Libertad's Journal

06/09/2006 14:56 #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.

libertad - 06/10/06 01:44
I don't have plans to see him yet. Maybe it would be interesting to go, but I don't think there are any available seats? You didn't miss anything, I haven't really posted anything about Buddhism except that we marched in the gay pride parade. The type I practice is Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism and the Dalai Lama is Tibetan. I guess its two different worlds. I couldn't imagine calling a leader "His Holiness". To me it would imply that he is somehow superior to others, which I just don't understand.

chico - 06/09/06 18:21
I probably missed a thread on this a long time ago, but are you planning to go to see the Dalai Lama at UB in September?

:::link:::

Don't know if it's your sort of Buddhism or not, (e:libertad), but I will tell you that he is a very interesting speaker -- we saw him at Rutgers last year and were glad we did.

06/08/2006 13:09 #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!

mrmike - 06/09/06 15:55
Thinking of representing the Lollypop Guild...

libertad - 06/08/06 17:07
mrmike, if you are on the same page with me on this post, then you are a star in my book! I kind of feel like I'm in the Wizard of Oz right now. I turned on the news this morning and this scene just kept going through my head and i couldn't turn it off. When you said "hail to Dorothy, the wicked witch is dead" I thought hmmm, that's exactly what i wanted to say.

theecarey - 06/08/06 16:32
My orchestra teacher looked just like the wicked witch *shivers*

mrmike - 06/08/06 16:21
"hail to Dorothy, the wicked witch is dead"

06/07/2006 15:01 #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 - 06/08/06 18:14
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 - 06/08/06 17:23
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 - 06/07/06 22:23
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 - 06/07/06 20:05
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 - 06/07/06 19:55
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 - 06/07/06 18:41
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 - 06/07/06 18:35
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 - 06/07/06 18:20
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 - 06/07/06 18:14
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 - 06/07/06 17:58
hello little bunny friend.

leetee - 06/07/06 17:36
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 - 06/07/06 17:09
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 - 06/07/06 16:46
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 - 06/07/06 16:37
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 - 06/07/06 15:30
Aww, thanks you are the best. Everytime I see pictures of your bunny I just want to snuggle him. So adorable :)

06/07/2006 01:51 #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.

mrdt - 06/07/06 03:08
omg is that the fresh prince. hehe

06/05/2006 19:30 #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 - 06/05/06 22:37
Whoa! If a picture is worth 1,000 words, that is a million dollar post. Nice to see.

mrdt - 06/05/06 21:56
good lord you like to take pictures.

...the only constant is change...

libertad - 06/05/06 21:28
Thanks for the last pic (e:matthew)! That's paul holding the logo.

mrmike - 06/05/06 21:18
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 - 06/05/06 21:07
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.