Posts by Corney

16

Article in The Australian: Jehovah's Witnesses facing tax turmoil

by AndersonsInfo in

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/.../64acd93d531eb6b7301d.... .

sorry, the article is behind a paywall.

however, here's a copy of it without the photo:.

Corney

The corrected version of the article says:

Mr O'Brien said any suggestion that the commission had revoked the organisation's charitable status was "simply false" and "misleading".

It is correct that the Commission notified Watchtower Australia (by the November 24 show cause notice) of concerns possibly warranting revocation of charitable status - namely that the organisation have not ensured its directors act in its best interests and failed to "take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of vulnerable individuals outside Australia" when donating overseas (nothing indicates the Commission questioned the very practice of sending funds to foreign entities); both issues involve insufficient paperwork, I guess. The November notice also asked Watchtower for comments, sent on 18 March.

The lawsuit is about preventing the ACNC from revoking Watchtower's charitable status; its subject is the proposed revocation decision.

Apparently, the Commission subsequently informed the org, either formally or informally, that it decided not to deregister Watchtower as a charity; once (and if) it is official, the court case becomes moot and will then be quickly withdrawn/dismissed.

The sources (the corrected article and the court application) are available here (not reader-friendly, though): https://youtu.be/OJeszWNAWOk

67

5 kingdom halls in New Addington for sale

by usualusername1 in

jw
friends

i had it confirmed today that 5 kingdom halls on one site in new addington are for sale.

price being asked £3.5 million.. every witness in london worked on that site.

am in shock.

Corney

The sale of the remaining Pioneer Place properties is confirmed: https://www.acorngroup.co.uk/commercial/property-sales/leisure-institution-other-for-sale-in-5-pioneer-place-croydon-surrey/50189

66

Watchtower fined in Belgium

by Vanderhoven7 in

jehovah's witnesses in belgium have to pay €12k fine for shunning policy.

news.

you have probably heard of the trial going on in belgium about the shunning policy of jws.

Corney

That was the point of the Judges ruling. He said that the JW disfellowshipping policy was promoting something that is a violation of ones basic human rights. He wasn't talking about forcing anyone to talk to someone if they chose not to, he was talking about your right to choose for yourself who you talk to and the rights of the disfellowshipped person to being treated justly and within the laws of the land rather than by additional laws made up by a religious organization.

0. Have you been able to read the judgment? I hope you don't make conclusions based on a short quotation from a media report. Because...

1. Your words about "rights" is nothing but demagoguery. There is no "right to be treated justly", and the "right to be treated within the laws of the land rather than by additional laws made up by a religious organization" is, dependent on what you mean by it, either not existing, or any claim about it is circular.

2. In a free and pluralistic society, people are free:

to associate or not associate with anyone;
to influence how others exercise that right;
to exercise the said rights jointly, through associations and communities, including strict ones, that may create and enforce their own rules, as far as it doesn't involve violence or other means of coercion.

At this point, it is not clearly established, to say the least, that ostracizing and boycotting constitute unlawful coercion. There are reasons for this. For sure, shunning as practised by the Jehovah's Witnesses often cause pain and suffering. But other forms of boycotting and similar behaviour - not institutional, less organized, less strict, both collective and individual - can have the same effects. So, where to draw the line? Don't forget that it not the role of government and law to protect people against everything causing them distress. And notwithstanding the attempts to deny or minimize that, the issues in question seriously affect fundamental rights like the freedom of speech, association, and conscience, and the right to private life.

That said, I'm not suggesting the recent decision is necessarily wrong. I would like to read and examine it and future decisions before making ultimate conclusions. What I'm cautioning against are oversimplification, tricky arguments, and hasty conclusions not based on careful consideration of facts and arguments. For example, "religious rules are not above the law" is a nonargument because the real question is what exactly "the law" says.

113

Try To Be Less White

by minimus in

jw
friends

that’s what coca-cola is telling their employees.

.

this is ridiculous!.

Corney

Jeffro

There are countless instances of the insane Woke religion being promoted and imposed by government agencies and public schools, not just by corporate bureaucracy. The Coca-Cola case is just another brick in the wall, so i doubt someone needs to dig up for evidence.

7

Jehovah’s Witnesses Facing Norway Data Regulator’s Privacy Audit

by yalbmert99 in

jehovah’s witnesses facing norway data regulator’s privacy audit.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/jehovahs-witnesses-facing-norway-data-regulators-privacy-audit.

https://www.nrk.no/dokumentar/datatilsynet-opnar-sak-mot-jehovas-vitner-etter-brennpunkt-dokumentar-1.15377099.

Corney

Official sources:

https://www.datatilsynet.no/contentassets/b20c236c5d634ab7b652ec6ef00695ef/krav-om-redegjorelse---innsyn-i-og-sletting-av-personopplysninger---jehovas-vitner-.pdf

https://www.datatilsynet.no/aktuelt/aktuelle-nyheter-2021/krever-redegjorelse-fra-jehovas-vitner/

67

5 kingdom halls in New Addington for sale

by usualusername1 in

jw
friends

i had it confirmed today that 5 kingdom halls on one site in new addington are for sale.

price being asked £3.5 million.. every witness in london worked on that site.

am in shock.

Corney

Update: the same Shia group is going to purchase the second Pioneer Place property for £1,450,000, with the combined sale price of the complex totalling £5,950,000.

https://www.hyderi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SGM-16th-February.pdf

17

In Los Angeles today-Facebook LIVE at 11 am PST. The Zalkin Law Firm has big News Conference

by AndersonsInfo in

https://www.facebook.com/zalkinlawfirm/ - facebook live today at 11 am pst.

the zalkin law firm - in la today, big news conference about a childhood sexual abuse survivor filing a lawsuit against the jehovah's witnesses..

Corney

For the record, the case (complaint, press release) has apparently been settled last September, which makes it the second molestation lawsuit against Watchtower prosecuted by Zalkin Law Firm in California and settled in or about that month.

9

Mexico: 2020 Census results released; bad news for the org?

by Corney in

a decade ago, the 2010 census found there were 1,561,086 jehovah's witnesses in mexico (census page > tabular data > basic questionnaire > religion).

and according to the recently released 2020 census results, the number of mexicans identifying as such has declined by 2% to 1,530,909. both figures greatly outnumber those reported by the organization (e.g., peak publishers: 710 thousands and 874 thousands respectively), which means the former ones include children and free-riders.

for comparison, the total population has grown by 12%, the catholic, adventist (sda) and mormon (lds) populations - by 5%, 16% and 6% respectively.

Corney

JJ

There are links in my post, leading to the site of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico (INEGI). I'm aware that in countries such as the USA, France, China, Russia etc. etc., censuses don't collect information on religous affiliation, but that is not the case everywhere.

slimboyfat

Thank you for interesting observations. I wasn't aware the Mormons had specific instructions regarding recent censuses (1; 2). As to the wording or design of religious affiliation question, it doesn't seem to change at all (3, question 6; 4, q. 4).

Also, have you noticed this information? - https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/gku8os/interesting_statistics_from_finland/

9

Mexico: 2020 Census results released; bad news for the org?

by Corney in

a decade ago, the 2010 census found there were 1,561,086 jehovah's witnesses in mexico (census page > tabular data > basic questionnaire > religion).

and according to the recently released 2020 census results, the number of mexicans identifying as such has declined by 2% to 1,530,909. both figures greatly outnumber those reported by the organization (e.g., peak publishers: 710 thousands and 874 thousands respectively), which means the former ones include children and free-riders.

for comparison, the total population has grown by 12%, the catholic, adventist (sda) and mormon (lds) populations - by 5%, 16% and 6% respectively.

Corney

A decade ago, the 2010 Census found there were 1,561,086 Jehovah's Witnesses in Mexico (Census page > Tabular data > Basic questionnaire > Religion). And according to the recently released 2020 Census results, the number of Mexicans identifying as such has declined by 2% to 1,530,909. Both figures greatly outnumber those reported by the organization (e.g., peak publishers: 710 thousands and 874 thousands respectively), which means the former ones include children and free-riders.

For comparison, the total population has grown by 12%, the Catholic, Adventist (SDA) and Mormon (LDS) populations - by 5%, 16% and 6% respectively. Also, between 2000 and 2010 the number of JWs has grown by 36% (total - 18%, Catholic, SDA and LDS - 13%, 22% and 41%).

Some questions still remain. First, it is one of accuracy. The recent census was conducted in March 2020 so it was impacted by the pandemic: some people - more than previously - were reluctant to respond, and the verification process was significantly delayed. But it is unlikely that the undercount, if any, was significant.

Second, it's one of interpretation. It should be noted that in terms of people aged 15 and over, the JW population has grown by 7% (total - 20%, Catholic, SDA and LDS - 11%, 24% and 15%). The largest decrease was for age groups 0-4, 5-9 and 10-14 (by 1/3, 2/7 and 1/5 respectively); among those aged 15-24, it was 18%, etc. Beginning with the age group 40-44, there is a significant growth, up to between 60% and 80% for those aged 60 and over, significantly outnumbering the growth among general population. Which probably means the Jehovah's Witnesses lost many young free-riders (and perhaps active members) while still being succesful in converting older people. It is also possible that parents (especially non-JW and inactive JW ones) became more reluctant to identify their children as JW. Whatever inperpretation is correct, the recent census has some bad news for Watchtower.

20

Profanity on Surrey Kingdom Hall

by lssjr in

if it is a non-jw who did this as a result of their pandemic campaign (letter-writing and telephone calls), jehovah’s witnesses really need to check themselves.

they have been directed by their new york headquarters (since last year shortly after the start of the pandemic) to send letters to only people they know.

people don’t like receiving unwanted, unrequested, unsolicited letters and phone calls, especially from jehovah’s witnesses.. if it is a former member who received a letter as a result letter-writing pandemic campaign- most former members do not like being harassed by active jehovah’s witnesses and have been directed by their new york headquarters to send letters to and call only people they know.. .

Corney

lssjr

Perhaps it would surprise you to learn that not every unsolicited, unwelcome or even annoying contact constitutes harassment.

And RCMP believes the same guy probably also vandalised a school; is it also guilty of harassing him?