AndersonsInfo

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Posts by AndersonsInfo

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  9

  Ivanka Trump’s hubby, Jared Kushner, reportedly buying Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters

  by DavidG in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  whats your thoughts on this one?

  who will have anthony morris iii's room?

  http://www.jta.org/2016/04/13/news-opinion/united-states/ivanka-trumps-hubby-jared-kushner-reportedly-buying-jehovahs-witnesses-headquarters.

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  AndersonsInfo

  http://ny.curbed.com/2016/4/13/11421404/big-name-developers-behind-700m-deal-for-jehovah-s-witnesses-brooklyn-hq

  There are 7 comments and are they ever interesting.

  Views4Days

  I’m very excited to see the re-development of this site. This development has an amazing location just a few blocks west of the Brooklyn Bridge and steps from Brooklyn Bridge Park. With its location, views and size, this would be a tech company’s dream!

  Posted April 13, 2016 | 11:26 AM

  NYCDeveloper

  So much for the $1 Billion price tag they were expecting. JW is a joke of an organization and I will never deal with them again. There is a reason why they had to swallow their pride and hire Cushman to do this deal because they were way in over their heads (keep in mind, JW is notorious for their dislike of outside brokers because their "volunteers" do all the work for free).

  In the end, they probably left a sour taste at some of the biggest development firms, the borough of Brooklyn and the many brokers who’ve had bad experiences dealing with them. All I can say is, good riddance and enjoy your stay Upstate.

  Posted April 13, 2016 | 2:00 PM

  L Swan

  I’m just excited to see the properties back on the tax rolls!!!

  Posted 23 hours ago

  statennyc22

  It seems odd that Jared et al were the winning bidders for these properties as well. It almost seems as though they had insider assistance but who knows. Yes, it is great that these propreties are back on the tax rolls though I hope the MTA and city are prepared for the future increase of service needs in the area (food services, electric, sewer, transport etc etc).

  Posted 23 hours ago

  NYCDeveloper

  It’s not odd at all that Kushner won the deal – I heard from other sources that the other bidders were displeased with JW and the way they conduct business.

  Jared Kushner most likely went through hell dealing with them the first time so why not dance with the devil you already know?

  Here is something to think about: all the big firms that made a bid (like Vornado) were all capable of making bids bigger than $700m so money wasn’t the biggest issue. It’s likely they all dropped out because of JW and their antics.

  Posted 17 hours ago

  ElPachuco

  Exciting deal. Will be interesting to see how much work the Jay Street site needs before building starts; neighborhood lore holds it’s a highly toxic brownfield.

  Posted 22 hours ago

  REspectator

  Now would be an especially mischievous time to landmark the Watchtower sign (if it isn’t landmarked already, that is).

  Posted 21 hours ago
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  19

  Live in the U.S.? Tune into Dateline Friday evening, April 15th, to see a report about the Colorado Candelario murder trial (he's a JW).

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ralph and pam candelario were active jws in colorado.

  ralph murdered pam.

  professor jim penton was invited to appear at the trial last month by the prosecution as an expert witness to answer questions about jws.

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  AndersonsInfo

  Ralph and Pam Candelario were active JWs in Colorado. Ralph murdered Pam. Professor Jim Penton was invited to appear at the trial last month by the prosecution as an expert witness to answer questions about JWs. From what I was told, he did fantastically. Tomorrow, Friday, Dateline will air a program about the trial. I have no idea if Jim's name will be included in the Dateline report. Click on the link for details.

  http://www.inquisitr.com/2991701/pam-candelario-ralph-candelario-dateline-nbc-colorado-man-killed-second-wife-first-wife-still-missing/
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  1

  msn.com: Losing my religion: life after extreme belief - EXPERIENCES OF 3 YOUNG PEOPLE

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/losing-my-religion-life-after-extreme-belief/ar-bbrzkjy?li=aaggnb9.

  megan phelps-roper, 30, a former member of the westboro baptist church.

  my first memories are of picketing ex-servicemen’s funerals and telling their families they were going to burn in hell.

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  AndersonsInfo

  http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/losing-my-religion-life-after-extreme-belief/ar-BBrzKJY?li=AAggNb9

  Megan Phelps-Roper, 30, a former member of the Westboro Baptist Church

  My first memories are of picketing ex-servicemen’s funerals and telling their families they were going to burn in hell. For us, it was a celebration. My gramps was the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, so it wasn’t just our religion – it was our whole life. I don’t remember much before the picketing. I was allowed to mix with other kids early on, but over time my world shrank.

  We believed it was a Good vs Evil situation: that the WBC was right and everybody else was wrong, so there was no questioning. It was a very public war we were waging against the “sinners”. I asked a lot of questions as I got older, but there’s a big difference in asking for clarification and actually questioning the beliefs you’re taught. READ MORE

  Deborah Feldman, 29, ex-Satmar Hasidic Jew

  Imad Iddine Habib, 26, ex-Salafi Muslim

  READ MORE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES OF ALL THREE OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE:

  http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/losing-my-religion-life-after-extreme-belief/ar-BBrzKJY?li=AAggNb9
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  36

  Article from Jamaica: Jehovah's Witnesses' properties for sale - Rising costs force religious group to go small

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20160410/jehovahs-witnesses-properties-sale-rising-costs-force-religious-group-go-small jehovah's witnesses' properties for sale - rising costs force religious group to go small.

  sunday | april 10, 2016 | 12:00 am by erica virtue.

  norman grindley.

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  AndersonsInfo

  http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20160410/jehovahs-witnesses-properties-sale-rising-costs-force-religious-group-go-small

  Jehovah's Witnesses' properties for sale - Rising costs force religious group to go small

  
  

  Sunday | April 10, 2016 | 12:00 AM by Erica Virtue

  

  Norman Grindley

  The Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall on Cowper Drive which is up for sale.

  A cash crunch is forcing the Jehovah's Witnesses Church in Jamaica to join its colleagues around the world in offloading some of its real estate as part of cost-saving measures.

  The church is selling some of its larger temples and other buildings, as it tries to operate from smaller, less expensive, and easier to maintain facilities.

  One large temple, located on Cowper Drive, close to Washington Boulevard in St Andrew, is among the properties on sale, and sources say the religious group is asking $45 million for the property.

  Four other auditoriums, on Elletson Road and Giltress Street in east Kingston, one in Waterhouse, and one in August Town, St Andrew, are also up for sale.

  A local Witness, who asked not to be named as he is not an official spokesperson for the religious group, told The Sunday Gleaner that some local properties have already been sold while others are on offer to the highest bidder.

  HIGH OVERHEADS

  According to the Witness, high overheads forced the religious body to take the action.

  "Maintenance and electricity costs are killers. And the improvements in technology have made it easier for communication between individuals, and so staffing for the temples became redundant," said the Witness.

  When our news team contacted the headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States, a representative said he was not an official spokesperson for the religious group and could not speak on the record.

  "All the answers you are seeking can be found on our website. With respect to Jamaica, go to the website and use the search facility, enter yearbook, branch consolidation and you should get an answer," said the representative.

  But no information specific to the sale of the properties in Jamaica was found.

  The religious group had previously announced that as of September 2012, the oversight of more than 20 of its branch offices would be closed and transferred to larger branches.

  "In recent years, improvements in communications and printing technology have reduced the need for personnel in some branches. With fewer people working at larger branches, room became available that could be used for housing some who were working in smaller branches in other countries," said the Witness who spoke with our news team.

  According to the organisation's website, "Because of the mergers, qualified ministers who had been serving in small branches can now concentrate on preaching the good news."

  The group, whose members are well known for their door-to-door preaching and distribution of the Watchtower and Awake magazines, has also seen a scaling down of this activity, particularly in the Corporate Area, in recent times.

  Younger Witnesses are "studying and securing jobs for themselves and their families, so the large numbers are not there anymore. But we still have Witnesses," said one local member of the church.

  At the last check, in 2011, Jamaica recorded 50,849 Jehovah's Witnesses, up from 44,203 10 years earlier.
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  19

  JW to be banned in Russia soon?

  by I am a Bible Student in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i saw this on jw.org today:.

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  AndersonsInfo

  https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/13713.2.0.0/religion/the-kremlin-cracks-down-on-religious-liberty

  The Kremlin Cracks Down on Religious Liberty

  April 7, 2016 • From theTrumpet.com

  The Russian Orthodox Church has replaced the Communist Party as the ideological glue holding Vladimir Putin’s empire together.

  By Andrew Miiller

  
  

  

  During the Soviet era, thousands of churches were destroyed and millions of Christians were persecuted. Communist textbooks called religion “the opium of the people” and Christianity “a perverse reflection on the world.” In the 24 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, however, Orthodox Christianity has made an astonishing recovery. While only a third of Russians identified as Orthodox in 1991, over two thirds now identify as Russian Orthodox Christians.

  Yet the rise of the Orthodox Church hasn’t brought religious liberty to Russia. It has simply replaced the Communist Party as the ideological state apparatus used to forcibly unite Russians!

  In a court case under way in southern Russia, Viktor Krasnov is facing up to a year in prison for writing “There is no God” on VKontakte (a Russian social media network similar to Facebook). The authorities became aware of this comment when an online user contacted them, claiming that Krasnov was offending Orthodox believers. Police raided Krasnov’s apartment and forced him to undergo a monthlong examination at a psychiatric ward. Once he was deemed fit for trial, he was charged under a Russian law that makes it illegal to insult the feelings of religious believers.

  It isn’t just atheists who are no longer granted religious freedom in Russia. Alexey Koptev was arrested in 2011 after undercover police officers established that he belonged to the Jehovah’s Witnesses Christian denomination. In 2009, the city of Taganrog banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses denomination for propagating the exclusivity and supremacy of its religion. This denomination now shares the same legal status as the Islamic State and the National Socialist Society.

  In 2002, Russia enacted an extremism law with a provision defining religious extremism as “incitement of religious discord” in connection with acts or threats of violence. Five years later, the law was amended to allow prosecution for inciting religious discord even in the absence of any threat or act of violence. Mormons, Scientologists and even Pentecostals are now coming under increasing government pressure.

  In return for public support from Russian Orthodox clergy, President Vladimir Putin attends church services and portrays himself as a defender of “Christian values.” Like the Byzantine emperors and Russian czars before him, he is using a de facto state religion to unify his empire!

  “The Orthodox revival gave Russians an identity after the years of uncertainty that followed the fall of the Soviet Union,” private intelligence company Stratfor wrote last month. “The Kremlin has used this to its advantage, so effectively portraying support for Putin’s government as a religious duty that the church is now seen as part of the state apparatus.”

  Post-Soviet efforts to remake Moscow into a representative government are failing. Russia has embraced an authoritarian leader driven to vaunt his nation back to the great power status he feels it deserves. This development has dangerous implications for the world. Russia is swiftly becoming a nuclear-armed czarist empire!
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  4

  Boston Herald Article: Religious tax exemptions on the line in SJC case

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  comment by david a. reed on the fb page cult awareness network:.

  every church and apologetics ministry should be aware that the same state high court that first imposed gay marriage a decade ago heard arguments yesterday on a case that could result in shutting down churches across massachusetts, by taxing their land and buildings--a move that could be followed by other states, just as in the case of gay marriage: .

  http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/04/religious_tax_exemptions_on_the_line_in_sjc_case.

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  AndersonsInfo

  More links to the story:

  http://radioboston.wbur.org/2016/04/05/mass-supreme-judicial

  https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/04/01/salette-shrine-tax-case-coming-before-sjc/8dHA6uQU5vLx6bQ9yJOqBM/story.html

  
  
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  3

  Steven Hassan's interview on a new fictional cult film, "The Path" Fact-Checked: The Ugly Truth Behind Real-Life Cults

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/the-path-cults.

  the path fact-checked: the ugly truth behind real-life cults .

  part of hassan's interview: "a lot of the older cults that have been around for a really long time, like the jehovah’s witnesses, for example, and even the mormons, are having a really hard time with young people growing up in the age of the internet, because they’ve been basically telling lies to their followers about their history, and now people can easily find out what’s true and not true, and look at their own literature and copies of their own literature.

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  AndersonsInfo

  http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/the-path-cults

  The Path Fact-Checked: The Ugly Truth Behind Real-Life Cults

  Part of Hassan's interview: "A lot of the older cults that have been around for a really long time, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, and even the Mormons, are having a really hard time with young people growing up in the age of the Internet, because they’ve been basically telling lies to their followers about their history, and now people can easily find out what’s true and not true, and look at their own literature and copies of their own literature. It’s causing massive defections, which is very interesting for me."
• 
  3

  Steven Hassan's interview on a new fictional cult film, "The Path" Fact-Checked: The Ugly Truth Behind Real-Life Cults

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the path.

  march 30, 2016 .

  the path fact-checked: the ugly truth behind real-life cults .

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  AndersonsInfo

  THE PATH

  March 30, 2016

  The Path Fact-Checked: The Ugly Truth Behind Real-Life Cults

  http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/the-path-cults

  "A lot of the older cults that have been around for a really long time, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, and even the Mormons, are having a really hard time with young people growing up in the age of the Internet, because they’ve been basically telling lies to their followers about their history, and now people can easily find out what’s true and not true, and look at their own literature and copies of their own literature. It’s causing massive defections, which is very interesting for me."
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  6

  USA Today article: Majority of people in Scotland have no religion

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/04/05/scotland-majority-no-religion/82660980/.

  majority of people in scotland have no religion.

  trevor grundy, religion news service 6:47 p.m. edt april 5, 2016. .

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  AndersonsInfo

  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/04/05/scotland-majority-no-religion/82660980/

  Majority of people in Scotland have no religion

  Trevor Grundy, Religion News Service 6:47 p.m. EDT April 5, 2016

  

  Sheep graze at the base of Ben Nevis in Scotland.(Photo: Lisa Marie Pane, AP)

  37 CONNECTTWEET 1 LINKEDIN 18 COMMENTEMAILMORE

  CANTERBURY, England — More than half of the 5.4 million people living in Scotland have no religion, according to a survey published by Scottish Social Attitudes.

  The 52% of unaffiliated Scots represents a 12% jump from 16 years ago, when 40% of survey respondents said they had no religious affiliation.

  The proportion of people who say they belong to the Church of Scotland — the Presbyterian Church that for so long dominated almost every aspect of life in that country — has fallen dramatically, to just 20%, down from 39% of the population in 1999.

  "The survey’s findings show that Scottish commitment to religion, both in terms of our willingness to say we belong to a religion and to attend religious services, is in decline," said Ian Montagu, a researcher at ScotCen Social research in Edinburgh, which runs the annual surveys.

  Montagu added that the change doesn't appear to be affecting all religions equally.

  "Affiliation with the Church of Scotland is in decline while levels of identification with other religions remains relatively unchanged," he said

  After the Church of Scotland, the largest Christian group is the Roman Catholic Church. Its numbers have recently been boosted by an influx of people from the European Union, particularly Poland.

  The 2015 survey interviewed 1,288 people between July 2015 and January 2016.

  “We are developing fresh expressions of church alongside traditional forms in order to engage with people,” said Colin Sinclair, convener of the Church of Scotland’s Mission and Discipleship Council. “We have contacted those who have stopped attending church but want to hang on to their Christian faith. We want to hear their stories and understand the lessons we can learn from them.”
• 
  4

  Boston Herald Article: Religious tax exemptions on the line in SJC case

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  comment by david a. reed on the fb page cult awareness network:.

  every church and apologetics ministry should be aware that the same state high court that first imposed gay marriage a decade ago heard arguments yesterday on a case that could result in shutting down churches across massachusetts, by taxing their land and buildings--a move that could be followed by other states, just as in the case of gay marriage: .

  http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/04/religious_tax_exemptions_on_the_line_in_sjc_case.

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  AndersonsInfo

  Comment by David A. Reed on the FB page Cult Awareness Network:

  Every church and apologetics ministry should be aware that the same state high court that first imposed gay marriage a decade ago heard arguments yesterday on a case that could result in shutting down churches across Massachusetts, by taxing their land and buildings--a move that could be followed by other states, just as in the case of gay marriage:

  http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/04/religious_tax_exemptions_on_the_line_in_sjc_case

  Religious tax exemptions on the line in SJC case

  Bob McGovern Saturday, April 02, 2016

  A blockbuster Supreme Judicial Court case involving an iconic Attleboro shrine could lead to property taxes on every church, synagogue and mosque in Massachusetts.

  The case, slated to be heard Tuesday, stems from a decision by Attleboro officials to tax portions of the National Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette for fiscal year 2013.

  Tax assessors found that many buildings comprising LaSalette’s massive shrine — including a former convent, a maintenance shed and all of the land surrounding the buildings — were not exempt from taxation under a long-standing state law, according to court documents.

  Attleboro’s argument relies on the interpretation of a portion of state law, known as “Clause Eleventh,” which specifically deals with tax exemptions and religious institutions. The city argues that all property in the Bay State should “bear its fair and proportionate tax burden, and that property owned by religious organizations not be singled out for benefits not afforded to other secular entities.”

  Religious leaders, needless to say, are taking umbrage with that stance.

  “I am concerned that an adverse ruling here could force houses of worship to close down,” said the Rev. Laura Everett, head of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. “It’s a pretty significant case. There is a lot on the line here.”

  The city of Attleboro found that more than a third of the shrine’s property did not qualify for the religious tax exemption, and billed the church $92,292.98. The shrine fought the case all the way to the SJC, and nearly every religious sect in the state has filed amicus briefs in support.

  “There are religious organizations across the commonwealth that depend on the exemption. If they are denied the exemption they risk not being able to maintain their property or stay in being,” said Heidi Nadel, an attorney who wrote on behalf of 12 religious organizations, ranging from the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

  The Roman Catholic Church filed a separate brief pointing out that religious institutions could be forced to cut back on charitable services — activities that sometimes take place on property that may be deemed taxable.

  “Religious institutions have long dedicated their resources and efforts to better our communities and the lives of all citizens in the Commonwealth,” attorney Felicia H. Ellsworth wrote in the brief.

  “The General Court, like the legislature of every other state in the union, exempts religious institutions from taxation in recognition and appreciation of these important services.”

  Attleboro’s attorneys, who declined to comment, argued in court that a tax exempt “house of religious worship” does not extend to the entire piece of property where it sits.

  But an attorney for LaSalette said narrowing state law to fit that definition could have disastrous results. “Every community is trying to raise as much tax revenue as possible, but our position is that they stepped over the line and they are taxing things that are clearly part of the shrine religious worship mission,” said Diane C. Tillotson, the shrine’s attorney.

  “It could be a huge financial hit,” she said, “and it’s not unique to one religion.”