Many old publications are available on the Internet Archive (for example, here: https://archive.org/download/WatchtowerLibrary).
Corney
JoinedPosts by Corney
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37
Jehovah’s Witnesses Sue Owners of FaithLeaks for Posting 74 Convention Movies
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/jehovahs-witnesses-sue-faithleaks-owners-over-convention-videos .
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/05/01/jehovahs-witnesses-sue-owners-of-faithleaks-for-posting-74-convention-movies/.
the watch tower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, which oversees the jehovah’s witnesses, is suing the truth and transparency foundation and its founders ryan c. mcknight and ethan g. dodge alleging copyright infringement..
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Latest move by Kingdom Hall Trust in U.K current J.W Elders BEWARE!
by Phizzy inthe latest instructions from the kingdom hall trust here in the u.k are very revealing, and current j.w elders need to beware !
i will get to that in a minute.
maybe in the usa and other countries too ?.
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Corney
I'm not an expert on English tort law but I'm confident in my conclusions. KHT and other central entities (like CCJW and Watchtower Britain) are generally vicariously liable for elders' actions and omissions; see A v Watchtower and BXB v Watch Tower. NB: in both cases, Watchtower didn't try to throw congregations and their trustees (elders) under the bus - it actually agreed to satisfy any judgment against them, to pay for them (A, [4]; BXB, [1]).
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Jehovah’s Witnesses Sue Owners of FaithLeaks for Posting 74 Convention Movies
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/jehovahs-witnesses-sue-faithleaks-owners-over-convention-videos .
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/05/01/jehovahs-witnesses-sue-owners-of-faithleaks-for-posting-74-convention-movies/.
the watch tower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, which oversees the jehovah’s witnesses, is suing the truth and transparency foundation and its founders ryan c. mcknight and ethan g. dodge alleging copyright infringement..
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Corney
In case you are not aware, Truth and Transparency Foundation aka FaithLeaks has surrendered to Watchtower, has deleted all JW files from its site, and is settling the case. Perhaps they were unable to raise enough funds or find a pro bono lawyer. It's difficult to blame them for this decision, except they probably could be more prudent from the beginning. The bad thing is that they aren't transparent on what they're going to do with the raised funds. I hope eventually this issue will be fixed.
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Latest move by Kingdom Hall Trust in U.K current J.W Elders BEWARE!
by Phizzy inthe latest instructions from the kingdom hall trust here in the u.k are very revealing, and current j.w elders need to beware !
i will get to that in a minute.
maybe in the usa and other countries too ?.
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Corney
Quite clear, all responsibility for Safeguarding falls upon the Elders, this means I am sure, that the KHT cannot be Sued in Court for any case of Abuse
You're wrong. The KHT and its corporate board aren't discharged from liability; delegation of power doesn't mean delegation of responsibility.
Actually, nothing has changed. Congregation trustees were responsible for child safeguarding and were bound by "directions and guidances" of the branch office long before the reorganization.
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Orange County, CA: New Case and New Legal Tactic
by Corney injohn roe 1 vs. defendant doe 1, congregation is a child sexual abuse case pending before the superior court of california, orange county (judge john c. gastelum).
jury trial is scheduled on june 15, 2020, but it may not occur: the judge is expected to decide on multiple pre-trial motions including motion for sanctions filed by plantiffs; next hearing on pre-trial motions is scheduled on may 14.. case docket is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dbqcronnkeax492pshgwpuoubt-xaabz/view?usp=sharing .
case documents are available for purchase here: https://ocapps.occourts.org/civilwebshoppingns/search.do (case number 30-2014-00741722-cu-po-cjc).. during the course of this litigation the court ordered watchtower to produce molestation complaints it received, redacting only names of victims and elders handling the matters.
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Corney
Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/hk08le/theocratic_lawfare_in_santa_ana_ca_big_case_and/
In short, after three sets of proceedings, the proxy lawsuit has been dismissed on procedural grounds. An appellate court also harshly criticized Crockett and Associates lawyers for apparent abuse of process, and ordered them to pay the plaintiffs $25k as sanctions. I believe the main lawsuit will be decided this year.
The recent court decision: https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/G057684.PDF
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Jehovah’s Witnesses Sue Owners of FaithLeaks for Posting 74 Convention Movies
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/jehovahs-witnesses-sue-faithleaks-owners-over-convention-videos .
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/05/01/jehovahs-witnesses-sue-owners-of-faithleaks-for-posting-74-convention-movies/.
the watch tower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, which oversees the jehovah’s witnesses, is suing the truth and transparency foundation and its founders ryan c. mcknight and ethan g. dodge alleging copyright infringement..
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Corney
In case you want to support Truth and Transparency Foundation (aka FaithLeaks) in this legal battle, here is their fundraiser: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/defend-press-freedom-from-religious-censorship
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700 million laundered funds by Watchtower to avoid sex lawsuit payment?
by Terry inbased on a daily telegraph article : jehovah's witnesses accused of selling off assets and moving cash to avoid sex abuse compensation
watchtower has 800 charities in australia and australian law says they don't have to report assets below 1 million .
doesn't this imply watchtower can have in excess of 700 million laundered funds?
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Australia - Selling Off Assets
by Pants of Righteousness inthis article seems to confirm what we already knew:.
https://thewest.com.au/news/australia/jehovahs-witnesses-accused-of-selling-off-assets-and-moving-cash-to-avoid-sex-abuse-compensation-ng-08ffe6d55e293182580d9e34b4400088?transactionid=72145.
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Corney
Newly Enlightened, have you noticed that AIS's submitted by Watchtower Australia clearly indicate: between 2014 and 2019, it spent A$73.5 million in grants and donations made for use IN Australia, and only A$17.7 million (less than 20%) - in grants and donations made for use OUTSIDE Australia?
StephaneLaliberte, there is no need to speculate. Everyone can read the ECHR judgment and check the facts: the 60% tax was imposed on all donations (sections 12, 14) and the JW organization won that case - the Court unanimously found that there was no proper legal basis for the tax.
Anony Mous, your claim that "the tax was on money that was being off-shored to the US" isn't supported by court decisions I examined. Can you provide any proof?
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30
Australia - Selling Off Assets
by Pants of Righteousness inthis article seems to confirm what we already knew:.
https://thewest.com.au/news/australia/jehovahs-witnesses-accused-of-selling-off-assets-and-moving-cash-to-avoid-sex-abuse-compensation-ng-08ffe6d55e293182580d9e34b4400088?transactionid=72145.
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Corney
I find this article sensationalist and poorly researched:
1. "since the announcement of the Royal Commission on November 12, 2012 JW has ... Grown from a handful of charities to 836 separate small basic religious charities." This statement is misleading. First, those "new" entities actually existed long before 2012 - as congregations and (legally) as unincorporated assotiations. Secondly, the suggested link between the announcement of the ARC and registration of congregation charities likely doesn't exist. As a reminder, in 2012 Australia adopted the ACNC Act which substantially changed its charity law and, among others, made registration a requirement for income tax exemptions and other benefits.
2. The article hardly shows any "sell-off" in Australia. Two dozens or so Kingdom Halls, out of 455 (the number reported by Watchtower two years ago), sold over nearly a decade - how does it amount to "selling off assets", taking into account that no branch property were reported to be sold of listed for sale, and the org is expanding its branch facilities in Sydney?
3. The worldwide property sales figures are misleading too. The WHQ relocation project was planned as early as 2005, if not earlier, so any attempt to draw a link between the Brooklyn sales (which make up almost 90% of the reported global sales amount) and recent events are based on flawed premises. Also, in the UK Watchtower (namely, WTB and IBSA) has substantially increased its assets, despite the announced inquiries and lawsuits.
4. There is no evidence that child abuse is more prevalent among JWs than in other communities or institutions, as the article suggests. It is incorrect to compare the ARC numbers because in case, of, say, Catholics they refer to abusers in position of trust (like priests, nuns etc.), while in case of Watchtower the Commission included all perpretators who ever were JWs, including lay members, in its statistics.
5. Finally, it's sad the journalists uncritically report speculative and unfounded claims made by people like Steven Unthank - who, for example, was once able to make four false statements in a single paragraph, not to mention other controversies. I'm sorry, but I cannot trust their judgment or expertise.
I would be glad to read an investigative report into the organization's finances, but this article has nothing to do with investigative journalism. It's a kind of don't-check-just-share journalism.
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Sued by inmate, North Carolina concedes Witnesses are distinct faith group, not subset of Protestants
by Corney inlast thursday poyner spruill, a prominent north carolina law firm, announced a victory in a pro bono case involving religious freedom of incarcerated jehovah's witnesses.
the poyner team was appointed by the u.s. district court for the western district of north carolina to represent an inmate challenging the state’s policy governing how and when jehovah’s witnesses can worship in prison.
the state’s policy classified jehovah’s witnesses as a subset of christian protestants and, on that basis, prohibited separate jehovah’s witness meetings—an infringement on religious freedom under the first amendment.
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Corney
"Exercise their faith" is exclusively a WTS/NWT term, eh?
Why? It seems to be widely used and synonymous to "exercise their religion", like in the First Amendment.
I can't help but wonder what else was up here, maybe some Protestant chaplain wanting to "convert" JWs? Or if the "single person" was Brown, maybe the chaplain was trying to convert him? Or maybe just keep visiting JWs out of the prison? Or maybe it was money? It "would be a tremendous burden on Alexander C.I."
He didn't claim that anyone tried to convert him. Maybe prison officials were just afraid that Mormons, Unitarian Universalists, Adventists, Pentecostals and others, lumped together as Protestants in their policy documents, will ask for separate services too?