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Had a conversation last night with my daughter (Master's in psychology). Mostly we were talking about the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp train wreck. In the course of the conversation a few things came up. Not all sexual abuse victims are children. Sex is not the only kind of abuse. The scars last a lifetime. Sometimes it is really hard to tell who is the abuser and who is the victim. It isn't always obvious, largely because the abusers get really good at hiding their role.
Just sayin'.
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SBF is right, there is no barrier to publication. I have five novels on Amazon, none of which cost a penny to get there. My time is a different matter, but it was, and still is, essentially a hobby that I enjoy. Making a little money on it is a perk.
If Lloyd thought he was going to pull in enough to live a lavish lifestyle it is one more example of amateur status. That can happen if you're Stephen King or John Grisham, not so much for the rest of us. The truth is, books about JW's won't sell many copies for the simple reason that most people don't care.
Nobody in their right mind will shell out serious time and money to read an 800 page book by a guy they've never heard of, about a religion they don't care about.
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Lloyd and followers, here is some advice from a professional writer: asking people to pay you to include their stories in your book screams amateur. The way it works in the real world is the author pays other people to include their stories in a his work of non-fiction. It is payment for the copyright to include their story.
I don't think your scamming people, I do think you're taking advantage of people that don't know any better. You should take some classes on the profession of writing, you might learn how to do it right.
this can be confusing because the wts has adjusted from not having a clergy class to not having a "paid" clergy class.. "a congregation of brothers precludes having a proud clergy class that honors itself with high-sounding titles and elevates itself above a laity" wt 6/1/2001 p. 12, pp 11. still same idea in 2021 wt october, p. 20, pp.
7, but 2022 in the wt publication, frequently asked questions about jehovah’s witnesses, page 13, the wts inserts "paid" in front of "clergy perhaps to shore up their current statement in secular courts they have clergy, just not paid) "following the model of first-century christianity, jehovah’s witnesses have no clergy-laity division.
all baptized witnesses are ordained ministers and share in the preaching and teaching work.
I don't care what they call themselves. The elders perform the functions of clergy and exercise ecclesiastical authority over their congregations.
this can be confusing because the wts has adjusted from not having a clergy class to not having a "paid" clergy class.. "a congregation of brothers precludes having a proud clergy class that honors itself with high-sounding titles and elevates itself above a laity" wt 6/1/2001 p. 12, pp 11. still same idea in 2021 wt october, p. 20, pp.
7, but 2022 in the wt publication, frequently asked questions about jehovah’s witnesses, page 13, the wts inserts "paid" in front of "clergy perhaps to shore up their current statement in secular courts they have clergy, just not paid) "following the model of first-century christianity, jehovah’s witnesses have no clergy-laity division.
all baptized witnesses are ordained ministers and share in the preaching and teaching work.
And as said above all the freebies that they receive courtesy of "voluntary" donations by the gullible sheeple are in fact pay. Just ask any CPA or tax advisor if it is considered income/pay for tax purposes in the U.S. when it is given to a member of a business.
Actually, gifts are tax free. But somewhere between local elders and the higher ups, that money paid to CO's, the GB etc might be determined to be payments for services, or payments for contract labor; or just plain pay, all of which are taxable income.
The WTBS is playing with fire on this. On top of trying to split hairs with definitions of "paid clergy" vs "volunteers" they may run into a tax issue if somebody decides to call all those "donations" taxable income.
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In a bygone era "Crime of insult" was the sort of thing that led to pistols at dawn. If we still did things that way this thread would be about 250 pages shorter.
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He's pretty inactive for somebody that calls himself an activist.
jefft, a frequent poster here, asked me to review his recent book published in 2021:.
--- armageddon's disciples, when prophecy fails --- by jeff thomas.
i found it very interesting and well worth the time to read.
Thank you for the wonderful review. As a writer, it is always nice to get a pat on the back. I created a religion for the books because I didn't want this to be about one religion. I had hoped to provide my readers with a glimpse of the emotional impact of cult life, something that is hard to convey in academic discussion.
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It's possible that his lawyer has asked him to keep the details quiet,
Again, drawing on the times I've been involved in such matters. Either there is no lawyer, or Lloyd isn't paying attention to him. My experience tells me the conversations sound like this:
Lawyer: Lloyd stop talking about this, I will handle it.
Lloyd: But...
Lawyer: Shut up.
Lloyd: But...
Lawyer: Shut the fuck up.
Lloyd: But...
Lawyer: Go find another lawyer.
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If he thinks the lawyers are now going to "handle" everything and leave him free to do his activism (whatever that is) he is sadly mistaken. I've been on both sides of lawsuits, they are soul-sucking monsters that will take over your life.
Maybe the legal system in Croatia is different. I've never heard of a "criminal lawsuit." It will be interesting to see what happens. I hope the seven defendants counter sue.
