respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  180

  What is the most bizarre counsel you received as a JW, from a JW?

  by Funchback in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there were many addressed to me.

  for example, i once had a sister tell me i was gambling because i liked playing skill crane (the machine where you have to try to pick up prizes like stuffed animals) at the arcade.

  i then fired back a her: "you saw the r-rated movie 'backdraft.

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  respectful_observer

  There was a couple in my congregation dating each other. They worked nearby one another, so would often meet for lunch.

  On multiple occasions they were pulled aside by the elders: "someone reported seeing you together at [restaurant] without a chaperone." or "Someone told us they saw you walking down the street together without a chaperone."

  As they were both in their late 20s and had dated others in the past, they both knew the "rules" and when they tried to explain that because they were in public there was no need for a chaperone. The elders' response was that that was technically the case but they should "give no cause for complaint" and "not be a cause for stumbling" in the congregation.
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  17

  A note on the Watchtowers property investments

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  about a year ago there was a thread regarding the 2008 watchtower bible and tract society of new yorks tax return.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/287098/2008-watchtower-income-tax-return?page=1.

  a reference was made to the provictor property fund iv which was listed as their primary alternate business activity.. turns out that at that time 75% of the chrysler building was owned by the provictor property fund iv until it was sold during that year.. http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/international/chrysler_building/?postversion=2008070913.

  just thought you should know :).

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  respectful_observer

  respectful observer...so what you are saying is that they lost BIG and have no where near that now.

  @millie210: Not all. In fact money market funds are considered one of the safest, most stable investments. The whole purpose of a money market fund is to basically stay completely stable (e.g., the goal of the fund's portfolio manager is to keep the value of 1 share as close to $1 as possible at all times). You would never buy shares of a money market fund if you wanted any profit at all. Corporations and large investors will often stash large amounts of cash in a money market fund for easy access for when they need it. In fact, even in the depths of the financial crisis, only a single money market fund was affected to the point where the value of 1 of its shares dropped below $1. When that happens it's called "breaking the buck".

  If the WTB&TS is no longer listed on this fund's SEC filings, it's only because of these reasons:

  1. The WTB&TS no longer owns any shares of the fund (and likely invests in other money market funds)

  2. The WTB&TS has reduced the number of shares it owns in that particular fund. (Funds are required to report to the public/SEC when they have shareholders who own over a certain % of the fund. That way investors are forewarned that if one or more of the big shareholders decided to leave the fund at once, there could be a liquidity issue in the fund.)

  3. The number of shares of the fund owned by the WTB&TS has not changed, but the fund itself has grown in size since 2014, where the % of the fund own by the WTB&TS is now below the reporting limit requirement of the fund.

  But if you add up all those percentages, it comes to way more than 100%. So I am guessing it does not mean that each of those parties owns that percentage of the fund. I have no idea what it does mean though!

  @matsutov: if you look at the second column, you'll see that there are different "share classes" (i.e., institutional, agency, premier). The ownership % likely is tied to what % of that share class the investor owns.

  That being said, the WTB&TS's 7%+ ownership is likely of the institutional shares only, not of the entire fund itself. So the WT ownership values we were discussing earlier are probably way bigger than the WT's true ownership value.
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  17

  A note on the Watchtowers property investments

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  about a year ago there was a thread regarding the 2008 watchtower bible and tract society of new yorks tax return.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/287098/2008-watchtower-income-tax-return?page=1.

  a reference was made to the provictor property fund iv which was listed as their primary alternate business activity.. turns out that at that time 75% of the chrysler building was owned by the provictor property fund iv until it was sold during that year.. http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/international/chrysler_building/?postversion=2008070913.

  just thought you should know :).

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  respectful_observer

  I also agree with Millie's math. The only caveat is that that is based on the total assets of the fund today, in 2015. The SEC filing that lists the WTB&TS as a 7%+ shareholder is from 2004, over 10 years ago. I'm sure someone with Bloomberg access could look up to see what the value of the fund was back then. Also, note that at least some share classes list a Share Class Inception Date of 02/19/2005, once again after the 2004 filing we have.

  Needless to say, the WTB&TS's 7% stake was no doubt a large amount, but basing in on the fund's assets today is rather arbitrary.
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  9

  Pope Francis - Tax Churches That Don’t Help the Needy

  by Petraglyph in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  an interesting perspective from watchtower's nemesis:.

  pope francis calls for ending tax-exempt status of churches that dont help the needy.

  pope warns religious orders: take in refugees, or pay property taxes.

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  respectful_observer

  To be fair, the WTS isn't in the habit (that I'm aware of) of using its unused real estate for commercial profit (e.g., hotels, renting out to commercial companies).

  Now whether the new $10.50 per publisher "donation" made for each Circuit Assembly day equates to some sort of commercial business enterprise is open for debate, but it's not like the WTS is engaged in some of the blatant commercial activities cited by Pope Francis.
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  43

  WTB&TS has invested $40,000,000 in November 2007 in a Hedge fund located in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven

  by sammy in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  wtb&ts has invested $40,000,000 in november 2007 in a hedge fund located in the cayman islands, a tax haven.

  the document is from the official website : securities and exchange commission:.

  http://www.sec.gov/archives/edgar/vprr/07/9999999997-07-048801 .

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  respectful_observer

  drewcoul4 hours ago
  respectful_observer: So, does the WT have $40 million in this fund and the fund has a value of $500 million including investments from others? Or does the WT have $500 million in this fund and $40 million is in the Caymans?

  
  

  The fund's total assigned value is $500 million, of which the WT has taken a $40 million stake. Investing in a Cayman-registered fund is different than having money in a Cayman bank. If your money is in a Cayman bank, your money is actually in the Caymans. Just because a fund is created in the Caymans does not mean the money itself sits there. There is no requirement for a Cayman fund to use a Cayman domiciled custodian. In other words, K2 can create the fund in the Caymans, then use a U.S.-based custodian bank to hold the funds. Big ones include State Street, Fidelity, etc.

  
  

  The reason why the Caymans are popular domicile of funds is that it's tax neutral. In other words an investor from anywhere in the world can invest in the fund and not have to worry about the Cayman government taking a tax cut out of the earnings. This way the fund manager can market to anyone in the world knowing that investors in the fund will only need to worry about their own government's taxes.

  
  

  Hope this helps.
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  43

  WTB&TS has invested $40,000,000 in November 2007 in a Hedge fund located in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven

  by sammy in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  wtb&ts has invested $40,000,000 in november 2007 in a hedge fund located in the cayman islands, a tax haven.

  the document is from the official website : securities and exchange commission:.

  http://www.sec.gov/archives/edgar/vprr/07/9999999997-07-048801 .

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  respectful_observer

  The WTB&TS of PA is simply a large multi-national organization that needs places to invest its liquid assets. K2 Advisors is required to disclose any party with "control" over the fund. The SEC views 10%+ ownership of the fund's assets as "control", or if the fund agreement specifically allows certain shareholders to hire/fire the investment manager (hence "control").

  Based on this Form D filing, the fund had an assigned value of $500,000,000. As of the Form D filing, WTB&TS was the sole investor, having purchased $40,000,000. WTB&TS, due to its size, meets the definition of an "Accredited Investor". The Appendix discloses that the WT was the sole accredited investor at the time, and there were no non-accredited investors that had invested in the fund-- therefore the sole investor.

  These funds certainly offer favorable tax treatment, but nothing illegal. Any gains on this investment would still be reported on the WT's U.S. tax filings.
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  31

  WE NEED MORE FIELD SERVICE REPORTS (Letter sent to Ecuador)

  by elkatire1980 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this letter was sent to all congregations in ecuador (south america).. the translation into english of the letter:.

  to body ofelders.

  subject: publisher who did not report field service time in the second semester of service year.. dear brothers:.

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  respectful_observer

  This ambition led to a fanatic policy of counting, making lists and conducting censuses."

  Hmmm...this reminds of someone else who was eager to do a census of the people.

  
  1 Chron 21:

  21 Then Satan* stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel.+ 2 So David said to Jo′ab+ and the chiefs of the people: “Go, count Israel from Be′er-she′ba to Dan;+ then report to me so that I may know their number.
  
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  31

  WE NEED MORE FIELD SERVICE REPORTS (Letter sent to Ecuador)

  by elkatire1980 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this letter was sent to all congregations in ecuador (south america).. the translation into english of the letter:.

  to body ofelders.

  subject: publisher who did not report field service time in the second semester of service year.. dear brothers:.

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  respectful_observer

  Back on topic, what a weird letter. If they've had 5 consecutive peaks, why are they so convinced that there are so many "missing" reports?

  I was wondering the same thing.

  No matter what, this letter and the similar letter sent to Polish congregations are downright scary.
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  18

  "The governing body has asked me to..."

  by OverlappingGeneralizations in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have heard that phrase several times on the jw broadcast, uttered by gb members!

  "the governing body has asked me to bring to your attention (whatever)".

  aren't you the governing body?

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  respectful_observer

  I've read more direct info on the subject than what I linked to below, but basically the theory is that when a person want to claim credit, they're much more likely to use words like "I", whereas someone who wants to deflect responsibility is much more likely to use a pronoun like "we", or third party pronouns.

  I heard a story on NPR where a professor listed to recordings of CFO's quarterly investor calls. When the CFO used "I" when discussing his/her views of the company's performance, the performance tended to be positive; when he/she used "we" or "the company thinks", the performance tended to be negative.

  Here's a broader discussion from a Harvard Business School article:

  http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7234.html
  

  How to Spot a Liar

  • Liars used far more third-person pronouns than truth tellers or omitters. "This is a way of distancing themselves from and avoiding ownership of the lie," Van Swol explains.
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  71

  What went through your mind when you saw this Picture?

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

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  respectful_observer

  I was pretty young when the Revelation book came out. I remember looking at this illustration and thinking to myself "sheesh...even after 1,000 years, Jehovah's going to once again have to kill the vast majority of humankind? What are MY chances?"