Are you sure there is any causal link between the Bulgarian case and the doctrinal change on civilian service? That seems like a pretty big assumption. For example, after refusal to register JW in Germany as public-law corporation due to, inter alia, prohibition on voting, WTS didn't overruled it, despite the fact that the recognition by Germany was much, much more important than registration in Bulgaria.
Corney
JoinedPosts by Corney
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Help with article on Watchtower Changes due to Legal Pressure
by jwfacts inat https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/8j8fj9/what_legal_requirements_have_forced_the/excircuitoverseer started an excellent thread on areas watchtower has changed due to legal pressure.
this has promoted me to gather the information into an article.
there is a number of points that i would like to expand on, and need assistance in finding information.. the article is at https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/blog/changes-due-to-legal-pressure.php.
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Corney
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JW Persecution in Murmansk, Refugees hit Finland
by Slidin Fast inyou know, disagreeing and with and hating all the cultish beliefs and practices that mark out jwdom doesn;t make it ok to treat them like russia is doing.
this is one time i find myself defending these largely goodhearted but misled people.
if only the gb members and their squad had stayed around to face what they are expecting their followers to face.. https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/life-and-public/2018/04/fsb-starts-detaining-jehovahs-whiteness-kola-dozens-flee-finland.
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Corney
This happens not only in Murmansk; criminal cases now opened in at least 9 towns, and I think there will be much more prosecutions when the Russian Munich-36 is over. In Tver region, children were seized from deaf woman without even decision of "court". And the crazy dictatorship is the one who bears primary responsibility for such actions - its "experts" produced the pseudo-scientific delirium of "expert reports", its law enforcement officers planted evidences, its kangaroo "courts" delivered ridiculous and poorly reasoned "judgments" etc. etc.
Alex Bogdanov
I know for a fact Russian government asked Jehovah's Witnesses to 1. Change their name into a more Russian. (Macdonalds in Russia called differently depending on the county) 2. Change the name of the magazines into more Russian. 3 And most of all make a centre for JW work in Russia in Russia. Not a Bethel. But an office that won't constantly report to USA. If the GB really wanted to continue the ministry they could have changed a few rules and make the life of Russian JW easier. But they don't care about the people. Sort of like a dictator when sending troops to die with out any concern. They are stubborn people without any empathy. 😪
1. Do you really know this? Could you indicate your source, at least in general terms?
2. "1. Change their name into a more Russian" - is "Свидетели Иеговы" not Russian enough? Cyrillic letters, Russian words, what's wrong?
3. "Macdonalds in Russia called differently depending on the county" - are you sure? I think it's not true.
4. "2. Change the name of the magazines into more Russian" - are "Сторожевая башня" and "Пробудитесь!" not Russian enough too? Should they be named "Колокольня"/"Звонница" and "Вставай, страна огромная", yeah? And this claim is nonsense also because these magazines with "not Russian enough" names had not been being imported in Russia since 2010.
5. "3 And most of all make a centre for JW work in Russia in Russia" - this can be true. But do you understand that, first, such demand is not legitimate under Russian Constitution and international agreements; second, only man without any empathy can claim that WT's refusal justifies authorities' actions in any way?
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New World Translation REVISED Editions
by Wonderment ini have noticed some posters (with frustration) asking for information regarding the nwt in various language editions.
here is a list of some of the nwt revised language editions published so far:.
albanian; arabic; armenian; chinese traditional 2017; danish 2017; dutch-netherlands 2017; estonian; haitian creole; italian 2017; korean 2014; modern greek 2017; norwegian 2017; portuguese 2015; romanian; russian; swahili 2017; swedish 2017; ukrainian; vietnamese.. not yet published: .
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Corney
Wonderment
Here is a list of SOME of the NWT REVISED Language Editions published so far:
Albanian; Arabic; Armenian; Chinese Traditional 2017; Danish 2017; Dutch-Netherlands 2017; Estonian; Haitian Creole; Italian 2017; Korean 2014; Modern Greek 2017; Norwegian 2017; Portuguese 2015; Romanian; Russian; Swahili 2017; Swedish 2017; Ukrainian; Vietnamese.
No, there are no NWT revised editions in Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Russian and probably in few other mentioned languages. See the front pages (look at the date):
Albanian
Arabic
Armenian
Russian
By contrast, Portuguese
and Ukrainian
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Religion Project
by Darren Doody ini've recently taken a particular interest in the jehovah's witness belief, and as a result, have decided to do a project on this belief as part of my college study.
i am a student teacher in ireland, so, i am undertaking this project from an educational perspective; i want to see how jehovah's witnesses are catered for in religious education in schools, and if there are any ways one could improve it.
i would appreciate if anyone could give their opinion on this topic.
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Corney
I hope you'll find these articles useful:
Roger Homan (1988) Teaching the Children of Jehovah's Witnesses, British Journal of Religious Education, 10:3, 154-159, DOI: 10.1080/0141620880100306
Pernilla Liedgren (2016): Minorities with different values at school – the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses, British Journal of Religious Education, DOI: 10.1080/01416200.2016.1150253
Liedgren, P., & Andersson, L. (2013). Strategies Among Young Jehovah’s Witnesses in Compusory School in Sweden, Age 13 – 15, a Case Study, International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 4.1, 3–26, DOI: 10.1558/ijsnr.v4i1.3 (ResearchGate, Academia.edu)
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PORTUGAL: Petition to terminate the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness gets national news coverage
by EdenOne inthe petition is now going on 537 signatures.. today the newspaper "diário de notícias", the leading non-tabloid newspaper in the country, gave the story front page coverage and a full page to the article inside.. here are the links to the pictures of the pages:.
front page:.
page 6 and article: .
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Corney
EdenOne, could you say how many signatures meet the requirements of art. 6(3) and 17(2) of the Law no. 43/90? How many signatures are valid?
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JW.ORG logo trademark is now protected in up to 100 countries
by Corney ini. as many here know, four or five years ago watch tower society of pennsylvania tried to register jw.org and jw library trademarks in us, but uspto refused registration due to likelihood of confusion with jw player trademark.
" and "watch tower library" ones):.
jw library - registered on aug. 25, 2015;.
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Corney
Nothing too exotic about this. Companies do and protect their trademarks. So?
You're surely right but I think it's interesting and even a bit funny. For example, all WTS and IBSA publications are banned in Singapore but the Society's trademark is registered in this country in respect of, among others, digital media and printed materials "in the field of religious education... all featuring religious information relating to the tenets of the Jehovah's Witnesses denomination".
I have also created a map; maybe someone will find it interesting: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/790/40325387094_93ca9a3bf0_k.jpg
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JW.ORG logo trademark is now protected in up to 100 countries
by Corney ini. as many here know, four or five years ago watch tower society of pennsylvania tried to register jw.org and jw library trademarks in us, but uspto refused registration due to likelihood of confusion with jw player trademark.
" and "watch tower library" ones):.
jw library - registered on aug. 25, 2015;.
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Corney
I. As many here know, four or five years ago Watch Tower Society of Pennsylvania tried to register JW.ORG and JW LIBRARY trademarks in US, but USPTO refused registration due to likelihood of confusion with JW PLAYER trademark. But it was not the end. WTS petitioned for cancellation of registration for the latter mark, and later have settled with its owner: both parties agreed that the JW PLAYER registration and the JW.ORG and JW LIBRARY Marks can co-exist without a likelihood of confusion. Then WTS could obtain the registration - and on Aug. 25, 2015 it was granted. Now Watch Tower Pennsylvania owns the following registered trademarks (in addition to the old "Watch Tower", "Awake!" and "Watch Tower Library" ones):
JW.ORG - registered on Aug. 25, 2015 and Jan. 24, 2017;
JW LIBRARY - registered on Aug. 25, 2015;
JW - registered on Oct. 31, 2017 (the second application; the first one was refused).
The US registration extends to all US states and possessions, including Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
II. Watch Tower Society also moved to extend the JW.ORG trademark protection. On Nov. 2, 2015 it obtained international registration under the WIPO's Madrid System. The international application was based on the second US application (filed on May 13, 2015; registered by USPTO on Jan. 24, 2017). It should be noted that international registration doesn't automatically extend to all Madrid System member states but only to designated by applicant; a national trademark office has also power to refuse protection within the prescribed time limit (generally 12 or 18 months from receiving notification of international registration; see article 5(1) and (2) of the Madrid Protocol). Such refusal is provisional, it may be overturned or confirmed by national office. Caribbean Netherlands (3 territories: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (BES)) is the only jurisdiction in which protection is granted automatically with the designation.
Watch Tower Society designated all the Madrid Union jurisdictions (excluding EU member states because it designated the EU itself). For example, the Society requested for extension of protection to, among others, Bahrein, Iran, Singapore, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The move was generally successful.
First, the EU, the OAPI (African Intellectual Property Organization), 36 countries [1], including Australia, China, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and Switzerland, and two Dutch territories (Curaçao and Sint Maarten) sent to the WIPO's International Bureau statements of grant of protection. The EU protection extends to all 28 EU member states (and probably to Vatican), 11 (including 10 inhabited) French territories [2], and some British dependencies [3]. OAPI designation covers its 17 member states [4]). Australian protection extends to the Cocos Islands, Norfolk Island, and Christmas Island.
Second, 21 countries [5] neither have explicitly granted nor have refused protection within the prescribed time limit; since art. 5(2)(c) of the Madrid Protocol and Rule 5 of the Common Regulations are likely inapplicable, JW.ORG trademark is protected or should be protected in these countries.
On other hand, some countries and regions (mainly in Africa) failed to implement their international obligations as members of Madrid Union into national law. They "have not yet enacted domestic legislation so as to explicitly provide protection for marks designated under the International Registration system. It is therefore doubtful that designations will be enforceable in these countries".
Third, only two countries (Russia and South Korea) have confirmed their provisional refusals, and only five countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Columbia, India, Syria, Uzbekistan) have still neither confirmed nor reversed ones. There is high probability that some refusals will have been canceled as had already happened 7 times.
So, thanks to the WIPO's Madrid System, JW.ORG trademark is now protected (or should be protected) in up to 103 countries and 15 - 17 (or slightly more) inhabited territories.
III. Almost all Central and Southern American countries as like as many African, Asian, Caribbean and Pacific states and territories are still not members of the Madrid System; that's why WTS had to file national applications on JW.ORG trademark. I know about the applications filed in Argentina (registered), Brazil (pending [6]), Canada (pending), and Hong Kong (registered). Finally, JW trademark is now registered in Australia, EU, and New Zealand (the cancelled international registration was successfully transformed into the national applications, and JW trademark’s protection wasn’t damaged by so-called “central attack”); the application before Canadian IP Office is pending.
Information about status of trademarks is available in WIPO GBD and TMview international databases:
I would be grateful for any further information or clarification.
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[1] Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine.
[2] French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Réunion, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, as well as Wallis and Futuna.
[3] Probably Gibraltar, Island of Man, and Jersey; there are conflicting statements and opinions on this point: link 1, link 2, link 3; link 4.
[4] Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, The Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
[5] Azerbaijan, Bahrein, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Macedonia, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
[6] Interestingly, there also is a history of JW.ORG trademark applications filed by Associação Torre de Vigia de Bíblias e Tratados (WTS Brazil). One application was refused; another was successful but WTS Brasil later petitioned to cancel the registration.
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Anyone know of update on Delaware legal case?
by careful indoes anyone know of any updates on this case about the clergy-penitent privilege?.
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/lawsuit-against-jehovahs-witnesses-elders-for-not-reporting-child-abuse-continues-443003903.html.
this was the latest thing (last sept.) i could find in a google search.
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Corney
It looks like this case was settled
Status: CLOSED - CLOSED...
31-JAN-2018
04:19 PM STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL TIGANI, JANICE R [Delaware DOJ attorney]
Entry: CLOSED: STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL DATE DOCKETED: FEBRUARY 3, 2018 STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL ACCEPTED BY: NT TRANSACTION ID: 6163207306-FEB-2018
11:25 AM ORDER JOHNSTON, MARY M [Judge]
Entry: ORDER SIGNED BY DATE DOCKETED: FEBRUARY 7, 2018 ORDER SIGNED BY: JOHNSTON, MARY M GRANTED (STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL) ACCEPTED BY: NT TRANSACTION ID: 61651354 -
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Forum 18: RUSSIA: Justice Ministry seeks complete Jehovah's Witness ban
by OrphanCrow inrussia: justice ministry seeks complete jehovah's witness ban.
by victoria arnold, forum 18. with no public announcement, russia's justice ministry lodged a suit at the supreme court today (15 march) to declare the jehovah's witness administrative centre "extremist", to liquidate it, and to ban its activity.
if successful, this would ban all jehovah's witness activity across russia.. russia's justice ministry has submitted a suit to the supreme court to declare the administrative centre of jehovah's witnesses an "extremist" organisation, order it liquidated, and ban its activity.
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Corney
Safeguard Your Heart conventions took place in 2012, long before the ban. But already at that time the authorities unlawfully disrupted meetings and assemblies, forced owners not to rent premises to Witnesses, and often didn't allow congregations to build KHs. Therefore JWs had to hold conventions in the field or in the forest.
After the Russian Supreme Kangaroo "Court" banned the organization, the Witnesses can only meet in private homes, and even for such meetings criminal cases were already opened, and at least tens of armed raids and searches were carried out throughout Russia. Bank accounts of accused persons are frozen, and they face large fines or prison terms of up to 8 (or even more) years. Many were fired from their jobs. These actions of authorities constitute gross human rights violations, and they cannot be justified or glorified. -
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Whatever happened to Paula Combs AKA Sue Pamela Carne?
by OrphanCrow inin may 1983, a jehovah's witness woman worked as a governess for william plunkert who worked at the us embassy in moscow.. moscow charges cia link to religious activist.
william plunkert was a cia operative during his time in moscow:.
how the cia ran a ‘billion dollar spy’ in moscow.
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Corney
According to Soviet sources, Sue Pamela Carne was a member of the Unification Church (aka "United Christian Organization") who tried to convert Jehovists-Il'inists (Iyegovisty-il'intsy) [1 - 3]. The latter are a religious group of Russian origin and they have no connection with Jehovah's Witnesses but both Il'inists and JWs were often called 'Jehovists' by officials and press [4, 5]. And probably for this reason US news media mixed up one sect for another.
Sorry for my poor English.
[1] Kornilov Yu., Chekhonin B. Guvernantka iz TsRU [Governess from CIA], 1984. URL: http://www.litmir.me/br/?b=191366&p=6 http://www.litmir.me/br/?b=191366&p=7 http://www.litmir.me/br/?b=191366&p=8 (in Russian).
[2] Yu. A. Panov, in 1972-1991 a KGB officer in Kalinin (now Tver), wrote, citing declassified and published (in book Ot CheKa do FSB: Documenty i materialy po istoriyi organov gosbezopasnosti Tverskogo kraya. 1918-1998 [From Cheka to FSB: Documents and materials on the history of State security services in Tver region. 1918-1998]. Tver, 1998. ISBN 5-85457-122-6) KGB documents:
The successful operation of the Kalinin Chekists was the identification of the so-called "United Christian Organization", the detention in the city of Kalinin and expulsion from the USSR of its members: Carne Pamelasue, a US citizen and a governess of one of the secretaries of the US Embassy in Moscow; Hiltunen Irm, Finnish citizen and governess of the ambassador of Lebanon to the USSR, and others; during their detention in the city of Kalinin, a large number of anti-Soviet literature, sound-recording devices, copying equipment, and special equipment were confiscated.
http://www.moremhod.info/index.php/laulink/161?start=15 alternative link: http://flot.com/blog/historyofNVMU/?%25253BPAGEN_1=48&%25253Bprint=Y&print=Y&PAGEN_1=382 (in Russian; translated via Google with some corrections).
[3] JPRS. USSR Report. Political and Sociological Affairs. No. 1443. P. 52. URL: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a348886.pdf
'IMPORTED' RELIGIOUS CULT SEEN AS 'INTELLIGENCE OPERATION'
[Editorial Report] Moscow IZVESTIYA in Russian 7 July 1983 on page 6 carries an 1100-word article titled "The Junior Captain and the Governess" by V. Kassis and L. Kolosov. The article discusses the appearance of an adherent of the Unification Church in Moscow and her attempts to convert members of a small pre-existing religious cult in the USSR known as the "Jehovists-Il'inists" [Iyegovisty-il'intsy]. The authors characterize the Unification Church and its founder, Sun-Myon Moon, as a front organization for the Korean Intelligence Services. Moon is accused of planning an "anticommunist crusade" together with the Korean CIA, the members of which — according to the authors — may be distinguished from members of the American CIA "only in that the Koreans speak English a bit less fluently than their American counterparts." The authors identify an employee of the American Embassy as the main conduit of illegal "Moonist" literature. Her attempts to organize the Soviet sect into a "conspiratorial cell" are unsuccessful. In addition, the authors raise the question of the direct complicity of American Embassy officials and characterize the employee's activities as "more in the nature of espionage" than religious evangelism.
CSO: 1800/1490[4] Yehowists, article from Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehowists
[5] Emily Baran. Dissent on the Margins: How Soviet Jehovah’s Witnesses Defied Communism and Lived to Preach about It. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. P. 16, 260 (note 14).
The Russian religious climate also presented a unique challenge for Russell and his ideas because the Russian Empire already had a religious movement known colloquially as the “Jehovists” (Iegovisty), based on the writings of Nikolai Sazontovich Il’in from the mid-1800s. Both Russell and Il’in’s followers championed the use of “Jehovah” as God’s proper name, predicted an imminent Armageddon, rejected all other established Christian denominations, and mistrusted worldly government, although they differed greatly in other beliefs and practices. Despite state persecution of Il’in and his followers, Il’in’s writings gained traction in parts of the Russian Empire, including Ukraine and the Russian heartland, and his movement survived into the Soviet era. While the two faiths emerged separately and had no connection to one another, officials struggled to distinguish between them.
...
14. Soviet officials sometimes distinguished between Il’inists (Il’intsy) and what they dubbed Rutherfordists (Ruterfordisty) or Russelites (Russelisty), but in other instances they lumped them together as “Jehovists.”
