Juan Viejo2
JoinedPosts by Juan Viejo2
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126
Candace Conti video on YouTube - let's send it viral!
by cedars ini've uploaded a video that discusses the dramatic jury verdict regarding the abuse suffered by candace conti, of which you are all aware.
if you're not yet familiar with the story for any reason, please check out my blog article on the link below.... http://jwsurvey.org/general-information/the-watchtower-punished-society-loses-legal-battle-over-child-abuse-case.
john hoyle suggested i get a youtube video out fairly quickly so that we can spread the message more effectively online.
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126
Candace Conti video on YouTube - let's send it viral!
by cedars ini've uploaded a video that discusses the dramatic jury verdict regarding the abuse suffered by candace conti, of which you are all aware.
if you're not yet familiar with the story for any reason, please check out my blog article on the link below.... http://jwsurvey.org/general-information/the-watchtower-punished-society-loses-legal-battle-over-child-abuse-case.
john hoyle suggested i get a youtube video out fairly quickly so that we can spread the message more effectively online.
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Juan Viejo2
Ann OMaly - Yes, you are right. Clergy guidelines were toughened after all of the cases involving the Catholic Church were beginning to become newsworthy. It was the clergy-penitent confidentiality acts that were revised. Even after those laws went into effect, the Catholic Church continued to ignore the laws and the church suffered greatly from it.
But even under civil law of the 1990s the Conti case would probably not apply - especially when Miss Conti asked for help. When Kendrick approached the elders and confessed his transgressions in private would be considered confidential. But just because someone was an elder would not relieve him of reporting a crime reported by the victim or the victim's family. If Miss Conti had gone to the elders and said, "please do not tell anyone, but Brother Kendrick has been molesting me," the law even then would have required the elder to take some sort of action to protect her from further harm.
The elder's first responsibility, even then, was to take whatever action necessary to protect further harm to the victim, especially someone who was a minor child at the time.
It is clear from this jury's verdict and the award they made, that they did not buy that excuse for a minute. That excuse may be the only thing that gives the Watchtower some relief from the millions they owe Ms. Conti, but it still does not compute for anyone with half a brain as being the right thing to do.
JV
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126
Candace Conti video on YouTube - let's send it viral!
by cedars ini've uploaded a video that discusses the dramatic jury verdict regarding the abuse suffered by candace conti, of which you are all aware.
if you're not yet familiar with the story for any reason, please check out my blog article on the link below.... http://jwsurvey.org/general-information/the-watchtower-punished-society-loses-legal-battle-over-child-abuse-case.
john hoyle suggested i get a youtube video out fairly quickly so that we can spread the message more effectively online.
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Juan Viejo2
One more thing:
I disagree with the Watchtower attorney McCabe and even those here making excuses for the elders and the Watchtower ("they should not be responsible for the actions of a non-elder member of the Kingdom Hall")
I think the reason the jury came down hard on the Watchtower in this case is not whether Kendrick was, or was not, a person in authority within the Kingdom Hall. It was the fact that the elders - at the direction of the Watchtower, both in fact (by direction from Watchtower Legal - and by instructions in BOE letters and the Elder's book) and in law did not fulfill their duties under the law to report crimes of this nature to the authorities in a timely manner.
The idea that elders should "wait on Jehovah to sort things out" is so juvenile that the Watchtower leaders should have their brains confiscated. It's like having a kid break a leg during a football game and then having the coach tell him to "walk it off" or he'll be kicked off the team.
Next question: Does anyone at Society headquarters have any common sense? Does Jehovah automatically kill all of the brain cells of Governing Body members as soon as they are appointed? Where is their humanity? Where is their sense of justice just as citizens of the world?
Like Pharaoh, they have hardened their hearts and will soon drown in the sea of public opinion.
JV
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126
Candace Conti video on YouTube - let's send it viral!
by cedars ini've uploaded a video that discusses the dramatic jury verdict regarding the abuse suffered by candace conti, of which you are all aware.
if you're not yet familiar with the story for any reason, please check out my blog article on the link below.... http://jwsurvey.org/general-information/the-watchtower-punished-society-loses-legal-battle-over-child-abuse-case.
john hoyle suggested i get a youtube video out fairly quickly so that we can spread the message more effectively online.
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Juan Viejo2
In California there have long been laws requiring immediate reporting of any suspected child rape, molestation, pornography, or physical abuse.
Reporting guidelines are tougher for some categories, like teachers, emergency room managers, social workers and others (primarily civil servants). They are supposed to report any "suspected" cases of abuse (child tells teacher "mommy's boyfriend plays with my peepee") or injury (child covered with unexplained bruises or other injuries).
I was a deputy sheriff in California in the early 1980s. On occasion I would go along with a social worker to someone's home to check things out. One of the first questions we would ask was "exactly when did this injury occur?" Failure to immediately report such an injury would result in at least a misdemeanor charge of "failure to report." Things have only become more strict with higher penalties. Most states add to child abuse laws every year and penalties have increased as well.
My understanding of the law (at least as it was in California in the mid-1980s) is that any third party suspecting or learning of pedophilia or other child abuse MUST contact police or child protection services as soon as possible. In some cases, witnesses or family members aware of such potential criminal activity would call their attorneys first for guidance, but that did not relieve them of making a timely report. In some cases their attorney would call the police and make the report for them - but the report still had to be made. The reason for timely reporting is to effectively stop potential criminal activity and to protect the child(ren) from further harm.
The Watchtower took the position that elders learning of such criminal activity should call the Service Department or Watchtower Legal for guidance. In too many cases, elders were told that WT headquarters would take care of it. The way the WT took care of it was to make an in-house report and file it away. If the elders took it upon themselves to report the incidence to the police either before (as per the law) or after (the minimum action they should have taken) then the Watchtower would come down on them like a load of bricks.
Aside from the fact that these men were elders, under California law they were required to make a report to the police as United States and California state CITIZENS. If you were an elder and you saw a horrible car crash outside of the Kingdom Hall and one of the injured had come to the door for help - would you call WT Legal or Service departments first? or would you call police and an ambulance, get help for the injured, and then maybe call WT HQ?
The logic the Watchtower used then and now is backwards. "Call us first and report later (if we instruct you to do so)" does not agree with California law and it certainly did not in the mid-1990s. It's always been "report the crime or injury first, and then call your attorney for further guidance, if necessary."
The Watchtower did not have a leg to stand on in 1985, 1995, 2005, or now by requiring their elders to "call WT Legal or Service departments first for instructions." By their very written words, in California they were directing the elders to COMMIT A CRIME by not immediately reporting any suspected child abuse directly to the police as soon as they learned of it or suspected it.
Cedars, I think you are fine and don't need to change a thing. Yes, the court case was a civil one and it is unlikely that any criminal charges will come out of this case. But the entire reason for the case and the jury's verdict was because it was determined that the local elders, and by extension the Watchtower, committed crimes by not properly reporting Candace Conti's abuse immediately to local police or child protection authorities.
JV
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Bill Bowen Just Posted This on Facebook Moments Ago
by jamiebowers injane doe vs the watch tower in the oakland, ca case was awarded $20 million in punitive damages..
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Juan Viejo2
linuxbob - Thank you.
I already had that link and have downloaded all of the pertinent documentation. Look like Bill Bowen got the final order and it was forwarded to me. What I am looking for and have not found yet is the actual court transcripts. They may, or may not, release all of those. I'll find out how to get them.
In the next few days, I'll publish an article on Ex-JW.com that will condense the case history and will provide PDFs of whatever I can get my hands on.
JV
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49
Bill Bowen Just Posted This on Facebook Moments Ago
by jamiebowers injane doe vs the watch tower in the oakland, ca case was awarded $20 million in punitive damages..
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Juan Viejo2
Just remember, one of the very first members of the modern Governing Body was a pedophile. He was around for years and protected by the Organization in spite of the clear evidence of what he was doing.
Also, Nancy J. Sage's book, Going Undercover to Rescue My Daughter, currently under revision and updating (original still available on Amazon.com) , tells the story of how her daughter and granddaughter were abused by her son-in-law, an elder. The last I've heard, he is still an active JW and has held elder positions even since her book came out several years ago. Her story clearly shows how the Watchtower uses the "two witness rule" to effectively stymie any punishment or exposure of pedophiles within the organization.
I think the biggest victory in this case is the "no gag order" rule. I'm hoping to get my hands on the court transcripts, but I'm sure there will be some redactions due to the nature of the case. I hope that the plaintiffs and their attorneys can hold out for the full amount and not have to sign a no disclosure agreement. If they do, then this victory could become another wasted effort.
JV
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Who is Charles Sunutko...more
by Farkel insince there is renewed interest in the 1975 fiasco and one of it's main promoters, i discovered something interesting.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/103129/1/who-is-charles-sunutko.
in the above thread blondie posted an except from an awake!
magazine article on old chuck s. in it, he stated he was born one year after his parents married in 1935, viz.
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Juan Viejo2
Last I heard, Brother Sunutko is still alive and living in Desert Hot Springs, CA. He is Charles Sunutko Jr. Both his uncle John (the person who got his family to convert) and his father, Charles (Sr.) (the one mentioned in the obit) have passed.
Interesting - as I was working on an article about this brother for release on InsidetheWatchtower.com later this month.
JV
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If Sparlock is wrong...
by TD in...then what else should a jw parent forbid under the same rationale?
jehovah hates magic).
i started a mental list and it boggles the mind.
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Juan Viejo2
Black Sheep -
No never saw a garden gnome on any of the elders' lawns, but we had a very wealthy brother (I think he loaned the money to purchase the Kingdom Hall) had a "lawn jockey." He owned horses and all of the breeders in the area in those days had the infamous LJs down at the end of their driveways.This was in the infamous 1950s and 60s when it was fairly common to see those around.
I was from a poorer group of JWs. We had pink flamingos along the side of our yard. In the spring we'd put out those mechanical daisys that spun in the wind.
JV
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"Blunders that led to World War"
by Jeffro inon the watchtower.org site at the moment, they are featuring a link to an article that first appeared in the august 2009 awake!
that purportedly talks about how world war i began.. in jw make-believe land, world war i began suddenly, and was essentially a big surprise.
so it's interesting to note that the one of the most significant things that led to world war ithe first and second balkan warsare completely omitted from the article.
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Juan Viejo2
A very well produced TV series, "The Fall of Eagles," dramatizes the lead up to World War 1 quite well. Europe was owned by three major royal families and most of the major players were all married or cousins to each other. In spite of their blood relationships, they were constantly jockeying back and forth for more land and more power. They were all greedy bastards. There greed for more power finally led to their undoing. The people were tired of being the footstools to these autocrats and their culture of "everything belongs to the King." Some of these families literally believed that they were who they were and had the power they had because of God's will - an attitude that could be traced back in Christendom to Constantine and Charlemagne.
Events that led up to World War 1 began with the French Revolution. Students of history during the 1800s could envision what was going to happen sometime within the next 100 years. The 1800s were considered the "Age of Empires," as none of the kings of Europe were satisfied with just being Kings, they had to be "Emperors." To call yourself an Emperor you had to hold land outside of the boundaries of your own country. Thus the reason behind the war in 1914 becoming a "world war" as so many battles took place outside of Europe as kings tried to win or protect their far-away land holdings. Even the United States was in the process of "empire building."
The pressures of war were quite evident in the 1834-1914 80-year period. Like the Witnesses of the 20th century, they could claim that all of the signs were there: wars and rumors of war, great earthquakes, great famines, and a rise of lawlessness. Just like the JWs do today, preachers like Russell could use those events to support their prophetic teachings.
JV
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UK Anti-Cult charity under threat of closure
by cedars ini'm wondering what you all make of this story from the guardian regarding the cult information centre - a uk charity that aims to raise awareness of cults.
it seems that it's on the verge of having its charitable status withdrawn (or, at least, this was the case three months ago).
unsurprisingly, the complaints that have led to its potential closure stem from cults such as the church of scientology.. here is the story:.
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Juan Viejo2
Some of the "Christian" anti-cult groups are the scary people trying to push their own cultish agendas. They want to shut down other religions (like JWs) because they "are cults that deny the Trinity" or the "divinity of Christ." You quickly realize that these "anti-cults" approach their goals by almost the same means as those they accuse of being "mind-controlling cults."
Remember that Jim Jones' People's Temple was looked upon as a legitimate evangelical religion when it first started. It had a large church in San Francisco that drew some rather large crowds and was frequently visited by high ranking city-county officials and other notable citizens in the area. The parallels to Jehovah's Witnesses are sometimes quite shocking and revealing as Jones was constantly preaching about the "great tribulation" that was about to come and the need for his followers to do exactly what they were told. They also practiced shunning. They had unpunished abuse of women and children in the group. They practiced "theocratic warfare" against their enemies.
But what is not well known is that one of their outreach programs was "cult" education. San Francisco was still "hippie heaven" at the time and many youth had been swept up into "self-awareness" groups. There was a lot of Hindu and Buddhist influences (Hari Krishna) that were favored among the young people. The Peoples Temple folks would go into those neighborhoods and parks with their tracts and invite young people and minorities to come join them and learn "the real truth of Christ."
Its easy to find a lot of ant-Witness groups online and on YouTube that identify themselves as "outreach ministries." I've noticed that many former JWs who form these groups tend to slip right back into the evangelical born again, bible-thumping, praise Yahweh! religious style that are the seed beds of new cults. I find most of these groups very offensive.
I get a lot of emails to my websites from "former JWs" that want to submit "an article the explains the facts behind the Witnesses denial of the divinity of Christ" or to explain "God's real plan for humanity." I get so many of those type of messages that I've stopped answering most of them.
For me to become a part of one of these "anti-JW" anti-cult ministries would be worse than going back to the Kingdom Hall and pretending to be a good little JW again.
JV