JeffT

Joined

• started 469 topics
• posted 8,564 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by JeffT

• 
  22

  How to Read Financial Statements

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just put an entry on my blog.

  thought it might be useful in all the discussions about money.

  feel free to post questions or comments either here or on my blog.. http://pathologicallyintellectual.blogspot.com/.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  Defianttruth, what you've said is the heart of the problem with being "real estate rich and cash poor." Equity is one half of the issue, the banks also want to know how you're going to pay them back. Equity is useful to them only if they have to take the building back when you can't pay the mortgage. In a commercial or multi-family deal the bank looks at the building's income stream from rents. In the case of WTBS properties there are no rents, and banks regard donations as unreliable. I'm under the impression the Watchtower has sold most of its NY properties, if there is some left, selling it is the only real hope of getting cash.

  Orphancrow, in a word. YES. I recall Ray Franz mentioning this in one of his books, I can't find the reference just now. There's nothing wrong with it, and in an empire as big as the Watchtower's it's easier to find a way to move money around at places and times that yield financial advantages. Again, due to lack of transparency, we have no idea how much the WTBS makes doing this.
• 
  22

  How to Read Financial Statements

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just put an entry on my blog.

  thought it might be useful in all the discussions about money.

  feel free to post questions or comments either here or on my blog.. http://pathologicallyintellectual.blogspot.com/.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  My thinking at this point is that we don't, and likely can't, know the real financial status of the Watchtower. We simply don't have the information. It is very possible they are real estate rich and cash poor. That is an immediate problem, but one that can be solved with time and good management.

  I also think there is a turf war of some sort going on at the upper levels of the organization. The could be why we keep seeing so many things change. They're fighting over control of the steering wheel.
• 
  22

  How to Read Financial Statements

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just put an entry on my blog.

  thought it might be useful in all the discussions about money.

  feel free to post questions or comments either here or on my blog.. http://pathologicallyintellectual.blogspot.com/.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  I just put an entry on my blog. Thought it might be useful in all the discussions about money. Feel free to post questions or comments either here or on my blog.

  http://pathologicallyintellectual.blogspot.com/
  
• 
  81

  WT Society SEC Records : Hedge Funds, Cayman Islands, Financial Losses - Links

  by flipper in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  so my wife and i were curious so i researched some financial links and found records indicating that the wt society has been operating at a loss since the year 2012. as you read the links it shows a loss of 10 million $$$ in 2012, about 16 million $$$ in 2013, and a whopping loss of 56 million $$$ in 2014 - where the expenditures exceeded the revenues for each of those years in the amount i've mentioned.

  also there is a link on this same website with the sec records indicating that the wt society and it's representatives funneled 40 million $$$$ into hedge funds in the cayman islands as early as 2007. if you look online on other sites you can see evidence that indicates the wt society attended hedge fund conferences to look into more shadiness in 2011 and isn't it curious that by 2012 the wt society started showing losses.

  anyway here is the link : https://www.watchtowerlies.com/the_watchtower_revenue.html .. feel free to check this link out and other links on that link indicating the cayman island connection.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  Those numbers are meaningless unless you can find the full financial statements including the footnotes and auditors comments. I can't see any of that in the available links.
• 
  124

  My Mom Is Dying

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just wanted to say that my dear 89 year old mom is terminally ill and will soon pass.

  she is on morphine and hanging on.

  she has been a devout witness for about 60 years and a wonderful mother.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  I am truly sorry to hear this. I know how hard it can be, I lost my mother earlier this year. It sounds like you had a good relationship. I hope she goes quietly and with dignity, and that you are able to be with her.
• 
  20

  Question: What would it take to get the BORG'S tax exempt status REVOKED?

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've always wondered about this.

  i've always felt the main reason the borg made publishers do time slips/field service reports was to show that they are doing a community service to justify their tax exempt status.

  we all know about their money grabs with the kh build scams, their selling off millions of dollars in real estate, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  1) The only case law he cites involves a university not the church itself.

  2) The issue he's writing about (gay marriage) may mean that church officiants must sign marriage certificates for everybody or nobody. They can't pick and choose who they sign for. However, the church can refuse to recognize gay marriages if they want to and the government can not, under the Constitution, tell them otherwise.

  The constitution is clear that the government can not dictate what a church does within its walls, nor can it favor one church over another. In order to revoke the tax exempt status of the WTBS the IRS would have to revoke that status for all churches. In order to do that it probably would have to revoke it for all non-profits, otherwise its treated churches differently, which it can't do. See the 14th Amendment.
• 
  20

  Question: What would it take to get the BORG'S tax exempt status REVOKED?

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've always wondered about this.

  i've always felt the main reason the borg made publishers do time slips/field service reports was to show that they are doing a community service to justify their tax exempt status.

  we all know about their money grabs with the kh build scams, their selling off millions of dollars in real estate, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  JW's don't provide shelters for the homeless, soup kitchens for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, college scholarships for their youth, health care or facilities for the sick, and etc.

  They don't have to.

  WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO GET THE GOVERNMENT TO REVOKE THEIR TAX EXEMPT STATUS?

  A constitutional amendment.
• 
  7

  What those terrible worldly people are doing

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yesterday there was a horrific crash on a bridge here in seattle.

  a dukw (wwii amphibious truck) tourist cruise lost control and hit a charter bus full of exchange students head on.

  four dead and about a dozen seriously wounded, many more in less critical condition.yesterday, canlis restaurant, located near the scene and one of the most exclusive eateries in seattle, closed for the first time in its 65 year history and sent out its staff with food for the first responders.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  Yesterday there was a horrific crash on a bridge here in Seattle. A DUKW (WWII amphibious truck) tourist cruise lost control and hit a charter bus full of exchange students head on. Four dead and about a dozen seriously wounded, many more in less critical condition.
  Yesterday, Canlis Restaurant, located near the scene and one of the most exclusive eateries in Seattle, closed for the first time in its 65 year history and sent out its staff with food for the first responders. Today I heard on the news that the Seattle Hotel Association is lining up free rooms for families of the exchange students coming in from all over the world. So far they have 14 families staying for free and have more rooms ready if needed.
  Nice to hear some good news about people.
• 
  11

  Remember that Letter to Elders that asked them to privately inquire if any of the brothers were LAWYERS.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i remember a thread here somewhere where a letter to the body of elders was posted and elders were to read part of the letter asking who might have experience or training in video media, graphic design, etc.

  then on a separate page not to be read to the congregation was for elders to make discreet inquiries as to any who might have legal knowledge, experience or expertise.. well, in view of all this new kafluffle about branch closures, building work suspended, bethel layoffs, etc., it really makes me wonder now just what the heck is going on.

  has the gb been shafted by their own legal counsel or financial advisors?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  BTW, they were looking for various professional types back in the seventies. An elder let that slip when I was around.
• 
  11

  Remember that Letter to Elders that asked them to privately inquire if any of the brothers were LAWYERS.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i remember a thread here somewhere where a letter to the body of elders was posted and elders were to read part of the letter asking who might have experience or training in video media, graphic design, etc.

  then on a separate page not to be read to the congregation was for elders to make discreet inquiries as to any who might have legal knowledge, experience or expertise.. well, in view of all this new kafluffle about branch closures, building work suspended, bethel layoffs, etc., it really makes me wonder now just what the heck is going on.

  has the gb been shafted by their own legal counsel or financial advisors?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  I heard that the WT lost half a billion in the stock market on Aug 24 of this year, but I haven't been able to confirm it.

  Overall the stock market lost 6.6% that day. Unless they had a gigantic investment that went under they still have 95% of whatever they had. If they lost 1/2 billion they still have 45 billion.