BotR - you have a PM
Posts by Roski
-
31Governing Body arrogance vs. Legal Department's pragmatism - do you think there will be a slip-up at some point?
by sir82 inthe recent & surprising developments in the uk and australia got me thinking..... the governing body of jehovah's witnesses is nothing if not arrogant.
they consider themselves "god's channel of communication", stopping just short of claiming divine inspiration.
they believe that they and they alone are the masters of "christ's belongings" and are answerable only to him.. the watchtower society's legal department carefully crafts gb decisions so as not to put the watchtower society's assets or prestige as risk.
-
-
-
89
Victoria, Australia: October 11th hearing. All five cases made it through the court...just!
by AndersonsInfo inthis is a preliminary summary only.
i hope to obtain more details later.. .
all five cases are still within the criminal justice system.
-
-
Roski
Obviously Vin Toole is in Bethel - my interest is in the reference to him with a business name as in - Vincent Toole Solicitors. If he is a bethel volunteer
(as is Rachel) I don't really understand why the business name, and how Rachel is his employee. Obviously things have changed.
There are quite a lot of references to Rachel and her academic work - which is why I wondered when she entered bethel. She has had at least one university teaching role - 2006 (Griffith University - Gold Coast campus) and other presentations/papers etc. so it would seem to me that she may have (depending on time of entry) engaged in extra curricular activity in terms of her bethal work. In any normal orgaisation this would not be a problem and more power to her for doing so (why waste intelligence), but I do also wonder - since the orgaisation is so anti education, if this would sit well with younger people who have been denied an academic education due to organisational policy.
-
89
Victoria, Australia: October 11th hearing. All five cases made it through the court...just!
by AndersonsInfo inthis is a preliminary summary only.
i hope to obtain more details later.. .
all five cases are still within the criminal justice system.
-
-
Roski
Two questions:
How is Rachel an employee of Vincent Toole Solicitors...he is in Bethel - does he have his own business and employ Rache/others?
How long has Rachel been in Bethel? (she is no junior-at least not in intellect) Anyone who knows the answer - this is of interest.
-
23
Inside Australia's chilling new cult, an xJW is the leader
by finallysomepride inin a 10 month investigation, sunday night infiltrates one of the worlds most worrying new cults.
but most chilling, this cult is australian, spreading and described as worse than waco.
we go inside the cults headquarters to meet the leaders and their followers who claim their lives have been changed forever.. http://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/features/article/-/10276027/inside-australias-chilling-new-cult/.
-
-
Roski
Here is the link to the story about a young female scientist who is studying such effects on the brain - she's joined the group!!!
-
46
My father's funeral
by jwfacts inlast week i attended my father's funeral in hobart.
i was the first time i have been in a kingdom hall in several years, and many years since i had attended the hall of my childhood, but felt like it was just yesterday.
the funeral talk was quite a departure from normal, so worth writing about.
-
-
Roski
Time will tell how it works out with your mum. I will write a little of my experience as it may be useful - it is abbreviated but these basically are the facts as they played out.
I stayed with my mother for a couple of months after my father's death, until one day the locks were changed while I was at work.
The elder who was (supposedly) executor of the will and one other came to the house and found a safe that had held a substantial amount of money had been cleared out. They immediately decided I had taken the money so changed the locks and installed a "watchdog" sister. After doing so they called another relative and found out that the money had been deposited in a term deposit at the bank (I did that) but my mother had forgotten. I called Elder A and he squirmed and tried to avoid the issue but said my father wanted him to look after his financial affairs as he couldn't trust my husband (or me). My father had no reason whatsoever to say that and I'm not sure he ever did. The elders revoked my Enduring Power of Attorney the previous day, and elder A's account of that differed from that of the bank manager's. My mother was obviously in no mental state to instigate that change and when she tried to tell me about what had transpired at the bank was not in any way coherent in doing so. Elder A made some pathetic statements about why he tought she understood.
During this time I saw my mother's doctor and got a referral to a geriatrician - concerned she could have had a slight stroke as her mental capacity was declining. I gave this to the live-in sister but the elders later claimed they never got it - for good reason. The sister moved out after a couple of weeks and my mother was left alone. She wandered the streets and was brought home by a truck driver late one night after getting lost. I contacted the Office of the Adult Guardian and wrote all details that they then investigated. It has progressed to the highest level of investigation but no outcome as yet. They are extremely slow.
After the investigation started and a number of other visits from community care workers etc. elder A and B returned en force and took over management of all her affairs. This at least saved her life as she was at the point of hospitalisation or worse due to weight loss. At this time I could barely get past the front door (she is a follower not a thinker). After all financial affairs were in order they did see the geriatricain who stated that she was now unable to handle her financial affairs. They claimed at first they did not accuse me of stealing her money but later admitted in a round about way they had thought so.
Her house (which will become the societiy's and which she and my father would never have had if I had not organised it after 1975 was a fizzer) is now having rooms added for someone to live-in.I was told this is necessary as my potential plans (with her acceptance) to take care of her would not have taken her spiritual needs into account.
Elder B acknowledged poor behaviour due to misunderstanding and arranged a meeting with A, B me and my daughter. All I can say is that if I were still in any way inclined to believe in the honesty, ethics or spiritual conscience of the elders/WT, that meeting would have finished it. Elder B made an effort to appear contrite while supporting elder A. Elder A simply behaved as any 'legal' person would and said as little as possible apart from his opening words of "I believe there are some things you don't understand and would like us to clear up." His last words were, "we will continue to administer your mother's affairs'.
I emailed my response of that meeting to them but no reply. When my daughter asked elder A how he would feel if he were in our shoes - being disenfranchised of your family, he did not answer. That man is as cold as they come. I have seen a lawyer who was quite disgusted at their behaviour, although I know it is not generated from them per se. He told me I can contest the will, but that has never been my objective as I tried to explain to A and B - but they seem unable to grasp that. My request is simply that I be one of (the third) part of the Enduring Power of Attorney to monitor what happens to her should either of these two people default on their responsibilities. Interestingly, when my daughter asked elder A that question he said -"Well, she will become a ward of the state." How can one communicate/negotiate with a person who thinks like that? And who is this elder? A previous Australian branch overseer.
There are many other twists and turn to this story that still leave me (and other people whom I have told) open-mouthed with astonishment. The one positive outcome is that involvement by the AGO probably saved her life, so I guess it is there my responsibilities rest. She barely speaks to me now as my father is not there as some kind of voice of reason. I guess it is her journey.
As I was unprepared for this situation (although intuition told me something) this account may be of help tp someone else with the same circumstances.
-
2
Australia - Scientology pay claims
by Roski innews this morning about the status of scientology members/workers and possible need for back payment.. .
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/scientology-hits-back-over-unfair-pay-claims/story-e6freonf-1226136433924.
-
-
Roski
News this morning about the status of Scientology members/workers and possible need for back payment.
-
34
What's The Worst Thing About Ever Having Been A Jehovah's Witness?
by minimus infor me, it's the waste of precious time and being lied to.. stupid time consuming things to do that are utterly worthless!
and on top of that being told that you were going to live forever on paradise if you followed their decrees..
-
-
Roski
Feeling guilty when I had my first child and stopped special pioneering, knowing that the 'end' was so near.
And - the continued heaping on of that guilt over the years by being told you need to do more because the 'end' is so near.
I really regret the quality time not spent with my kids. I'm not sure if I have this out of perspective now that time has gone,
but the regret is still there anyway.
-
24
Stressful Session with Uber-Zealous Parents--The Mermaid needs a hug!
by Cadellin inokay, for those of you who don't know, i was raised jw by really great though uber-zealous parents.
i'm now an adult and have been inactive for about two years due a bunch of reasons, the primary one (or at least the one that got the ball rolling) being the pathological intellectual dishonesty of the wt in how it handles secular quotes and citations.
anyway, my parents are aware of all that and have left the issue alone for about the last year.
-
-
Roski
It is difficult for sure. This week I watched a documentary on the Westboro (?) church. It was comforting to know that there are other people
out there who have the same ability as my mother to think critically.
-
138
My Father passed away during the night
by jwfacts indad was a great man, great, despite the religion.
he was powerful, tall and intelligent, yet humble and kind.
he was an introvert, and a circuit overseer.
-
-
Roski
Sorry to hear of your loss - it is painful regardless of the circumstances. My dad died just a year ago - he probably knew your dad...knew everyone - was in Bethel all during the build. For some time before he died he would just sit on his bed thinking. My mum said she didn't know what he was thinking about, but I think I know. He was really very fit - I think he just gave up. She was/is a strict follower but not a thinker. She has now taken shunning to a new level and has allowed herself to be manipulated by a couple of elders who have behaved very unethically. You may need to be prepared for a different set of changes now - maybe. I hope the funeral goes well. Take care...
-
16
Several ways you can leave the WT money when you die - No subtlety here folks
by agonus inin the latest kool-aid edition (november 15th), there's an insert on page 22 entitled "ways in which some choose to give".
in this short (less than 2 page) article, the word "death" appears no less than 3, count 'em, 3 times.
"payable on death", "transfer on death", and "bequest at death" are all mentioned.. .
-
-
Roski
The elder in charge of organising/administering my mothers affairs (money) told me the society doesn't need her money. I said that I know they don't need it, but they want it - which is why you are doing what you are doing. They really have no shame - it is as if their conscience does not work when they are operating under the organisations orders.