"Daisaku Ikeda" written by Libertad on estrip.org

06/09/06 02:56 - 66ºF - ID#25763

Daisaku Ikeda

We have to make ourselves heard. We have to speak out for what we believe in. When we, the people, boldly state our true convictions--never losing our optimism or sense of humor--the times will change. When it comes to speaking out for justice, there isn't any need for restraint. On the contrary, to be reserved or hesitant under such circumstances is wrong.

-Soka Gakkai International (Buddhist Organization) President Daisaku Ikeda

I thought I would share this quote with you all. I deeply admire Daisaku Ikeda for many reasons. He is always warning us to speak out against corruption, and to always be vigilant in that our religious and political leaders do not abuse their power. Ikeda has many great words of wisdom.

Permalink: Daisaku_Ikeda.html
Words: 122

06/08/06 01:09 - 68ºF - ID#25762

Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead!

Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.

Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.
Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead. She's gone where the goblins go,
Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know
The Wicked Witch is dead!

Permalink: Ding_Dong_The_Witch_is_Dead_.html
Words: 83

06/07/06 03:01 - 79ºF - ID#25761

Maybe the Devil isn't so evil after all

Thanks to (e:ladycroft) and her post 'Hell for Chickens", the guy in the devil costume standing in front of KFC on 666 and (e:paul) for making (e:strip), I have decided to give up eating animals. Actually, I started to do a little research on KFC and came upon meat.org

After watching the great video they had on the site as well as some of the ones posted on kentuckyfriedcruelty.com

I made up my mind.

So I made the very personal decision to stop contributing to the problem of animal abuse. At this time, I will give up all meat excluding fish. I think that for me personally this is better than going all the way. Yes, the dairy industry is part of the problem, but I am not willing to change my diet that drastically. They say that each person eats up to a 100 animals annually. Many issues seem so distant and I often wonder what can I do, but this one is so obviously within my control.

I'm a bit nervous about this, because meat is really part of our culture. For many of us, meat is part of family holidays and a regular part of our social gatherings. Despite my fears about living without eating animals, I'm kind of excited to do this. I know that there are some of you out there ((e:leetee)) that are veggies or have done it in the past so if you know of any good hints or websites let me know.

(e:hodown) these pics are for you.

And finally here is a News Release I found on PETA's website regarding our devil friend.

'SATAN' TO VISIT BUFFALO KFC ON 6/6/06

'Prince of Darkness' Takes KFC's Side in Dispute With PETA, Celebrates KFC's Creation of 'Hell on Earth' for Chickens

For Immediate Release:
June 5, 2006

Contact:
Chris Link 757-622-7382

Buffalo, N.Y. - Holding signs that read, "KFC: Hell for Chickens," PETA members, including an activist dressed as Satan, will "celebrate" KFC's Satanic treatment of the more than 850 million chickens raised and killed for KFC every year. The demonstration will take place at a KFC in Buffalo on Tuesday:

Date: Tuesday, June 6
Time: 11 a.m.
Place: KFC, 448 Elmwood Ave.

Why does PETA think that Colonel Sanders is the devil? KFC's suppliers drug and breed chickens to grow so large that many become crippled from the weight of their massive upper bodies. Chickens in KFC's slaughterhouses often have their throats slit while they are still conscious, and many are scalded to death in defeathering tanks. So far, KFC has turned a deaf ear to pleas to improve its animal welfare standards from high-profile PETA supporters, including Pamela Anderson, Sir Paul McCartney, and The Rev. Al Sharpton. KFC has even ignored the advice of its own animal welfare advisors, including five who have since resigned out of frustration.

"The way that KFC treats chickens is truly sadistic," says PETA Manager of Factory Farming Campaigns Matt Prescott. "If KFC employees abused cats or dogs the way they abuse chickens, they could be thrown into prison on felony charges of cruelty to animals."

PETA has been turning up the heat on KFC, holding more than 10,000 protests outside KFC restaurants around the globe.

For more information, please visit PETA's Web site KentuckyFriedCruelty.com.

chico writes at 06:14:12 06/08/06 - Comment #8685: hey, good for you w/the vegetarianism and all...my gf is veg (tho not vegan) and has been for something like 10 years...i find that she does just fine -- family and friends get used to the idea pretty quickly and try to accommodate her dietary preferences...she's also very cool about it b/c she doesn't freak out if, say, someone cooked with chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, or used the same spatula on a steak as on her veggieburger/veggie chick'n etc...makes my life easier when i cook anyway. :) restaurants can sometimes be a pain (she sometimes laments about the vegetarian option always being penne with vegetables) but if you're choosy about restaurants you can often get a remarkable vegetarian meal. maybe after a while we can start comparing notes about veg-friendly restaurants in b-lo...?

ajay writes at 05:23:24 06/08/06 - Comment #8683: Good for you! Welcome to the vegetarian lifestyle.

Here's a shocker: I'm not a vegetarian :)

I just try not to go after meat (chicken, seafood) as much. I'll go for weeks without eating meat. And this is perfectly OK. (And if I'm dating a veggie hottie, I'll become a total vegetarian :) ).

The idiots on either fringe (you know who they are) will try to label you; ignore their labels.

Even if you gave up meat for 1 day a week, it would be a start. It won't change the world at once, but it'll be a step in the right direction.

Be strong: you can do it.

theecarey writes at 10:23:00 06/07/06 - Comment #8655: Hey there, David! I am impressed with your decision. There are some things in life that just hit you in the head with the realization of what is best for you--and the world around you. It can be a challenge to follow through on ones desire to make a change, no matter how strong it is. Yet I believe you will maintain your resolve--even at one small step at a time- over time. Remember, even cutting back the amount is making a difference. In so many ways you are making this a better world. Keep at it, friend.

I joke that PETA stands for "people eating tasty animals"-- but you know I have a warped sense of humor! I despise cruelty to animals although I eat them on occasion myself. Tonight I was in the mood for chicken, until I read your post. Then my stomach turned; but that may all change come tomorrow. I wonder if I will eventually make a similar decision. In the meantime, most of us just deal with the tasty end product and have little awareness of the process.

My food preference is primarily vegetarian; over time I have faded back my meat consumption- but more from a nutritional persepctive. Yet, I am a firm believer that Mighty Taco is a food group and I must go there occasionally :) See, I feel like a hypocrite and wishy/washy on some matters...

On to the good stuff: There are so many wonderful alternatives. I think you will have loads of fun trying out new foods. This will probably increase your interest in cooking, if you dont already. Fortunately we live in an area that has a wide selection of meat free choices. Over time, the products have become better and better. Yum!

That said, I also do a lot of vegan cooking. I enjoy simple, tasty, whole foods; which is the foundation of many of my choices. I can send a list of some of my all time favorites--products, publications and recipes..

Keep us posted!

take care,
carey

zobar writes at 08:05:36 06/07/06 - Comment #8642

Good for you. I made a personal dietary decision about ten years ago not to eat blue food [blue M&Ms pushed me right over the edge]. It has not always been easy. The difficulty is not in finding other food to eat- there is so much food in the world that you could eat something different every meal of your life and not eat the same thing twice. The difficulty is in understanding that what is right for you is not necessarily right for everyone.

For a long time if I ever got a bowl of mixed M&Ms I would pick out all the blue ones and chuck them around the room while ranting about how blue is not the color of food. Now when I see a kid walking down the street with a big nasty blue freezy pop glopped all over himself I just shrug and roll my eyes. Every once in a while I'll even eat a bowl of blueberries or have a 'blue' potato chip. It's all about understanding- if someone asks I'll tell them, but if they don't, more likely than not they couldn't care less.

- Z

_______________

Yes, I am 100% for real. Blue is not a color for food. Blueberries, blue potatoes, and blue corn aside [and they're all varying shades of purple anyway] - I will buy a beer for anyone who can name me a food that is naturally blue.

metalpeter writes at 07:55:07 06/07/06 - Comment #8641: I was a vegatarian or maybe a non meat eater is more acurate for about a week. There was a band I liked called (shit just blanked like when I was telling Timika about this when I first met her), in any event the are Vegans and Do mention it in some of there shows. On one of there CD's they had some slaugter house footage. These animals where really tourted. The problem I had is I just like the taste of meat to much to stop. Plus I'm a verry picky eater and alot of Veggies I don't like. The Band is Goldfinger.

I will give you a few pieces of advice from vegitarians I know. All vegie Burgers don't taste the same. That means if you don't like them try a differant kind. You may want to ween your self of meat,slowly. Once you are completely off meat for some time don't go back. I knew someone who did that in Highschool and wound up puking up all the meat he ate. In terms of nutition find out what vitimns and minerals you won't be getting anymore from meat and make sure you find foods with those nuietraints that arn't meat.

You will have to learn how to adjust your life and change when you eat. For example if you go HSBC Arena and eat there for events, You will go there and won't be able to have dinner.

Going from eating meat to not eating meat is a big ajustment and I think it is great you are taking it on. I don't want to speak for anyone else on the site. But I'm guessing if you ask any of the Vegies. here they will help you out with info about what and where to eat. I wish you luck.

joshua writes at 06:41:27 06/07/06 - Comment #8629: I didn't take offense to anything you said - I think you simply misunderstood me, which is always easy to do with this internet thing.

I'm supportive of your decision - my comments about PETA were an aside. Healthwise, I think when I was vegetarian I hadn't felt better... before or since. Essentially what made me go back, personally, was the fact that one of my best friends was getting married and I wanted the prime rib at the dinner. I took a few months to slowly introduce meat back into the diet as a way for my body to build the enzymes needed to properly digest the stuff again. Nobody wants the shits during a reception dinner!

Anyway, I'm sorry if what I said about PETA made you think that I believe that PETA is somehow exercising its will over your decision to eat meat or not - that was definitely not my intention. When people take a leap of faith and take a new direction in their life (and what food you eat is a HUGE one if you ask me) as far as I'm concerned support is an absolute necessity. Not supporting people in those situations is very deflating and cripples any confidence that someone might have. I'll never be "that guy" and I want you to know that I would never do that to anybody.

My political reputation precedes me, but I'm a nice guy and an understanding person. It bothers me that somebody would think that I was trying to pop their balloon.

jenks writes at 06:35:42 06/07/06 - Comment #8627: Hey, you've got our support (or at least mine...) I couldn't do it personally (too difficult) (and I LIKE meat), but hell, if you want to, more power to you. It probably is more healthy for you, and it seems like it actually means something to you- not just being "cool" or "trendy" or whatnot. Good luck.

p.s. ladycroft is veggie too...
p.p.s. is it just me or is coco as big as a dog?

libertad writes at 06:20:15 06/07/06 - Comment #8626: maybe my last comment isn't comming from the best of places, i just was hoping for more support. Don't take offense to my comments.

libertad writes at 06:14:23 06/07/06 - Comment #8625: This is really about my life and what I choose to do with it not about the PETA organization. They may have influenced my decision and I do agree that they may take things a bit extreme, but I only think that is because they generally care about that cause. You see Josh, what happens to the animals that we eat, unfortunately, has little to do with the PETA organization. You can divide everything you see into black and white, liberal or conservative, red and blue, but it doesn't change a damn thing about anything. Remove all the labels and really think about an issue and you just might actually start to understand what someone is saying, rather then affix their views into a box. Life is too complex to try and narrow everyone or everything into one of these frames. Paul, that was kind of funny what you did, but I don't plan on going to the extreme just yet! I hope the statute of limitations has run out on your endeavors! I saw the movie about the egg industry after this post. Now I am going to try and buy cruelty free eggs if there really is such a thing.

I guess that I haven't really gotten any encouragement from anyone. You would think I was making some god awful decision or something. I'm still going to do my best, and if I can't do it then you all will have won.

lilho writes at 05:58:34 06/07/06 - Comment #8623: hello little bunny friend.

leetee writes at 05:36:11 06/07/06 - Comment #8618: Wow... big step. I don't really have any advice for you, as a new vegetarian, but i can tell you that changing my diet in a gradual way helped me. I found new options to replace old ones, one at a time, instead of foregoing eating meat and wondering what was left... as my brother said, "what? now you're only gonna eat potatoes and carrots?"

paul writes at 05:09:26 06/07/06 - Comment #8616: I was vegan for five years and I think it ate my life away - I would never go back. I have a hard time doing anything in moderation and although I was healthy until year five, I became so insane with the PETA lifestyle that it consumed my life. I even read enough to convince myself that I was not even designed to be able to digest meat.

I also started to hate other people around me for being cruel to animals. (e:paul,265)

You can also do stuff like only buy free range eggs. At the same time, why go half way. Your dairy and fish consumption fuel just as much animal suffering if not more.

joshua writes at 04:46:33 06/07/06 - Comment #8615: PETA are fanatical. I have always been extremely skeptical since I started learning more about PETA. As far as I'm concerned, their position is less about animal cruelty and more about just trying to convert people to vegitarianism at all costs. In my opinion anyway, the animal cruelty angle is being abused by PETA for the sake of eliminating ALL flesh eating.

I applaud you for your decision to go veggie - I did it for a while. I'll warn you though - "you'll be ba-aaaaack!"

libertad writes at 04:37:04 06/07/06 - Comment #8613: Hey guys if you haven't seen this documentary yet called Wegmans Cruelty it is a must see. go to wegmanscruelty.com or do a google video search.

hodown writes at 03:30:55 06/07/06 - Comment #8612: Aww, thanks you are the best. Everytime I see pictures of your bunny I just want to snuggle him. So adorable :)

Permalink: Maybe_the_Devil_isn_t_so_evil_after_all.html
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06/07/06 01:51 - 66ºF - ID#25760

The Omen

So (e:mike) and I went to see The Omen. I never saw the original because I never really was allowed to see ANYTHING when I was younger, so i missed out on years of horror flicks. It even seemed worth the $9, which normally I think is a bit excessive. Movie makers need to know that blood and gore don't necessarily make a great film, it's all about the story. The Omen is a great story, they make it believable and don't buy the audience with cheap scares.

Anyways, when I'm at movies I love the way people react to it and love listening to the things they say. Some people went to the opening night of the Omen, 666, completely fucked up and laughed rather hard at weird moments, which eventually made the entire theater join in. But maybe I am the fucked up one, cause I laughed when others didn't laugh at all.

The one thing I would ask for is a different Damien, he just wasn't evil enough.

Do you think it's damaging to a child to play a demonic role in a movie? What about to let them attend the movie itself? Is that damaging? The truth was that the movie scared me in the way I like to be scared. Not in the sick and disgusting way that Hostel scared me.

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06/05/06 07:30 - 72ºF - ID#25759

The Beautiful Colors of Pride

The Beautiful Colors of Pride

On Sunday, June 4, 2006 I marched for the fourth consecutive year with The Soka Gakkai International (SGI) a worldwide Buddhist group striving for peace and happiness. The Buffalo chapter of the SGI is admired throughout the organization including New York City and San Francisco for their amazing ability to unite and show the community the values we stand for. Every year we have faced adversity and been shown signs of resistance and hate. I'm happy to say that this year was the best, in that messages of hate were at a minimum. The first year that we marched was 2003 and a much larger group seething with hatred immediately bombarded us. They were taken by surprise by an overwhelming opposing message of happiness and respect for others. In Buddhism we make our lives more aware of the nature of cause and effect and I truly believe that our organization has had a positive affect on this city. That first year we took all of Buffalo by surprise, as we were the largest contingent in the parade! This year we were awarded best walking contingent!

Today, June 5, 2006, I was deeply saddened to hear the president address the people of our country with his own message of hate. He is using the GLBT community for political purposes. Recently, it has become a crime to protest at US military funerals. I think that is great, people should have the right to grieve in peace, but shouldn't the same right be awarded to those grieving at a GLBT funeral? He packed the room where the address took place with supporters of his agenda to make a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages, not allowing for the many who disagree with such a ban for their voices to be heard. In the front row, two black men sat applauding the president's speech. The president claimed that the majority of the country's people supported defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Since we live in a 'free' society congress should ratify the amendment to the Constitution. Would those black men sit there and applaud the President if he were asking for an amendment to the Constitution denying citizenship and freedom to black men because the majority of the people wanted to enslave them? Is that freedom?

For next year's Pride Parade, I would like to propose that Pride Buffalo open up the march to all who would like to participate regardless of whether they associate with a group or not. We need everyone who supports the GLBT community to march especially the members of that community. We still have not reached equality and the Pride Movement is still as important as the day it began. It's time for all of us to unite together at the parade and demand our freedom.

Libertad

Enjoy the photos!

Thanks for marching with us (e:ladycroft) and Dan!

This is a bad pic of Jennifer. She didn't march with us, but I think she supports our group

Wendy

Maimi

Isabel

Jane

Andrew

Mike

Jeanette and Mike

Jeanette's mother

Steve

Beauty Queens

Supporter

Buddhist Messages

Colors of Diversity

Beautiful Day

United

Marching Band

Steve made his shirt

SGI member representing Canada

Jay

Beat to a different drum

Lisa

Blue is from 2003, yellow 2004 and Red 2005. The three colors are the colors of the SGI

Star Power

What a smile!

Michael

Christina

Families supporting

Kim, Moonjung, and Wendy

Mitzi

Jennifer

Bidwell

Lisa

We won!

Love

Performance

Estrip Models

twisted writes at 10:37:25 06/05/06 - Comment #8538: Whoa! If a picture is worth 1,000 words, that is a million dollar post. Nice to see.

mrdt writes at 09:56:19 06/05/06 - Comment #8534: good lord you like to take pictures.

...the only constant is change...

libertad writes at 09:28:43 06/05/06 - Comment #8533: Thanks for the last pic (e:matthew)! That's paul holding the logo.

mrmike writes at 09:18:38 06/05/06 - Comment #8532: Great Photos. I'm sorry I missed you guys. I was in front of spot and saw the group but couldn't pick you to say hello. I wound up getting drafted by the straight not narrow folks for part of it.

metalpeter writes at 09:07:19 06/05/06 - Comment #8531: First of all nice Pics and thanks for sharing them. I know that no matter what I say here someone isn't going to like it But I'm going to see what comes out.

You suggest that anyone who wants to walk should be able to. I think that is a guy idea in theory. I think as long as they do it in a way that shows support of wanting equal rights for gays or support for them, or even not hate. But on the other hand you don't want it so big that it is like the St. Patricks day parade. What do those bands have to do with St. Patricks day. They don't even play irish songs they play their normal marching songs.

I'm not defending making Same Sex Marriage illegal constituntionaly. Moraly I think it is fine to be gay. Moraly I think gays having the same Legal Rights to marry and the benifits that legaly come from mariage is good. That being said lots of People have been braught up to belive Homosexuality is a sin. Once you belive that then they don't want the church to say that it isn't a sin and allow mariage. I disagree with them but I respect there religous beliefs. What religous people don't understand sometimes is that Marriage is a legal contract and is really a state thing. In America people of the church and able to do marriages also. But it isn't only a religious thing. They also don't get that This country wasn't found on there religous priciples. The priciples where around before there religion and that is what our country was found on. Oh yeah plus the fact that we said fuck You to the the british and the tyrany.

However I do belive that people who belive homosexaulity and homosexual sex is a sin have every right to belive that and to demonstrate aganist gays. But that is it. They can hold there signs and let there thoughts be heard. But no personal attacks no trying to change the laws. Once you start represing someones freedom or try to you have gone to far. Or if you get in someones face that is going to far. They need to stop trying to save everyone and assuming that if you belive homosexaulity is ok you are evil to.

I know I have odd religous beliefs. But one thing I know is Jesus belived in loving your fellow man. I'm sure he never ment for his message to be turned into hate. I think it is verry important that people who disagree learn to get along with each other anyways.

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06/02/06 10:42 - 61ºF - ID#25758

Why I hate Big Business

So call me a commie bastard, but yes I do hate big business. They are destroying the beauty of this country, not to mention what they are doing abroad. Why did I focus on Wal-Mart? The answer is because Wal-Mart covers their business practices up with excessive false patriotism. I find this ridiculous and a slap in the face to our intelligence. Patriotism is not about waving a flag around a reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, it's about doing what is right for your country and for it's future. A patriotic company isn't just concerned with the bottom line, but for the environment in which it operates, the welfare of its employees and the image they are portraying of their country. I do not criticize people for shopping at Wal-Mart. How could I criticize someone for trying to get the cheapest price when people are struggling to pay their rent, their heat etc. I criticize Wal-Mart because they are the most visible and they deserve every bit of negative publicity they get. They dehumanize their employees by making them wear ugly blue smocks that say "How May I help You." At least if you work at Target you can retain at least some shred of dignity. (Please don't hate me if you work at Wal-Mart) I could go on and on about this and that about this company or that, but I will save my breath. There is plenty of information available to those who want to find out why Wal-Mart or any other company out there sucks. They may teach in business school why a particular company is considered a perfect business model, but maybe they should teach a thing or two to future business leaders about compassion.

libertad writes at 12:32:06 06/03/06 - Comment #8464: I saw huge environmental no-no's in Cuba. Maybe someday I'll talk about that, but for now its too much. I just get what your saying uncut. Metalpeter, that is funny "That is it of my rant"

metalpeter writes at 06:47:19 06/02/06 - Comment #8443: Comunism is In theory a great system. Everyone is equal and everybody at least as food. The problem is that most comunism is also run by communist governments with totolatarin leadership. Yes the political and econmic systems are differant. But the real problem with it is ther is no real growth and no reason to try and work hard since you will never really make any more money. That keeps the countries poor.

Captilism is Also a great system in theory. The whole supply and demand and all that great stuff. Again it is the Humans who fuck that up. Often in capitilism the gaining of capital or money is the main goal. Often this is of the indivual. Greed and coroption then are not really a big deal since the goal is to make as much money as possible. Look at delphi and many other corporations where the workers are laid of or fired or unions are broken cause the company, has no money. But yet all the executives and Stock holders get these huge fucking bonuses. There are a lot of companies who move out of the country for cheap labor so there profit goes up. As profit goes up stocks go up and the profit shareers make more money. But if these companies looked at what was better for the country they would look out for there workers. What happens when all these coporations out source all there work and no body has jobs and then no one has the money to buy there product. Captialism when greed takes over leads to a the poor being poorer and the rich being richer. I have heard that people who work at walmart can only afforid to buy things at walmart. In the words of Bill Maher "wal-mart is going to china, now the people who make wal-marts crap can now buy it" or something like that. That is it of my rant.

uncutsaniflush writes at 06:31:28 06/02/06 - Comment #8442: I spent my first six years in the People's Republic of Poland. My father, both my godparents and assorted relatives were all card carrying commies since in Poland at the time you needed to be a member of the Communist party to get ahead.

Unfortunately, Communist governments have an even worse environmental track record the U.S. and other industrialized "Western" countries.

I got that you were joking about being a commie but I wanted to make the point that workers and communities weren't treated any better in the Soviet Bloc workers' paradise.

I am distrustful of both capitalism and communism like many of my generation in Poland. We have seen all to clearly that no matter what the government is in power - the average person is going to get screwed in the end.

Many crimes are committed in the name of Freedom and Truth and Justice. And many people suffer as a result.

libertad writes at 04:55:16 06/02/06 - Comment #8431: uncutsaniflush,

I'm not really a commie, I just thought it sounded funny. Haha :) You know, I actaully don't claim to know what is the best economic system. Since I lived in Cuba for 4 months I can say their system isn't working all that great either. It certainly was refreshing to live away from McDonalds and all the rest of them for a while. It will be a sad sad day to see McDonalds or Wal-Mart being built in Cuba. They do have one McDonalds, but thats on the unwelcome US Naval Base. People say the US is a good example of capitalism at its best, but I say its completely out of control. We tend to think we are in such a great stable system, but really I think we will see otherwise in the future. Hopefully, I'll be wrong about that, but none of us really know. We are just starting to see now the consequences of not caring about the future. Utopia is no place, but I can't help but think we can do better.

uncutsaniflush writes at 03:25:12 06/02/06 - Comment #8430: I'm not sure that calling you a "commie" would be accurate since state-run economies in the Soviet Union, China and Eastern Bloc countries under the communists tend to dehumanize their workers and not care for the local community while wrapping themselves in the flag just like WalMart does.

Walmart and the stores in a state-run economy have much more in common with each other than might appear at first glance:

Both have a higher goal in which the individual worker doesn't matter very much.

Both have centralized planning and insist that the central office knows more than the local employees do.

Both are able to buy products in large quantities at price they can control to a large degree.

dcoffee writes at 01:18:24 06/02/06 - Comment #8429: I wrote a comment for this, but it turned into a post, check out my response to your journal (e:dcoffee)

Permalink: Why_I_hate_Big_Business.html
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06/01/06 02:45 - 73ºF - ID#25757

Justice Please

Word on the street is that Lon Coldiron, owner of Coffee &, was found guilty of insurance fraud after he burned it down. He wasn't convicted of arson, but insurance fraud? How can this be? I wanted to testify against him, but the investigators never contacted me even after I made an attempt to contact them. He faces 8-12 years of pound you in the ass prison. Good you stupid fuck.

Lon,

You are so selfish. I truly think you deserve your fate, not only for this, but for all the terrible things you have done. It is my hope that you have ample time to think of all the people you have used in your life. When I saw that beautiful house completely destroyed on my way to school in the fall of 2004, my most immediate concern was for your safety, because I knew that you lived in the attic, which was practically non-existent after you torched it. There was a look of absolute horror as I drove by that morning. I thought oh no, it finally happened, an electrical fire. See, if I knew that you had insurance, I would have thought that you had done it right away, but I didn't learn that until later. I got out of the car practically in tears; I thought that you could be dead. Why did I even care about you then? What have you ever done for me? You stole my tips, you left me alone to work, and when I was finally assaulted because I was working alone, you couldn't come to help me because you were in Niagara Falls gambling. You used Nikki as if she were disposable, pillaging her retirement, working her to death as you sat on your big fat ass. You sexually harassed me, as if I were some cheap whore that would have sex with you for money or so that I could become a manager like I would really be moving up in the world. Have you always been like this Lon? Did you ever have any morals, any decency?

That was not your house to burn down! It was part of Elmwood, part of history. You stole that from us. That house was not Coffee &, it was not yours! I have heard so many people tell stories about their experiences in that house. A couple came in once, they were so happy. They told me that they had gotten engaged there when it was previously a restaurant, can't remember which one. Christina Ricci supposedly vomited there all over the clown face mosaic on the floor. Oh my, that clown was evil looking wasn't it? I remember when I would close at night, in the beginning; there was one single light above the clown face that never shut off. That was until you couldn't afford to replace the light bulb. Everything would be dark after closing except that clown. If you stood on the clown's face you could see yourself in the mirror with that one single light shinning down on you. I loved that! I never had a run in with the ghosts that occupied that building, but I knew there was something there. I wonder what has happened to them? Do they haunt Cecilia's stupid patio now?

You did not pay your sales taxes; you did not know how to run a business. You made everyone else pay, because you are fat and lazy. I met someone very special in that house. He was so cute...Mocha Jet Café Please! There were lots of special people I met there, including the guy who made the mosaic clown. I hope that the dog you loved so much that you killed in the fire haunts you in your sleep. Really more than anything I just want you to be sorry, to finally take responsibility in your life and to apologize to the people that you have hurt so badly. You let all those people raise money for you after the fire, because you are not a man.

Libertad

If anyone has any photos of the house please post them! Maybe someday I'll find out his address in prison and send this to him.

libertad writes at 10:45:47 06/02/06 - Comment #8425: thanks for all your comments guys. I think I just needed to get that out of me.

ajay writes at 05:31:50 06/01/06 - Comment #8396: You can write a letter to the judge (copy to the prosecutor) about your views on this guy. I've heard it can have an influence during sentencing.

When I first heard about the fire, I was saddened. But then when I read the flyers he put up on the Strip, seeking help, talking about his dog, etc. (memory's fuzzy...), I started suspecting something was wrong. As Shakepeare wrote, "thou dost protest too much". Something smelled fishy, and I'm glad he's been nailed. Too bad about the house. And to think I wanted to help this guy offer free WiFi... :)

theecarey writes at 04:34:42 06/01/06 - Comment #8391: I am not sure if I said this before in a response to you. I vaguely remember commenting about "Coffee &" but not sure why?? hmm..

Anyway, I am not surprised that this incident finally caught up with him. As far as I know, his business dealings down south (um, Alabama? Louisianna?) went a similar route.

He did a lot of business off the books, "accidents", fires and the such for insurance money. Very sketchy... and manipulative.

Your story of him and how he dealt with people is very similar to people I know who worked for him.

I pity him.

uncutsaniflush writes at 04:13:45 06/01/06 - Comment #8389: wow, selfish bastards like this Coldiron guy never think how their actions affect others. It's just always "i, me, mine."

here's the buffalo news story on this:

No verdict reached in coffee shop arson case

Despite deadlock, jury finds guilt on fraud

By MATT GRYTA
News Staff Reporter
5/23/2006
After deliberating for four days, a jury Monday said that it could not agree on whether the owner of an Elmwood Avenue coffee shop set fire to his business two years ago. But the panel found him guilty in what proved to be an unsuccessful attempt at insurance fraud linked to the case.

Lon Coldiron, 39, was found guilty on three counts of attempted grand larceny for trying to collect $290,000 in property, business and renter's insurance on the fire.

The 12-member jury found him not guilty of an attempted-arson charge and was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on an arson charge.

It had deliberated for more than 25 hours since Wednesday, after a two-week trial before Erie County Judge Timothy J. Drury. Coldiron denied any involvement in the two-alarm fire, which killed his pet dog.

Coldiron, who now lives in West Seneca, did not react as the verdict was announced shortly before 2 p.m.

The jury foreman told the judge that the panel had reached a "deadlock that cannot be resolved" concerning a charge of third-degree arson in connection with Coldiron's alleged setting of the October 2004 fire.

Coldiron faces a possible prison term of up to 15 years for his conviction on the charge of attempted insurance fraud. Drury allowed him to remain free on $10,000 posted bail pending a June 1 post-trial hearing to determine what will be done on the felony arson charge.

Drury did not schedule a sentencing proceeding after trial prosecutors Michael L. McCabe, chief of the Erie County district attorney's Arson Bureau, and Maura K. O'Donnell told him they have to consult with District Attorney Frank J. Clark about the remaining arson charge.

Coldiron and his attorney, David G. Jay, declined to comment outside the courtroom. But Coldiron walked over to Erie County Sheriff's Deputy Ivy Wilson-Dinkins and thanked her for finding in the jury room a piece of evidence that Jay told the judge will play a role in an appeal.

The verdict came about three hours after the judge rejected Jay's motions for a mistrial because of alleged jury misconduct linked to a printout from the Internet of state criminal law dealing with someone guilty of aiding and abetting a crime.

Wilson-Dinkins found the printout Friday afternoon after the unsequestered jury had been allowed to go home early for the weekend.

Monday, Drury admonished the jury to consider "only law" that "comes from the court" without doing any unrelated legal research on their own. The identity of juror responsible for the printout was not revealed.

Coldiron suffered smoke inhalation and lost one of his three pet dogs as he and his two surviving pets were rescued by fire crews during the blaze.

Just days after the fire, neighborhood residents staged a benefit to raise funds for him.

Taking the witness stand May 15 and last Tuesday, Coldiron denied any involvement in the arson. He also told the jury he had been receiving threatening telephone calls for weeks before the fire.

Coldiron, who had been leasing the building from Ramesh Chainani of Amherst for about a year, was accused of setting the fire by using a flammable liquid in two spots on the building's first floor.

City fire investigators said they could never substantiate Coldiron's contention that he had been receiving threatening phone calls from an unknown man who he told authorities had threatened to burn the building down.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Coldiron, an admitted casino gambler who shut down his Niagara Falls coffee shop because of money problems, had only about $800 in the bank at the time of the fire.

The prosecutors also presented evidence that the state Tax Department only a week before the fire had threatened to seize the Buffalo coffee shop because Coldiron was at last $24,000 behind in sales tax payments.

During the trial, the jury also learned that while the Coldiron had lived above the coffee shop since May 2003, he never sought fire, property or rental insurance until about a month before the October 2004 fire.

paul writes at 04:08:32 06/01/06 - Comment #8388: Wow, that is some serious passion. I wonder if he really believed he was goign to get away with it. Or was he just totally insane? Why did they not contact you. That is so messed up. (e:mike) better work this nto the soap opera.

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06/01/06 02:37 - 73ºF - ID#25756

Diverse Videos

I happened upon this blog by accident. It's in Spanish, but you don't have to read it. The videos this guy has are a diverse collection of different bands that I though different (e:peeps) might enjoy. They are from utube.com, which I'm really starting to get into. If you have some time, check a few of them out. He also posted some nice photographs.

One of my favorites is dated "jueves, Mayo 25, 2006" title "Si pudiera decirle a Tim" it's called "Corpse Bride Duet"
Libertad

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05/31/06 04:28 - 86ºF - ID#25755

SSSumer SSSomethings

End of May 2006

Light Colors

Painted Toes

This gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), lives in my mother's backyard.

This cage keeps the creatures out.

You aren't anyone if you don't have a cage.

Animal Sanctuary. Rabbits, coyotes, and tortoises.

SSSlipery SSSeal

SSSlithering SSSwimer

SSSleeping SSSweeties

SSSoothing SSSlumber

SSSumer SSSomethings

SSSuny SSSmetry

Libertad

Permalink: SSSumer_SSSomethings.html
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05/29/06 08:39 - 80ºF - ID#25754

God Bless America and Wal-Mart

Today I went to Super Wal-Mart with my mother. She buys EVERYTHING there! It's Memorial Day so they had this TV broadcasting Wal-Mart propaganda about how we need to support our troops.

My question is if I hate Walmart, does that mean I hate America?

God Bless America, God Bless Wal-Mart.

mrdt writes at 12:02:04 06/02/06 - Comment #8414: dear uncut,

I understand you and Libertad are seperate people, I just assumed each of you would walk away with your respective parts.

Getting back to my original question, "if you hate large globalized department stores shouldn't you also hate other large and diversified brands like LG, General Mills, The Limited, Sony, Boeing, Prentice Hall Pub. and Darden Restaurants??? Or did Sam Walton step on your toes or something??"

This is what I wanted to know. AM I comparing apples to oranges, maybe but that's irrelevant and not what I'm getting at. I offered a broad range of businesses to see where Libertad stood on them hoping to understand where his hate comes from.

Sony and LG have brick and mortar retail stores all over the globe not-to-mention full service internet stores available 24/7. The Limited brand can be found in 5 different retail flavors in the malls of America and beyond. Darden restaurants owns many of America's favorite corporate restaurants (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Smokey Bones and Bahama Breeze).

So to answer your question, I wanted to know if Libertad hated big business and the cookie cutter concept in general or was it just Walmart.

uncutsaniflush writes at 05:24:10 06/01/06 - Comment #8395: mrdt,

just to be absolutely clear, libertad and I are two different people. And I am not the one that has said that he hates Walmart.

As to my feelings on LG and Sony, perhaps that subject deserves a journal entry of its own.

But I do have a question for you, why are you comparing a retailer with manufacturers? As far as I know, neither LG nor Sony have thousands of big box stores located across the U.S. Though I must admit that I have see a small Sony electronics boutique store or two over the years.

So aren't you really comparing apples to oranges? A way better question to ask those who dislike Walmart is "Is Target or Kmart any better? than Walmart?"

But that is just me, as always I could be wrong.

mrdt writes at 04:16:31 06/01/06 - Comment #8390: Yes, I knew about Hillary but what does that have to do with disliking Walmart???

Yes I knew LG was a S Korean Brand and Sony in a Japanese brand with diversification in electronics, movies, television and music. So you should hate them too, right???

I like watching No Reservations and a Cook's Tour and have read 3 or 4 books from Anthony Bourdain. Actually I have all the episodes DVR'd and after I read the books I give them away as rewards to young, dedicated, hard working cooks for inspiration. Anthony definately praises the Mexican workforce. They do not demand high wages that the Americans do and they are not working to achieve high recognition or rank. Compared to kids coming out of culinary school they work a lot harder for a lot less and don't showboat. They do there job day in and day out as cheap labor, which in a NYC restaurant is good because over head is high and profit margins are low. Unfortunately they are draggin down cooks wages. But on the plus side they do disappear as I stated and have a higher rate of absinteeism. One day they work for you the next day they work for your competitor for 15 cents more an hour with out any notice.

uncutsaniflush writes at 01:26:06 06/01/06 - Comment #8383: yes, I know about Hillary and Walmart.

If memory serves she was on the Board of Directors of Walmart when Bill was the gov of Arkansas and she resigned in the early 90s when he decided to run for president

libertad writes at 01:03:34 06/01/06 - Comment #8382: Did you all hear that Hillary was a key player at Wal-Mart before Bill took office?

uncutsaniflush writes at 08:46:39 06/01/06 - Comment #8377: Libertad,

I thought you were being sarcastic but I wasn't absolutely sure; ironically enough I was being sarcastic or at least sardonic with opening "funny you should mention". As you pointed sometimes it is hard to tell if someone is sarcastic if you don't know them well.

But at any rate, I figured that putting in a good word for Mexicans couldn't hurt.

mrdt,

Since I have no idea what kind of chef is an American chef like you, I can't really comment on your assertion.

However, in my personal experience, the cooks and chefs and kitchen staff that I known and met outside of the internet speak highly of their Mexican co-workers. So, I am led to believe that the American chefs that I know are not like you since your experience doesn't mirror theirs.

Hell, Anthony Bourdain praised his Mexican kitchen staff in one of his "No Reservations" shows.

I shop at Walmart. And Sam Walton has been dead for a number of years. I doubt that he is stepping on anyone's toes anymore.

Do you realize that LG is a South Korean corporation? Or are you saying that Mr. Kim is just like Sam Walton, except for the dead part.

libertad writes at 11:56:03 05/31/06 - Comment #8371: uncut,

I'm not sure which of my previous posts you have read, but if you did read them all, I think it would be obvious that I was being sarcastic with my lazy mexican comment. Maybe because you don't know me and because of my wording that you failed to see my sarcasm. Just to be clear, in no way do I think Mexicans are lazy, in fact I believe the opposite.

Mrdt,

I'm too tired right now to even begin with a response to your comment.

mrdt writes at 11:15:03 05/31/06 - Comment #8369: In restaurant kitchens mexicans work there ass off, most of the time. The rest of the time they disappear (get high, phone home, phone mexico, long shit break). But I tell you what, I never stop from the second I walk in the door. Mexicans hate working with American cooks like me cause we make them look lazy.

Also, if you hate large globalized department stores shouldn't you also hate other large and diversified brands like LG, General Mills, The Limited, Sony, Boeing, Prentice Hall Pub. and Darden Restaurants??? Or did Sam Walton step on your toes or something??

uncutsaniflush writes at 10:36:51 05/31/06 - Comment #8367: funny you should mention the words "lazy" and "mexican" in the same sentence.

No one that I have ever met who has actually known, worked with and/or employed people from Mexico thinks they are lazy.

Even the racist crackers in the deep South that I have known say Mexicans "are good enough to hire but not good enough to marry."

And for a cracker, a lazy person just ain't good enough to hire.

Thanks for the Walmex link. I wasn't aware that Walmart did anything other than Sam's Club and Walmart in Mexico. Apparently, they do a clothing store called "Suburbia" (is that store a plot to make Mexicans into Stepford Americans?" and a restaurant chain as well.

I wonder if Americans would think less of Walmart if they knew how many stores Walmart has outside the U.S.

I think that in some ways it is walmart's dirty little secret. I don't think they mention their foreign stores on the U.S. website.

libertad writes at 09:40:14 05/31/06 - Comment #8365: uncut,

Wal-mart de MÃ©xico. :::link:::
I found no evidence of any mexican flags at the Walmex doing a google search. I did see on their site "Por quÃ© trabajar en Wal-Mart?" (why work in walmart) I think the appropriate response from the company would be; you have no other choice, now get to work you lazy mexican!

uncutsaniflush writes at 07:30:30 05/31/06 - Comment #8356: hating walmart is no more unAmerican than is eating a sandwich cubano. lol

Since walmart is a multi-national corporation with stores in Germany, Brazil, Mexico and who knows where else, it's a bit funny to me that it wraps itself up in the American flag.

I wonder if it wraps itself in the Mexican flag in Mexico?

Permalink: God_Bless_America_and_Wal_Mart.html
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