Posts by Joe Grundy

49

Contemplating a Major Life Change.

by Joe Grundy in

jw
friends

never was a jw, but been here long enough to have made some friends and respect opinions.. retired in 2004, lived in cyprus 2005-2010. back here in wales since then.. just back from a holiday in france (most recent of many).

love the country, the lifestyle, can get by in the language.. just seen an advert for a country estate (british-owned) they want someone to live on site, do a bit of handyman stuff, etc., look after (mainly brit) holiday visitors in return for zero rent (only utitlties).

family would be abe to come and stay for free.

Joe Grundy

I just re-read my own posts, and now I'm going to respond to them. This might be extremely 'bad form' and etiquette but then, I'm not really whole-heartedly into this electronic and social media stuff anyway - so forgive me.

I have thought through the complications and also realised that unlike many people who contemplate just buggering off, I've done it before, I've lived abroad, so it's no big deal.

I've also realised that although there's only four years between my friend and I chronologically, in reality there's a generation between us. I'm not ready to take my dinner at 6 pm and then watch TV for a couple of hours.

France beckons, and I'm working out some dates. Mid-September is looking good.

74

Breaking News :Charity Commission takes Wathtower to Tribunal in Britain

by raymond frantz in

breaking news :charity commission takes watchtower to charity tribunal in britain.

two weeks ago we run an article about the abuse case in moston manchester congregation .it would seem that the coverage from the main local newspaper manchester evening news and two national newspapers has alarmed the charity commission the official regulator for charities in england and wales and now for the first time !

they opened an official investigation on both charities ,the local one ,moston congragation and the central one jehovah's witnesses of britain indicating that in their eyes these two are connected and liable for any misconduct .this is the time for a concentrated campaign from all of us to inform the charity commission why the watchtower should not be a called a charity .the article above has a link for the charity commission complaint page .follow it!.

Joe Grundy

Further to my previous post re my submissin to the Charities Commission, I received this response (personal rather than automated) yesterday:

"Dear Mr XXXXXXX

I acknowledge receipt of your complaints about Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain.

We do not enter into correspondence about action that we may intend to take or provide updates on the progress of our investigation.

We usually produce a report published on our website about the investigation once it has been concluded.

Our publication CC46 - Statutory Inquiries into Charities: Guidance for charities and their advisers, although aimed at trustees, contains information about our regulatory role and the framework within which we will be carrying out this investigation which you may find useful.

I will contact you if we need any further information from you to assist our enquiries.

Yours sincerely

Harvey Grenville

Investigations and Enforcement

Charity Commission"

I have today sent the following in response:

"Dear Mr Grenville

Thank you for your response.

You will no doubt be aware of the most recent case of a JW 'elder' (leader/pastor) from Barry, South Wales, convicted of abuse - fully reported in both the electronic and paper media. (R -v- Sewell, Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court, conviction date 27 June 2014).

The evidence and the comments made by the trial judge (HHJ Richard Twomlow), and the information which emerged during the trial (but could only be reported after its conclusion) give cause for substantial concern. In particular, that there were organisational factors which led to fellow 'elders' declining to co-operate with the investigation and to records of admissions of abuse being destroyed.

You will, of course, have access to far more detailed information about this case than I do, and I submit that the facts of this case speak eloquently of the concerns I have raised. I commend it to your attention as part of your investigation.

Yours sincerely

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
1 July 2014"

Sorry if the formatting has taken on a mind of its own.

Reported for the information of the forum.

Joe Grundy

49

Contemplating a Major Life Change.

by Joe Grundy in

jw
friends

never was a jw, but been here long enough to have made some friends and respect opinions.. retired in 2004, lived in cyprus 2005-2010. back here in wales since then.. just back from a holiday in france (most recent of many).

love the country, the lifestyle, can get by in the language.. just seen an advert for a country estate (british-owned) they want someone to live on site, do a bit of handyman stuff, etc., look after (mainly brit) holiday visitors in return for zero rent (only utitlties).

family would be abe to come and stay for free.

Joe Grundy

Well, an update on this. No response to the messages I left re this advert but I haven't followed it up. That would have been too easy, I suppose.

Still extremely unsettled. I check out ferry prices/deals daily.

I recently spent a week with my daughter and grandson, including taking him out for the day with xw#1. She also loves France and a couple of years ago contemplated moving there. I talked this through with her, she thinks I should go and she'd love to go too.

I live just 5 mins away from my son, estranged DiL (we all get on fine) and my grand-daughters (4 & 2). They are very special to me (and coming for dinner later today). I would miss them very much.

And there's another complication. I am close to a lady who lives a few hundred miles away. She is a university teacher, separated from her husband, doing her PhD. She would love to move in with me but there's an issue. I am 58 going on 40. She's 60+ going on 60+. Worlds apart, really.

I need to do more thinking. Or I need to do less thinking.

122

Disturbing Footnote in Tomorrow's Study Article...

by HeyThere in

article is basicqlly about families where a spouse is working away from home for an extended period, etc...a foot note says basically that some studies have shown that working away from home can cause serious consequences, such as infidelity, homosexuality, or incest.

.

pull it up on jw.org...that is what it says.

Joe Grundy

About half-way through this discussion, almost unnoticed, 'defender' quoted from OFW reports re Filippino/a workers overseas. That made me think.

While living in CY 2005-2010 I had very close assocations with the local Filippino community (xw#2 was one of them). Most were regular attendees at local churches (RC or evangelical protestant, often interchangable) and quite a few attended KHs with their employers. Many of them were married with children back home (and bear in mind that there is no divorce in the Philippines).

Affairs were common-place. One girl I knew was concurrently having an affair with her employer, a Filippino boyfriend, casual encounters with local guys, and went home to see her husband and child once a year (usually returning pregnant, but her employer 'sorted' that for her). Another very friendly girl married a British guy she met when he came on holiday. She was married in the Phils, and slept with a guy I knew on the night before her wedding and again a week or so later after her new husband had returned to the UK.

I had a Thai girlfriend in CY. One of her co-workers was a great Thai guy with a wife and children back home. When we went places with him e asked for three copies of the photos - one to send to his wife, one for his mia noi (g/f) in another part of Thailand, and one for his g/f in CY. My g/f saw nothing questionable in this, reasoning that he was far from home, he would not see his wife for some time while he was busy earning money for his family, and that a man needed some comfort.

I knew a couple of Filippina lesbian couples. Very stereotypical, with one partner a 'tomboy'. They told me that they couldn't have been as free back home.

I pass no judgement on any of this (I am nobody to judge anyone - 'first stone' and all that). Maybe the same sort of stuff was going on amongst the other foreign worker communities as well.

But it made me think about who these comments by WTBTS were written for. JWs are, for sure, a US based religion but (as I understand it) the same drivel aka mags are exported world-wide. And we know that the growth areas tend to be in the less-developed countries such as the Phils.

The Phils and other countries are dependant on the remittances sent home by foreign workers - but those workers are exposed to outside influences, sight of a better lifestyle, etc.

Could it possibly be that the WT is sending a subliminal message - stay at home, live in relative poverty, but you'll be happy struggling for Jehovah?

(This may be a little cynical, I know, but I am a cynic.)

PS: As an ex-pat I acted differently too.

43

Assembly News Photo

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

this photograph from a news site is a succinct summary of a life in wt's hands....... look at their faces, it says it all.. also, note the watchtower pr machine in action, explaining that it brings 4 million dollars to the location.

(10,000 x 400 dollars) clearly a watchtower statistic, where is the care and interest for members who are struggling so much, with new videos encouraging less career activity, less work commitments, at an all time economic low for our generation.. http://www.standard-freeholder.com/2014/06/15/thousands-attend-watchtower-convention-in-cornwall.

father: "i'm a wt 'yes' man and proud of it!

Joe Grundy

Mom - 'I could have been someone. Where did it go wrong?'

43

Assembly News Photo

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

this photograph from a news site is a succinct summary of a life in wt's hands....... look at their faces, it says it all.. also, note the watchtower pr machine in action, explaining that it brings 4 million dollars to the location.

(10,000 x 400 dollars) clearly a watchtower statistic, where is the care and interest for members who are struggling so much, with new videos encouraging less career activity, less work commitments, at an all time economic low for our generation.. http://www.standard-freeholder.com/2014/06/15/thousands-attend-watchtower-convention-in-cornwall.

father: "i'm a wt 'yes' man and proud of it!

Joe Grundy

These are real people, so it's not really fair to mock them - but I couldn't resist it either.

Man - 'Wow! Look at me wearing a suit and a shirt and tie (wife chose them). And I've got books and papers and I think I'm doing a pretty good job of looking like I understand all this stuff. What a happy family we are! What a patriarch I am!'

Woman - 'What a load of boring crap this is! Why do I have to be here? Why didn't I run away with that 'bad boy' all those years ago when I had the chance? I wish that just once - JUST ONCE - my husband would show a bit of spontaneity and rip my knickers off, give me some oral, and make me feel like a woman. Hmm, that big guy over there looks like he'd do that sort of thing ...'

Kid - 'I feel like a complete prat. What is this rubbish? But at least while I'm here the other kids in school aren't sticking my head down the toilet again. And I've just seen a young sister over there who accidentally showed her thighs. I'll hold onto that image for when I rub one out later ...'

Old Harry's Game

by Joe Grundy in

i don't know whether this link will be available to those outside the uk, but for a completely irreverent and funny listen, try this:.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00c6jfr.

.

Joe Grundy

I don't know whether this link will be available to those outside the UK, but for a completely irreverent and funny listen, try this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00c6jfr

74

Breaking News :Charity Commission takes Wathtower to Tribunal in Britain

by raymond frantz in

breaking news :charity commission takes watchtower to charity tribunal in britain.

two weeks ago we run an article about the abuse case in moston manchester congregation .it would seem that the coverage from the main local newspaper manchester evening news and two national newspapers has alarmed the charity commission the official regulator for charities in england and wales and now for the first time !

they opened an official investigation on both charities ,the local one ,moston congragation and the central one jehovah's witnesses of britain indicating that in their eyes these two are connected and liable for any misconduct .this is the time for a concentrated campaign from all of us to inform the charity commission why the watchtower should not be a called a charity .the article above has a link for the charity commission complaint page .follow it!.

Joe Grundy

This is the text of my submission to the Charities Commission. I have made it clear that I never was a dub and have no connection with them.

"I am a retired Detective Inspector, and a Fraud Squad commander with wide experience in child safeguarding issues. My research into WTBTS gives me grave concern re.

1. Institutional policies regarding how allegations of abuse are dealt with as mandated by the organisation

2. The control exercised by the organisation (WTBTS - 1077961) over local congregations (e.g. 1065201) in relation to this matter

3. The obfuscation caused by the parent organisation as to the status of the leaders of the local organisations. It appears that 'deniable' instructions are issued by the parent organisation and that there is a substantial serious lack of transparent accountability in this area - which, in practice and effect, appears to me to go against recommended best practice.

4. (This is not directly connected to PR 48/14 but may be associated). Very recent financial developments vis-a-vis the parent organisation and local organisations suggest a substantial movement of capital (or at least a transfer on balance sheets) which may substantially affect potential damages/compensation claims against the organisation.

I would be happy to discuss this with you further if it would assist."

I will report back if I am contacted for further information. These concerns are at least now officially recorded.

I am happy to make a further submission - factually based, of course (emotions don't help here) - if I have overlooked something.

44

New Financial Arrangements

by Joe Grundy in

dear friends.

i never was a dub.

i am not a qualified lawyer or accountant.

Joe Grundy

I bow to superior Knowledge here and recognise that there are differences between jurisdictions.

If WTBTS (and/or its tentacles) had formal loan agreements against KHs, they would have been assets on the WTBTS balance sheet, liabilities on the KH balance sheet. If that loan is ;forgiven' legally it reduces the WTBTS assets, reduces the KH liabilty. Replaced by a future (unenforcable?) donation payment by the KH, so WTBTS 'donation' income goes up.

I am trying to think this through. No doubt WTBTS have already done so.

Most times I am happy that I have retired. But just now I feel frustrated that I don't have the facility to get behind all this because there are shenanigans going on for sure.

173

Atlanta Int Convention 2014:The Big Party. Does this look like WT believes Armageddon is coming "soon"?

by AndDontCallMeShirley in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=potrr2qxhue.

.. if armageddon is "imminent", why is wt focused on sight-seeing, entertainment, travel, etc.

instead of preaching and saving people??.

Joe Grundy

i wonder if the mansion in Wales (Anglesey) is simply summer accomodation fir the GB member visiting......

I'll be up that way next month. I'll call in and check it out and report back.