Posts by Alpheta

24

What is the real reason behind the WTS' move out of Brooklyn?

by Lady Lee in

there have been several discussions about the wts and their selling off properties in brooklyn and moving headquarters out of nyc.

the best of... wts finances.

why the wts is selling their assets.

Alpheta

Minister Amos said:

Was it $200 MILLION they got for the converted WW2 tank factory? And REMEMBER KIDDIES! NOOOOOO TAXES because they are a "religion"

I recently did some research on the WTBTS's real estate holdings in Brooklyn - think it was around October 25th in the "Friends" section, maybe you can find it. There have been three parcels sold in Brooklyn; the Society owns several more. The largest one did go for over $200,000,000. As for an estimate of the remaining properties' fair market value, it's anyone's guess. I constructed a table showing the "assessed valuation" of the parcels, but since the Society does not pay any real estate taxes, the City hasn't been very current in updating assessed valuations. I think the parcels have at least a billion in value, maybe more, if the Society sell everything. But they're not doing it all at once; they don't want to depress the market, after all! Will the Society hold on to at least a few "token" buildings in the area? I guess that depends upon how much the real estate continues to appreciate. Hell, instead of pilgrimages to Brooklyn, the Society can work some deals with witness-owned travel agencies and start running pilgrimages out to Patterson and Walkill. What would the faithful among the r&f care?

I haven't done any research on what information is available about the Society's real estate holdings in Patterson and Walkill, but just from a common sense point of view, I'm sure the Society bought that land when it was dirt cheap, literally out in the middle of nowhere, and the Society is pocketing all the excess profits between what it has cost it to do the build-up in Patterson and Walkill, and what it has made by selling parcels in Brooklyn. As to whether there are offshore accounts, there is no way to know, unless someone "inside" would tell us, because in the United States the Society is not even required to file an "information" return showing gross receipts and gross disbursements.

46

You Say I've Inherited What???

by Terry in

i get a phone call last friday telling me there was a note pinned to the door of my old house (deserted and up for sale) saying to contact this person asap because i am an heir to something or other.. eventually, i get around to it this morning; i make the call.. it seems xto energy corporation is looking for me because i'm an heir to my great grandmother's mineral rights to a 4 acre strip of land in burleson texas.

the land is wanted for drilling purposes by the oil and gas drilling exploration team.. i met with the agent this morning.

he showed me my great grandmother's obituary and his copy of the family tree.

Alpheta

It is not uncommon in areas where there are "minerals" (gas, oil, coal, etc.) to separately sell the land (the "top" layer of the earth) to someone and yet retain the rights to whatever minerals may be underneath that top layer of dirt. People also sell rights to "air space" over their land but retain the land, retain water rights, retain easement rights to cross-over or build roads, etc. etc.

Get an attorney asap to look at the paperwork. If this person really is an XTO rep, that means that somehow, somewhere along the line, someone took care of probating your great-grandmother's estate and had title to the mineral rights put into the names of the heirs in being and all future heirs, known and unknown. On the other hand, this person could be an "heir finder" who is not being honest with you and is withholding critical information. There are companies that go out and look for the heirs of people who die "intestate" (that is, without a will) but who leave property behind. In such cases, the property is held in trust by the state in which the person died - the property "escheats" to the state. After a certain period of time, usually many years (varies from state to state, if no heirs come forward to file a claim for the property, the state gets the money and it goes into the general fund. These heir-finding companies will "help" you get your share of the property - FOR A FEE, usually a hefty percentage. Of course, they are careful NOT to give you any useful information so you could figure out for yourself in which state the distant relative died so that you could contact the Sec/State of that state directly and make a claim for the escheated assets! But in your case, if you know where your great-grandmother died and this IS an heir-finder company, it would behoove you to get an attorney to investigate further and if there is property in the custody of the Sec/State, make a claim.

So, you need to know with whom you are dealing. Turn it over to your attorney or better yet, one who specializes in leases of exploratory rights and royalties. A specialist in the field will be able to tell you whether the contract terms are kosher. If there is natural gas under that land, it's not going anywhere unless someone drills a well next store, so proceed at a deliberate pace.

BTW, this kind of windfall has never happened to me, but it did happen to someone I used to work with; she was contacted by an heir-finder company and netted about $4,000 as her share of an escheated estate - and found out about second and third removed cousins she never knew existed!

20

Dog Lovers? Sad day for me.

by unique1 in

we found out this weekend that my doggie of 10 years has a tumor in her mouth.

it got infected and swelled and that was the only way we knew anything was wrong.

i took her for a biopsy this morning and was told by the vet, that he thought sending the biopsy off was a waste of money.

Alpheta

I am so sorry for your situation. It is a horrid situation to be in. I had three faithful companions with me for many years, one died on the vet's table after going into convulsions and a frantic ride to the vet, that was in 1999, two doggies died from combination of illness/old age and I had to make that decision to end their lives before "nature" did it, in 2001 and 2004. With my last 2 dogs, the decision was basically made for me because neither dog could stand up anymore, and they refused food and water. So, I knew it was time for them, even if it wasn't time for me to face it. It's the hardest thing I ever had to do, and even though I knew it was time and it was the right, humane thing to do, I haven't gotten any more pets since Tasha died. I don't ever want to make that kind of decision again. Only you can answer this - you know your dog best. Are you sure your dog is not in any pain? As I understand it, dogs do not experience pain the same way people do and you can't always tell if they are suffering although they are tremendously suffering. But you see, they so want to please us, and be with us.

I still suffer guilt pangs - it's that "oh, if only I'd waited a few days, perhaps she'd have gotten better" syndrome, but rationally, I know I did the right thing by not keeping my dogs with me until the bitter end. I miss my companions terribly, and will miss them as long as I live. After seeing Spencer die (he's the dog who had the convulsions) due to "natural" causes, it hurt like hell but it was "easier" in a way to be with my other two dogs when they were euthanized. They didn't experience any pain or suffer during the procedure and I had other people with me who were supportive and helped me through the process. A sense of "control," I suppose, in an uncontrollable situation, and someone to drive you to the vet and then drive you home afterward (no way I could have done that myself), and get drunk with you if you drink - I got rip-roaring drunk all 3 times.

26

Abuse of elder position and platform

by KAYTEE in

jw
friends

the craziest statement (not lies not incorrect application of scripture) just total abuse of elder position and misuse of platform.

an elder when on the platform(or as some might say the stage after all the majority are actors made a statement to the congregation because his wife was a bit sickly asked the bro/sisters to arrange a rota to make his dinners.my thinking was if he can't feed himself how can he feed the flock.visiting brothers could not beleive what they heard they thought he was joking.. i can asure you this elder wasn't noted for his humour.. kt.

Alpheta

That's interesting - this elder had to ask for "love" to be shown to he and his sick wife.

Does that make this elder incredibly stupid, incredibly naive, or incredibly desperate? Is he hated? Is the congregation poor? Totally indifferent, just going through the motions with no charity left in the congregation at all - or some combination of the above? When I was in, the sisters in the congregation always seemed to be doing some kind of arranging of meals or rides or other assistance. I never thought much about it; if approached and asked if I could help or if I heard of some effort going on I would offer assistance, I helped however I could. It wasn't until I started reading at JWD that I realized how much this varied/varies from congregation to congregation!

34

Fireworks night tonight!

by dobbie in

jw
friends

anybody going to a fireworks display tonight in uk?it'll be the first time since being a jw but i love fireworks and am going to one tonight(for the scouts-another no no!

)i still feel abit uneasy about it cos of why jws should'nt do it but know my little boy will love it.i was so disappointed when i became a jw and couldn't do this either!sorry to post something so unimportant but i'm being very childishly excited about it and can't tell anyone else!

!.

Alpheta

Maybe you folks across the Atlantic could send a Guy Fawkes reincarnation over here to blow up Congress - they deserve it big time, the jerks!

I live right across the street from a big catholic church and every year since I've lived here (16 and counting) they put on a popular festival. Actually, a lot of churches in the city put on festivals, it is a way to raise money. At the end of the festival after sundown on Sunday night, St. John's puts on a big fireworks display by the Bartolottas, one of the primo fireworks specialists in the country. I have a front row seat in my backyard, although the trees have grown up some since I first built here, so I can't see even a hint of the ground displays anymore, but the aerial works are spectacular. I look forward to St. John Church's festival every year, and so do a lot of other folks. There is a Muslim family who moved in next store about 8 years ago, and they come out on their deck and watch the fireworks too. Many of the families in the neighborhood invite family and friends over and have big parties and then watch the fireworks together. As St. John's is only about 2 miles from the KH I used to attend, and people for miles around can see the fireworks display, I'm sure lots of still JWs watch - they just don't tell anybody.

Also, I cheated. I never stopped going to see fireworks even when I was at my most fervent of JW'ness. There is nothing like crowding down at the lake front (Lake Michigan) spread out with half a million or so other people to watch the HUGE fireworks displays put out over the lake for July 4th. There is a big display on July 3rd sponsored by U.S. Bank and on July 4th the symphony traditionally plays at Summerfest (grounds are right on the lake front) and Summerfest puts on another huge display of fireworks, often times to Bethoven's Fifth. Ahhhhh.... Shoot, I even ooh and aah when I watch fireworks on t.v., but seeing them in person is just so much more - delicious! You can feel those BOOMS go right through your bones, your whole body vibrates with the sounds and the rhythyms. I love fireworks. Better even, than watching a parade with a great drum and bugle corps go by.

37

I'm scared and I need help

by Chameleon in

jw
friends

for those of you that don't know my story, read my first post here: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/122526/1.ashx

so, i think next week is when i find out if i am approved to be an ms. if not, thank god, but if i am, i'm in deep crap.

elder dad is confident that i'll accept, but my plan is to try to get out of it by saying that i want to finish school and get an aa degree, at least, before accepting more responsibilities.

Alpheta

My take on this is that the JWs are desperate for able-bodied men to do this, that, and the other thing at the congregation (i.e. grunt) level, and so you are basically screwed. They WILL force you to accept.

45

Sheesh, you buy one gram of Crystal Meth...

by SixofNine in

jw
friends

... from a male prostitute who gives great backrubs, and suddenly you're not qualified to represent jesus and the so-called conservative party anymore.

where is the love?

Alpheta

Tigerman, if he were a single man, I would give a FF what he did as long as he didn't hurt anybody. But - he is married. He took vows before man and God/Goddess. That makes him an adulterer, and I'm sure his wife and kids aren't just shrugging their shoulders and saying "oh well, human fraility and all that jazz". He is also a freaking hypocrite, and not just a rank and file type of hypocrite, he is a BIG TIME hypocrite. I hope his congregation hoists him on the highest petard they can find and flings his ass way up there in the air, where all can see it. I'm GLAD this is getting press. We need more of this kind of press, and the JWs sure need this kind of press, too.

21

"Jehovah has blessed me"

by restrangled in

jw
friends

i talked to my mom yesterday.

she just had to vent about some "brother" in her car group this week.

he had been in the hospital and racked up a $25,000.00 bill but had no insurance to pay for it.

Alpheta

I agree with Sinis.

61

I feel like taking a risk on the platform tomorrow night.

by SirNose586 in

jw
friends

in my bible highlights part, i am going to espouse a pro-soup kitchen/salvation army/homeless shelter view.

right on the heels of that, i'm going to support (higher) education as a means of bettering ones' self.. what will i get: insta-jc?

front of the hall talk?

Alpheta

So what happened? Please - anyone! TELL!

90

Who is DF/DA or Fader???

by mama1119 in

jw
friends

i was just wondering, how many dfed to we have on here compared to da or faders??

?

Alpheta

"It was 28 years for me. Wasted life time. Emotionally scared, don't know if I will ever recover. 28 years in constant fear of death. How do you recover from that."

Zeroday, if you're here on this message board, I think that is a very good sign that you are working toward recovery. I can't even begin to imagine what you - and so many others here - have gone through, being a JW for so long, or what you had to deal with and what you sacrificed for "the truth". Some of my posts must sound insulting to people who have gone through so much sh*t, when I didn't. I hope you know, we're each and every one of us here pulling for you. You had the guts to break free from the WT over 2 years ago. That says loads to me about your character, fortitude and courage. Keep on keeping on, I believe that things will get better for you.