JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  125

  Watchtower purchases CoC copyright for undisclosed amount!

  by the girl next door in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  now what is your stance?

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  JeffT

  Downloading a pirated copy of CoC is exactly as egregious as downloading a pirated copy of the KS10.

  No it isn't.

  KS10 has no monetary value, downloading a copy does not take any money from anybody.

  The WTBS is a tax exempt organization. I'm paying for their right to publish crap and annoy people in an effort to sell it.

  The WTBS is secretive. It destroys people's lives without any transparency in the process. As I said above, if they don't like what gets done to them, they can stop doing it to their membership.

  I regard breaking the law to shed light on the corruption of the WTBS as an act of civil disobedience, like eating at lunch counters that won't serve you. Back in the day, I blocked streets to protest the war in Vietnam, its the same idea.
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  125

  Watchtower purchases CoC copyright for undisclosed amount!

  by the girl next door in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  now what is your stance?

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  JeffT

  OK, I modification to my rant.

  The purpose of copyright is to protect the author's right to collect compensation for the work they did in producing the work, and control how its used. If the WTBS purchased the rights to CoC, would be to protect its ass, not the copyrighted work.

  If the WTBS doesn't want its ass to be a target, it can stop treating people the way it does.
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  25

  Brave New W0rld of Education - The Regressive Left

  by cofty in

  1. social
  2. current

  i found this to be a thought-provoking film on the trend in higher education.. oubliette drew my attention to a brilliant article recently called "the coddling of the american mind".

  please have a look at the film, click the link and check out the links in the article.

  i would love to hear your thoughts.. ...

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  JeffT

  I am very concerned that our schools are shutting down the free flow of ideas. The correct solution to ideas you don't like is to argue against them with better ideas. If I wanted to get an education that meant regurgitating stuff without thinking about if for myself, I could go back to the Kingdom Hall.

  Diogenesister, our granddaughter was diagnosed with dyslexia last year. After a year of working with a physician and working a tutoring program on the computers she is now reading and writing fluently.
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  75

  Ray's Books. And Copyrights!

  by DwainBowman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the copyright owner has posted a message on the internet, and can be found below!.

  ray franz.

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  JeffT

  Let's talk about the business of being a writer for a minute. I have published two articles about the Watchtower, some unrelated business articles, a few blog entries. I also have written several unpublished novels. In about ten years of serious writing I've made just less than a thousand US dollars.

  This is not unusual for a free lance writer. Contrary to popular opinion, there isn't much money in writing, unless you hit the jackpot and turn into the next J K Rowling or Stephen King. For every writer like that, there's a thousand like me. So you toil away for years, doing something you love or trying to deliver a message you think is important, and some idiot comes along and STEALS it.

  Let's be clear about that. Taking somebody else's copyrighted material and publishing it yourself is theft. It's the moral equivalent of breaking into my house and taking my granddaughter's stamp collection. You have no moral or legal right to it, and attempts to justify taking it are just that - justifications.

  I expect in the near future to self-publish a (JW related) novel on my blog. This time the manuscript is already done. I'm editing it and waiting for some input from a reviewer. I plan on serializing it on my blog, which will have a donate button if anybody want to throw some money in the tip jar. Those funds will then be used to get into electronic and print forms, which also takes time and money. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you'll respect my copyright.
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  71

  Battle over contamination at Watchtower site in Warwick

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.recordonline.com/article/20151214/news/151219671.

  battle over contamination at watchtower site in warwick.

  by hema easley .

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  JeffT

  I added the third bullet point and didn't change the lead sentence. That's how accountants cook the books.

  I do not know who they bought the land from, I'll try to find out. The news articles say they're suing International Nickel, I had assumed that's who they bought the land from, but it seems from one article they sold it in the eighties. But title searches and environmental due diligence still should have revealed the problem.
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  17

  Transfer of Bank Balances and Kingdom Halls.

  by kramer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  two things related to ongoing comments regarding forgiving of loans / transfer of balances to the wtbs and the ownership of kingdom halls.

  firstly, i would argue that congregations don't care that bank balances have been transferred to the society.

  i would contend that people contribute to the preaching work, and that's it , so long as there is enough in the bank to maintain the hall with a reasonable reserve, then i doubt many would argue against it.

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  JeffT

  What Juan said.

  Here's an interesting tidbit. Although the courts have ruled that they can do whatever they want with the Kingdom halls, from the research I've done they have not changed the ownership names. My old hall is still owned by the Lake Hills Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses LLC. Even though the WTBS could come in tomorrow and sell it, they are not the owner of record, therefore that asset does not show up on any WTBS financial record.
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  71

  Battle over contamination at Watchtower site in Warwick

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.recordonline.com/article/20151214/news/151219671.

  battle over contamination at watchtower site in warwick.

  by hema easley .

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  JeffT

  I'm not a lawyer, but I am an accountant with about 25 years of experience in real estate investment and development. That's why I'm shaking my head over this. There are two possibilities:

  1) they knew about the pollution and bought the place anyway. If this is the case, the purchase price should have reflected the cost of clean up. The only way I can see that they have a legal case in this instance is if they can document that the seller lied about the extent of the pollution. Even then they are going to have to explain why their own due diligence didn't uncover that.

  2) they ignored the pollution and bought it anyway. As noted above, just about anybody could figure out the site was likely polluted. This scenario means the GB, or whoever made the decision, ignored the advice of somebody like me and went ahead with the purchase. I doubt they can win in court with this.

  3) they didn't know about the pollution. This means, in essence, they are going to go into court and say "we're idiots and these bad people took advantage of us." This option might be the most entertaining.
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  71

  Battle over contamination at Watchtower site in Warwick

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.recordonline.com/article/20151214/news/151219671.

  battle over contamination at watchtower site in warwick.

  by hema easley .

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  JeffT

  I'd like to know who (if anybody) they hired to do the environmental study part of their due diligence. The title search should have revealed the previous owners and the nature of their business, which should have been a red flag for environmental issues. This may be get raised as a defense as they proceed through discovery. At some point somebody is going to say "they should have known the land was polluted. Its not our fault they bought it."
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  8

  Which Real Estate Co is selling Bethel Bldgs in NY?

  by clarity in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  the watchtower real estate company ......that's who!

  http://www.jw.org/en/news/releases/by-region/united-states/jw-begin-sale-brooklyn-real-estate/.

  clarity .

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  JeffT

  As I've said before, this looks like a pretty professional setup. If it was being handled by an outside brokerage firm, I believe that firm would have to disclose its involvement. (I'm not familiar with NY real estate law, that would be true in most, if not all, parts of the US). Since such a firm is not disclosed, the must be handling it in house. Given the professional look, I'm guessing they found some JW with commercial real estate experience and put him in charge.

  Confidentiality and Non-disclosure agreements are standard practice in transactions like this.
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  15

  What Are The Possibilities That The FBI Is Investigating The Watchtower Corporation Because Of All Child Molestation And Scandle

  by Brokeback Watchtower in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i was just reading this news clip about a mayor from my home town of waterbury, ct how was given a 37 year sentence for raping to minor girls.

  the fed were watching him " trying to determine whether giordano was taking bribes from a mafia building contractor, fbi agents learned he was systematically raping the 9- and 11-year old daughter and niece of a prostitute in his office in the city hall.".

  http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-philip-giordano-appeal-sex-charges-20151204-story.html.

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  JeffT

  The FBI investigates matters involving national security, international crime, major white collar crime, public corruption, and civil rights violations. In order to start an investigation into the WTBS they would need clear evidence that the organization itself was involved in something at this level. Unless somebody can provide evidence that the GB is involved in sex trade at the level of hauling prostitutes, child slaves or child porn across state lines, the FBI is unlikely to get involved.