Posts by Juan Viejo2

47

Menlo Park (CA - USA) Kingdom Hall

by Juan Viejo2 in

i received an anonymous email over at ex-jw.com that had an attached legal filing.

the first couple of pages seemed to be standard legal filings, but the rest of the pages looked like standard typed documentation (not in numbered double-spaced legal format.

) i'm not quite sure what to make of it, so wonder if anyone here has heard of it.

Juan Viejo2

Broken Promises,

Normally I don't much care what other posters have to say in jest, but I was really offended by your sarcastic remark directed toward me. I assume your "humorous little aside" is your way of calling me a "liar" - which I feel is impolite, unfair and undeserved.

As editor of an ex-JW website with a clearly identified email address and a contact form, I get messages almost every day from former brothers and sisters, and/or their family members, looking for help or wanting to tell their personal stories. I do my best to put them in contact with someone that can help them. In some cases I publish their stories on Ex-JW.com.

Occasionally I'll get a tip that something is happening in the background, sometimes at WT HQ or within a local congregation. In most cases, if I jump over here or to JehovahsWitnessRecovery.com, I find that someone has already posted information that covers that tip and confirms it. On the other hand, if I don't get additional confirmation, I hold off publishing anything about it until I can post a request for more information.

The aforementioned tipster is not a JW or ex-JW, but a researcher based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He stumbled across this court filing in the course of doing his research about another aspect of the Watchtower Society. He has not fully identified himself to me, but we have exchanged several emails. In his last email to me he gave me his OK to publish the copy of the court filing he found during his research. In fact he wrote:

"Why would you posting it bother me or my project? its a public document that anyone can get at the courthouse, so post away, i dont know any of these people so therefore there is no reason to black out any names, as i said i was just doing some research is all and came across this . . ."

So in my next posting here, I will try to post a link to a copy of that filing for anyone here who is interested in reading it. It's quite interesting and names most of the people involved. Remember that this filing took place on August 31, 2010, so I suspect very little action has been taken in the case. According to my tipster:

"NO ONE AT THE JW's HEADQUARTERS KNOWS ABOUT THIS AT ALL!!!!! Not even their legal department according to XXXXX, it's as if someone is keeping it hush hush. I mean the date on the filing is August 31, nearly three weeks ago, and if the legal department does not know about this, that means maybe, someone is intentionally not telling them. But then that would make sense cause the service desk is one of the departments being sued and they control all incoming mail and phone calls . . ."

While I don't really expect it, I would appreciate an apology, "Broken Promises," just this once. Maybe I'll give you a pass in the future if I fail to backup my claims. Maybe I'm being too sensitive, but I think this is a subject that many forum members might be interested in, it's current

Watch for the link with the filing papers - coming soon...

JV (aka ExJWdotCommie)

39

Whats the weridst thing youv'e ever seen on the platform?

by highdose in

jw
friends

apart from a member of the gb of course.... i've personly seen a brother gesturing so much he sent the mic stand flying!.

another who opened his mouth to speak and burped loudly into the mic instead!.

any others?.

Juan Viejo2

Happened around 1960...

Our visiting Circuit Servant was giving the Sunday public talk during the summer months. He was wearing a light colored, summer-weight gray suit.

My parents and I were sitting in the front row. I noticed something rather unusual, but kept it to myself as long as I could. I could see a dark spot was forming just under and to the left of the CO's zipper. I guess he realized something was wrong, because he stepped back a bit and buttoned his jacket. I bumped my mother and told her what I was seeing. "I know," she whispered, "but just be nice and ignore it."

About 15 minutes later, the dark spot began to noticeably grow larger. Our podium was 1960's modern, with an open front over the flat small table area and the riser. The top was held up by three brass colored posts, with the microphone attached to the extended middle post. So everyone in the first two or three rows could clearly see this guy wetting his pants on stage.

Somehow he managed to get control of his bladder and was able to work his way through the rest of the talk (then 55 minutes long). By the time he finished the spot had dried out and disappeared. Unfortunately, several younger Witness kids sitting near the front had noticed his problem and had been giggling in short, uncontrolled bursts. Too bad for them - for in those days, "spare not the rod" meant just that.

Needless to say the word got around about what had happened. Everytime that poor Curcuit Servant would come to our Hall, we'd all talk about the time he pissed his pants during the public talk.

47

Menlo Park (CA - USA) Kingdom Hall

by Juan Viejo2 in

i received an anonymous email over at ex-jw.com that had an attached legal filing.

the first couple of pages seemed to be standard legal filings, but the rest of the pages looked like standard typed documentation (not in numbered double-spaced legal format.

) i'm not quite sure what to make of it, so wonder if anyone here has heard of it.

Juan Viejo2

I've received another email from my anonymous source. He's given me some of the names and some potential resources to check out. I'll see if he is OK with me putting up a graphic of the court filing. Some of you may recognize names from that.

47

Menlo Park (CA - USA) Kingdom Hall

by Juan Viejo2 in

i received an anonymous email over at ex-jw.com that had an attached legal filing.

the first couple of pages seemed to be standard legal filings, but the rest of the pages looked like standard typed documentation (not in numbered double-spaced legal format.

) i'm not quite sure what to make of it, so wonder if anyone here has heard of it.

Juan Viejo2

Gayle - I'm sure that is one that my former JW friend was referring to. It's large and well-equipped. I wonder how much of that $250K will filter back into the membership of the old congregation that was there? Will it go toward building a new KH in the same general area? My guess is that the WT will just put another quarter-million tax free dollars in its treasury.

Mrs. Jones - thanks for the response. I agree, asking about this could open up a nasty situation for you. I'd never ask that of you. On the other hand, maybe we have someone else in that area that is semi-suicidal and just doesn't care...

JV

47

Menlo Park (CA - USA) Kingdom Hall

by Juan Viejo2 in

i received an anonymous email over at ex-jw.com that had an attached legal filing.

the first couple of pages seemed to be standard legal filings, but the rest of the pages looked like standard typed documentation (not in numbered double-spaced legal format.

) i'm not quite sure what to make of it, so wonder if anyone here has heard of it.

Juan Viejo2

Mrs. Jones,

I knew that and intended to make a postscript asking about your connection there. Do you know how that KH was organized? Do you have any contacts (ex or JW) that might communicate with me on this issue?

JV

47

Menlo Park (CA - USA) Kingdom Hall

by Juan Viejo2 in

i received an anonymous email over at ex-jw.com that had an attached legal filing.

the first couple of pages seemed to be standard legal filings, but the rest of the pages looked like standard typed documentation (not in numbered double-spaced legal format.

) i'm not quite sure what to make of it, so wonder if anyone here has heard of it.

Juan Viejo2

I received an anonymous email over at Ex-JW.com that had an attached legal filing. The first couple of pages seemed to be standard legal filings, but the rest of the pages looked like standard typed documentation (not in numbered double-spaced legal format.) I'm not quite sure what to make of it, so wonder if anyone here has heard of it. The anonymous sender said he "found it on another web site..." - but didn't give me a clue as to which site that might be.

I searched Google for the keywords, but nothing came up - which is very unusual if there is anything at all to what this guy sent me. The legal documents were apparently filed in August, 2010.

The documents lay out a complaint against a "branch manager," "a newly appointed district manager," and others. The plaintiffs appear to be the current group of elders in the Menlo Park, CA KH, who are also referred to as "stockholders."

On the one hand, the complaint says that the WT Society is trying to force them to remodel the Kingdom Hall against their wishes. On the other hand, it says that they've been told that they must merge their congregation in with the Redwood City (CA - USA). The locals have apparently decided to take a stand.

The situation seems similar to the Bonham, Texas events of several years ago.

If there is an existing group of "stockholders" who helped build the Menlo Park KH back in the day, then it looks like they are filing this complaint to protect their investment. If the alleged facts are true, then this looks like another case where the WT wants to grab another piece of paid-for property in a high value area and force the members to travel several miles to share an existing KH.

If anyone here has more information, or can confirm the general allegations of the filing, please let me know. I'd like to investigate this further and maybe post an article on Ex-JW.com.

A friend of mine who was raised in Nebraska recently told me that they are closing several of the KHs in that state, making the faithful travel 25-40 miles to go to their merged KHs. In some cases they are building new ones and then merging two or three others into it. On the other hand, long distance travel in Nebraska during the winter can be brutal and dangerous.

Any information you can offer to enlighten me would be appreciated.

Juan Viejo (aka "exjwdotcommie")

P.S. This was also posted over at JWR earlier. Any info would be appreciated.

182

What's your all-time favorite Song by musician ? Name Song and Artist

by flipper in

jw
friends

flipper again.

personally my all time favorite song?

stairway to heaven by led zeppelin.one of my top favorite groups ,too.

Juan Viejo2

On the pop side, "What a Fool Believes," by the Doobies - written and performed by Michael McDonald.

The one that absolutely stops me in my tracks and gets me every time is this one:

Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman - Time to say goodbye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR7E_JRzdKw

62

Your favorite JW'isms...."Brother leave it in Jehovah's hands" Post yours.

by UnConfused in

bring back the memories.

Juan Viejo2

"Spare the rod, spoil the child..."

Heard a lot in the 1940s-1970s! What do they say now? Haul the kid outside or to the ladies room?

30

I have a date!

by Soldier77 in

...and she isn't a witness!!

woohooo!.

the story:.

Juan Viejo2

Remember when mothers would always tell their daughters (before a date) to be sure and "wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVHXkqW8qKk&feature=related

14

The 3 Stark Choices of Individual Witnesses

by metatron in

jw
friends

there's been a lot of comment on this site about witnesses becoming more blind and fanatical and eagerly willing to believe anything the glorious masters of time and space, grand poobah, bright as a labrador retriever, governing frauds tell them.. but it really comes down to 3 stark choices.

the more reality intrudes on the lives of individual witnesses, the more they will be driven into some combination of these catagories:.

1) dumber - the most popular choice.

Juan Viejo2

I offer one more sub-category of Jehovah's Witnesses, a very small group, but far more influential than their numbers would indicate.

4) Rich and famous rock and roll, movie actor, sports star who profess to be Jehovah's Witnesses. As long as these folks pour money into the Watchtower coffers, the rules and guidelines set down for the common JW folks are waived for these people. While many of the rich and famous maintain relatively low profiles when it involves their private lives, most of these folks do not go out and loudly profess their connections to the JWs (George Benson, Dave Meyers, among others). On the other hand, others are in your face, self-important, spoiled, over-the-top and often ignorant of the fine points of being a JW. Many of these folks make even their fans wince at times, but the WT rarely says or does anything to condemn them (Prince, Serena Williams). In fact, the WT often publicly professes ignorance as to their membership status, while accepting huge monetary contributions from them.

I choose not to judge these people for their own lifestyles or ability to earn huge sums of money in the entertainment industry - good for them. I judge the Watchtower for being hypocritical about how they treat these people vs. the Joe Average publisher who makes $40,000 a year and works at some mundane clerical job.

All you have to do is look at the waivers and special treatment that Michael Jackson's mother seems to get in spite of the fact that most of her kids are DA'd or DF'd. I think she is a good person and a decent grandmother - but she gets so many waivers from the JWs for practices that would get anyone else called on the carpet.