JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  120

  The right to shun - wrong?

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  many people are understandably upset and angry at the notion that jws have the right to shun people.

  it seems such an obvious "no brainer" cruel and inhuman thing to do - it must be wrong ... surely?.

  of course we look at things from the perspective of those hurt and harmed by shunning.

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  JeffT

  Here's a good example of what can go wrong with well-intentioned efforts to legislate a requirement that groups can't enforce limiting association.

  A number of years ago the LGBT group at a university here took offense at the exclusivity of the campus Christian association. They got the student senate to pass a regulation that every campus group had to be open to every student. They then packed the next campus christian meeting and disrupted it. A few days later the Christians packed the LGBT meeting and passed a resolution declaring homosexuality an abomination. I think there was then some talk among the Democratic and Republican groups about talking over the other side's meetings. A couple of days after that some smart people in the student senate rescinded the rule and said campus groups could put reasonable limits on their members.

  To bring this closer to home, if you form a local support group for XJW's do you want to be unable to close the door when the local elders decide to come in and tell you what to think?
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  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.

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  JeffT

  Sammy, I have been looking at those documents, I am less familiar with SEC filings than other types of documents, but I do not believe the posted forms mean what people seem to think they mean.

  The "$40,000,000" under shares sold may include those funds held by the owner/managers of the fund.

  The fact that the $40,000,000 disappears does not mean that the WTBS lost that much money. They could have reinvested it somewhere else, and since its an overseas transaction they may not be required to report it on the 990. In any event, if they bought it at $40M and sold it for $40M there is neither gain nor loss to report on an income form.

  Most improtantly, if you might want to hide a $40M gain, I can't think of reason to hide a loss, and a number of reasons to report it. Sure they don't want the R&F to know about it, but they won't be looking for it anyway.

  As I keep saying, absent a full set of financial statements, we can't understand the WTBS financial state. Looking at random documents is like ripping a page out of the middle of a book and trying to reconstruct the entire story from it.
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  73

  An 11-year-old boy is in custody for murder for shooting and killing an eight-year-old neighbour girl with a shotgun . . .

  by nicolaou in

  1. social
  2. current

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  because she would not show him her puppies.. nobody has to tell you what country this happened in, you already know.. source.

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  JeffT

  anything that requires a constitutional amendment to own and use should be questioned to some degree.

  
  Books?

  
  Abortions?

  As to realistic solutions, I would start with intense training, in schools, in the safe use of firearms. We're teaching kids to put condoms on bananas, they should also learn how to check the action on a gun. Requiring safe storage is not unreasonable. In the case in the OP, the parents should be charged with negligent homicide.
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  14

  Hidden From Jehovah's Witness videos

  by Vortex in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this video deal with some really important information that i wanted to share with you all, looks like it may have hit a nerve in the watchtower, because the stock link he mentioned in the video has been taken down, it was up yesterday, he says he plays chess and anticipated they would do that, so he supplied a secondary link to the same information.

  the entire 8 part series is very informative exposing alot about watchtower doctrine, and hidden elements.

  here is the link to the video.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0lrdx3vpug.

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  JeffT

  3rdgen, I think it depends on what the trust document says. But one of the purposes of setting up a trust is to place the funds outside the beneficiaries' control. Among other things, assets held in a trust can't be attached to pay for a lawsuit if the beneficiary has no control over the assets. For example, if your parents leave you their house in an irrevocable trust beyond your control, and you run over somebody with your car, that person can't take your house in a lawsuit.

  I'm sure the Watchtower's legal loves to help people set up trusts with the Watchtower as beneficiary, it would shelter those funds from lawsuits and let the WTBS collect the income. But it has to be done with somebody else's money, and the WTBS can't control what's done with it.
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  14

  Hidden From Jehovah's Witness videos

  by Vortex in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this video deal with some really important information that i wanted to share with you all, looks like it may have hit a nerve in the watchtower, because the stock link he mentioned in the video has been taken down, it was up yesterday, he says he plays chess and anticipated they would do that, so he supplied a secondary link to the same information.

  the entire 8 part series is very informative exposing alot about watchtower doctrine, and hidden elements.

  here is the link to the video.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0lrdx3vpug.

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  JeffT

  This tax return is not for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. It is for a trust, of which the Watchtower is a beneficiary. I have some personal experience with trusts, the following is based on that knowledge.

  A trust is a separate legal entity over which a trustee, in this case the WTBS, has no control. The trust is managed by a Trust Officer who is required by law to whatever the trust document tells him to do with the money. The beneficiary can, I suppose make suggestions, I don't believe the trust officer has to follow them; he certainly doesn't if they conflict with what is in the trust document.

  I googled the address on the Form 990. It is for the trust department of a Comerica Bank in Detroit. This is just one of who knows how many trusts they handle. Comerica is a large financial services corp, I can't see any direct connection to the WTBS.

  So what we have here is some rich lady who set up a trust fund, which is directed to make money for the WTBS, an operation over which the WTBS has no control.
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  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/.

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  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.
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  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/.

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  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.
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  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/.

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  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/
  
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  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.

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  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.
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  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.

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  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.