Posts by NotFormer

15

Article: Jehovah's Witnesses lose court fight to obtain abuse inquiry report before victims

by Tahoe in

jehovah's witnesses have tried - and failed - to get an advance copy of the abuse in care inquiry's final report into their church.. the christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses australasia (ccjwa) filed an urgent claim in the high court in auckland on 21 june to obtain a copy of the final case study relating to the religious denomination in the inquiry's report, but the claim was dismissed.. it also unsuccessfully sought all relevant underlying documents supporting the case study.. in a separate case, the jehovah's witnesses also filed for leave to appeal to the supreme court after the court of appeal dismissed an earlier bid to avoid the scrutiny of the inquiry altogether.. rnz understands the ccjwa received and commented on a draft copy of the case study in may, but has yet to see a final draft.. if its high court claim had been successful, it could have led to the church receiving a copy before the government or abuse survivors had read the report.. jehovah's witnesses is the only religious group to take legal action against the commission.. it has taken similar action against public inquiries overseas, including in australia and the united kingdom.. in a statement, a jehovah's witnesses spokesperson said it had no choice but to go to court.. "we are in full agreement with the inquiry's objective to protect children but have serious concerns about the accuracy of the report regarding jehovah's witnesses.. "child protection is of utmost concern to jehovah's witnesses and we believe the people of new zealand, its decision-makers and most importantly survivors, deserve to be presented with accurate information.

we have no choice but to resort to court to address these issues.".

the inquiry is due to hand its final report to the governor-general on wednesday, wrapping up six years of work.. after that, it will be passed to internal affairs brooke van velden, who must table the report in parliament before it is made public.. that was expected to happen in the week beginning 22 july.. survivors of church abuse new zealand spokesperson and former jehovah's witnesses elder shayne mechen said former jehovah's witnesses members and survivors had been angered by the new court action.. "they are feeling angry and frustrated because it shows they [the church] don't care.".

NotFormer

karter, did the closing of their own branch upset the NZ dubs? I can just imagine the bean counters in NY saying: "We'll close the branch in NZ and make great savings by operating the NZ "work" out of the Australian branch. It doesn't make any difference; it's all the same, anyway!"*

I have had a few friends from NZ over the years and I can imagine how much that attitude would piss them off.

*For those playing along at home, NZ was separated out from under the NSW colony in 1840 and became a colony in its own right. It was invited to the talks about forming the Commonwealth of Australia in the 1890s but decided to remain its own country.

13

Famous current and former Jehovah's Witnesses

by Balaamsass2 in

it's fluff clickbait...but...what other famous people are current or ex-jws?.

famous people you didn't know were jehovah's witnesses.

story by stars insider.

NotFormer

Ah, hidden in the secret files of Jehovah's totally open and above board organisation! 🙄

Thanks, Blondie!

15

Article: Jehovah's Witnesses lose court fight to obtain abuse inquiry report before victims

by Tahoe in

jehovah's witnesses have tried - and failed - to get an advance copy of the abuse in care inquiry's final report into their church.. the christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses australasia (ccjwa) filed an urgent claim in the high court in auckland on 21 june to obtain a copy of the final case study relating to the religious denomination in the inquiry's report, but the claim was dismissed.. it also unsuccessfully sought all relevant underlying documents supporting the case study.. in a separate case, the jehovah's witnesses also filed for leave to appeal to the supreme court after the court of appeal dismissed an earlier bid to avoid the scrutiny of the inquiry altogether.. rnz understands the ccjwa received and commented on a draft copy of the case study in may, but has yet to see a final draft.. if its high court claim had been successful, it could have led to the church receiving a copy before the government or abuse survivors had read the report.. jehovah's witnesses is the only religious group to take legal action against the commission.. it has taken similar action against public inquiries overseas, including in australia and the united kingdom.. in a statement, a jehovah's witnesses spokesperson said it had no choice but to go to court.. "we are in full agreement with the inquiry's objective to protect children but have serious concerns about the accuracy of the report regarding jehovah's witnesses.. "child protection is of utmost concern to jehovah's witnesses and we believe the people of new zealand, its decision-makers and most importantly survivors, deserve to be presented with accurate information.

we have no choice but to resort to court to address these issues.".

the inquiry is due to hand its final report to the governor-general on wednesday, wrapping up six years of work.. after that, it will be passed to internal affairs brooke van velden, who must table the report in parliament before it is made public.. that was expected to happen in the week beginning 22 july.. survivors of church abuse new zealand spokesperson and former jehovah's witnesses elder shayne mechen said former jehovah's witnesses members and survivors had been angered by the new court action.. "they are feeling angry and frustrated because it shows they [the church] don't care.".

NotFormer

Did a bit of online searching regarding The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses Australasia (I'll probably post something later about the article itself)

The ASIC* register lists them as CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES (AUSTRALASIA) LIMITED, Type: Australian Public Company, Limited By Guarantee. Locality of registered office: DENHAM COURT NSW 2565.

Limited by Guarantee is a company type common for non-profits**.

I did a similar search on the New Zealand Companies Office website, but there doesn't seem to be any such entity or subsidiary listed.

It looks like New Zealand's JW operation is governed by the office in Denham Court (is that Sydney Bethel's address?).

So the New Zealand inquiry is being handled by the Australian branch as far as I can tell. I wonder who the legal team is. Do they have any loyal JW barristers in New Zealand? Or here in Australia, for that matter.

No smoking gun in this post. Just exercising a bit of curiosity.

*Australian Securities and Investments Commission

** A for-profit company would probably be Limited by Shares. And should the WT need that sort of structure, they'd probably choose a private company (Proprietary Limited) over a public (Limited) company.

13

Famous current and former Jehovah's Witnesses

by Balaamsass2 in

it's fluff clickbait...but...what other famous people are current or ex-jws?.

famous people you didn't know were jehovah's witnesses.

story by stars insider.

NotFormer

"Why should we have unnecessary social contact with people who still pursue worldly ways and who have not become worshipers of Jehovah?"

I don't know, maybe social contact with outsiders in a social setting might convince them that you are not the insular, vicious death-cult* that you actually are? 🙄

They've painted themselves into a bit of corner by their exclusivity. By shunning people who aren't convinced but would be happy to support their friends and family who still are, they miss out on the benefits of being a highly regarded mainstream religion. Nominal Catholics don't raise any eyebrows, still attend the occasional mass and probably put a few dollars in the plate when they do. JWs only have one special "feast day" where hangers on can attend. And I imagine that it's risky to attend for faders because the elders may notice them.

A few social gatherings where you can bring a friend probably wouldn't be as detrimental as the disconnected-from-the-rest-of-humanity Bethelites fear**

Blondie, do you have a source for that segment you quoted?

*Bragging about the children they've killed through the blood doctrine and having HLCs to ensure more of those deaths makes them a vicious death-cult, IMO. Suicides due to shunning probably doesn't help their image, either.

** It's always about fear, isn't it! It's their prime motivator.

27

Assembly Attendence

by Riley in

i am in western canada.

we use to have our assembly in saskatoon.

our assembly has moved to medicine hat.

NotFormer

"...and charging $$/publisher for those assigned to attend there."

"...keeping the rental fee in their own pockets, as well as asking for more money."

Let me guess: "... to cover costs!"?

12

SEPTEMBER 2024 Study Watchtower - Warnings for JW's!

by BoogerMan in

what warnings are the cult giving the "sheeple?".

in the study article on page 20 - "are you heeding the warnings?

", jw's are threatened what their fate will be if they don't support the elite, "anointed" jw's, the 33 degree aka, the self-appointed gibbering body - they will be toast very soon:.

NotFormer

They are bastards and sons of whores.

I've gotten shade for not having ever been a JW and yet being so vehemently against the GB. The more I read about the contempt with which the R&F are held by the GB, the more furious I get. The above quote from Seabreeze is pulling punches, IMO. I've never forgiven the JW GB for that article in the Awake! in the 90s, where they bragged about all their children whom they had killed through their blood transfusion policy.

I seriously hope that their hubris catches up with them, and that they serve prison terms for their complicity in the CSA cover-ups.

72

Coming soon: Governing Body Update #4

by ukpimo in

the upcoming governing body update, set to be released on friday this week, will feature a bearded samuel herd.. jwtalk website revealed the leak, so this thread will be used to speculate the content of the update and discuss the actual contents after its release..

NotFormer

Vidiot: Please, please, please, please, PLEASE form that band! I'll be your number one fan! LOL

20

Jehovah's Witnesses and Watchtower provide Shelter and relief to poor of NYC...by leaving...

by Balaamsass2 in

after over 100 years...watchtower helps the poor of nyc...by leaving!!

jehovah's witnesses hotel becomes affordable housing.

developed by breaking ground, 90 sands brings new housing opportunities to brooklyn.. .

NotFormer

I heard many JWs lie and claim to have mental issues to qualify for government aid/handouts and peddle for WT.

I'd be interested to know how many pioneers in Australia are on Disability Support Pensions (DSP)*. Of course, such details are covered by confidentiality legislation, so we'll never know. I imagine that the little old lady JW pioneers that I knew back in the day were on the Age Pension.

* You only have to demonstrate 20% incapacity for any** disability, including mental health issues, to get it.

** There're probably strict definitions as to what constitutes a disability.

13

Famous current and former Jehovah's Witnesses

by Balaamsass2 in

it's fluff clickbait...but...what other famous people are current or ex-jws?.

famous people you didn't know were jehovah's witnesses.

story by stars insider.

NotFormer

I followed the link in the OP's post and read about Selena Quintanilla*. What struck me was her father's attitude to the fact that the surgeons gave her blood transfusions. It made me angry. In previous days, I'd be tempted to send a letter to him with a single sentence on the page: "They were trying to save her life, you moron!" These days, I'm content that he has to live with himself; surely**, that's punishment enough.

*Like many in the list, I'd never heard of her before.

** https://youtu.be/KM2K7sV-K74?si=fcNRLQMLdqL-Pj8A

17

Because it's possible

by Gorb in

jw
friends

in holland we say "not because it is requierd, but because it's possible.

before we shaved, and now we let it grow.

pinky ring, too!.

NotFormer

Balaamsass2 That photo of Franz is interesting and possibly instructive. Even though he's wearing a flannelette* shirt, he's still wearing a tie**. Even in JW land, I don't see how that made it alright! Rules for thee, but not for me, perhaps? I bet that he wasn't wearing jeans with that shirt. Probably a pair of trousers with a crease so sharp you could cut yourself on it!

*In Australia, they're made from cotton, not wool, so we don't call them flannel shirts***.

** It doesn't excuse anything: it still looks ridiculous!

***People who wore those shirts used to be called "Westies" (for the lower-class Western suburbs of Sydney: Penrith, Mt. Druitt, etc.). Now the term is "Bogan".