Posts by Tech49

If something is illegal, whether it is now, or tomorrow, or overnight changes make it illegal...you DONT DO IT! The law is the law. As mentioned, there is no "rule", or "law" that states you MUST OBEY GOD and go to meetings in order to be a JW. Just not true. I can guarantee you that I would NEVER put my family in harms way just to go to the KH, or to go to a hidden bunker meeting. That's just stupid, and smacks the face of the governmental authorities, whether you agree with them or not. Why INVITE a problem into your home.? Why put yourself in HARMS WAY for 7 old men in New York?

People are lemmings. Exactly as Steve2 said.... super easy for them to send the publishers to get arrested and jailed..... from the comfort of their new McMansion in New York.

Shameless and disgusting, but equally appalling is the "persecution complex" of the publishers. Gag.

32

2017 Special Conventions.

by ToesUp in

jw
friends

jw special conventions.

who's going?.

are you "special" enough to be chosen?.

Tech49

A couple of years ago, some friends of ours wanted so badly to go to a particular "Special" Convention in another country.

They were so worried, because they had "applied", but had not heard back yet as to whether they were "accepted" or not.

I said something like "..... um, so just go then. Book your flights and hotel. Its not like they check your name at the door.."

They looked at me like I had 2 heads and a devils tail! OMG! They were flabbergasted that I would even suggest such a thing! AHHHHHHRRGGGG!!!

I just walked away..... idiots...

44

New letter about Circuit Conventions accounting procedures

by Hecce in

i hope that one of the friends will post the letter soon.

i heard that on 3/27/2017 a letter with new instructions about the accounts at the circuit conventions was released.

the letter seems to adopt many of the corrections that had been suggested here at the forum, among other things during the accounts report they will be no mention of the per capita and the amount due is going to be released only to the elders.

Tech49

Yes, so "per capita" literally means "per person" in attendance.

So going into an Assembly day, they dont know what the actual attendance will be. They have a pretty good idea..... That's part of the reason they take a "count" about an hour into the program. They then announce just before lunch what the attendance is.

Lets say for example that the attendance for the morning program was 1,000 people (yes, they include small children, and babies). Then, magically, you will note that the "expenses" for the assembly day will be right at about $11,000. No mention of actual expenses or any type of breakdown. That is the amount that they want to see in the contribution boxes, period. No matter if the hall is paid for, and has been for years!

The congregants are NEVER told that the amount they have to come up with is just a general "give us your money" amount dictated by headquarters.

14

What does CLAM stand for?

by QuestioningEverything in

jw
friends

i've seen this in a few posts and not sure what it means.

:) please help..

Tech49

The newly combined Ministry School and Service meeting held during the week is now called the Christian Life and Ministry meeting (CLaM).

45

River flowing from the garden of Eden

by joey jojo in

hey there.. if this point has been covered before please forgive me.. i have had the principles of noahs flood used by jw's to encourage me to attend meetings recently and this has got me musing about the flood....again.. genesis states that a river flowed from eden and branched out into four rivers, two of which being the tigris and the euphrates.. heres the baffling part; if it had never rained before, how is it that rivers existed before the flood?!!?.

a brief google search tells us that the euphrates begins its journey as snow melt and rain ( as most rivers do) in mountains in turkey.. ecc chapter 1 mentions the water cycle and describes the rivers flowing into the sea but the sea not becoming full.

how did it work pre-flood?

Tech49

Not to hijack this thread, but a related question?

Are JW's the only people/religion that teaches the idea of no rain before the flood, and a "water canopy?

Just wondering......

18

School bus driver accused of telling boy he would go to hell because of moms.

by ToesUp in

school-bus-driver-accused-of-telling-boy-hed-go-to-hell-because-of-his-mom/.

Tech49

Blondie, yes, it is a formal JW business card that is printed out by WT and available in bulk at the congregation level. Everyone is "encouraged" to use them as much as possible. They have all the pertinent JW.org info on them. They are like a super-mini tract..... there is a shot of it in that video.

18

School bus driver accused of telling boy he would go to hell because of moms.

by ToesUp in

school-bus-driver-accused-of-telling-boy-hed-go-to-hell-because-of-his-mom/.

Tech49

This is exactly the kind of thing that pisses me off, and is absolutely absurd. JW's make such asses of themselves, it goes beyond all normal comprehension!!

This one lady's efforts to "preach" the "good news" to a 7 year old, have backfired so badly that now scores of people see JW's in a bad light, if they don't already.

For cryin out loud, sometimes you just need to keep your mouth shut! You dont have to agree with someone else's behavior and lifestyle choices, but you DO need to have tact and common sense enough to know when there is a time and a place to talk about it.

This was clearly NOT the time or the place. Sadly, so many JW's will see their "card" and "tract" on the news and do a little dance, and praise the "sister" for being so BOLD!

How disgustingly embarrassing. I guess you just can't fix stupid.

Would someone please give me a Super-face-palm meme........

182

The Danger of Settlements

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

i was pondering the recent influx of lawsuits against wt, specifically in regards to the child abuse cases (ie.

conti, fessler, lopez, etc).. in each of these, wt has settled for an "undisclosed" amount, assumed to be in the millions of dollars each.

i know there are many many more cases, subject for a different thread i'm sure.. i was reading something completely unrelated a while back that mentioned the dangers of settlement agreements for a large corporation or business (not just wt).

Tech49

To Sir82: yes, I suppose so, as in "too big to fail"? Sad part is, most of the flock no longer realize that the religion that prided itself on being loving and personal is no longer that. It is not even a book-selling religious business any more. Its a corporation.

To Richard: let's not argue the minutia, I think you get the point of my opening comments. Cant we all just be friends?. Sheesh.

To Fink: Yes, agree. Settlements (at least from WT in these cases) are a chicken-shit way of saying "ya, we're guilty, so what?" And they will continue to ignore the simple fact that children and families are getting run over with the big corporate wheels of religion.

182

The Danger of Settlements

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

i was pondering the recent influx of lawsuits against wt, specifically in regards to the child abuse cases (ie.

conti, fessler, lopez, etc).. in each of these, wt has settled for an "undisclosed" amount, assumed to be in the millions of dollars each.

i know there are many many more cases, subject for a different thread i'm sure.. i was reading something completely unrelated a while back that mentioned the dangers of settlement agreements for a large corporation or business (not just wt).

Tech49

I was pondering the recent influx of lawsuits against WT, specifically in regards to the child abuse cases (ie. Conti, Fessler, Lopez, etc).

In each of these, WT has settled for an "undisclosed" amount, assumed to be in the millions of dollars each. I know there are many many more cases, subject for a different thread I'm sure.

I was reading something completely unrelated a while back that mentioned the dangers of settlement agreements for a large corporation or business (not just WT). In effect, the quicker the settlement, and/or the larger the settlement (even if specifics are not known), creates in itself a dangerous paradox. It exposes their willingness (or weakness), financially, to ignore the right thing to do and just get rid of the problem, to buy it out, to cover it up.

Once a company or organization goes down the settlement road, a horrible, irreversible precedent is set. I think there is even a specific legal term for it, but cant think of it right now.... That company's cards have been shown (figuratively). They have just shown onlookers that they have a fat wallet, and are willing to cut a check, because ultimately they really don't care about anyone but themselves.

So now, anyone who has been on the fence about what to do about their particular situation is shown a better option or possible outcome to a lawsuit that they may initiate. Likely, a long trial process will never come to fruition.

EXAMPLE: I run a small company. If there is EVER a problem with products or services with my name on it, I will do anything and everything in my power to resolve the situation personally. Even if a lawsuit is initiated, I will do my very best to be honest, explain all the circumstances, show documented evidence, and then take my knocks if they come. (Fortunately, this has never happened, and our customer service is second-to-none). I would NEVER just say "lets settle, here's a check". If I were to do that, then anyone could sue me for anything, as that precedent has been set. My company and reputation would be trashed in no time. Granted, this is a small-scale example, but I think you see the point.

My thought was this: Has WT made an even LARGER mistake by going down this road, repeatedly? Would it not have been less painful in the long run to admit mistakes, make policy changes, and take things to trial, even accepting monetary FINES and punishments? It seems to me that everything WT does is extremely SHORT-sighted. Even if settlements are reached AFTER a trial has concluded, would not the long-term benefits outweigh the short term gratification of making the "problem" go away? After all, no problem, or discussion of child abuse and outright lies and deception never really goes away. The internet has a way of making this stuff come up so often, that even the most die-hard JW's will see it, and after they keep seeing it time and time again, sooner or later they will look it up and read about it. WT can only say "apostate news items" and "apostate websites" for so long, as more and more LOCAL cases will educate their flock about what really goes on.

You could even begin to think that the "collateral damage" that comes from some of their members learning the real "truth" is an acceptable percentage of loss. A "calculated risk", if you will.

After all, as long as their total membership and percentages of "growth" continues in the plus column, who cares about the "truth"!