respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  12

  Jersey City Assembly Hall Memories

  by LexIsFree in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so i was watching clips from the annual meeting.

  i must say i do miss the jersey city assembly hall.

  i loved going to that place as a kid.

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  respectful_observer

  What I find amusing about it is that J-dubs always love to judge "Christendom" for their elaborate churches full of expensive materials and finishes, and biblical imagery on the walls. Yet they fawn over and show off this theatre that is full of all those things.

  We were recently touring a historic church in another country with some J-dubs and they were all commenting how freaked out they were over all the bible scenes painted on the walls and . "I'm so glad our Kingdom Halls don't look like this!" I couldn't help myself and finally said, "Actually all these fancy columns and wall murals remind me of the Stanley Theatre." The looks on their faces was priceless. One person offered up a quiet: "Well that's different.", but the whole group suddenly stopped their criticism of Christendom's churches.

  If you hung a big crucifix over the stage it would indistinguishable from a lot of big churches out there.

  Closest thing the Watchtower has to St. Peter's Basilica.
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  47

  2015 Jehovah's Witnesses Annual Meeting Lett warning about apostates CLIP

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja4z2-sf4ky.

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  respectful_observer

  I can not even stand to watch his ugly face! It makes me so angry I want to stab my pillow.

  I don't even notice his face. That gawd awful pocket square is too distracting.
  
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  166

  Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is an idea i tested.

  works at both assemblies and conventions.

  i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

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  respectful_observer

  However, I have to stealth forget my hotspot on my wife's and other's phones. They already have access to my hotspot.

  Yikes. Good call. Wouldn't want anyone around me who's had previous access to my hotspot suddenly wonder why that have automatically connected to a secure hotspot signal with a snarky/apostate name. Would probably make sense to just change your password for the day too.
  
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  166

  Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is an idea i tested.

  works at both assemblies and conventions.

  i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

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  respectful_observer

  Thought of a few lighter ones:

  - Your Pants are Too Tight

  - "Tight Pants"

  - No Spanx Zone
  

  - More like "JW.bored" or just "JW.bored"

  Not apostate, but might a few people laugh and remind them of how crazy J-dubs can be.
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  166

  Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is an idea i tested.

  works at both assemblies and conventions.

  i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

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  respectful_observer

  Stealth2 minutes agoWhat is the typical range for one of these WIFI hot-spots? Would everyone in the auditorium be able to see it or only those in close proximity to where your at?
  How is this any different then standing outside with a sign that says JWFACTS.COM ? I have seen many here poo poo that approach saying it only hardens the JW mindset. At least your outside getting some fresh air and not cooped up listening to bull shit all day! I couldn't do it, even if you paid me!

  I think it does three things:
  

  1. For someone in the room questioning their belief in JW doctrine or the organization, they realize they are not alone in that auditorium. There is at least one other person who is going through the same battle they are.

  2. Allows that person to tell everyone in the auditorium there is dissent of thought/belief without looking or acting like some nutter standing out on the curb waving a banner.

  3. It creates a day-long "protest" that hundreds will see, and even more will hear about. And its a protest that the attendants can do zero to stop.

  Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if just one person doing this from the first song in the morning creates multiple copycats throughout the day.
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  82

  Intriguing - but Unsubstantiated!

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  according to one source on a western european 'apostate' website, the org's plan is to abandon the name "jehovah's witnesses" in the future, and replace it with "worshippers of jehovah.".

  http://www.bruderinfo-aktuell.de/index.php/fixnews/#comment-4313 .

  the gist of the account appears to be a repeat of rutherford's re-branding and debunking of old predictions made by the previous shower of fakers.

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  respectful_observer

  Hmmm...well wj.org and woj.org are both still available for purchase. I can't see them making that change anytime soon, if only because they've been pushing the "JWdotOrg" brand so much.
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  166

  Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is an idea i tested.

  works at both assemblies and conventions.

  i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

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  respectful_observer

  Wow. Can't believe it took this long for someone to come up with such a clever, simple idea.

  I will now be checking hotspot/wifi names at all meeting moving forward.
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  26

  Bygone Days of Old Bethel...

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  something occurred to me last night.

  people that made their pilgrimage to jw mecca (bethel) would often be excited about some silly things, i say silly because for those of you who were there or lived near enough to be involved in these things regularly they lost their magic.

  i am talking about on tours one of the most memorable things people talked about or looked forward to... lunch.

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  respectful_observer

  Oh everyone loved the stupid laundry shirt ironing / blowing machine...
  "ohhh...ahhhh"

  Haha!! A friend just posted some pics of their recent Bethel tour, including the laundry device that steams shirts. I thought, "How weird. None of us get excited when we walk into our local dry cleaner. Why on earth do we get excited enough to post pics on Facebook when we see the same thing at Bethel."
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  32

  Bethel Status Update - Insider Information

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have some updates and new information on the downsizing in bethel.

  25% of all bethelites around the world will be sent home.

  in the us over 1,000 will be sent home.

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  respectful_observer

  House cleaning is getting axed. All Bethelites will now be in charge of cleaning 100% of their rooms. Apparently a lot are annoyed at this because it will all have to be done on their time and never during work hours or in place of any other service.

  What will they do to account for the loss of the housekeeper spy network? No one to rifle through your music or DVD collection? No one to tattle on you for having more than the allotted number of items on a flat surface?
  

  Will rooms be subject to some type of random "safety inspection"?
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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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  respectful_observer

  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.

  Right there with you JeffT!

  I appreciate that lots of folks here would love to treat this as a sign that the WTS has lost a lot of money somewhere or is engaged in nefarious investing or accounting methods, but these SEC filings don't give a clear indication of anything except that for a period of time several years ago they had a significant investment in the fund.