Posts by Juan Viejo2

107

Will firing the DOs be the first step to a new Watchtower?

by Juan Viejo2 in

against my better judgement, i've decided to share the following as a response to guy pierce passing and the announcement of the elimination of district overseers later this year.. late in january (2014) i got an email from one of my contacts (a fader) who served at bethel for several years, but is no longer at wt hq.

he still has a lot of close contacts within the service department and in other departments at patterson and knows people in all of the ny offices.

i kept this email set aside on a flash drive and haven't shared it with anyone - figuring i'd publish an article about it later this year when i had more time to do it right.

Juan Viejo2

RE: RBC reorganization

No. My contact did not mention that he heard or knew anything about the RBC changes. His contacts are mostly in Service, Writing, Administration, and a couple more who might be in legal. Mostly New York corporation insiders. I think RBCs were part of the Penn corp or possibly a different and detached segment of the New York corp. I'm sure someone here has an organization chart that would show where and how the RBCs locked onto mother.

Surprisingly, I've been fortunate to meet many former JWs who were very active volunteers for the RBC new builds. I've also corresponded with a few elders who have had serious run-ins with RBC department managers in their area. One here in Oregon told me that the RBC came in and did an inspection on a Kingdom Hall that was spotless inside and out (quite typical for most larger Oregon KHs - the brothers show a lot of pride in their properties). He told me that the RBC did an inspection of his hall and (this is his description, not mine) "acted like Nazi storm troopers." They did a complete inspection of every plug and drain and window crank. They tested the audio system. This hall had a wide screen TV off to the side of the stage that was a private donation by one of the brothers and approved by the CO - used to train ASL classes. "Get rid of it! It's a distraction." The final straw was when they asked when the carpet in the main hall had been cleaned last. The carpet was typically professionally cleaned twice a year (right after the winter - just before Memorial, and in mid-fall after the summer dust and pine needles stopped falling.) They wanted to see the receipts for the carpet cleaning and any repairs. There was one receipt for a special cleaning and spot removal in one area where an elderly sister with palsy had spilled a full cup of red wine during a Memorial. The spot was so well removed that they could not even find or remember the row where the spill took place, just the general area.

After the inspection, the RBC ordered the replacement of all of the carpet in the main hall. Replacing the carpet would require that the seats be detached from the floor and stored while large sections of carpet would be laid. The local elders all protested that the carpet was in good shape and servicable for probably another 5 years. The RBC not only gave them no choice in the matter, but also wrote a bad report on one of the elders who tried extra hard to reason with them that the funds could be put to much better use in areas like Japan and Haiti where they really needed the help and improvements. He told me that the carpet was replaced and the billing was completely unreasonable based on local costs for materials and labor. Rumors were that the carpet and installation was provided by a company owned by a brother in the region who supplied materials for RBC build projects and who was quite prominent and was often an assembly speaker.

Anyone wonder why that elder is now a former JW? He told me that was only one straw during his last ten years as a JW. "There were many and they were almost constant. But that was the most blatant misuse of power and in my opinion clearly benefitted one of the brothers unfairly. But the RBC simply overrules the complaints or logic of the local elders. I think they come into every Kingdom Hall with orders to find something to spend money on in a way to beneifit (and or payback) a large contributer to the Society. While this might not be 'criminal' in a strictly legal sense, it sure reminds me of 'graft' in the political sense. I'd heard that in the old days (1950s-60s) the Society would do this with car dealers owned by wealthy brothers to buy cars used by COs and DOs. But that whole episode with the RBC and the replacement of perfectly fine carpet was the last straw for me."

(I believe this former elder reads and occasionally posts here on JWN - but I don't know his user ID and would not divulge it if I did.)

Sorry for another long story - but I think it says volumes about how the Watchtower through the RBC is treating local elders with both disrespect and often in a particularly abusive manner. Do you think a few brothers are a little full of themselves like to throw their WT given authority around. Just another example of the complete lack of love - just empty words and a love of power - by many in the mid-ranks of the Watchtower Society.

JV

19

The End of Circuit Overseers

by wisdomfrombelow in

i am sure that the term "circuit overseer" will be gone soon.

they seem to be changing vocabulary and the presiding overseer is now the "coordinator of the body of elders" and all "district overseers" will be gone in a few months.

they used to be called "circuit servants" but they will never re-hash an old term so they will make a new term.

Juan Viejo2

Dunkin' Deacons

107

Will firing the DOs be the first step to a new Watchtower?

by Juan Viejo2 in

against my better judgement, i've decided to share the following as a response to guy pierce passing and the announcement of the elimination of district overseers later this year.. late in january (2014) i got an email from one of my contacts (a fader) who served at bethel for several years, but is no longer at wt hq.

he still has a lot of close contacts within the service department and in other departments at patterson and knows people in all of the ny offices.

i kept this email set aside on a flash drive and haven't shared it with anyone - figuring i'd publish an article about it later this year when i had more time to do it right.

Juan Viejo2

Separation - Very good points. I'm sure the WT will dig all of those out of their goodie-bag to use as support for their major changes. Also the fact that while women were present during some of these occasions, the "casting of lots" and "laying on of hands" did not apply to them.

I think it is also quite interesting that recent Watchtower articles continue to praise women for "being submissive" - but never for taking the lead in any situation. Even in high-profile situations (disaster relief, etc.) they are always praised for their support roles and none ever seem to be given lead positions. The Watchtower continues to be one of the most sexist organizations even in Western societies and still manage to maintain an ongoing majority of women amongst its ranks.

Designer - thanks for sharing that with JWR. Haven't been on there for a while, but will stop by and try to keep those folks updated as well.

JV

107

Will firing the DOs be the first step to a new Watchtower?

by Juan Viejo2 in

against my better judgement, i've decided to share the following as a response to guy pierce passing and the announcement of the elimination of district overseers later this year.. late in january (2014) i got an email from one of my contacts (a fader) who served at bethel for several years, but is no longer at wt hq.

he still has a lot of close contacts within the service department and in other departments at patterson and knows people in all of the ny offices.

i kept this email set aside on a flash drive and haven't shared it with anyone - figuring i'd publish an article about it later this year when i had more time to do it right.

Juan Viejo2

Just to let everyone know, my contact is following this thread and promises to respond or add to it when he has some time. He did not indicate whether he would be posting his response or if he would email me a response to post. Whatever happens, happens...

His only comment to me was, "Comments are good so far. I'll try to respond to any that are extreme one way or the other, but for now just watching."

Just thought you'd like to know.

JV

107

Will firing the DOs be the first step to a new Watchtower?

by Juan Viejo2 in

against my better judgement, i've decided to share the following as a response to guy pierce passing and the announcement of the elimination of district overseers later this year.. late in january (2014) i got an email from one of my contacts (a fader) who served at bethel for several years, but is no longer at wt hq.

he still has a lot of close contacts within the service department and in other departments at patterson and knows people in all of the ny offices.

i kept this email set aside on a flash drive and haven't shared it with anyone - figuring i'd publish an article about it later this year when i had more time to do it right.

Juan Viejo2

Against my better judgement, I've decided to share the following as a response to Guy Pierce passing and the announcement of the elimination of District Overseers later this year.

Late in January (2014) I got an email from one of my contacts (a fader) who served at Bethel for several years, but is no longer at WT HQ. He still has a lot of close contacts within the Service Department and in other departments at Patterson and knows people in all of the NY offices. I kept this email set aside on a flash drive and haven't shared it with anyone - figuring I'd publish an article about it later this year when I had more time to do it right. I had no idea that some of what it contained would happen so soon.

That's all I am allowed to say about my contact, but I can assure you that he is the real deal. He says that he does communicate with a few other ex-JW bloggers and apparently visits JWN frequently (I doubt if he posts). I feel honored that he includes me on his short-list of correspondents. He won't share his name or location - not even with me - so torturing me won't help to reveal his identity. I delete all traces of his original emails from my computer and Yahoo!mail account (but NSCS probably has copies filed away somewhere in their archives.)

However, he encouraged me to share his comments with my readers - and in fact hoped that I would. As you will see as you read this, he pulls no punches - not even with me.

In his email he writes (edited to remove some personal and private notes to me naming other people, specific locations, and other identifying text and phrases):

-----------------------

". . . Some of my friends have been sharing hints and gossip for several months about a major shakeup expected to take place sometime later this year within the New York organization. Many of the changes will only apply to North America at first, but will likely be adapted for foreign branches in 2015 and 2016. I can assure you that there will be a lot of pissed off brothers who have dedicated their lives to serving the Watchtower. I say they'll get what they deserve for being so gullible.

"Both the Penn and NY corporations are involved in implementing the changes which are reportedly quite extensive. For average elders and JWs at local levels all of this will seem a lot like the nearly constant renaming and shuffling of elder positions that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. Here is what I've heard so far and it all seems credible:

"District Overseers will be reassigned as COs, moved to fill some capacity at the Branch Office or given training jobs. Those over 70 (except for those with a lot of friends and influence among the current GB, i.e. "blood relatives serving in high positions") are already being interviewed. Those who worked in the private sector before becoming special pioneers - or their promotion CO - or sent off to Bethel - will be asked (interrogated?) about their financial reserves. Do they have well-off JW relatives who will take them in? Do they have secular retirement? Or will they qualify for social security benefits from jobs they've held? Do they have adult children or grandchildren who will provide them with room and board? If so, they will be "retired" from branch service and sent home with a small cash reward (rumors are $25,000 for some, more or less for others - depends on who their friends are or whom they may have pissed off during their JW career). Those with any kind of Social Security, military, or corporate retirement benefits are almost sure to be sent home and then left to fend on their own.

"Some that don't have any family - or their family members are all "apostates" (like one of my close acquaintances from the past who lives in Blythe [California]), may be provided with a single-wide house trailer and forced to live in a low cost retirement park in the deserts of California, Arizona or New Mexico. As far as the Watchtower is concerned that is where they can go to die. Let Medicare or Obamacare take care of their medical costs.

"In spite of the pruning of old Bethelites, some expansion is expected, primarily in Legal, Real Estate, and Training departments. There is talk of upgrading the public edition of the Watchtower to make it more credible and interesting for non-JW readers. There is general consensus that the Writing Department has "dumbed down" the public WT far too much. Awake! magazines have become even "dummer" - to the point that they are a joke and have no credibility at all with the public. It is likely that the two will be merged into one new 32 page monthly mini-magaziine designed specifically for the public. The name of the magazine may even be different so that it is not so quickly identified as being "JW literature." I suggest they call it "Awake to the Watchtower!" - but no one listens to me any more.

"The bottom line is that in 5 years the Watchtower will look a lot different in many ways than it does today. Rumors are that the Governing Body will be expanded to 12 to better match the biblical magic number of apostles, tribes of Israel, etc. That will also reset the 'magic number' to 8 needed to get a majority vote to make a doctrinal change. They think that more things will get done and decisions will come quicker than with the current number of GB set at 8.

"There are a lot of reletavely powerful and influential men at HQ and in the field who are over 60 and want their chance to be appointed to the GB. Expect one or more to come from Legal. One of my friends suggests that "annointed" will become synomous with "appointed." If a brother is "appointed" to the Governing Body, then the logic is that he has automatically been "annointed" by holy spirit and would therefore be considered to be part of the 144K. And by the way, that number is under discussion and is very likely to become identified as symbolic and not literal -"representative of a great number of chosen men selected by Jehovah for special service and an eventual heavenly reward." (It may also be determined that only males can qualify to be "annointed"- but that will be a hard one to shove down JW throats - especially older sisters. They may offer that as an "opinion requiring further research and spiritual guidance," but give Jehovah the final choice as to whether certain women have qualified or can qualify for the" heavenly prize." That will allow future Governing Bodies to be made up of more ambitious men of all ages - with the understanding that if they do well in their assignments and stay faithful until death, that Jehovah will also let them serve him in heaven. Bottom line: 144,000 doctrine is going to change - in big ways - but probably will take quite a long time and fed in small bites to the rank and file. The Governing Body knows they can pull out their "new light" excuse any time and get most of the rank and file to shut up and accept change without protest.

"Tell your friends to start reading and analyzing the Watchtower study editions very closely. Try to get every District Assembly talk recorded and analyzed. You know from your own experience that a lot of changes can be made right under the average JW nose and they will never take notice or give a damn. My contacts have implied that the real changes will start taking place after the next annual meeting. I would love to get tickets to that show on the 100th anniversary of 1914. This "centennial year" should be very interesting to watch and analyze.

"I make no promises, but I will try to keep you updated as I can. It will be interesting to take another look at this very email in five years and see how much of this actually happens. I think you will be surprised - as you know the sources I maintain are very close to the core of the Watchtower apple. In the meantime, keep up your good work - and please keep your websites updated. You are slipping, my friend - I know you are very busy and are helping a lot of other folks with their websites and projects - but you need to remember you have your own readers and keep them involved with your points of view."

-----------------------------------------

As Ripley once said, "Believe It or NOT!" I say you can take it or leave it. Some - or all - of you reading the above here on JWN will doubt its credibility - and also that of both myself and the sender. That seems to be what you do best.

But I offer it up anyway. I'll publish an edited version of this on one of my websites sometime next week.

JV

58

JW.Org

by Kool Jo in

i've been pondering......with this new "push" to direct individuals to thw jw.org website, even when the dubs are out preaching...what do you think the future will be for the preaching work?.

some time ago i read that the mormons have implemented a live chat feature that allows you to speak with their missionaries....i doubt the borg would do this, but i think they have something up their sleeves.. peace.

kool jo.

Juan Viejo2

Emeth -

Most websites have internal measurements that they watch to see if they are reaching the audience they seek. Some of my websites don't rank well at all on Alexa, but do I care? Not a bit. What I like to see is after I post a new article and I get 15,000 hits over the next 48 hours and then see that 100-200 people per day continue to read some of the article for weeks. JWSurvey.org consistently gets 2500 to 5000 unique vistors a day, and Cedars ranking on Alexa is not good at all.

But if you know that 500-3000 individuals are coming to your website daily to at least see what is new or to read your most current article - that is really quite satisfying.

Many current websites also deliver their articles directly to their readers via email subscriptions. So subscription readership is hard to track, but is still gratifying if you have 500-1000 subscribers.

I don't think that most JW discussion editors and webmasters are all that concerned about daily and weekly readership. I think most of us are more concerned about response after a new article goes online and how the comments trend. Facebook is the 2nd most popular site after Google, but individual accounts (essentially personal websites on Facebook) would be very happy to get 50 hits a day.

You mentioned JWFacts.com. Remember that it is an information site, more like an encyclopedia of information, not a daily news site. So its audience is made up of visitors looking for information about some aspect of the Watchtower or JWs, not for news. The same would apply for Barbara Anderson's WatchtowerDocuments.org (and .com). Their purpose and audience is entirely different from a site like JWN that is constantly being updated and expanded by the minute.

It's called "apples and oranges." Like the previous comment, none of us have 7+ million members who feel they have to check in every couple of days to see what's new and have also been told to avoid reading all other worldly websites. I think it is interesting that all of my websites are visited by someone at Watchtower HQs in Patterson and Wallkill every couple of days - so someone that matters is checking us out. In the past, Ex-JW.com and WatchtowerWatch.com would get about 8-10 hits a day just from WT Brooklyn HQ. AAWA.co gets hit by the WT about 6-8 times a week. Those are hits that I care about, not some goatherd in Turkistan or a Tibetan monk with a smart phone.

JV

58

JW.Org

by Kool Jo in

i've been pondering......with this new "push" to direct individuals to thw jw.org website, even when the dubs are out preaching...what do you think the future will be for the preaching work?.

some time ago i read that the mormons have implemented a live chat feature that allows you to speak with their missionaries....i doubt the borg would do this, but i think they have something up their sleeves.. peace.

kool jo.

Juan Viejo2

The cool thing is that when you search for JW.org in Google, right after that you get:

JWFacts.com

JWLeaks.org

Your results may vary depending on your location and past searching habits. But still...

Outlaw: A JW relative of mine (who lived with her husband in a 40-foot single-wide trailer home) decorated the bedroom with 20 years of WT and Awake! volumes in their bed's headboard, WT and Aw! mags in clear display holders, and pictures from WT publications in frames on the wall. No family or scenery photos to be found. When I saw that, I asked her why she would do that? Did she take strangers into her bedroom frequently? Didn't it feel a little weird being surrounded by magazines and books all the time? Did she often have to look up something in the Watchtower in the middle of the night? She was oblivious to the insanity of it all. So your illustration above is right on the mark - whether you realized it or not when you created it.

JV

21

Cosmos: a spacetime odyssey tonight

by yalbmert99 in

cosmos: a spacetime odyssey : with neil degrasse tyson.

remake of carl sagan's cosmos a personnal voyage of 1980. presented by fox sun 9/8c and national geographic mon 10/9c.

http://www.cosmosontv.com/.

Juan Viejo2

I was surprised that the Fox network was a co-sponsor presenter of Cosmos. Their national Fox News cable channel is over populated with creationists and Bible thumpers, not to mention anti-abortionist and anti-birth control positions. They do have good sports channels and their local news stations are usually very good and well equipped, but for the national network to present a science program at the level of Cosmos moderated by an avowed agnostic (if not an atheist) is a bit of a shock to my system. But I do love it so...

I just remember Carl Sagan speaking about "billlllllllllions and billllllllions of light years (stars, galaxies, etc.) in his own unique way. I used to laugh at him and mock him for doing that, but the guy was clearly a genius and knew how to tell a good story.

JV

149

Watchtower Observer site goes down

by Norm in

jw
friends

hey folks,.

an era in the ex-jw history is over.

kent steinhaug's site http://watchtower.observer.org is being shut down.. it was the first of it's kind, and to this day probably still the largest anti wt site on the net.

Juan Viejo2

Just a few updates:

I am doing my best to put up at least one article a day. Some days there may be 2 or 3 depending on how much coding repair I have to do. The cleanest articles will go up first without regard to subject or original date, etc. So at first, you might see a bit of a mishmash and wonder what I am doing. For now just consider the value of the original source and not the incompetence of the webmaster.

By the way, Kent will be providing me with a new page or post very soon outlining his hopes for the future of the Watchtower-Observer.org. He is aware of the size of the task ahead and my limitations involving time and other projects. But he knows I'll do my best and do it as quickly as humanly possible.

For now, each new (old) article will appear automatically at 12:00 midnight UTC, so those of you in the US and points west of the Atlantic pond will see them appear mid-day. Eastern Europe and points East will see them come up before breakfast.

You'll note that there does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to the articles being chosen. Go back and read the first paragraph above for the primary reason. The secondary reason is that Kent's collection covers the whole spectrum of subjects connected to all things Watchtower and JW. Criminals, Governing Body (whoops! are those one and the same?), personalities, history, doctrine, court cases, books by and against apostates, and so many other subjects I can only scratch the surface. But you will find them all sorted by categories, by year Kent originally published, and by keywords. I've installed a very strong and effective search program that will begin to suggest the ten most likely articles that you are looking for, but will get more specific as you type in more text.

Screen grab: Watchtower-Observer.org

Although I've decided not to allow registration on the site to keep spammers and hackers off as much as possible, there is a subscription option (just requires your email address) that will automatically send new articles directly to your email box (you might want to set up a separate email address for that purpose). After much debate (mostly with myself), I've opened up most articles to comments. Anyone spamming, using extreme profanity, or being abusive will see their comments disappear and their IP blocked. I want everyone to enjoy the site and learn from it.

As I've mentioned before, Kent and I want as many new readers to discover this great resource. Just understand that a lot of the stories are very dated (although I do try to update some of the news articles as much as possible based on available news articles) - so please don't scratch your head and wonder why we are reprinting articles dating from 1998 to 2004. That's what Observer is - a time capsule. There are dozens of websites covering current stories that are doing a wonderful job of keeping us all informed. Observer is a history lesson.

And by the way, for those who knew that Kent Steinhaug has been quite ill in recent years, I can let you know that he is doing well, living in Northern Europe and has beaten a very nasty case of cancer. He wrote me the other day and told me that there are no signs of the cancer he had and that he is getting stronger every day. He loves the fact that many of the readers of JWN remember him and have been so supportive. But you'll all hear more from him on the site in a few days.

So check it out - feel free to subscribe - feel free to comment. http://watchtower-observer.org.

Juan Viejo2

149

Watchtower Observer site goes down

by Norm in

jw
friends

hey folks,.

an era in the ex-jw history is over.

kent steinhaug's site http://watchtower.observer.org is being shut down.. it was the first of it's kind, and to this day probably still the largest anti wt site on the net.

Juan Viejo2

Kent Steinhaug's Watchtower Observer is reborn...

Background:

Watchtower Observer, for many years a leading news website for all things for, against, and about the Watchtower and Jehovah's Witnesses was a favorite of both ex-JWs and even some active JWs. It had a reputation for presenting a wide range of newsy and informative articles from all kinds of sources - but with a heavy emphasis on current news.

Sometime before 2005 the site was taken down - for many reasons that have been discussed at length in the prior pages of this thread. I will let those posts stand as they are written and bring you up to date to March 2014.

Last summer (2013), Kent Steinhaug asked if anyone wanted to take on the task of putting WO back online. He felt that the site had a lot to offer - especially historically - and that it should not just be ignored and allowed to die. The reality was that much of the site had been preserved on other sites such as archive.org, but was difficult to find and was incomplete.

He approached the board of advisors at AAWA and asked if we would consider taking on the task. Because AAWA has a non-profit corporate structure and fairly strict publishing guidelines, we felt that we could make WO a project and take on the task using volunteers. We agreed that if he could provide us with copies of the original files and graphics, we would set up a new site that would have the look and feel of the old website as much as possible, but with some better indexing and presentation features.

Kent sent us a complete set of archived files and graphics. The problem was (and Kent mentions that in a previous post) that the files were in an XML format used for high-end professional newspaper production, not for standard website presentation. So when we actually got the files and they were sent to me for a look-see, I was not sure if I could use them.

I tried several XML to HTML - Text conversion programs, but they made things only worse. The files were nearly indecipherable. By chance - and that's exactly what it was - I tried an older style file reading program dating back to about 2001. I was able to see and copy the article text and convert the graphics to useable formats. But each and every article would be a major project taking about 2-4 hours just to get in draft form (the XML format had a mix of HTML/XML/inline CSS and other coding mixed throughout.

Last October I started putting up the new website and categorizing and converting articles to some sort of useable format. There were still a lot of technical issues to resolve and quite a learning curve before I could transform old articles for useable and readable presentation.

The site itself has been up since October, but has been hidden behind a splash screen while I worked on it.

Over the past six months I have been very busy with a half dozen other projects. Quite frankly, Watchtower Observer was near the bottom of my list with AAWA, Watchtower Documents, Freeminds2, and my own personal websites (Ex-JW.com and WatchtowerWatch.com) needing at least some new material from time to time. Freeminds2 no longer has my involvement and I've put a couple of other projects on the shelf for now.

I decided to treat Watchtower Observer as a labor of love, not as a demanding task with some sort of short-fused due date. What I plan to do is convert 3-8 of the old articles from the archives and post them as I have my morning coffee. If I don't finish an article for a day or two, I'm not going to cry about it.

I tried to decide whether to keep Watchtower Observer in maintenance mode until I got a lot of articles up. That was my original plan. But then I decided to go ahead and open it up for readers to enjoy. If they knew that new articles would be appearing every few days, then maybe they would come back and tell their friends as well.

But most importantly, I wanted Kent Steinhaug to see his baby back online again and being read by a vast audience of new fans.

For now, there will be no site registration. I don't have time to sift through all of the spammers and hackers that come to these kinds of sites. Comments will be open for those who feel the need, but I will not tolerate spam or obscenities.

One more thing: Both Kent and WO readers may note that some articles have had some editing done - not to change them - but to protect them. The last thing we want is to be attacked by a bunch of DMCA and copyright complaints. So some of the formatting has been altered and some of the original photos and graphics have been deleted or changed. Some of the articles had Watchtower letters and documents in them. When those are necessary, quotes will be used with proper footnotes and if they documents are available offline or contained in another archive, then links will be provided. We will try to react in positive ways to any copyright complaints so that we can honor both the spirit and the law of property rights, and yet still fully document our stories.

Please feel free to comment. Contact information can be found in the sidebar.

The articles published so far were chosen to be both far-ranging as far as subject matter and not-widely known to current JW discussion readers. I can assure you that there is so much more that Kent has put together in this collection. You will be both amazed and informed.

One last thing: You will note that when possible I have updated the original article with links to other or more recent articles on a case or subject. Hopefully my efforts will answer your questions about "what happened next?" or "whatever became of...?"

Enjoy : Watchtower-Observer.org

JV