Joe Grundy

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Posts by Joe Grundy

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  38

  I am Going to Send The Following Press Release to UK Media. Please Help.

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i will email this around uk newspapers, even the ones i wouldn't be seen dead reading.

  i have aimed for succinct and non-sensational.. please feel free to use and abuse it if you want, the more emails they all get the more it may catch their attention.. your feedback please before i send it..... .

  the legal corporation that controls the activities of jehovahs witnesses, the watchtower bible and tract society of new york, has been ordered by a californian court to pay $20 000 001 in punitive damages to a victim of child sexual abuse.. the victim candace conti brought the action after the organisation refused to change its official policy of secrecy as to sexual abuse of children by congregation members.

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  Joe Grundy

  SBF: Agreed - she may provide a good 'in'.
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  38

  I am Going to Send The Following Press Release to UK Media. Please Help.

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i will email this around uk newspapers, even the ones i wouldn't be seen dead reading.

  i have aimed for succinct and non-sensational.. please feel free to use and abuse it if you want, the more emails they all get the more it may catch their attention.. your feedback please before i send it..... .

  the legal corporation that controls the activities of jehovahs witnesses, the watchtower bible and tract society of new york, has been ordered by a californian court to pay $20 000 001 in punitive damages to a victim of child sexual abuse.. the victim candace conti brought the action after the organisation refused to change its official policy of secrecy as to sexual abuse of children by congregation members.

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  Joe Grundy

  Cofty: Maybe also to Reuters/PA?

  I believe that Betsan Powys is now political correspondent for BBC Wales.

  More power to your elbow.
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  106

  Plaintiff awarded in punitive damages -21M & 1 dollar. Total award, 28M & 1 dollar. Here's more info

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  the plaintiff, candace conti's goal from the very beginning was to bring enough attention to this problem to incentivize watchtower to change its policy of secrecy.

  the award can be explained as it was decided: separate compensatory and punitive damages.

  the punitive award is established in law to punish wrongdoing - here, the conscious disregard for others - and deter that conduct in the future.

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  Joe Grundy

  As far as I can see from the court documents, the claim for punitive damages was only against WTBTS NY. Thus their 'share' is 27% of $7m plus $21m = $21.89m. The financial data they filed with the court suggests that there should be no problem collecting that.
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  49

  Bill Bowen Just Posted This on Facebook Moments Ago

  by jamiebowers in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jane doe vs the watch tower in the oakland, ca case was awarded $20 million in punitive damages..

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  Joe Grundy

  JW Facts: Re your post above - as far as I can see from the court documents, the claim for punitive damages was only against WTBTS NY. Thus their 'share' is 27% of $7m plus $21m = $21.89. The financial data they filed with the court suggests that there should be no problem collecting that.

  It also suggests that had all defendants been worthy of pursuing for punitive damages the jury had in mind a figure of $80m or so.
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  61

  Brits

  by NewChapter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hear americans called yanks---and it never even made me blink an eye.

  so i'm not sure---and almost used the term brits a minute ago and edited to say british people.

  so tell me----is it offensive?

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  Joe Grundy

  PS: Re the often-quoted apocryphal story of Welsh-speaking people who start speaking Welsh to discomfort non-Wesh speakers. I've never experienced it but can't deny it ever happens. If you speak a little Welsh (as I do) you can discomfort those doing this because they can't discern just how much you know.

  For 10 years I worked at Police HQ where most of the staff were (first language) Welsh speakers. I wasn't. But out of politeness they switched to English when I was there. When it came to work stuff, like locking up lawyers and other professionals, English was the first language.
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  61

  Brits

  by NewChapter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hear americans called yanks---and it never even made me blink an eye.

  so i'm not sure---and almost used the term brits a minute ago and edited to say british people.

  so tell me----is it offensive?

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  Joe Grundy

  Cedars: Well, if you want real local perspective we have to talk of local Pembrokeshire dialect. I'm no expert in this but my sister-in-law (one of 13 children) is related to/went to school with/knows through marriage almost the whole popoulation here.

  One of my favourite local word is 'buddle', which means 'busy doing nothing'. As in 'I had a buddle, then I had a rest, then I buddled some more''.

  Or 'clever twp' which means someone who appears to be stupid, retarded, but when you walk away after doing a deal you realise he was much smarter than you!

  And thinking about it, this may be the best way to deal with dubs who call at your door. Outwardly daft and accepting, but then coming out with the 'killer question' that makes them think!
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  61

  Brits

  by NewChapter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hear americans called yanks---and it never even made me blink an eye.

  so i'm not sure---and almost used the term brits a minute ago and edited to say british people.

  so tell me----is it offensive?

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  Joe Grundy

  NewChapter: Sorry, may have taken this off-topic. But maybe it will help to explain why the concepts of UK/GB are so complicated.

  Cheers/ Iechyd da!

  Joe
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  61

  Brits

  by NewChapter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hear americans called yanks---and it never even made me blink an eye.

  so i'm not sure---and almost used the term brits a minute ago and edited to say british people.

  so tell me----is it offensive?

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• 

  Joe Grundy

  Cedars: I agree with the sentiments in your post.

  I am not a Welsh speaker, although I can understand some and use it in very limited conversation. My daughter-in-law's first language is Welsh, and on rare occasions she has to stop and think and translate her thoughts into English because the Welsh word or concept does not exactly convey the meaning. The Welsh word 'hiraeth' for example has no direct translation but means 'the homesickness for Wales felt by those who are not there and miss the country and it's culture' - whether that's geographical or historical.

  My father was a Welsh speaker, although he rarely used it and it was discouraged throughout his education. His father owned and ran the village shop ('Pandy Stores') during the '30s depression and after in a small mining village near Port Talbot - Pontrhydyfen. The family still have the old shop ledgers, including notes saying 'sorry we can't pay the two shillings off our bill this week but could we please have a quarter of a pound of tea and some butter'. Times were very different then. One of the families in the village was the Jenkins, whose most famous son Dickie became world-famous as Richard Burton.

  I went to a grammar school in Pembs in the late 60s/early 70s. Welsh was not an option.

  Now, there is an upsurge in the Welsh language, but the biggest increase (I understand) is in new learners who have chosen to settle in Wales from elsewhere. It is 'politically correct' to learn Welsh, and there is a strong and influential movement within Wales (nicknamed the 'Taffia'). BBC and S4c are examples.

  I hate to think of the amount of money we waste in being bilingual. Every roadsign, all government documents (my driving licence, HMRC tax papers, council tax demands, etc.) must by law be bilingual. My own view is that there are no residents of Wales who do not understand English.

  I hope that my grand-daughters will be brought up to be bi-lingual. That is their heritage and I do my part by reading them bedtime stories in Welsh as far as I can.

  Sorry, this is turning out to be a far longer post than I intended but it's a complicated issue. It's not quite true to say that Welshness increases the farther west you go. I live in Pembrokeshire (as far west as you can go). Here, the south of the county is English but there is adefinite line (the 'Landsker' line) north of which you are in Welsh territory. And, of course, the Welsh spoken in North Wales (esp. Ynys Mon) is quite different from the Welsh spoken here.

  There is a legal requirement here for Welsh to be taught in schools and there are 'Welsh medium' schools where every subject is taught in Welsh.

  But I agree with the thrust of your post. It would be far more useful if the resources were used to teach languages of more use in the modern world. I for one am fed up with government money being wasted in sending me every document in Welsh and English.
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  61

  Brits

  by NewChapter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hear americans called yanks---and it never even made me blink an eye.

  so i'm not sure---and almost used the term brits a minute ago and edited to say british people.

  so tell me----is it offensive?

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  Joe Grundy

  And further re Welsh/English:

  When I married my first wife in an Anglican/Church of England parish church in her home village we had to choose the music that the organist played while my wife and I, marriage witnesses and the vicar, signed the marriage register (just a few minutes).

  My wife and I agreed on a romantic Welsh tune.

  Unfortunately or not the organist misunderstood and played the hymn on the opposite page of her book.

  It was not, however, inappropriate to celebrate the forthcoming wedding night.

  The title in Welsh was 'Ar Hyd Y Nos' - 'All Through The Night'!
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  61

  Brits

  by NewChapter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hear americans called yanks---and it never even made me blink an eye.

  so i'm not sure---and almost used the term brits a minute ago and edited to say british people.

  so tell me----is it offensive?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Joe Grundy

  boc: 'good night' is 'nos da' in Welsh. ('Nos' pronounced with a short 'o', 'da' pronounced 'dar'.)