotary Engine generated $200,000,000.00 from license rights in the 1960's."
Since their creation, the "Sister companies" have systematically sought out awards and subcontracts from NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense. To this effect, a military expert was appointed as REGI’s Marketing Corporate Director. Mr. X (name withheld) offers to the "Sister Companies" 30 years experience in the aerospace and aircraft industry, as Corporate Marketing Director and Federal Government Affairs Director. He has been involved as a contractor and/or consultant for the Department of Defense, Naval Sea Systems Command; Naval Air Systems Command and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Mr. Mr. X also has created a company which been appointed as agent for REGI U.S., Inc. to raise up to $6 million (U.S.) on a non-exclusive basis. A 5% agents fee of the total funds received from contacts introduced by Mr. X’s company will be paid for funds raised, license fees, royalty payments and contract fees.
"We believe that Mr. X’s extensive expertise in government relations and advanced technologies marketing will be a valuable asset to marketing the Rand Cam™ projects and raising substantial funds for REGI U.S., Inc." "We are currently making presentations to the U.S. military which could result in additional government funding if the diesel engine prototype meets with its approval."
Now lets consider some of the products REGI's experienced military contract negotiator handle and their targeted markets:
Machine Vision Technology (MVT). The "Sister Companies" own the Canadian rights to MVT. This system is currently under development by the Carnegie Mellon University (experts in artificial intelligence). The MVT device records images by their spectral "signature" and is used in various industrial and medical applications. Examples include: electronic component analysis, signature identification, optical character recognition, handwriting recognition, object recognition, pattern recognition, materials inspection, currency inspection and medical image analysis. But they have an ongoing project to adapt it for warfare purposes: When on board an airborne vehicle, it allows for highly selective discrimination among objects or targets of nearly identical spatial or even spectral signatures. Its inventors call it "Intelligent Transportation System". The system is far more complex than GPS-guided missile technology and it reportedly holds great promise for military applications because it can discern between nearby friendly and enemy vehicles even when camouflaged. A simulated battlefield scene was set where they placed tanks of the same color, but their armor had different spectral signatures. A background consisting of other tanks, vegetation, sand and water was used in testing the device. The suppression algorithm was able to tell the difference between tanks and therefore, identify enemy tanks.
It is beyond question that the WT's "Sister Companies" own a limited sublicense to market and distribute Machine Vision Technology in Canada and, although this system is being tested for the military, it was NOT evident to this researcher whether this technology has been sold and/or used for "smart bombs" manufacture by any nation.
Nevertheless, REGI's original plan was well specified, as their first news release in May 1994 declared:
"U.S. Reg Technologies, Inc. plans to license Hercules, Inc. for Department of Defense applications in consideration for the development and commercialization of the Rand Cam™ Diesel Engine, and other benefits to Reg Technologies, Inc."
Note that this accord with Hercules was not a partnership but an agreement. Then in 1995, Hercules Aerospace Company merged with Alliant TechSystems Inc. Alliant completed the drawings on the Diesel Engine under a contract signed with REGI US Inc. The designs and drawings were paid and no royalties are to be to be paid to Alliant.
It is remarkable that Watchtower’s "Sister Companies" have signed several agreements with various companies focused on warfare technology confirming once again REGI's targeted market; Just consider some of REGI’s manufacturing clients:
Radian Military Parts is a key supplier of engineering, logistics systems integration services to the U.S. Department of Defense. It delivers "perfect quality parts for weapon systems." The 42 H.P. diesel Rand Cam™ engine for remote piloted helicopter applications is currently being completed by Radian Milparts and testing is expected shortly.
Hercules Aerospace Company. Products: Missile propellants and warheads. Design and manufacture of solid propulsion rocket motors and composite structures. (Bought by Alliant TechSystems).
Alliant TechSystems, Inc now has $1.3 billion in annual sales of a repertoire of products including: Small-caliber military ammunition, rocket propellants, commercial and military smokeless powder, law enforcement and sporting ammunition, ammunition related products, strategic missiles, missile defense interceptors, gun-launched precision-guided munitions, electronic warfare systems, soldier systems, propulsion for missile defense systems, composite structures for aircraft and weapons systems, medium-caliber and tank ammunition, medium-caliber gun systems, high-performance batteries for military and aerospace applications, tactical barrier systems, tactical missile rocket motors and warheads.
Advanced Ceramics Research (ACR) has performed nearly $6 million in military work.
RADIAN The Engineering Division provides comprehensive support to the U.S. Department of Defense’s weapon systems managers. It operates from facilities adjacent to several key U.S. military installations.
Engineered Support Systems, Inc has recently acquired RADIAN for $41.7 million U.S. in cash and shares. EASI is a diversified supplier of high tech integrated military electronics support equipment and logistics services to all branches of the U.S. armed forces and certain foreign militaries.
The Silver Fox (SWARM) project has recently gained additional support from the US House of Representatives as in May 10th 2002, Arizona’s Congressman Jim Kolbe announced :
"…the programs that support our armed forces in the fight against global terrorism in the 2003 Defense Authorization Act passed the House early this morning."…"These programs, critical to our national security, received the necessary authority in the defense bill for us to continue conducting the War Against Terrorism. This bipartisan bill recognizes that we are a nation at war, and provides the manpower, the equipment, and the technology that the United States military needs. Southeastern Arizona plays a pivotal role in our national security, and I am pleased that our requests were accepted".
Two of his accepted requests are:
SWARM UAV Program: $5 million above the president’s request for these lightweight, low cost and expendable UAVs for ship perimeter defense, marine mammal detection, submarine detection, and tactical support for ground troops and special operations forces developed at Advanced Ceramics Research in Tucson.
UAV Facility: Accelerates from 2005 to 2003 this valuable Ft. Huachuca project to construct buildings for instruction, flight operations, and maintenance of UAVs, valued at $10.4 million.
Other political suporters of the Silver Fox are Senator John McCain (Arizona) who during a press release on May 23, 2003 estated that "90 Silver Fox systems were deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom with great success." and that "Additional resources should be afforded to the unmanned aerial vehicle programs." Also in May 9th 2003, Senator John Warner (Virginia), Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, declared that his subcomitee authorized a 25% increase in unmanned systems and added $135.0 million to rapidly accelerate the development and acquisition of unmanned systems including $8.0 million annually for the Silver Fox.
Royalties
This is the escense of the contract signed between REGI and Advanced Ceramics (ACR): "We agreed that a 5 year contract will also be granted to ACR for the Rand Cam concept motors for the commercial and military rights for the applications developed under the Navy contract for 10 H.P or less. [...] We will receive a royalty fee of 5% of the purchase price for the commercial and Navy applications".
How much money does this mean? Lets see:
"The $500,000 SBIR grant funding the local UAV project will pay off for the Navy, as well as for Advanced Ceramics. "Orders booked in the first quarter are nearly $8 million," Mulligan said. "In less than a year it has really grown to be quite a business." "In its current prototype phase the handcrafted fiberglass and foam Silver Fox units run about $20,000 each. With injection-molded components and ramped-up production, the price should drop to about $ 5,000 by 2003, and fall to below $2,000 by 2004. Starting in 2004, 10,000 Silver Fox (SWARM) planes will be produced annually." This means sales totaling about $20 million dollars annually for warfare royalty payments of $1,000,000 to REGI U.S. and to the Watchtower. And this is in addition to the royalty payments from military manufacturer RADIAN: "Radian will pay Reg a six (6) percent royalty on the sales of engines, parts and service utilizing Rand Cam Technology used in UAV's, including 6% of all funding received from the Government and Military sources to develop and manufacture the Rand Cam technology."
The WT Society may not have asked for its donated shares, but has retained ownership nonetheless, and while the Donor retains voting privileges, the WT Society gets the direct financial benefit (and probably, tax exemptions as a religious organization). In the following scanned letter, the WT declines ownership of the Sister Companies and state that "The Watchtower Society was erroneously listed as a stockholder..." (The introductory paragraph was removed in order to protect the recipient's identity).
The letter above plainly contradicts their own SEC legal filings filed repeatedly for the last 16 years:
"Rand Energy Group is owned 51% by Reg Technologies Inc. and 49% by Rand Cam Engine Corp. Rand Cam Engine Corp. is a privately held company whose stock is owned 50% by The Watchtower Society, a religious organization, 34% by James McCann and the balance by several other shareholders. Mr. McCann has indicated that he donated the shares held by The Watchtower Society to that organization but has retained a voting proxy for those shares. Accordingly, in Notes (3) and (4) above, beneficial ownership of the 5,073,200 shares registered in the name of Rand Energy Group Inc. has been attributed to The Watchtower Society and Mr. McCann. We believe it would be misleading and not provide clear disclosure to list as beneficial owners in the table the other entities and persons discussed in this paragraph, although a strict reading of Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 might require each such entity and person to be listed in the beneficial ownership table. "
If the WT was "erroneously listed as a stockholder," why would the "Sister Companies" want to share their profits with the Watchtower Society? Because the WT took possession and kept those stocks for about 16 years.
Conclusion
Confirmation of the Watchtower’s possession of such investments and subsequent contributions to warfare technology are not inconsequential. In fact, it has a profound effect on Jehovah Witnesses’ confidence on their leaders. It is interesting that if a Jehovah’s Witness questions WT’s contributions to warfare technology, or any other activity or policy for that matter, this person would be severely punished with disfellowshipment (expulsion) and the victim’s friends and relatives would be forced to ostracize and shun him/her as "a test of loyalty to Jehovah."
Why is this problem being "fixed" just after it became public? This seems a pattern as the WT also "fixed" [withdrew from] their secret NGO membership with the UN only two days after it became public.
"How a Christian puts his money to work is for him to decide personally, just as how he works for a living is for him to decide. There is nothing contrary to Scriptural principles for him to let his money help him earn a livelihood. If he invests in stocks, no one should criticize him. He should, of course, be discreet about what stocks or bonds he buys. When he knows that a corporation is devoted entirely to manufacturing merchandise that is used for a morally wrong purpose, it would be improper for him to violate his conscience by investing money in the stock of that company. - Awake!, February 8, 1962, p. 23.
Why are they declining responsibility for their deceptions? But let's look at the Watchtower's official definition of "lie":
*** Insight, Volume 2 pp.244-5 Lie ***
LIE - The opposite of truth. Lying generally involves saying something false to a person who is entitled to know the truth and doing so with the intent to deceive or to injure him or another person. A lie need not always be verbal. It can also be expressed in action, that is, a person may be living a lie. [...] While malicious lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are not entitled to it.
Measured by the same moral and doctrinal standards they impose on its members, there is simply no proper justification to holding on to the "Sister Companies’" shares and profit even for a short time. Ignorance of their possession can not be an excuse either because, as a chief share-holder, the WT Society has received no less than 52 SEC filing copies plus -at least- 60 official news releases by REGI updating them on their company’s progress. And this is in addition to the thousands of financial reports, memos and other internal correspondence required to operate such corporations for more than 16 years.
As Randall Watters once wrote:
"The Watchtower Society seems unique in that it denounces investments in the old system and its journal Awake! for many years claimed that it was 'free' to publish 'truth' because of being "unfettered" by commercial interests. In times past, the Society has even forced branches to divest interests in various profit-making investments. After which, they even held Conventions where they read a resolution apologizing to Jehovah for their 'sin' and publicly repented of this 'unclean' act before all onlookers. Now let’s think about this for a minute: 5,371,000 shares valued at $0.437 per share equals $2,347,127 in stock ownership. This is just one company we know about. But, the interesting situation is that the Watchtower Society owns 50% in the US corporation as reported, even if not a 'majority' interest. Is this not a clear powerful position to influence company policy? Even if the British Columbia company holds the major role, would not a powerful voting block such as this, at least help 'influence' the actions of what the company builds and sells? And even though the voting is by proxy, it is done by the person who donated the stock to the Society. Therefore, would not his votes reflect sympathy and loyalty to the Watchtower Society teachings, policies, and beliefs unique to Jehovah's Witnesses?"
It is pathetic that the WT leaders reserve themselves the right to seek profit in this manner and at the same time they hold to being "conscientious objectors". Clearly, the WT’s risk of being involved in warfare technology transactions has been superseded by the greed of tapping in the reportedly $20 billion in annual sales market. This previously secret WT’s economic venture exhibits a rawness of ambition, optimism, overconfidence and greed unlike anything imagined by its unsuspecting members. How could the Governing Body justify - even to themselves - profits from such stock dividends?
Patriotism aside, during this times of war, the WT Society held stocks on the "Sister Companies" and, while they are still not a huge success within the Department of Defense, it is a clear double standard and fits in with being grossly hypocritical with its own doctrine and its honest members. That is the issue.
The first casualty of war is The Truth.
Cheers! Atlantis-
Jehovah Witnesses Live in a Conflicting Environment