Listener

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Posts by Listener

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  6

  Royal Commission nto child sex abuse - confidentiality

  by Listener in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this was reported in the west australian newspaper yesterday.

  "victims' agreements no bar for abuse inquiry - the head of the royal commission into child sex abuse has warned institutions they will not be able to hide behind confidential.ity agreements to stymie scrutiny of their conduct or stop victims speaking out.

  in his first public comments since his appointment, justice peter mcclellan said the commission wold not hesitate to use its power to compel organisations to give evidence if deemed to be necessary for the inquiry.... some legal experts had suggested that the royal commission would not be able to override confidentiality agreements signed by victims when settling claims against organisations but justice mcclellan made clear the agreements would not be a barrier.

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  Listener

  I understand it to be as follows:

  The State of Victoria set up an Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations and this was done through the Victorian Parliament. There were hearings and submissions with Unthank making an appearance and being restricted to thef 'terms of reference'.

  The Federal Government decided that the matter was of such great importance that a Royal Commission was required and announced they would set one up. A Royal Commission has a lot of power and it is generally more than that of a judge. As mentioned in the article above, they may be able to void confidentiality agreements and have suggested they will do so. Public hearings for this Royal Commission have not begun and no dates have been set. It is expected to take a significant amount of time and this is likely to mean years.

  The Victorian Inquiry is still ongoing. This is a summary of a couple of media releases from the Victorian Parliament

  13 NOVEMBER 2012 — Media comment regarding announcement of Royal Commission

  From Ms Georgie Crozier MP, Committee Chair

  "The Inquiry's work thus far has bought to light important revelations that have been key to the Federal Government deciding to call a royal commission."

  "From our part, a significant amount of work has already been undertaken and there is more we can achieve but we obviously need further detail of the federal inquiry including its terms of reference before making any changes to our work."

  12 NOVEMBER 2012 — Media comment regarding announcement of Royal Commission

  From a spokesperson for the Committee

  "The Premier has tonight released a statement saying that the Victorian Government will work to appropriately bring together the work of the Victorian Parliamentary Committee's inquiry and the federal inquiry."

  "The Committee has already undertaken a significant amount of work and until we receive further detail of the Commonwealth's

  approach, we will continue to progress our work on this important issue."
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  40

  Another visit from the elders

  by jonno12225 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i have another visit from the elder this week.

  this time they want to speak with my wife, still a believer and myself.

  i think they want to know my position about my children attending the meetings and some other things.. while preparing myself for it i though of a challenge for the elders and my wife.

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  Listener

  This is how they get there new light

  Jeoff Jackson - How Is Spiritual Food Prepared?

  2 principles;1: Dan12:4 Always make continuous, careful search. 2:. 1Co r4:6, 'don't go beyond the things that are written'. Where do the ideas come from(always asked). There is no hole in the ceiling of the GB conference room! Receive reports from branchs, Zone, and other travelling overseers. Also the GB are constantly reading the bible personally. Others assist in writing. All editorial work is 'closely supervised' by GB. All GB read 2 or 3 times all the material before it is dispensed. Key Point- When an individual GB member submits an article, it is not spiritual food until it undergoes at least 70 steps. [In a later talk by Bro. Splane, he admitted that some of his articles after submission needed 'life support and some didn't make it'].Thereby no one member of GB can influence matters on his own. What if question about current understanding of a truth? GB assign brothers to research, then GB reconsider, pray about it. "No yes men on the GB". Robust discussion. "If GB can't all agree, matter put on hold. Some things are put on hold for years, until ALL are moved by HS!!" [Wonder what other things are in the 'pending file'. One brother at HQ said to me afterwards that there are quite a few! Who knows how long this knew thought on Matt24 was in the pending file??] Need to show courage to change our understanding of long held, sometime cherished beliefs. EG brothers with Xmas, cross and birthdays. Keep in mind that the truth hasn't changed, only our understanding of it!

  This was reported from the Annual Meeting 2012 and posted by ultimate reality

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/239637/1/2012-Annual-Meeting-MORE-notes
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  6

  Royal Commission nto child sex abuse - confidentiality

  by Listener in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this was reported in the west australian newspaper yesterday.

  "victims' agreements no bar for abuse inquiry - the head of the royal commission into child sex abuse has warned institutions they will not be able to hide behind confidential.ity agreements to stymie scrutiny of their conduct or stop victims speaking out.

  in his first public comments since his appointment, justice peter mcclellan said the commission wold not hesitate to use its power to compel organisations to give evidence if deemed to be necessary for the inquiry.... some legal experts had suggested that the royal commission would not be able to override confidentiality agreements signed by victims when settling claims against organisations but justice mcclellan made clear the agreements would not be a barrier.

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  Listener

  This was reported in the West Australian Newspaper yesterday

  "Victims' agreements no bar for abuse inquiry - The head of the royal commission into child sex abuse has warned institutions they will not be able to hide behind confidential.ity agreements to stymie scrutiny of their conduct or stop victims speaking out.

  In his first public comments since his appointment, Justice Peter McClellan said the commission wold not hesitate to use its power to compel organisations to give evidence if deemed to be necessary for the inquiry...

  Some legal experts had suggested that the royal commission would not be able to override confidentiality agreements signed by victims when settling claims against organisations but Justice McClellan made clear the agreements would not be a barrier.

  "We wish to empasise that under the Royal Commission Act, the commission has powers to compel the production of evidence, including documents, an we will not hesitate in an appropriate case to exercise those powers" Justice McClellan said.

  Commissioners would collect evidence in public where possible but he acknowledged some witnesses might be reluctant to air their stories in an open forum. In those cases, proceedings could take place in private and real names not used, he said."

  Sounds like this is going to be a very thorough investigation.
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  9

  Secular forum reacts to FDS "new light"

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's a short discussion, but it's interesting to see an outsider's perspective on the "new light.".

  http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=251464.

  cedars.

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  Listener

  Thanks for the link.

  TSIG's comment was good -

  "How soon til the eight become seven and the seven become six til there's only one."

  Regardless of whom Jesus appointed (if you go along with the WTBTS interpretation) the GB have total control of whom they choose to be part of the FDS, whether that is one person or a hundred. With the previous interpretation this was not the case.
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  13

  Kingdom Rhapsody (Too funny)!

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  wtf?.

  this would have never happened 20 years ago!

  lol.

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  Listener

  I wrote a similar comment earlier today cantleave and it has been taken off. They've blocked me from posting any more comments.

  I suggested that they may as well used a Christmas Carol song and changed the lyrics.
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  52

  Expectation is not a false prohecy, Is the Watchtower Society in the clear ?

  by wasblind in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  because there is a difference.

  to expect somethin' doesn't mean it will happen.

  for years the wts made a direct prophecy and have claimed to meet the qualifications.

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  Listener

  They forget that they are in control of a publishing company that proclaims these dates to the public. They make these proclamations with the intent of gaining followers. A prophet is not someone who keeps things to himself, he makes them know as widely as he can. The WTBTS are more than just a watchman, who reports on what is seen. They are religious leaders and therefore false prophets.
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  40

  Cut and Paste of "The List" by Prominent Bethelite of Previous Watchtower Predicted Dates

  by TMS in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  " {watchtower sep 1 1989 12}.

  " {tiah 240-1, also references in wr oct 1879 3941, tkic 84}.

  '" {zions watchtower mar 1880 repr 82}.

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  Listener

  Thanks for the list.
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  8

  How to answer a JW's praise of the NWT?

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. social
  2. humour

  i questioned a jw today on the reliability of the nwt.

  his cut&paste response was as follows.. .

  whowerethetranslators?.

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  Listener

  They are not prepared to disclose who the authors are but they have no problem with GB members signing bibles for men in authority.

  *** w99 5/15 pp. 7-9 A Historic Visit Makes an Island Rejoice ***
  Governing Body members sign gift Bibles for public officials
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  22

  Jw.Org & Mormon.Org See something similar? Me too...

  by TeenageInsider in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://www.jw.org.

  http://www.mormon.org.

  has anyone noticed the site is veeeery similar?

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  Listener

  Out of many global horror news stories both sites chose to put up a news article on the Connecticut shooting.

  The mormons published theirs a few days prior to the JWs. The mormons article is far superior to the JWs.
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  15

  District Assembly Vehicle Parking Passes: $5.00

  by Calebs Airplane in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've been out for a few years now, but when i was in, we frequently had to purchase "vehicle parking passes" several weeks before the start of our district assembly (depending on the coliseum or stadium being rented at the time).

  it was usually $5.00 and you were given a 10" x 4" (or so) card with the assembly title/theme printed on.

  according to the instructions from a branch letter that was read out loud (usually at the end of the service meeting), this card had to be placed on the right side of your dashboard such that the dub parking attendants can easily see it as you drive through the parking entrance.

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  Listener

  This arrangement doesn't sound like it was voluntary and I wonder if they paid the appropriate taxes on this charge.