Posts by Gerard

"Today orders to buy or sell stock can be placed over the telephone, through the Internet, or in person. The broker then needs to execute the order on behalf of the investor. If the stock is traded on a traditional trading floor, the brokerage office directs one of its floor brokers to buy or sell stock for the investor. In recent years some exchanges have adopted a completely electronic trading system, where trades can be made seconds after the order is placed with a broker."

Yet as of May 2003, the Watchtower still retains ownership of the Sister Companies' shares. Why? It is not about "your conscience," it is about THEIR MONEY.

14

Are dubs allowed to invest?

by SpiceItUp in

jw
friends

.

technically its a gamble and thats not allowed but i think they could side step it if they really wanted to.. has there ever been any article on it?.

Gerard

Yes, they've done an article: (eg: blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...)

http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2000/10/8a/article_01.htm

"How a person chooses to invest his money is a personal decision. "

So the Watchtower's GB invests in engines for the Navy's SWARM spy planes.

16

Naive financial questions

by gcc2k in

this is a sort-of-followup to my previous thread on "wt as sally mae" and the kh remodeling thread.. we all know that the wt must have a lot of money.

my big issue is, where does the money go, and whom does it benefit?.

so, my naive questions:.

Gerard

According to the New York Times, the 30-building Brooklyn Heights complex is worth $186 million, and the tax-exempt status of the property costs New York City $7.3 million a year in lost revenue. A 1991 credit report estimates annual corporate sales at $1.25 billion. But since they offer publications in return for "donations," they avoid sales tax. The printing and distribution of their literature by unpaid volunteers maximizes the profit margin.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Styx/2347/atheistessay4.html

16

Naive financial questions

by gcc2k in

this is a sort-of-followup to my previous thread on "wt as sally mae" and the kh remodeling thread.. we all know that the wt must have a lot of money.

my big issue is, where does the money go, and whom does it benefit?.

so, my naive questions:.

Gerard

Oops! Forgot to mention their mines:

1) The WT owns and operates a shale mine in NY

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dmn/minres/shale_xls.htm

306

3

0227

WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY

SHALE MINE

900 RED MILLS ROAD

WALLKILL

NY

12589

914-744-2041

DENNIS OSTENDORF

SHALE

A

3

ULSTER

SHAWANGUNK

2) The WT got a $30,000 polluting fine < http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=36527&site=3 on the same shale mine.

3) Now, this "environmentaly responsible" owner/operator expands its Earth-raping operation to a sand and gravel mine:

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dmn/minres/sg4_xls.htm

306

3

0243

WATCHTOWER BIBLE SOCIETY

BIRCH RD.

900 RED MILLS RD.

WALLKILL

NY

12589

914-744-2041

DENNIS OSTENDORF

SAND AND GRAVEL

A

3

ULSTER

SHAWANGUNK

16

Naive financial questions

by gcc2k in

this is a sort-of-followup to my previous thread on "wt as sally mae" and the kh remodeling thread.. we all know that the wt must have a lot of money.

my big issue is, where does the money go, and whom does it benefit?.

so, my naive questions:.

Gerard

[FromNewsday.com, in an article reporting the top-40 New York City corporations.]
[ http://www.newsday.com/business/printedition/ny-cvtop52369349sep17.story?coll=ny%2Dbusiness%2Dprint]

Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York

25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, 11201

718-560-5000

www.jw-media.org

Revenue: $951 million
Industry: Publishing

President: Milton Henshel

Employees: 3,415

It takes a lot of printing to supply more than 6 million Jehovah's Witnesses with the materials for their ministry. One publication, Watchtower, now has an average print run of 23 million copies twice per month, an increase of 7.5 percent over last year.

"Our report for the year is different from a Wall Street company," said vice president George Couch. Indeed, the company's employees are volunteers who live and work in the Brooklyn complex.

Biggest Pressline order ever:

http://members.whattheythink.com/news/newslink.cfm?id=9398

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/919034/000104746902007862/a2087860z485bpos.txt

I just found another company on which the Watchtower is a shareholder:
MUTUAL FUND TRUST , located in: 522 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10036
The WT is listed as a shareholder under the name of:
WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
ATTN TREASURERS OFFICE
DOMESTIC CASH MANAGEMENT
25 COLUMBIA HTS BROOKLYN NY 11201-1300
Percentage held: 5.51%

The WTBTS of PA is actually listed as 5.51% owner of the J P Morgan Liquid Assets Money Market Fund:

LIQUID ASSETS MONEY MARKET FUND JP MORGAN CHASE BANK AS AGENT FOR 8.10%
(INSTITUTIONAL SHARES) PAUL G ALLEN
ATTN SPECIAL PRODUCTS
500 STANTON CHRISTIANA RD
1/OPS 3
NEWARK DE 19713
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK AS AGENT FOR 6.45%
ICO GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS
ATTN SPECIAL PRODUCTS
500 STANTON CHRISTIANA RD
1/OPS 3
NEWARK DE 19713
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK 5.81%
LIPPER CONVERTIBLES LP
ATTN: FUND OPERATIONS 3/OPS3
500 STANTON CHRISTIANA ROAD
NEWARK DE 19713-2105
JP MORGAN SECURITIES LENDING ASSET 5.77%
MANAGEMENT
ATTN ADAM BRINTON
4 NEW YORK PLZ FL 18
NEW YORK NY 10004-2413
BEAR STEARNS SECURITIES CORP 5.77%
1 METROTECH CTR N
BROOKLYN NY 11201-3870
WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF 5.51% PENNSYLVANIA ATTN TREASURERS OFFICE DOMESTIC CASH
MANAGEMENT
25 COLUMBIA HTS
BROOKLYN NY 11201-1300

If you go to http://www.jpmorganfunds.com/index.jsp?uuid=F11404F1E66B3AD4-10390318391991990&fund=2252&team_id=3 and click on "Fund Profile" under "Fund Literature", it will tell you that the fund assets are $1.69 Billion. If you take 5.51% of that $1.69 Billion comes to $93,119,000. That is some serious money!

http://www.oha.doe.gov/cases/refunds/2002/September/rk27201885.htm

U. S. Department of Energy

Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA)

Case No. RK272-01885

September 5, 2002

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Supplemental Order

Names of Cases: Watchtower Bible & Tract Society

Dates of Cases: July 14, 1995

Case Numbers: RK272-01885

Pursuant to the long-standing policy of the Department of Energy (DOE), thousands of purchasers of petroleum products have applied for, and been granted, refunds from crude oil overcharge funds under the jurisdiction of the DOEs Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). See Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy To Be Implemented In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). The standards for considering Applications for Refund from these crude oil funds are set forth at 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.

The OHA has approved more than 87,000 requests for refund from the pool of crude oil overcharge funds. In Subpart V crude oil refund cases, a claimant is generally eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons of eligible refined petroleum products it purchased during the period from August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981, multiplied by a per gallon amount. That per gallon refund amount is derived by dividing the total refund monies available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the crude oil price control period. Refunds had been calculated by multiplying the number of gallons of eligible refined petroleum products purchased by the applicant by $0.0008 (the volumetric factor). That volumetric factor had been in use since April 1989, when it replaced an earlier volumetric factor of $0.0002 per gallon. Any applicant who received a refund at the lower volumetric factor also received a supplemental refund based on an additional $0.0006 per gallon. See Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution, 18 DOE 85,878 (1989).

Additional crude oil overcharge funds have become available for disbursement and we can now issue additional refund checks to applicants. Sufficient funds are available to pay applicants at a new, aggregate rate of $0.0016 per gallon.(1) Thus, the amount of the supplemental refund will be equal to the refund already received. Refunds are rounded to the nearest dollar.

In order to receive a supplemental refund check, applicants are being required to verify (directly or through their representatives) that their name and address in our records are correct, to correct any information that is not accurate, and to indicate whether there has been any change in circumstances affecting the payment of the refund. We intend to issue a series of Decision and Orders approving supplemental refunds as we receive completed verification forms from all applicants or certifications from their representatives.

This Decision and Order contains the name and address of a claimant receiving one of these supplemental refund checks. In this case, we were informed that there had been a change of circumstances since the previous refund was disbursed. Accordingly, we set up a new case file (designated RK272-)(2) and investigated whether the party that submitted the verification form (or on whose behalf the form was submitted) was the proper party to receive the supplemental refund. On the basis of that investigation, we have determined that the party listed below is the proper recipient of the supplemental refund. The dollar amount of the supplemental refund being approved in this Order for the claimant is $7,787.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll, Office of Departmental Accounting and Financial Systems Development, Office of the Controller of the Department of Energy shall take appropriate action to disburse a supplemental refund of $7,787 to the claimant at the following address:

Watchtower Bible & Tract Society

c/o James Kimball

25 Columbia Heights

Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483

(2) The funds shall be disbursed from the escrow fund denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of Treasury.

(3) To facilitate the payment of any future refunds, an applicant shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change of address, or if an address correction is necessary. Such notification shall be sent to:

Office of Hearings and Appeals

HG-1/LEnfant Plaza Building

U.S. Department of Energy

1000 Independence Ave., S.W.

Washington, DC 20585-1615

(4) Any conditions imposed that applied to an applicants receipt of the initial crude oil refund shall also apply to that applicants receipt of this supplemental refund.

(5) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Now think of it for a second: for a refund of $7,787 at a rate of $0.0006 per gallon, the WT must have traded 12,978,333 gallons (thats almost thirteen million gallons of crude oil!) The dates of case originaly filed is July 14, 1995, closed on September 5, 2002 but it is unclear to me the time range in which the WT purchased this large volume of crude oil - and its use.

Full details can be downloaded from OHA Crude Oil Refunds Information--Database Crude Oil Refund Data Base. The file will require an additional 24Mb of disk space.": http://www.oha.doe.gov/data.htm

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001207X03587&ntsbno=ANC95LA077&akey=1

ANC95LA077

"On June 12, 1995, at 1530 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 402B airplane, N710WS, registered to and operated by the Watchtower Bible Organization and Tract Society, collapsed its nose gear while taxiing back after landing. The business flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed Good News, Alaska, and the destination was Tuntutuliak, Alaska. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airline transport certificated pilot and the three passengers were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged.

According to the Director of the Watchtower Bible Organization, who was also a passenger on the airplane, they were taxiing back to the ramp after landing. The runway had just been graded and a small depression in the runway's surface was filled with soft material. The airplane's nose gear rolled into the depression and the nose gear collapsed.

The Director of the Watchtower Bible Organization stated that the soft area on the runway had been marked with yellow cones. He stated that the runway maintenance person told them the cones were removed so the runway surface could be graded. The cones had not been replaced.

There were no NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen) issued. The Alaska Supplement, however, states that runway conditions are not monitored and that a visual inspection is recommended. The supplement states that there are dips and ruts to 4 inches deep."

Cruise Speed: 210 kts Fuel Capacity: 102.00 gal Range: 1180 nautical miles.

Cessna 402B , The letter "B" stands for Business comfort & Luxury.

Their destination, Tuntutuliak, Alaska is located 440 miles west of Anchorage with one well known activity : Salmon fishing.

Think of them having fun with their luxurious airplanes next time you go out on the field or send them your money!

14

Animals 'are moral beings'

by Gerard in

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3014747.stm

animals 'are moral beings' .

by alex kirby .

Gerard

http://www.polaris.net/~rblacks/dolphins.htm

Nineteen centuries ago, Plutarch, a Greek moralist and biographer made this statement: "to the dolphin alone, beyond all other, nature has granted what the best philosophers seek: friendship for no advantage". 1 In our own times Barbara Tufty made the comment "he [Dolphins] also exhibits a friendly willingness to cooperate with other earth creatures -- a rare attribute which another animal, Homo Sapiens, has not yet learned to do with any consistency".2 Apparently there is something quite impressive about Dolphins. Not only now, when we are learning so much more about them, but even in the year 62 AD!

Outside of his striking friendliness, the Dolphin seems to have been blessed with a well developed sense of humor. Dolphins have been known to silently maneuver behind an unsuspecting pelican and snatch its tail feathers -- usually leaving the bird minus a few. Other pranks include grabbing unsuspecting fish by the tail, pulling them backward a few feet as well as bothering slow turtles by rolling them over and over. Once a dolphin was seen placing a piece of squid near a grouper's rock cranny. When the fish came out, the dolphin promptly snatched the bait away, leaving the puzzled fish behind.

45

Would you take blood now that you are not a JW and why?

by Joyzabel in

i have a friend, xjw, who is having medical problems and no matter what i seem to say to her, i can tell she has not gotten over the issue of <gasp> no blood.

since the no blood stand was so ingrained in us as jws (almost like the unforgivable sin) my friend just cant seem to let go of that thinking.

i know i get too clinical at times, so i need some help with reasons why taking blood is or is not an issue for you anymore.

Gerard

There are examples, where opposing moralities clash when I would not be so hesitant. If a child was likely to die because its parents were Jehovah's Witnesses and were refusing a blood transfusion on religious grounds, I'd argue - as sensitively as possible - that the state should overrule that particular religious doctrine (oh, and tell the parents to get back to the Planet Quargon).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,957193,00.html

14

Church elders sentenced to 15 years for $6 million theft

by metatron_jr in

i'm astonished this hasn't already been posted.... .

from http://www.helenair.com/articles/2003/05/13/breaking/latest0004.txt.

church elders sentenced to 15 years for $6 million theft.

Gerard

You don't get it, do you?

These elders saw the "new light" and had a "divine inspiration" from Jehovah that He wanted them to rip-off the old lady. Jehovah wanted it that way!!!!!!!

3

WT's Complaint Dept. Open for Business

by Gerard in

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watchtower's

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Gerard

WATCHTOWER'S