Posts by respectful

34

Impact of GDPR on WT HQ and EU branches?

by respectful_observer in

curious if any of our eu-based members (especially those still in) have heard anything from official wt channels on how the organisation plans to be in compliance with gdpr ("general data protection regulations") by may 2018?

it's my understanding that religious organisations must comply, and that religious data is treated a "protected" and therefore subject to some enhance requirements.. specifically, how will they comply with the following requirements:.

you must disclose to the individual: what data you collect on them, why, and what you do with the data (including what other parties receive the data and what they do with it).

respectful_observer

GDPR definition of consent:
(11) 'consent' of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her;
=> Article: 6, 7, 8
=> Recital: 32, 33, 38, 42, 43
=> Dossier: Consent

In a recent GDPR session I attended (having nothing to do with impact to religious institutions) one of the facilitators made the comment that when it came to "special" or "sensitive categories" of data, GDPR's bar for what qualified as "consent" was much higher. She said (paraphrasing) that when it came to religion, race, etc. data, "consent" would require more than simply implied consent. Even a "check the box"/"I agree" would not be sufficient to serve as "consent". Additionally, it was mentioned that the consent given had a shelf life-- that GDPR would expect the controller of the data to seek renewal of that consent at least every 5 years.

If what I heard was correct, the WT's current privacy policy's definition of consent comes nowhere near meeting the bar set by GDPR.

34

Impact of GDPR on WT HQ and EU branches?

by respectful_observer in

curious if any of our eu-based members (especially those still in) have heard anything from official wt channels on how the organisation plans to be in compliance with gdpr ("general data protection regulations") by may 2018?

it's my understanding that religious organisations must comply, and that religious data is treated a "protected" and therefore subject to some enhance requirements.. specifically, how will they comply with the following requirements:.

you must disclose to the individual: what data you collect on them, why, and what you do with the data (including what other parties receive the data and what they do with it).

respectful_observer

It would be interesting if some EU-based journalist who's had some experience with J-dub policies and records in the past (most likely child abuse) decided to do a story on this and make official press inquiries of the WT.

I doubt most PIMI JWs ever think about how much more personal data the Org really keeps and circulates on members than the average religion.

I'm assuming most faiths might track name of members, what parish/congregation they attend, maybe baptism/wedding dates if the church is involved. Probably not much more than that, unless there are tax issues related to contributions.

Compare that with the JWs: DOB, baptism dates, letters of introduction if moving between congregations, JC notes, notification of judicial action to the Branch, monthly service report data, applications for and letters of recommendation for LDC, Bethel, etc., letters of appointment, emergency contacts, copies of Blood Cards, records/notes on elders who are convention/assembly speakers, etc., etc....

If the WT does have to disclose in writing to each publisher what records they actually keep, why they keep them, and who sees them, that might be rather eye opening to many.

34

Impact of GDPR on WT HQ and EU branches?

by respectful_observer in

curious if any of our eu-based members (especially those still in) have heard anything from official wt channels on how the organisation plans to be in compliance with gdpr ("general data protection regulations") by may 2018?

it's my understanding that religious organisations must comply, and that religious data is treated a "protected" and therefore subject to some enhance requirements.. specifically, how will they comply with the following requirements:.

you must disclose to the individual: what data you collect on them, why, and what you do with the data (including what other parties receive the data and what they do with it).

respectful_observer

Hi all,

Curious if any of our EU-based members (especially those still in) have heard anything from official WT channels on how the Organisation plans to be in compliance with GDPR ("General Data Protection Regulations") by May 2018?

It's my understanding that religious organisations must comply, and that religious data is treated a "protected" and therefore subject to some enhance requirements.

Specifically, how will they comply with the following requirements:

You must disclose to the individual: what data you collect on them, why, and what you do with the data (including what other parties receive the data and what they do with it)
The individual must provide their written explicit consent that they agree to have the entity retain their data in the manner disclosed. Any changes to the terms require new consent from the individual
Data collection must be proportional (i.e., only necessary data may be collected and can only be used for what you've previously disclosed to the individual)
You can only keep the data as long as absolutely necessary, and must delete afterward. (e.g., even if a person demands deletion of their data, the organisation may be required to retain certain data points such as financial/tax data attached to a contribution)
The individual must have: rights of access to all their data, the ability to correct it, and object to it
The individual must have the "Right to be Forgotten" (i.e., they must be able to dictate that all their data be permanently erased

Congregations keep Publisher Cards and Judicial files forever; COs review publisher info; Judicial findings on specific individuals are reported to the Branch (and WT HQ in USA?)

What if the individual demand the "Right to be Forgotten" and all written evidence of them ever being a member wiped from congregation and WT files?

48

2018 Convention videos leaked by brave insiders

by Room 215 in

jw
friends

anopther coup for cedars: http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/leaked-2018-convention-videos-celebrate-anti-lgbtq-bigotry-unquestioning-obedience-doomsday-fear-mongering

respectful_observer

Clip #1:

A retail clerk doesn’t give two hoots whether you buy a charity item or not on top of your store purchase; they’re worried when their next coffee/smoke break is, or whether they can find someone to cover their shift next Saturday night.

Btw, why are there almost only women shopping in that store?

Clip #2:

I’ve had elders and COs tell me specifically that it’s more important to attend the congregation that’s best for YOUR circumstances (and spirituality)

Also: “Does it make more sense?” Who cares!!!

Clip #3:

Kid: (Hmmm...Armageddon will be terrifying with people dying everywhere.)

Elder: "Don't worry about it! God has lots of experience killing everyone in sight! Assyria soldiers, babies in the Great Flood, whenever and wherever!"

I’ve had elders and COs tell me specifically that it’s more important to attend the congregation that’s best for YOUR circumstances (and spirituality)

13

Watch Tower Farms

by Lost in the fog in

i know that the farms have been around for decades but i was wondering if the watch tower farms ever abbreviate their name simply to wtf?

.

respectful_observer

Give the “WTF” stenciled all over Wallkill, I suspect one of the motivations to official change the name of the property to “Wallkill Bethel” was the emergence of “WTF” in the last decade or so into common slang

74

The book burning has started

by pale.emperor in

don't know if this is a global thing but i've just been told by a pimo member of my old congregation that a min servant has been given the task of destroying all old books/literature in the kh library prior to 1992.. could be the elders (or even one of them) on a mission to stamp out dissent as my ex-wife used the same reasoning to her elder dad that i used in my jc: rutherfords books containing failed predictions.. anyone else heared anything?.

the ms who's been given the task is a company man.

no hope of him keeping them or selling them on ebay.. they have some russell books in that library too.

respectful_observer

The concept of the "Overlapping Generation" is quite simple really. I find this graphic to be helpful:

23

Has the Great Tribulation Already started?

by The Fall Guy in

w55 10/15 p. 623 par.

w56 12/15 p. 755 par.

w56 2/15 p. 119 par.

respectful_observer

I'm of the mind that eventually the GB will claim NuLite that the GT has already started-- albeit "invisibly" (or only with those (read: JWs only) with the spiritual awareness to recognize the signs. They'll draw a parallel to "only God's Organization" recognized that Jesus began to reign in 1914, and that no one in Christendom or earthly governments did. It's a win-win for them to do so because it will drive the Kool-aid J-dubs wild, scare quite a few PIMOs to return-- and because the GT has no set time limit, they can milk it for 2 or 3 decades at least. Suddenly tragic world events and criticism of the WT aren't "signs of the last days", they are secret signals to JWs reinforcing the teaching that the GT is really underway.

13

2 BOE's arrived-2018 Newsletter and Visitor Centre Update!

by Atlantis in

2 boe's arrived.. .

2018-01-20--chelmsford visitor centre update.

https://we.tl/wkfhroydcs.

respectful_observer

Next time you encounter a J-dub who's crowing about going on this construction site tour, you should respond with equal enthusiasm and say:

"Wow! That sounds so cool! You know, have you heard about the new Tesco they just broke ground on two towns away?! I'm organizing a group of friends to go next weekend and view the construction site. Want to come?!

There's also a new M&S just announced, so can't wait to tour that construction site too!!"

53

Crisis of Conscience where to find?

by Jules Saturn in

does anyone know where i can get a pdf version of this book?

i’ve always wanted a physical copy but those seem really hard to come by, and if you look online they’re super expensive.

thank you.. -jules.

respectful_observer

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered ad nauseum on other older threads, but can't seem to find an answer.

Understanding how CoC is becoming harder and harder to find, is there any speculation that the WT has somehow acquired the legal rights, or may have entered into some agreement (read: financial payout with confidentiality clause attached) with the copyright owner, to prevent future printings or electronic distribution?

...............

EDIT: Found this thread where Blondie confirms knowing the copyright owner personally:

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5944127975849984/publisher-offers-print-cofc-without-cost?page=2

Assuming Blondie wouldn't consort with someone who was near and dear to Ray, but then agree to some backroom payoff from WT to keep CoC off the shelves and internet, any other insights into why the lack of a current edition in print physically or as an e-book?

37

Thank you, George Couch!

by charonsdog in

i just thought i'd share this story from my past.. back in the 80s i remember the big problem seemed to be about music.

(today, it's tight pants, i guess) the organization, society, whatever they were calling themselves, were always going on about the music we listened to.

disco, heavy metal, the whole "backwards masking" thing...couldn't escape hearing or reading about how satan was corrupting us unless we were listening to kingdom melodies or elevator music.. i was assigned to wtf in the late 80s and remember one of the articles stating that "young people know that the rhythm of rock music is the rhythm of sexual intercourse.

respectful_observer

My rather self-righteous (at the time) elder cousin decided that his nephew's Beastie Boys CD (and the rest his CD collection) was so bad that in the middle of his rant he threw the whole thing out the window of the car at highway speed.

This is the same elder who was blissfully unaware at the time that one of his kids was an active opiate user, and the other was dating a coke dealer and had a secret abortion while she was a teen (he still doesn't know about that one).

respectful_observer

Posts by respectful_observer