FYI here is the Quotes petition (in full) and cover letter

rebel8

Here is my letter and the entries on the petition re the Quotes lawsuit. (For background: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/104823/1.ashx ) Approx 120 signtures from at least 13 different countries, collected over the course of 12 days (thanks largely to Legolas for publicizing the petition!!). It's going out in today's mail. Mr. Glen How Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Canada Dear Mr. How: It is my understanding that you may have been involved in the lawsuit against Peter Mosier (http://quotes.watchtower.ca). If that is not the case, kindly forward this correspondence to the appropriate party.
I do not intend to speak to the legalities of what you did. I simply wish to respectfully express my concerns over the actions of the Society which appear to be unchristian and counterproductive to the Society’s goals. The suit alleges that providing quotes of literature causes embarrassment to the Society. Why is that? One of the core teachings of the Watchtower Society is that the Faithful and Discreet Slave is led directly by Jehovah. Another teaching is that Jehovah is perfect, infallible. Therefore, there should be no reason to be embarrassed about Jehovah’s own teachings, whether they are recent or not. If there is a Biblical basis allowing for the Faithful and Discreet Slave to have made errors, then there is no reason to hide it. Attempting to hide your own teachings causes the public to draw the conclusion that you have something to hide, and brings reproach upon Jehovah’s Witnesses. The lawsuit actually resulted in a lot more embarrassment than the website ever could. Many news web sites reported the story and painted the Society in a very negative light. These stories have been discussed on internet forums with tens of thousands of people viewing the discussions, people who may have been interested in Jehovah’s Witnesses but now are not as a result of the story. If your literature is truly given away free of charge, why be concerned about a person putting quotes from it on the Internet? Rather, you should be glad for the free publicity. Would Jesus have used Caesar’s authorities to prosecute someone who repeated his teachings? It’s hard to imagine him doing that, isn’t it? Yet you have utilized Caesar many times to defend your own right to free speech. Your own web site details this at http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1996/7/22/historical_development.htm . It states, “Jehovah's Witnesses have been at the forefront in battling for this cherished freedom.” Attached are some comments from other concerned individuals. You will quickly see how much reproach you have brought upon Jehovah’s Witnesses. I close with a quote taken directly from the above-cited link to your own website:

“Too often the idea is, ‘Free speech for me—but not for thee.’"
Sincerely, A concerned person who cannot provide you with her name due to your shunning policy
CC: Isobel Harry, Executive Director, PEN Canada Legal Department, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York
Free Expression Network

Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	If you were truly God's people, you wouldn't be hiding behind lawsuits and legal wars to subvert the reality of your history. Let us see all the facts, unembellished and open--maybe then you'll be worthy of our respect and trust.
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Name:
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Comments:	I thought it was your goal to get the words of the Watchtower out to the public, not hide them.
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Name:
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Comments:	One other thing... I'm not going to be as easy as Peter to take down. Good luck getting me to shut up--or to stop posting your info all over the net. I refuse to cease and desist from exposing your own literature for what it is--the confused meanderings of deluded men. Like I've said elsewhere--Come and get me, Buckos!!!
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Name:
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Comments:	Only coward try to subvert or deny their own history. Such an act as attacking a website that does nothing but quote from your own literature (which your own writing department has told me is "free to anyone who wants it"--no qualifiers) does not show "Jehovah's" leading or inspiration, but fear of the truth. That's a satanic act you've perpetrated on the world--shame on you all.
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Name:
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Comments:	(no comments)
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Name:
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Comments:	If any of your followers actually stopped to read these quotes they would see you for what you really are. The only people who don't think you are a cult are those who are practising Witnesses. Everyone outside can see the sad reality. I include you all in my rosary that God in his infinite love and forgiveness may have mercy on your souls. Satan rubs his hands with glee whenever draw another into your fold. Your Memorial Supper has aspects of a Black Mass and I pity rank ad file Witnesses for their hearts are in the right place but they do not know what you at the WBTS are truly about. Again, may God have mercy on you poor lost sheep.
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Name:
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Comments:	Honesty is the best policy even for the WTS...YOUR OWN LITERATURE..COME'ON!
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Name:
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Comments:	Why are you afraid of your own quotes? They are important.
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Name:
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Comments:	The website may be down but, while it was up, many of us copied down the references to the book/magazine title, page number, and paragraph containing the absurd beliefs of the WTBTS. The WTBTS may have shut down this one site (probably using Tsunami relief funds to pay their attorneys) but all we have to do is go to the hard copies lying around off all these wonderful publications that they "gave away" for a small donation to cover the cost of printing and paper or for a contribution to the Worldwide Work of spreading lies.
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Name:	Friend of JW
Where are you from:
Comments:	I am praying that my friend and her beautiful sons will leave the WTBTS and their wicked snares.
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Name:
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Comments:	(no comments)
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Comments:	(no comments)
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Name:
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Comments:	The silencing of the "Quotes" site is utterly ridiculous. Demanding the transfer of the domain, I can understand; but the content was, at one time or another, handed out free (or not) to anyone who would listen! Logically, congregations and individual witnesses must now be ordered to "cleanse" these embarrassing and dangerous articles from their libraries lest their faith be jeopardised by their "apostate" content on penalty of being disfellowshipped!
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Name:	(blank)
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Comments:	It is clearly seen by your actions against the Quotes website that you have a lot to hide...our money will no longer finance your lawyers as we stopped giving to the WBTS when we found out about this. To use your own Quote. "The truth will set you free"
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Name:
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Comments:	Quotes was an invaluable site that exposes the twisted reasoning and hold the JW religion has on its people. I am appalled that yet again the Watchtower Society has used the legal system to continue to corrupt people. I ask that you please allow for websites such as www.quotes to continue so that people can be informed of what the Jehovah's Witnesses actually teach. If the watchtower society thinks that quotes is painting them in a bad light, perhaps they may want to review what they have taught all these years. Quotes merely printed what they did. As a former Jehovah's Witness I have relied on sites such as quotes in order to make sense of the damage this religion has done to my family as well as my own wellbeing. It is a sad state when you teach people to be honest, kind, loving and longsuffering yet you don't practice what you preach. I will continue to expose the truth of the Jehovah's Witness religion until they finally set our families free, but they can start with releasing the
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Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	That the Watchtower Society feels the need to spend money contributed toward the worldwide work of Jehovah's Witnesses in order to shut down a site comprised only of quotations from its own literature shows how spiritually empty it is. It is a religion built upon lies, and it fears the dissemination of truth more than anything.
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Name:	(blank)
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Comments:	(no comments)
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Name:
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Comments:	I am severely disappointed that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses) silenced an open and articulate critic of their freely distributed literature, when this selfsame organization regularly touts their legal contribution to free expression in our country. Shame.
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Name:
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Comments:	Jehovah's Witnesses go Scientology and prove that they can be worried by simple quotes from their literature. Ridiculous and revealing.
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Name:
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Comments:	How dare you expect religious freedom and push for freedom of speech for YOURSELVES, but do not allow it for others. HYPOCRITES!!!
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Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	I was a faithful JW for 20 years. At one point I was offered some council by the elders and a circuit overseer. This was presented to me along with several quotes from the WT, which were all quite devastating to me, as I hadn't done anything wrong. But as a "good" witness I looked up these quotes (many of them older ones) in the bound volumes (CD version) and began to read the surrounding articles. After all the Truth Book which I had studied from makes the statement "Why is it wise to examine your religion?" So using the advice of this WT publication I did just that using the WTs own materials. Over the years the WT has used quotes from other religions materials. The WT has also made many negative comments in regard to "other" religions. Over the years the WT has continually started the fact that they had been to the supreme court several times in order to obtain religious freedom in the US and prided themselves in the fact that they had done so much for freedom of speech in th
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Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	I hope you go down and all the people you have hurt and murdered will watch you squirm .
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Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	I find it ironic that the so called "freedom of speech" laws that the watchtower society fights to keep for itself does not apply to anyone else in the eyes of the watchtower
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Name:	(blank)
Where are you from:
Comments:	Cult expert Steve's Hassan's BITE model for cults fits you exactly, Watchtower. B. Behavior Control 'Control the behavior, and the mind will follow'. I. Information Control T. Thought Control E. Emotional Control
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Name:
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Comments:	Why are you afraid of your own writings? What are you hiding?
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Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	HYPOCRITES, LIARS, WORKERS OF THE DEVIL, JESUS HAD DESCRIBED YOUR ORGANIZATION QUITE WELL. WORKERS OF EVIL, YOU ARE FROM YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, YOUR WHITE WASHED TOMBS WITH DEAD BONES INSIDE. I CAN'T ADD ANYTHING BETTER THEN WHAT OUR LORD SAID ABOUT YOU ALREADY.
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Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	TOO BAD THAT AS GOD'S SO CALLED REPRESENTATIVES AND ORGANIZATION,THAT YOU ATTACK A PERSON WHO IS DOING NOTHING WRONG JUST QUOTING WHAT THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY HAS ALREADY PRINTED AND PUBLISHED, YOU'D BE BETTER OFF IF YOU WORKED AT ERATICATING SEXUAL PERVERTS AND PEDOPHILES THEN ATTACKING A WEB SITE THAT IS NOT DOING ANYTHING TO YOUR ORGANIZATION. YOU MUST FEEL THREATENED OR YOU WOULD HAVE LEFT THIS WEBSITE ALONE.
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Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	If you feel the quotes site caused you embarrassment, you should ensure what you write in future Watchtower publications is 100% truthful, this will then eradicate any future embarrassment you will cause yourselves.
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Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	If the WTS has the Only truth, with nothing to hide, then I would think that you would be gleaming with pride over the material that is being presented.
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Name:
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Comments:	(no comments)
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Name:
Where are you from:	NYC
Comments:	WT Society: "Our own quotes will embarrass us." You are embarrassing to Jehovah. Think about it.
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Name:
Where are you from:
Comments:	How sad that your own literature betrays you!
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AlmostAtheist

“Too often the idea is, ‘Free speech for me—but not for thee.’"

You're going to get sued, Rebel! That is "embarrassing"! ;-)

Dave

FYI here is the Quotes petition (in full) and cover letter

rebel8

rebel8

rebel8

rebel8

AlmostAtheist

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