respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  6

  Do you know what Atalaya means? - Guess who's investing the big bucks!

  by oppostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  do you know what atalaya means?

  guess who's investing the big bucks!.

  http://www.atalayacap.com/about.

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  respectful_observer

  No WT connection.

  It’s a NYC-based private equity firm managing about $2.6 billion. None of its books and records are stored at any WT-related addresses. Firm ownership appears to be mainly associated with various Neuberger Berman legal entities.

  In the remotest chance there’s a connection, here’s a list of their key personnel:

  Ivan Zinn

  Raymond Chan

  Robert Flowers

  Adam Nadborny

  David Aidi

  Joshua Ufberg

  Drew Phillips

  Gerald Cammarata

  (More details can be found if you search for the firm’s name using FINRA’s Brokercheck tool and look at Atalaya’s Form ADV)
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  35

  Female JW parking "attendants"

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was shocked recently to see on social media a couple pictures of jw sisters at a convention working as parking "attendants".

  i put that title in quotation marks because they still don't get the official attendant badge like the male parking attendants do, only the reflective vest.

  has anybody else heard of this .

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  respectful_observer

  Interesting. I was recently chatting with a brother who's the head of the Attendant Dept for his RC this year and he's only been about to recruit about 30% of the brothers needed; apparently many were telling him they were either unavailable or had already committed to working in Parking. So he called the Parking Dept Overseer and it turns out HE is way understaffed, with many telling him they'd already committed to working as Attendants!

  At this point the Attendants Overseer is very discouraged and doesn't understand why the younger brothers (18 - 45) just refuse to step up and help. He and the Parking Overseer even escalated to the Convention Overseer and were told that the other conventions being held at the same venue on other weekends are facing the same issue.

  All of this is rather amusing to me, as I know for a fact that in certain countries sisters are used as Attendants (yes, with badges), however it's just not allowed here (...yet...until NooLite of course).
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  34

  Banners for London Protest

  by Farmer Jim1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi folks, i’m attending the london protest at the excel convention in august and am making some banners.

  i’m aiming for short but memorable sentences that will stick in jws minds and also make them laugh a little at their own organisation.. my best so far is ‘this is not a protest, it’s an overlapping protest’.

  has anyone got any ideas for more?.

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  respectful_observer

  People will only be stealing quick glances, so it would need to be very short and easy to remember to be effective.

  “jwfacts.com”

  “jehovahs-witness.com”

  “Why are you afraid to Google ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’?
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  4

  Behind the Scenes of Newsweek's "Bible Thumpers" Cover

  by Tahoe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://www.newsweek.com/behind-scenes-newsweeks-international-june-1-cover-art-960456.

  pretty neat story..

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  respectful_observer

  Wow...who knew. Apparently not everything is just Photoshop these days. Cool.
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  49

  Favourite Quirky / Low Budget / Non-Mainstream Movies

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  so the recent topic about film franchises got me thinking.

  sure, we all love the big budget, mainstream releases that are so successful they spawn never-ending (it sometimes seems) sequels.

  we could watch marvel and star-wars movies for the rest of our lives (and we might just ...).. but y'know what i love?

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  respectful_observer

  "The Spanish Prisoner" (Steve Martin plays the lead, but it's not a comedy). David Mamet, so the lines are all intentionally delivered a little "over-the-top". Quirky little caper film that keeps you guessing until the end.

  Not completely "low budget" but a cult (no pun intended) classic in my own mind: "Clue" (yes, based on the board game)

  Was considered crap quality when it came out, and didn't make any money. That movie gets funnier every time I watch it. The ensemble casting could not have been better (Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, etc.) the jokes could not have been more corny or better timed. In all honesty, I'm proud to say I could probably verbally follow along with every line of the movie. Many of those lines make regular appearances in my everyday banter. ("Split up?!" "One thing?" "I didn't do it!", etc....I could go on and on.)
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  138

  LEAKED: WHQ Accounts: 2016-2020 Budget

  by Fay Dehr in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  leaked: whq accounts: 2016-2020 budget [part 1 of 5] https://youtu.be/g08tw2v3b4s.

  leaked: whq accounts: 2016-2020 budget [part 2 of 5] https://youtu.be/rpceb5v0vbe.

  leaked: whq accounts: 2016-2020 budget [part 3 of 5] https://youtu.be/2xa08ukc_6i.

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  respectful_observer

  Having to "explain" in painful detail the basics of what a budget is and why its necessary as if they were speaking to children instead of finance departments of national organisations seems absurd in the highest degree! Obviously budgeting on that scale requires more skill than a simple household budget does, and they should be providing the training to each branch on how to manage complex budgets, not just speak to them like babies and tell them what a budget is.... no wonder they're in a financial mess.

  As someone pointed out on the parallel discussion on reddit, Seinfeld had a great skit back in the day how doctors condescend when explaining medicine...."the circle or the tube". That's basically the same approach these guys took with budgets:

  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jEZ4jKeXxgE
  
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  138

  LEAKED: WHQ Accounts: 2016-2020 Budget

  by Fay Dehr in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  leaked: whq accounts: 2016-2020 budget [part 1 of 5] https://youtu.be/g08tw2v3b4s.

  leaked: whq accounts: 2016-2020 budget [part 2 of 5] https://youtu.be/rpceb5v0vbe.

  leaked: whq accounts: 2016-2020 budget [part 3 of 5] https://youtu.be/2xa08ukc_6i.

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  respectful_observer

  Side observation: Wasn't there a specific effort about 15 years ago (?) to separate the Governing Body's authority and the "business" side of things-- thereby protecting the GB from the $$$ and vice versa? It stood out to me that Alex (the host) made several references in his intro to the GB clearly leading the Organization's financial and budget process.

  It seems that if the WT ever made a future claim in court that the GB is simply an ecclesiastical authority with no authority over the legal corporations' finances and decision making processes, this video would clearly discredit that claim.
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  78

  So What Drastic Money Change is Next?

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  okay, they cheapened the product by getting rid of hardcover books.

  they reduced printing of mags.

  they drastically reduced the number of pieces of printed paper that members would "place" in people's hands in various ways, the biggest one being that they put them on a cart and don't encourage people to take them.they cut d.o.

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  respectful_observer

  I expect that congregations that are not donating enough each month will be given the amount that is expected to be received from them and thus could be based on a publisher head count just as are the circuit assembly costs.

  Yup, I've speculated on that exact scenario. It's simply too easy for them to roll this out as "nothing to see here...business as usual. Brothers, your congregation already commits to a pre-determined amount each month. At the Circuit level you already use a per-publisher calculation methodology; your congregation already uses a per-publisher donation calculation for CO insurance, disaster fund, etc., so nothing has really changed!"

  BAM!: Tithing-lite
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  51

  I just watched the final video from this years convention. OMG!!!

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am shaking all over right now.

  i think it's worse that the bunker video.. i used to think there was no way that these people would actually "drink the cool aid" if you get my drift, but seeing this video i am now not sure it could never happen.. having a wife who i love dearly trapped in this cult is really freaking me out right now...

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  respectful_observer

  Think about it brothers, because it could happen, we were told.

  Honestly, I think that's why the GB has started to embrace these fundy-style videos. For decades they've been claiming that at any moment "Peace and Security!" will be declared, the UN will turn on False Religion, etc. It must be immensely frustrating for the GB that world events and conditions just refuse to comply with their view of the end of the world and death of billions.

  How to scare Western JWs into believing the governments are about to turn on us , take our Bibles, etc., when there's absolutely zero events pointing that will happen? Make it up and put it in a video!
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  51

  I just watched the final video from this years convention. OMG!!!

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am shaking all over right now.

  i think it's worse that the bunker video.. i used to think there was no way that these people would actually "drink the cool aid" if you get my drift, but seeing this video i am now not sure it could never happen.. having a wife who i love dearly trapped in this cult is really freaking me out right now...

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  respectful_observer

  He was among those encircling the JWs, weilding a stick and inexplicably sporting a headband.

  I think I see him in the back...