Posts by OrphanCrow

162

Lorenz Reibling gives interview about real estate

by OrphanCrow in

this interview was posted april 16, 2015 on youtube.

lorenz reibling's replies to the reporter in argentina are in english.. lorenz reibling is intimately connected to the watchtower society and, according to some sources, is a jw himself.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3ssa-9yvii.

so who is lorenz reibling?

OrphanCrow

What interests me about the WTS is the profits of the "side cults" that it has generated and promoted. One of them, that I have touched on earlier in this post, is the blood management industry. I am going to move a post I made on another forum to here:
***
I have spent a considerable amount ot time looking at the blood management world and I continue to get lost in it periodically. I have posted about certain key figures who are JWs, most of them Watchtower trained men as Hospital Liaison fellows. What I haven't posted, though, is a comprehensive list of all the other Jehovah's Witnesses health professionals, administrators, promoters, etc., who are part of the blood management tree. I think why I have never done that is that there are so many and I have been busy exposing just a select few JWs that are in the blood management limelight.
I am astounded by the number of Jehovah's Witnesses who work in the blood management industry. But, it is not surprising, considering that the entire blood management industry owes its rapid emergence onto the global playing field to a Jehovah's Witness coalition who founded the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management in 2001. The past 14 years has seen an explosion of like societies, all stemming from that first JW society - a blood society that was made up almost entirely of members of the Watchtower Society.
I have tried to place the significance of that into some sort of comparison to illustrate why the Jehovah's Witnesses being in charge of global blood management is so, so, so wrong. It has taken me a while to wrap my head around the concept and the closest I can come is to try to imagine the Catholic Church's abortion stance being taken to another level.
Before I do that, though, keep in mind the demographic difference - I am going to compare a very large religion to a tiny, fringe religion. The JWs are minuscule in comparison to the Catholic Church. That is why their over representation in the blood management world is so alarming - if there was just a few scattered here and there, fine...but, the reality is far from that.
Imagine "Societies for the Advancement of Abortion Control" that are sponsored by the biotechnology companies that could remover fetuses and grow them to term. Imagine if those societies had been put in place by the Catholic Church and had got their start by convincing young Catholic girls to go through the procedure - telling them "It isn't really an abortion." Imagine entire countries changing their health care systems to the goals of those societies.
What if the abortion "rules" of the Catholic Church changed as biotechnology changed - and then it was found out that bigwig Catholics were the ones who were tied to that biotechnology?
Maybe someday I will have the time to compile a list to show the magnitude of the JW over representation in the blood management world, or better yet...someone can take it on for a project - it would take a lot of time.
In the meantime, I will continue with revealing the roots of the bloodless industry and how it is intimately linked to the JWs and the Watchtower Society. The global medical market has been groomed very carefully by the WTS for many decades and just now, with the emergence of the blood management influence on entire countries, it is finally revealed how the blood transfusion ban impacts, not only the individual JW exercising their human right to die for God - but each and every person outside of those who agree to die so that the JWs in the blood management/bloodless industry can profit.

162

Lorenz Reibling gives interview about real estate

by OrphanCrow in

this interview was posted april 16, 2015 on youtube.

lorenz reibling's replies to the reporter in argentina are in english.. lorenz reibling is intimately connected to the watchtower society and, according to some sources, is a jw himself.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3ssa-9yvii.

so who is lorenz reibling?

OrphanCrow

vidiot: ...if the WTS were to lose its "charitable" status, guys like Reibling wouldn't be able to get tax breaks on whatever (presumably huge) donations they make...
...which could, in turn, make the WT heirarchy very anxious about the Org's future solvency.

Excellent observation, Vidiot. Of course that would be a HUGE repercussion for the wealthy JWs who use the WTS for tax donations. If the WTS lost tax status, they would lose the benefit of their wealthy patrons.

Oh well, the Reiblings will just set up another foundation or something...but it will come at a cost - they would lose their propaganda tool in their "risk management" toolbox.

*you are welcome, EdenOne. Thank you for the encouragement. I feel overwhelmed at times - what I find is so nutty that I get embarrassed to post it at times - you know...all that "conspiracy theory" crap and stuff. Oh well, I will keep looking at tuna fish sandwiches and seeing if the sandwiches are black with white stripes down their back...

13

Star Of Bethlehem To Appear July 3, 2015? Oh Really?

by millie210 in

this meeting in the sky is known as a conjunction.

this conjunction between jupiter and venus usually isnt rare, but this is the closest they will have been in 2,000 years!

together, they create the rare star of bethlehem.

OrphanCrow

Hmmmm....I wonder how many virgins will get pregnant this time.

204

Candace Conti Settles

by Nitty-Gritty in

hot topic on topix seems to be candace conti settlement.

but it's all quiet here.

are you guys aware that your hero, who was not in it for the money but to change policies, settled without changing anything?

OrphanCrow

nelim: For the record, WT policy already has changed with the Oct 2012 letter. Pedophiles are not allowed to go door-to-door anymore alone; elders have to take care they are assigned to work with someone else and are to be supervised.

That is a good start and I can see that this changed policy is likely directly related to the outcome of Candace's court case.

This is where it should start - by taking a look at policies that can be changed. Eliminating the two witness rule is another, and making mandatory reporting for elders - directly to the police and not to the WTS - is another place.

I think that all elders or anyone in the congregation who works with children (and this applies to all churches) should be required to take a course given by professionals that educates them on how to deal with suspected cases of child abuse and how to monitor convicted sex offenders for possible infractions. The elders don't know what they need to know - they are ignorant about the issue. And they are not going to learn about it from the WTS. Won't happen.

The entire mindset of the JWs has to change - there is so much systemic abuse, that occurs within, that the victims are often the ones who are defending the perpetrators - so many JWs that I have encountered don't even know what abuse is. It is all they have ever known - it is normalized.

I also think that it is unrealistic to expect or demand that the elders make "an announcement to the congregation" about a sex offender in their midst. Their responsibility is to monitor behavior and report - to the proper authorities - any infractions. Requiring announcements from the platform in a KH would open a whole can of legal worms that would have repercussions across a wide swath of our society.
The responsibility to be self-informed, I am afraid, is sometimes the only recourse for safety that we have.

For example, i live in a city where there is a known sex offender who carries the "high risk to re-offend" label. The police post updates on a regular basis, both in the newspaper and online. His photo has been circulated publicly for years. He has violated his conditions several times and each time he is re-released, the police issue another public warning, letting the public know where he is living. I know a lot about this guy's movements and who he is - he works for a construction company that I am familiar with - and he is often at the house across the street from where my daughter lives. The bastard is far too close for my liking - he stepped onto the property the other day when I was outside having a smoke and I just got up from the step, and went back inside and locked the door. There isn't much else you can do - I carry a knife on me whenever I am over there and we all keep a strict watch on his movements. The neighbor lady called the cops when she recognized him and they just said that they can't do anything unless he violates his parole conditions.

Well, whatever. If he gives me trouble, he won't emerge unharmed.

204

Candace Conti Settles

by Nitty-Gritty in

hot topic on topix seems to be candace conti settlement.

but it's all quiet here.

are you guys aware that your hero, who was not in it for the money but to change policies, settled without changing anything?

OrphanCrow

Nitty-Gritty: but once they are found out to be practicing these things they are disfellowshipped and no longer JWs.

Oh my goodness. You made that post while I was typing mine. Now I have to revise what I said about "change happens".

Sigh. I should say - "Change happens with some people" Obviously, Some people still believe in what is not true, Some people refuse to change their views or beliefs about the practices of the JWs.

204

Candace Conti Settles

by Nitty-Gritty in

hot topic on topix seems to be candace conti settlement.

but it's all quiet here.

are you guys aware that your hero, who was not in it for the money but to change policies, settled without changing anything?

OrphanCrow

Finkelstein: Nitty Gritty says Remember her aim she said was not the money, but to change WT policy. WT policy was not changed.
That remains to be seen for this is still new and recent of an event.

You are right Finkelstein. We don't know what repercussions or changes yet that may happen. Each case, each tiny step, is a victory.

True story:

Over 20 years ago, I took on the court system. Family court. I did not agree with the way custody was viewed in the court system at the time (Canada). So, I took on what I was told by many lawyers, was an unwinnable stance. I dug my heels in and went to war. I spent eight years in the court system, I lost track of the number of court appearances I made - in civil court, in criminal court, and in family court. Sometimes I had a lawyer, sometimes not. I represented myself many times - the law library became my home away from home sometimes. Sometimes I lost, sometimes I won, sometimes those victories felt like the end of the world because of the price I paid - both myself and my daughter paid terribly at times.

I even had lawyers refuse to represent me - but I also had lawyers who helped me out, who would give me advice and help me file papers with no charge. They were my cheerleaders!

But I kept fighting, and at the end of eight years, I won. I set precedent in the Family Court System. I know I did - because now, twenty years later, I hear of women winning custody battles on the same grounds of what I was the first to win on.

So I guess what I am saying is never give up - when you are right, you are right. Take the victories, learn what works and what doesn't. And keep on fighting. Change happens. It really does.

Yay! for Candace! She truly has emerged from battle with a flag of victory - a bit tattered and torn, but a victory nonetheless.

11

We can no longer support "religious freedom" says the ACLU

by StarTrekAngel in

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/congress-should-amend-the-abused-religious-freedom-restoration-act/2015/06/25/ee6aaa46-19d8-11e5-ab92-c75ae6ab94b5_story.html

OrphanCrow

fiddler: I'm reading Christopher Hitchens "god is not Great" and the statement he makes repeatedly, "religion poisons everything", is so true.

Fiddler, I read an article recently in a law journal (can't find it now, sorry...) that made the case that the function of religion in our society is that it acts as the site where secular law defines itself. Secular law constantly unfolds and plays itself out against religious beliefs. Religion, in that sense, is what defines secularism,

34

Do you ever feel strangely drawn towards Conspiracy Theories?

by JW_Rogue in

after mentally awakening to the idea that jws don't have the truth i strangely found myself delving into all encompassing conspiracy theories.

not that i believed them but something about them seemed quite fascinating.

i was especially drawn to the idea of a new world order/one world government.

OrphanCrow

"Conspiracy Theories" is an interesting topic. I have a morbid fascination with insanity and so, of course, I have examined the concept of conspiracy theory for many years. And of course, I have been motivated by my curiosity by realizing at an early age that I had been deceived in a fairly large way by a nebulous organization of men in New York.

Strong Haiku brought up a good point:

A good article on the subject on how we are wired for "patternicity" and "agency" and how those things lead to strange beliefs (e.g. conspiracy theories)...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/skeptic-agenticity/

Human beings are animals constrained by their biology, their environment, and their genetics. We cannot help but be pattern recognizing creatures - it is hard wired into us. It is how we interact with our environment - always looking for, and recognizing patterns, and then trying to make what we perceive fit into a larger picture, adjusting our awareness as we add data into our brains.

I think that there is as much "strange belief" in the total rejection of what we don't know as there is in total acceptance of everything we take in as data. On one side you have those who readily adopt whatever belief is the flavor of the month, and those who reject out of hand anything that doesn't fit their limited view of the world. I think I fall someplace in the middle of that spectrum - I am a conspiracy theorist agnostic, if you will.

The reason I say this is that I have found that what popular culture is so quick to dump into the "conspiracy" bucket, is often just a lack of information about how the world operates.

Here is an example (or two...):

Several years ago, my son had moved out to a farm that had an unlimited view of the sky. He was all agitated one day because he had saw "chemtrails" above his house - a large pattern of jet trails. He had been listening to Alex Bell and got all excited. I had never heard the term before, and had to ask him to explain. Well, he burbled out something about controlling weather, and chemicals. I was puzzled - to me, that was no conspiracy theory. It is no secret that the military has been using our skies to do chemical warfare testing ever since the end of the Second World War. And it was no secret back in the early 60s where I grew up that some of the military planes that flew overhead were "cloud seeding". It was common practice - we just didn't call it "chemtrails".

About UFOs. I have seen many. UFO sightings are common in the area I grew up. I found it humorous one day recently when I went to an "official" page that listed where the most UFOs are spotted globally. It was hilarious that my province in Canada had no sightings listed - it is so common that nobody bothers to report the sightings - many in Northern Canada, realize that those skies are ideal for military maneuvers. Pretty much all of my friends up north, myself included, have seen strange, unexplained, celestial objects - some very interesting accounts from many sources. It makes for good drinking stories around the campfire. UFOs? Of course - there is lots that happens "up there" that we don't know about. Conspiracy theory or just things we don't know yet?

I always try to look to the sources for what I encounter theoretically - how credible is the author? Who published the material? And, if it is a historical account - whose voice is saying it? What is their "political" positioning? And, this is the most critical question of - what is being left out? History is malleable. Historical accounts always come from a biased position. It is in the gaps, the untold stories, that sometimes the most significant things have disappeared, later to be resurrected and placed into the historical account..

Anyways, i am an agnostic - i have had far too many things that I thought were far-fetched at one time, been proven to be right later. I try to exercise open mindedness flavored with as much rationality as I can muster. I always look for the material answer for the unexplained. Those far out crazy conspiracy theories come from something, even if it is just from the fact that we are human beings who cannot help but behave the way we are - as creatures with constraints upon them. Our patterns of behavior are unavoidable. We are products of our cultures.

11

We can no longer support "religious freedom" says the ACLU

by StarTrekAngel in

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/congress-should-amend-the-abused-religious-freedom-restoration-act/2015/06/25/ee6aaa46-19d8-11e5-ab92-c75ae6ab94b5_story.html

OrphanCrow

How ironic that the ACLU got its start by representing people who were fighting for religious freedom, and now, almost 100 years later, they can see the harmful effects of allowing religions to infringe on the rights of others.

Having the freedom to believe what you want is one thing - that is a no brainer - however, the practice of those beliefs, if it harms other people, should never be allowed. Far too many people are harmed in the carrying out of religious doctrine.

Institutionalized religion is a nesting ground for human rights abuses.

8

Request For Information: 1935 trial of Paul Balzereit

by Saintbertholdt in

has anyone ever come across the court transcript of the trial of paul balzereit by the nazi state in december 1935 in halle?.

or has anyone come across the 1936 german yearbook article discussing the matter?.

the transcript incensed rutherford which resulted in balzereit being publicly disfellowshipped.. the watchtower corporation seems to have kept a transcript because they quoted out of it in the 1974 yearbook.. anyway below is what rutherford wrote in an open letter to the german witnesses in 1936 (as you probably already know):.

OrphanCrow

If you can track down Johannes Wrobel, he may have some archival material from Germany.

There is information about him on this thread from 6 years ago:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/170499/big-news-leader-german-watchtower-history-archives-resignes-leaves-branch-office?size=20&page=1

From that thread *the link doesn't work anymore)

He has set up a small website at http://www.jwrobel.de. There he states his whole c.v. including that he resigned as the leader of the Watchtower History Archives in November 08 and that he cancelled his service for the Watchtower Society after 36 years. For the time being, he returned to private life but is available for the support of research projects by request. Finally, he thanks all friends, collegues for their support in the research projects on Bible Students/JW.