Hello MMTP,
Your questions are legitimate and reasonable. I'm not even a JW but I love someone who has been mentaly and spiritualy abused by the elders and the Watchtower, so I came here to learn and help.
My experience is that most people here are NOT against Jehovah, but mostly have endured a legitimate conflict between one's faith and one's religion.
I recomend you explore these:
- Freeminds.org Print and read as many articles as you can on Psychological and Recovery Issues.
- Read this book: Crisis of Consciense
- Unedited Quotes from the Watchtower on several issues.
- Download and watch these TV documentaries on pedophiles within the Watchtower, especialy the one from CBC The Fith Estate.
- Watchtower's membership with the United Nations as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
- Watchtower's Investments in Warfare Technology
The worst question is the one you don't ask.
Peace
Gerard.
PS: Here are some more tidbits of interest with links enclosed:
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc: Like any other corporation, profits are the top priotrity. The elite that ultimately profits economicaly is not visible to the public.
[FromNewsday.com, in an article reporting the top-40 New York City corporations.]
[ http://www.newsday.com/business/printedition/ny-cvtop52369349sep17.story?coll=ny%2Dbusiness%2Dprint]
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York
25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, 11201
718-560-5000
www.jw-media.org
Revenue: $951 million
Industry: Publishing
President: Milton Henshel
Employees: 3,415
It takes a lot of printing to supply more than 6 million Jehovah's Witnesses with the materials for their ministry. One publication, Watchtower, now has an average print run of 23 million copies twice per month, an increase of 7.5 percent over last year.
"Our report for the year is different from a Wall Street company," said vice president George Couch. Indeed, the company's employees are volunteers who live and work in the Brooklyn complex.
Biggest Pressline order ever:
http://members.whattheythink.com/news/newslink.cfm?id=9398
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/919034/000104746902007862/a2087860z485bpos.txt
I just found another company on which the Watchtower is a shareholder:MUTUAL FUND TRUST , located in: 522 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10036
The WT is listed as a shareholder under the name of:
WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
ATTN TREASURERS OFFICE
DOMESTIC CASH MANAGEMENT
25 COLUMBIA HTS BROOKLYN NY 11201-1300
Percentage held: 5.51%
The WTBTS of PA is actually listed as 5.51% owner of the J P Morgan Liquid Assets Money Market Fund:
LIQUID ASSETS MONEY MARKET FUND JP MORGAN CHASE BANK AS AGENT FOR 8.10%
(INSTITUTIONAL SHARES) PAUL G ALLEN
ATTN SPECIAL PRODUCTS
500 STANTON CHRISTIANA RD
1/OPS 3
NEWARK DE 19713
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK AS AGENT FOR 6.45%
ICO GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS
ATTN SPECIAL PRODUCTS
500 STANTON CHRISTIANA RD
1/OPS 3
NEWARK DE 19713
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK 5.81%
LIPPER CONVERTIBLES LP
ATTN: FUND OPERATIONS 3/OPS3
500 STANTON CHRISTIANA ROAD
NEWARK DE 19713-2105
JP MORGAN SECURITIES LENDING ASSET 5.77%
MANAGEMENT
ATTN ADAM BRINTON
4 NEW YORK PLZ FL 18
NEW YORK NY 10004-2413
BEAR STEARNS SECURITIES CORP 5.77%
1 METROTECH CTR N
BROOKLYN NY 11201-3870
WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF 5.51% PENNSYLVANIAATTN TREASURERS OFFICE DOMESTIC CASH
MANAGEMENT
25 COLUMBIA HTS
BROOKLYN NY 11201-1300
If you go to http://www.jpmorganfunds.com/index.jsp?uuid=F11404F1E66B3AD4-10390318391991990&fund=2252&team_id=3 and click on "Fund Profile" under "Fund Literature", it will tell you that the fund assets are $1.69 Billion. If you take 5.51% of that $1.69 Billion comes to $93,119,000. That is some serious money!
http://www.oha.doe.gov/cases/refunds/2002/September/rk27201885.htm
U. S. Department of Energy
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA)
Case No. RK272-01885
September 5, 2002
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Supplemental Order
Names of Cases: Watchtower Bible & Tract Society
Dates of Cases: July 14, 1995
Case Numbers: RK272-01885
Pursuant to the long-standing policy of the Department of Energy (DOE), thousands of purchasers of petroleum products have applied for, and been granted, refunds from crude oil overcharge funds under the jurisdiction of the DOEs Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). See Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy To Be Implemented In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). The standards for considering Applications for Refund from these crude oil funds are set forth at 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.
The OHA has approved more than 87,000 requests for refund from the pool of crude oil overcharge funds. In Subpart V crude oil refund cases, a claimant is generally eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons of eligible refined petroleum products it purchased during the period from August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981, multiplied by a per gallon amount. That per gallon refund amount is derived by dividing the total refund monies available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the crude oil price control period. Refunds had been calculated by multiplying the number of gallons of eligible refined petroleum products purchased by the applicant by $0.0008 (the volumetric factor). That volumetric factor had been in use since April 1989, when it replaced an earlier volumetric factor of $0.0002 per gallon. Any applicant who received a refund at the lower volumetric factor also received a supplemental refund based on an additional $0.0006 per gallon. See Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution, 18 DOE 85,878 (1989).
Additional crude oil overcharge funds have become available for disbursement and we can now issue additional refund checks to applicants. Sufficient funds are available to pay applicants at a new, aggregate rate of $0.0016 per gallon.(1) Thus, the amount of the supplemental refund will be equal to the refund already received. Refunds are rounded to the nearest dollar.
In order to receive a supplemental refund check, applicants are being required to verify (directly or through their representatives) that their name and address in our records are correct, to correct any information that is not accurate, and to indicate whether there has been any change in circumstances affecting the payment of the refund. We intend to issue a series of Decision and Orders approving supplemental refunds as we receive completed verification forms from all applicants or certifications from their representatives.
This Decision and Order contains the name and address of a claimant receiving one of these supplemental refund checks. In this case, we were informed that there had been a change of circumstances since the previous refund was disbursed. Accordingly, we set up a new case file (designated RK272-)(2) and investigated whether the party that submitted the verification form (or on whose behalf the form was submitted) was the proper party to receive the supplemental refund. On the basis of that investigation, we have determined that the party listed below is the proper recipient of the supplemental refund. The dollar amount of the supplemental refund being approved in this Order for the claimant is $7,787.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll, Office of Departmental Accounting and Financial Systems Development, Office of the Controller of the Department of Energy shall take appropriate action to disburse a supplemental refund of $7,787 to the claimant at the following address:
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society c/o James Kimball
25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483
(2) The funds shall be disbursed from the escrow fund denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of Treasury.
(3) To facilitate the payment of any future refunds, an applicant shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change of address, or if an address correction is necessary. Such notification shall be sent to: Office of Hearings and Appeals HG-1/LEnfant Plaza Building. U.S. Department of Energy. 1000 Independence Ave., S.W. Washington, DC 20585-1615
(4) Any conditions imposed that applied to an applicants receipt of the initial crude oil refund shall also apply to that applicants receipt of this supplemental refund.
(5) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy. George B. Breznay. Director Office of Hearings and Appeals
Now think of it for a second: for a refund of $7,787 at a rate of $0.0006 per gallon, the WT must have traded 12,978,333 gallons (thats almost thirteen million gallons of crude oil!) The dates of case originaly filed is July 14, 1995, closed on September 5, 2002 but it is unclear to me the time range in which the WT purchased this large volume of crude oil - and its use.
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001207X03587&ntsbno=ANC95LA077&akey=1
Incident - Aircraft ANC95LA077
"On June 12, 1995, at 1530 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 402B airplane, N710WS, registered to and operated by the Watchtower Bible Organization and Tract Society, collapsed its nose gear while taxiing back after landing. The business flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed Good News, Alaska, and the destination was Tuntutuliak, Alaska. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airline transport certificated pilot and the three passengers were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged.
According to the Director of the Watchtower Bible Organization, who was also a passenger on the airplane, they were taxiing back to the ramp after landing. The runway had just been graded and a small depression in the runway's surface was filled with soft material. The airplane's nose gear rolled into the depression and the nose gear collapsed.
The Director of the Watchtower Bible Organization stated that the soft area on the runway had been marked with yellow cones. He stated that the runway maintenance person told them the cones were removed so the runway surface could be graded. The cones had not been replaced.
There were no NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen) issued. The Alaska Supplement, however, states that runway conditions are not monitored and that a visual inspection is recommended. The supplement states that there are dips and ruts to 4 inches deep."
Cruise Speed: 210 kts Fuel Capacity: 102.00 gal Range: 1180 nautical miles.
Cessna 402B , The letter "B" stands for Business comfort & Luxury.
Their destination, Tuntutuliak, Alaska is located 440 miles west of Anchorage with one well known activity : Salmon fishing.
Think of them having fun with their luxurious airplanes next time you go out on the field or send them your money!
1) The WT owns and operates a shale mine in NY
http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dmn/minres/shale_xls.htm
| 306 | 3 | 0227 | WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY | SHALE MINE | 900 RED MILLS ROAD | WALLKILL | NY | 12589 | 914-744-2041 | DENNIS OSTENDORF | SHALE | A | 3 | ULSTER | SHAWANGUNK |
2) The WT got a $30,000 polluting fine < http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=36527&site=3 on the same shale mine.
3) Now, this "environmentaly responsible" owner/operator expands its Earth-raping operation to a sand and gravel mine:
http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dmn/minres/sg4_xls.htm
| 306 | 3 | 0243 | WATCHTOWER BIBLE SOCIETY | BIRCH RD. | 900 RED MILLS RD. | WALLKILL | NY | 12589 | 914-744-2041 | DENNIS OSTENDORF | SAND AND GRAVEL | A | 3 | ULSTER | SHAWANGUNK |
- where is all this money going? Who benefits from having it?
...and you thought Jehovah is misterious!
Watchtower's Governing Body
Meeting Room