Posts by AndersonsInfo

10

FBI 1941 J. Edgar Hoover on Rutherford

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

today i loaded onto my blog a letter issued by j. edgar hoover making a recommendation about j. f. rutherford, then president of watchtower.

my blog entry is titled fbi 1941 j. edgar hoover on rutherford, and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/02/fbi-1941-j-edgar-hoover-on-rutherford.html.

marvin shilmer.

What sort of person is GB member Guy Pierce?

by VM44 in

jw
friends

does anyone know anything about the gb member guy pierce?.

what is his background?.

what sort of personality does he have?.

The following statement is misleading: "Guy Pierce raised a family and then with his wife started pioneering in April 1982. He served as a circuit overseer from 1986 until 1997, when he and his wife, Penny."

I was told that Penny, an Asian woman, is Pierce's second wife and that's the wife he started to pioneer with in April 1982. His first marriage ended in a bitter divorce. Pierce had to appear before a judicial committee because of accusations made by his wife which the committee counseled him for, but no action was taken against him. I know some of the details but prefer not to air them because there are two sides to every story. I don't know how many children Pierce has and don't know if any of his first family are, any longer, JWs. If what I write is monitored by anybody in Bethel it is my hope that someone will remind Guy that nothing in this group remains secret forever, especially since so many elders are leaving the organization that know what went on in committee hearings and are beginning to share the secrets.

In my article, "Discoveries of Barbara Anderson," http://www.freeminds.org/organization/barbara-anderson/the-discoveries-of-barbara-anderson.html, I said the following:

"Within the inner sanctums of congregations and circuits, dirty little secrets continued, and, for some unknown reason, protection of abusers was business as usual. One particularly nasty secret concerned personal instructions sent out in 1992 from one of the Governing Body members, who Harry was certain was Ted Jaracz, to a few very well-known circuit and district overseers to meet with and compel abuse victims to remain silent about their abuse or be disfellowshipped. In Harry Peloyan’s office in 1994, I, along with my husband, Joe, thumbed through a file folder full of complaining letters, which came to headquarters from across the country about the situation. Interestingly, the name of one intimidating circuit representative mentioned frequently in those letters is now a member of the Governing Body."

I've identified that circuit overseer in other articles or blogs as Guy Pierce, who was called into Bethel by Jaracz when too many complaints came into Bethel about his participation in the persecution of child abuse victims. Pierce was assigned to the Service Department where he was scrutinized to see if he was 100% a company man and remained there until being appointed one of the GB.

1093

THE NEWS IS BIGGER THAN DATELINE, BBC, CBC, ETC.

by AndersonsInfo in

if i told you that something bigger is on the horizon than dateline, bbc, cbc, sunday (australia), and all other tv programs which exposed the sexual child abuse cover-up by watchtower in 2002-2003, would you believe me?

have i ever misled you?

i'll answer that--no!

AndersonsInfo

slimboyfat: In reply to your question: No reason. His name Pierce.

53

Here's an update to what has happened since I used the words, "Big News," five years ago

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/103353/1/the-news-is-bigger-than-dateline-bbc-cbc-etc.

as many of you know, i made the "big news" statement when kerry louderback-wood's scholarly article about watch tower's blood misrepresentation that was published in the journal of church and state was just about to be published.

i was excited about it because lives were at stake and weve never had such an article before to be able to use to show how the watch tower misrepresents the blood issue through its literature and people die because of it.

AndersonsInfo

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/103353/1/THE-NEWS-IS-BIGGER-THAN-DATELINE-BBC-CBC-ETC

As many of you know, I made the "Big News" statement when Kerry Louderback-Wood's scholarly article about Watch Tower's blood misrepresentation that was published in the Journal of Church and State was just about to be published. I was excited about it because lives were at stake and we’ve never had such an article before to be able to use to show how the Watch Tower misrepresents the blood issue through its literature and people die because of it. Since then, media and countries around the world appear to be latching on to the idea of how the Watch Tower misrepresents. (I say “appear” because I don’t discuss on a discussion board inside information and no one should expect me to in light of the fact that Watch Tower monitors these boards.)

Though it may be slow, the wheels of justice do grind. And, Watch Tower has made a few steps in the right direction in light of the fact that blood transfusions are now said publicly to be a conscience matter and many elders have a “Don’t ask, don’t tell policy.”

Shortly after my prediction that this tiny article in a dusty, uncommon journal would be “Big News,” it became big news to us who have never been very successful in getting the media to pay attention to the significant number of people who die due to Watch Tower's blood ban.

It was wonderful that the Associated Press did a feature article that was picked up by many newspapers across the country. It ran in the religion sections, with Kerry's picture front and center in many newspapers, along with a caption such as "Trials of Transfusions" and "Jehovah's Witnesses to Recite New Blood Directive." The article even appeared in our home town paper and did that ever tick off the local JWs. The article discussed problems in the blood doctrine, and featured Kerry's article, comments, and also comments from the late Ray Franz. Kerry still continues to speak with the press. She went on the Mark Fuhrman radio show, Irish Radio, BBC, and a few others.

This media coverage caused many people, followers and non-followers, to call into Bethel by the hundreds. It is my understanding from sources inside Bethel that her article caused an uproar. One Governing Body member immediately assigned his wife in the Hospital Dept. to start researching, and within months, an article appeared.

One of the most damming things written in Kerry’s article was that Jehovah's Witnesses were never officially told that the fraction hemoglobin was acceptable by personal decision. The last official pronouncement from the Watch Tower in its general literature was that hemoglobin was not permitted by a true Christian. This was contrary to many scholarly medical journals which were reporting the outcome of individual Jehovah's Witnesses surviving after receiving hemoglobin through the help of the Hospital Liaison Committee. This caused Bethel's Writing Department to immediately correct the situation by writing the August 2006 Awake! cover series on blood which finally officially told followers that hemoglobin was allowed by personal decision.

The article also admitted that more and more fractions are now made of blood. The writers did not go as far as we liked and admit that all blood can be fractionalized, but it's a good start. I wonder how many lives have been saved because the rank and file now know that hemoglobin and fractions are an option? Of coarse, the August 2006 Awake! did suggest that followers not speak to each other about blood fraction acceptance because it might stumble others. I'm sure that must have caused a few Jehovah's Witnesses to feel uncomfortable and controlled.

Since the "Big News," an Alberta Appeals court decided that people could sue the Watch Tower for secular misrepresentations of blood made by Watch Tower. This was the crux of the scholarly article.

Canada has had a few cases dealing with the blood issue - and one of the most notable was when Canada's first sextuplets were born. They made big news, both because they were Canada's first sextuplets, born very prematurely, and likely would need blood to survive. Kerry was interviewed by many people, including the Canadian National Press to get the world out. Her arguments were quoted in Macleans Magazine, which is akin to our Time Magazine. It was national news in Canada, perhaps before you joined as a member of JWN.

I do believe this “Big News” essay in the Journal of Church and State has been used by a few countries in helping them determine national medical policies for Jehovah's Witnesses. There's evidence that Russia's recent ban of Jehovah's Witnesses was based much upon the Watch Tower’s blood policies and its problems. I do know for certain that Russians in the know were aware of the article.

While Kerry and I speak frequently, I can not get any information out of her. She is an attorney and tight lipped by nature, and not inclined to give out information about all she does behind the scenes.

If you know anything about law, you know that it takes decades to change it. Think of how long it took people to sue and win against cigarette makers. There were a lot more people who smoked and directly died from cigarette smoke than died from the Watch Tower's blood policy. Because of the high cost of litigation in the United States, and this is breaking new ground in law, the 'as near as perfect' case needs to be found.

This article is discussed on www.ajwrb.org, which is a place many Jehovah's Witnesses, doctors, and legal and medical professionals are directed to when searching the Internet for "Jehovah's Witnesses and Blood." In fact, AJWRB receives the most hits daily, I was told, than any other XJW website.

I never claimed to have a means of looking into the future, but I have had lots of experience with causing the Watch Tower’s public image to dip (bad image, no converts), and the fact that countries are looking at Kerry’s article, media has latched on to it, and one case won at Appeals, is more then could be expected in this short time, and especially from an article in a “dusty old law journal."

If it bothers a few of you that I used the words, “Big News,” and your expectations were dashed because the news wasn’t what you wanted or expected, I’m sorry. However, I can’t please everybody, but to me Kerry’s article was and still is “Big News,” news the Watch Tower still hates that it made the light of day. That article caused fear in the Hospital Department in Bethel and fear in the hearts of the then Governing Body. How do I know? Because, at that time, I had friends in high places. I still use Kerry’s article behind the scenes to prove what a fraud that 1990 blood booklet was, which proves that the Watch Tower, who published those lies, allowed simple people, who unknowingly believed the manipulation of facts, to die.

In the past five years, the subject of the “Big News” has a number of times been referenced in jokes or derision on this discussion board. I have tried to look at what I did from the side of those who were critical and so will not repeat in the future the words I said at that time if I have what I consider important news. Many of us do the best we can to expose the deceit of the Watch Tower, yet it never seems to satisfy some who are persistently critical. I guess that’s human nature, or worse—maybe it's an ulterior motive to discredit us. And I don’t wonder for very long who that might be.

Barbara

1093

THE NEWS IS BIGGER THAN DATELINE, BBC, CBC, ETC.

by AndersonsInfo in

if i told you that something bigger is on the horizon than dateline, bbc, cbc, sunday (australia), and all other tv programs which exposed the sexual child abuse cover-up by watchtower in 2002-2003, would you believe me?

have i ever misled you?

i'll answer that--no!

AndersonsInfo

As many of you know, I made the "Big News" statement when Kerry Louderback-Wood's scholarly article about Watch Tower's blood misrepresentation that was published in the Journal of Church and State was just about to be published. I was excited about it because lives were at stake and we’ve never had such an article before to be able to use to show how the Watch Tower misrepresents the blood issue through its literature and people die because of it. Since then, media and countries around the world appear to be latching on to the idea of how the Watch Tower misrepresents. (I say “appear” because I don’t discuss on a discussion board inside information and no one should expect me to in light of the fact that Watch Tower monitors these boards.)

Though it may be slow, the wheels of justice do grind. And, Watch Tower has made a few steps in the right direction in light of the fact that blood transfusions are now said publicly to be a conscience matter and many elders have a “Don’t ask, don’t tell policy.”

Shortly after my prediction that this tiny article in a dusty, uncommon journal would be “Big News,” it became big news to us who have never been very successful in getting the media to pay attention to the significant number of people who die due to Watch Tower's blood ban.

It was wonderful that the Associated Press did a feature article that was picked up by many newspapers across the country. It ran in the religion sections, with Kerry's picture front and center in many newspapers, along with a caption such as "Trials of Transfusions" and "Jehovah's Witnesses to Recite New Blood Directive." The article even appeared in our home town paper and did that ever tick off the local JWs. The article discussed problems in the blood doctrine, and featured Kerry's article, comments, and also comments from the late Ray Franz. Kerry still continues to speak with the press. She went on the Mark Fuhrman radio show, Irish Radio, BBC, and a few others.

This media coverage caused many people, followers and non-followers, to call into Bethel by the hundreds. It is my understanding from sources inside Bethel that her article caused an uproar. One Governing Body member immediately assigned his wife in the Hospital Dept. to start researching, and within months, an article appeared.

One of the most damming things written in Kerry’s article was that Jehovah's Witnesses were never officially told that the fraction hemoglobin was acceptable by personal decision. The last official pronouncement from the Watch Tower in its general literature was that hemoglobin was not permitted by a true Christian. This was contrary to many scholarly medical journals which were reporting the outcome of individual Jehovah's Witnesses surviving after receiving hemoglobin through the help of the Hospital Liaison Committee. This caused Bethel's Writing Department to immediately correct the situation by writing the August 2006 Awake! cover series on blood which finally officially told followers that hemoglobin was allowed by personal decision.

The article also admitted that more and more fractions are now made of blood. The writers did not go as far as we liked and admit that all blood can be fractionalized, but it's a good start. I wonder how many lives have been saved because the rank and file now know that hemoglobin and fractions are an option? Of coarse, the August 2006 Awake! did suggest that followers not speak to each other about blood fraction acceptance because it might stumble others. I'm sure that must have caused a few Jehovah's Witnesses to feel uncomfortable and controlled.

Since the "Big News," an Alberta Appeals court decided that people could sue the Watch Tower for secular misrepresentations of blood made by Watch Tower. This was the crux of the scholarly article.

Canada has had a few cases dealing with the blood issue - and one of the most notable was when Canada's first sextuplets were born. They made big news, both because they were Canada's first sextuplets, born very prematurely, and likely would need blood to survive. Kerry was interviewed by many people, including the Canadian National Press to get the world out. Her arguments were quoted in Macleans Magazine, which is akin to our Time Magazine. It was national news in Canada, perhaps before you joined as a member of JWN.

I do believe this “Big News” essay in the Journal of Church and State has been used by a few countries in helping them determine national medical policies for Jehovah's Witnesses. There's evidence that Russia's recent ban of Jehovah's Witnesses was based much upon the Watch Tower’s blood policies and its problems. I do know for certain that Russians in the know were aware of the article.

While Kerry and I speak frequently, I can not get any information out of her. She is an attorney and tight lipped by nature, and not inclined to give out information about all she does behind the scenes.

If you know anything about law, you know that it takes decades to change it. Think of how long it took people to sue and win against cigarette makers. There were a lot more people who smoked and directly died from cigarette smoke than died from the Watch Tower's blood policy. Because of the high cost of litigation in the United States, and this is breaking new ground in law, the 'as near as perfect' case needs to be found.

This article is discussed on www.ajwrb.org, which is a place many Jehovah's Witnesses, doctors, and legal and medical professionals are directed to when searching the Internet for "Jehovah's Witnesses and Blood." In fact, AJWRB receives the most hits daily, I was told, than any other XJW website.

I never claimed to have a means of looking into the future, but I have had lots of experience with causing the Watch Tower’s public image to dip (bad image, no converts), and the fact that countries are looking at Kerry’s article, media has latched on to it, and one case won at Appeals, is more then could be expected in this short time, and especially from an article in a “dusty old law journal."

If it bothers a few of you that I used the words, “Big News,” and your expectations were dashed because the news wasn’t what you wanted or expected, I’m sorry. However, I can’t please everybody, but to me Kerry’s article was and still is “Big News,” news the Watch Tower still hates that it made the light of day. That article caused fear in the Hospital Department in Bethel and fear in the hearts of the then Governing Body. How do I know? Because, at that time, I had friends in high places. I still use Kerry’s article behind the scenes to prove what a fraud that 1990 blood booklet was, which proves that the Watch Tower, who published those lies, allowed simple people, who unknowingly believed the manipulation of facts, to die.

In the past five years, the subject of the “Big News” has a number of times been referenced in jokes or derision on this discussion board. I have tried to look at what I did from the side of those who were critical and so will not repeat in the future the words I said at that time if I have what I consider important news. Many of us do the best we can to expose the deceit of the Watch Tower, yet it never seems to satisfy some who are persistently critical. I guess that’s human nature, or worse—maybe it's an ulterior motive to discredit us. And I don’t wonder for very long who that might be.

Barbara

12

In Russia: 17 hearings already

by AndersonsInfo in

instancebegin template="/templates/f18template.dwt" codeoutsidehtmlislocked="false" instancebegineditable name="doctitle" instanceendeditable instancebegineditable name="head" instanceendeditable instanceparam name="rightsidebar" type="boolean" value="true" .

homeforum 18f18newssearch/archivecontact .

download pdf printer-friendly view subscribe to f18news.

AndersonsInfo

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This article was published by F18News on: 11 February 2011

RUSSIA: 17 hearings already, more to come

By Rosemary Griffin, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>

When the trial resumes in Gorno-Altaisk of Jehovah's Witness Aleksandr Kalistratov on extremism-related charges on 14 February, it will be the 18th hearing in the case, which began in October 2010. It is already the longest running case of its kind in the court, but a court spokesperson refused to explain to Forum 18 News Service why it is taking so long. Jehovah's Witnesses spokesperson Grigory Martynov told Forum 18 it is expensive for Kalistratov's lawyers to travel repeatedly from St. Petersburg to Gorno-Altaisk, but insisted "it is a material issue to fight this case". Other Jehovah's Witnesses are facing similar charges. Also due to resume on 16 February in Dagestan is the criminal trial of Ziyavdin Dapayev, a reader of the works of Muslim theologian Said Nursi. Further Jehovah's Witness publications were added in January to the Federal List of Extremist Materials, which already includes many of Nursi's writings.

Two criminal trials are set to resume within days in the latest phase of the Russian authorities' clampdown on religious activity which they link to extremism. The 18th hearing in the trial of Aleksandr Kalistratov, a Jehovah's Witness accused of distributing "extremist literature", is set for 14 February at Gorno-Altaisk City Court, the court website states. Meanwhile in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the trial of Ziyavdin Dapayev, a reader of the works of the late Turkish Muslim theologian Said Nursi, is due to resume on 16 February, a court official told Forum 18 News Service. He is accused of planning to set up a branch of the illegal Nurdzhular movement, an organisation which Nursi readers insist does not exist.

Further trials against Jehovah's Witnesses charged with the same offence are on hold until the Gorno-Altaisk court reaches a verdict. Among recent new cases, Yelena Grigoryevna, a Jehovah's Witness from Astrakhan Region, is facing prosecution for alleged extremism under Article 282 of the Criminal Code, according to a statement from the Astrakhan branch of the Russian Investigative Committee. Grigoryeva is accused of sharing her beliefs with people living in the Akhtubinsk District between January and September 2010, as well as distributing printed material which is on the Federal List of Extremist Materials. Grigoryeva's house was searched and various materials confiscated (see forthcoming F18News article).

Despite a prominent ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg in 2010 in the organisation's favour, Russia continues to criminalise texts produced by the Jehovah's Witnesses and prosecute individuals for distributing them. Many of Nursi's works have already been banned in Russia.

Jehovah's Witness meetings are frequently raided by the Police and Federal Security Service (FSB). Similar raids take place on meetings of readers of Nursi's works. Some 30 armed officers raided such a meeting in Ulyanovsk on 20 January, using physical force against those present. While many of the participants were detained, Azeri national Rashid Abdullov was arrested and is still in detention (see F18News 4 February 2011 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1536).

Seventeen hearings so far

The trial of Kalistratov, Russia's first Jehovah's Witness to face criminal charges for possession of "extremist" materials, began in October 2010. He is being tried under Article 282, Part 1 of the Criminal Code ("Incitement of hatred [nenavist] or enmity [vrazhda], as well as the humiliation of human dignity"). He faces a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment if convicted. Kalistratov's alleged crime was to order and distribute literature from October 2008 to late 2009 that had previously been ruled extremist by courts in Gorno-Altaisk and Rostov-on-Don. Kalistratov had previously lost his job and been arrested for refusing to serve in the military on grounds of his faith (see F18News 1 December 2010 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1516).

Kalistratov's case is already the longest running case of its kind in the court. A total of 17 hearings plus one initial hearing have taken place since 7 October 2010, the court website reveals. A spokesperson for the court refused to comment to Forum 18 on 28 January on why the case is taking so long to be resolved.

Jehovah's Witnesses spokesperson Grigory Martynov added that the February hearings are scheduled to last a week. "It's not known if it will continue after that or not," he said.

Earlier hearings saw all the witnesses for the prosecution testify as well as some witnesses for the defence. Expert analysis of literature produced by the Jehovah's Witnesses was also presented to the court.

Jehovah's Witnesses are facing a huge financial cost of defending Kalistratov at the trial in Gorno-Altaisk, a region located in the far east of Russia, over 3,000 kms (1,900 miles) from Moscow. Kalistratov's lawyers travel from St. Petersburg for each hearing. "Of course it's not a simple problem, and it is a material issue to fight this case," Martynov insisted.

Testifying earlier in the trial, Head of the Department for Religious Issues at the Office of the Russian Ombudsman for Human Rights Mikhail Odintsov described the expert analysis supposedly proving the texts distributed by Kalistratov to be extremist as "unscientific". Reliance upon this expert analysis, Odintsov concluded, "is fraught with further miscarriages of justice and may prove a detonator of mass violations of human rights in Russia".

Nursi readers remain a target

The trial of Ziyautdin Dapayev is due to resume on 16 February in the Leninsky District Court in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala, a court official told Forum 18 on 11 February. Dapayev is being prosecuted under Article 282.2, Part 2 of the Criminal Code, which punishes "participation in a banned religious extremist organisation". Prosecutors allege that Dapayev was involved in Nurdzhular, an organisation based on the teaching of Turkish theologian Said Nursi which was banned by Russia's Supreme Court in April 2008. Russia's Nursi readers insist the organisation does not exist.

Many of Nursi's works have been banned by various Russian courts as "extremist" and have been added to the Federal List of Extremist Materials maintained by the Justice Ministry. This began to be issued in 2007 and has been regularly updated since then (see F18News 28 April 2009 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1288).

The Leninsky District Court official, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Forum 18 that the court had ordered a break in proceedings on 10 February, after hearing evidence from 1 February. The official declined to give any further details about the postponement.

Dapayev told Forum 18 on 11 February that so far the trial had heard testimony from witnesses for the prosecution, including members of the local security services, as well as his former friends, who said that he was planning to open a branch of Nurdzhular.

"I don't know why the trial was postponed, perhaps because there are so many witnesses," Dapayev told Forum 18. He also confirmed that members of the local FSB were present in court.

The investigation into Dapayev's activities began in mid December 2009, following a raid on a group of Muslims that had gathered at Dapayev's house. Dapayev freely admits he reads Nursi's works, but denies any extremist activity (see F18News 29 October 2010 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1504).

Number of banned texts continues to increase

The criminalisation of Jehovah's Witnesses' publications in Russia also increased in 2011. A further six of their publications were added to the Federal List of Extremist Materials on 18 January. The updated list, which was posted on the Justice Ministry's website, included a total of nine new texts ruled to be "extremist" in courts across Russia between September and November 2010. In addition to "The Bible: God's Word or Man's?", three editions of "The Watchtower", and two brochures "Keep on the Watch!" and "Awake!" were found to be extremist by a court in Kemerovo on 28 October 2010.

"We only found out about this when it was announced on the Ministry's website," Jehovah's Witnesses spokesperson Martynov told Forum 18. "The Kemerovo Court's decision is a logical continuation of the religious persecution we are suffering," Martynov said. He added that the court did not invite Jehovah's Witnesses to take part in the trial or answer questions about their faith. "We will consult our lawyers and try and have the decision reversed, but yes, it probably means we will have to destroy some of our materials," he told Forum 18.

Martynov said that the total number of items published by the Jehovah's Witnesses on the Federal List is now 52.

No compensation yet for illegal ban

On 10 June 2010 the ECtHR ruled in favour of the Jehovah's Witnesses of Moscow in response to their October 2001 complaint against a ban on the community. In September 2010 the Russian government challenged the verdict, but the Strasbourg court's Grand Chamber rejected the challenge and the ruling became final on 22 November 2010, though this was not announced until 13 December 2010 (see F18News 30 November 2010 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1515).

This ruling seems to have failed to halt the authorities' harassment of the group and further criminalisation of their activities, however. Although the Kemerovo Court ruling, the most recent to criminalise Jehovah's Witnesses material, reached its judgment banning the latest texts before the ECtHR ruling came into effect.

Part of the ECtHR ruling included compensation to be paid to the community by the Russian authorities amounting to 20,000 Euros (781,500 Roubles, 160,870 Norwegian Kroner or 25,280 US Dollars) plus costs of 50,000 Euros (1,953,200 Roubles, 402,225 Norwegian Kroner or 63,200 US Dollars). Compensation is payable within three months of the verdict becoming final, which means it is to be paid by 22 February. Martynov told Forum 18 on 11 February that the organisation has yet to receive this compensation.

Martynov said that as of 11 February, the Russian authorities had so far also failed to re-register the group, despite applications being filed in three Moscow courts and the Justice Ministry. "So far, we have received one response, from the Golovinsky Court, which has scheduled a hearing for 15 February," Martynov told Forum 18 (see forthcoming F18News article). (END)

For more background, see Forum 18's Russia religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1196.

Analysis of the background to Russian policy on "religious extremism" is available in two articles: - 'How the battle with "religious extremism" began' (F18News 27 April 2009 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1287 - and - 'The battle with "religious extremism" - a return to past methods?' (F18News 28 April 2009 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1288).

A personal commentary by Irina Budkina, Editor of the http://www.samstar.ru Old Believer website, about continuing denial of equality to Russia's religious minorities, is at F18News 26 May 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=570.

A personal commentary by Alexander Verkhovsky, Director of the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis http://www.sova-center.ru, about the systemic problems of Russian anti-extremism legislation, is at F18News 19 July 2010 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1468.

Reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Russia can be found at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?query=&religion=all&country=10.

A compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments can be found at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1351.

A printer-friendly map of Russia is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=europe&Rootmap=russi.

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43

Hypocrisy 101 - Watchtower has Payed for College/College Courses for Bethelites!

by Crisis of Conscience in

no you did not read the title wrong.

i was out to eat this weekend with two bethelites.

one gave a talk in my hall and i was invited out to dinner with them by another family in my hall.. as the conversation always turns to "spiritual" things, the subject of education was brought up.

AndersonsInfo

I forgot that Bob (or Rob) Pollock went to college. It wasn't at the same time that Ron Maxwell was sent to university though. Bob went to night classes yet I saw him at work, but his office was located at the other end of the floor where I worked and unless I had to go to that area for any reason, I wouldn't know how much work he missed. Mechanical and structural engineering were down at that end. My office was in the area where the Architectual group was located.

I was assigned to work for Tom Kalimeris, a Greek guy who had studied at a university in Greece to become an architect but he didn't complete his education because he became a Witness. Eventually Tom became a WT missionary and after a few years in his assignment, when so many WT building projects for Brooklyn and Upstate NY were in the planning stage, Tom was invited to Bethel because of his past university training, which he completed in NYC and where he got his degree. Bethel paid the bill.

Barbara

43

Hypocrisy 101 - Watchtower has Payed for College/College Courses for Bethelites!

by Crisis of Conscience in

no you did not read the title wrong.

i was out to eat this weekend with two bethelites.

one gave a talk in my hall and i was invited out to dinner with them by another family in my hall.. as the conversation always turns to "spiritual" things, the subject of education was brought up.

AndersonsInfo

Phil Brumley was Overseer or Coordinator of Legal when we were in Bethel. He was not an attorney, but directed the department. That was the way at Bethel back then. The overseer of the Art Dept. was the former branch overseer of Denmark and couldn't draw a straight line which caused problems in that Department because he could not identify with creative people, but he was a "spiritual man" thereby he was made overseer. The overseer of Photographer was a car mechanic, but that's another story.

I think it was sometime before we left Bethel in the early 90s, that Phil Brumley was sent to Law School. His wife was indeed ill--she suffered from serious depression, but worked in the Accounting Dept. anyway. For the first few years when I was in Writing, I did not know Phil was in Law School because nobody talked about it. When I found out about it, I didn't think there was anything wrong about his going to college since he was in charge of Legal. We saw Phil in court about four years ago. He was one sour apple, and of course, never spoke a word to us. He had turned into a Ted Jaracz in looks and manner. He never was a particularly out-going person; in fact, had the personality of a dead fish, so it didn't surprise me how hard-looking his manner was as I watched him across the court room talking to another attorney.

Before I went into Writing, I was in the Engineering /Drafting Dept. Our overseer was Ronald Maxwell and he was sent to university to become an engineer. I believe he went to school sometime in the mid- or maybe late 70s and it was Max Larson that was responsible for recommending that Ron go to school. At that time the powers that be purchased the Towers Hotel and it needed remodeling, plus there was lots of engineering that needed to be done at the factories. Also, Cohi was beginning to invest money buying buildings for the Watch Tower. Ron and one other Bethelite, Bob Pollock, had a bit of background in drafting and became a drafting team in the Factory, and that was the beginning of a small Engineering Dept. that worked under the direction of the Factory. The need for a licensed Engineer would save the WT money if they did the work themselves so Ron was sent to school.

Ron was not not particularly liked by other Bethelites even when the dept. grew huge while the Brooklyn Bethel expansion took place. He just wasn't managerial material even after some nine years as overseer. After Karl Adams called Ron Maxwell to tell him that I was being transferred to Writing, Ron called me into his office. Then after he told me the news, Ron said he wished he was going into Writing because he was a bookworm and loved to write and worked in a library before he came to Bethel. Ron said he hated engineering and would be happy if he could spend his days in the Writing Dept's library. About four months after I was in Writing, Ron was removed as Overseer of Engineering. This was becasue there were many complaints about his poor communication skills and he had lost control of the troops' respect. Actually, many people in the department were doing things that were not in the best interests of the WT. Ron then was transferred to the Construction Office and became an active engineer advising the overseers of the worldwide construction work, but was never made an overseer again, unless that changed in the late 90s after I no longer had contact with anybody in Bethel because I had left the organization.

Then there was Robert Batko, a Bethelite who worked in Purchasing. He was sent to university to become an estate lawyer. His wife was a secretary in Engineering. Everybody liked Bob who was very friendly. I have no idea why he was chosen to go to university.

Also, we knew Rob ?-- can't remember his last name now. Rob was a paralegal before he came into Bethel. He was a very nice young man who we really liked and had social dealings with him. I guess Rob was sent to law school sometime after we left Bethel but we didn't know that. At the Vicky Boer trial in Toronto around seven-eight years ago, Rob was there representing the WT. At the time we didn't even know he had become a WT attorney. Rob passed us in the distance in the court house lobby and Joe called out to him. He replied that he was not allowed to speak with us and walked on. It was sad because we thought of him as a son when we were in Bethel.

24

Losing My Religion is a New Film being made ...

by sleepingbeauty in

theres a new film in production called ' losingmyreligion'.

its being produced by stephan mcguire who is a proper film producer who happens to have been brought up as a jehovahs witness.

think leonardo dicaprio got something to do with making it too :).

AndersonsInfo

I'd like to hear from some of you about what I called at the end of my post above, the "legal key." This is an important subject, one, I'm told, that we will all be hearing more about in the months to come.

Also, please keep in mind the production of "Losing My Religion" because I've been informed that we will all be reading more and more about it too in the future. This one appears to be for real, folks!

Barbara (Who loves to pass along truthful information about Watch Tower.)

69

Our Stories and Why They Matter

by Farkel in

jw
friends

stories are perhaps the most important thing we can contribute to others in our short life on planet earth.. mind you, i am not saying that stories are the most important things in our lives, because they are not.

the most important things in our lives are experiences, which are moment-by-moment things.

the best we can do with our own experiences is to tell stories about them, which will never convey the actual living of them.

AndersonsInfo

Why don't you write your story and then send me a PM if you want to share it. I can arrange to have the material edited and then it will be posted on www.watchtowerdocuments.com. Just think, your story won't disappear in a few days like it does on a discussion board, but stay on the Watchtower Documents website till time indefinite. Also, if you want to do like the author of the Alan Miller story did, you don't have to include any identifying narrative.

Barbara