May Contribution Video

One video given to each District.... I love the Japanese YMD telling about how he didn't even have a bowl of rice before donating his last penny to the SGI and now he's driving a Lexus. I also love how Nathan "Brainwashed" Gaeur and Danny "DON'T YOU THINK SO" Nagashima shill, lie, and cajole to get every last cent out of even the poorest members. Don't forget the tremendous benefit you will receive, a photo thank-you card of Daisaku and Kaneko Ikeda that you can place on your altar.

Hehe, I think the thank-you card will help you remember Taisaku [Fat Building] Ikeda at the moment of your death, the goal according to Jeff Krieger SGI-USA Study Chief. WHAT A BENEFIT! I think the members should deeply ponder this and think of Taisaku at the moment of his death. They can remember the dear leader's guidance to be sure to brush their teeth before retiring into the good night. LOL

Nichijew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2012 10:43AM by Nichijew.

Quote
SGBye
If this was already reported in this thread then my apologies but the SGI now has a new Youtube channel called SGIUSAmedia. They only have 2 videos up, one being the "We Are 2030" video that Nichijew had a link to earlier. The other one's a promo video for an Ikeda Youth Ensemble National Competition at Soka University happening in June. It's the usual SGI stuff but what's interesting is an Ikeda quote that appears early in the video that pertains to a recent topic of discussion here:


"For now is the time for me to put the finishing touches on my work and leave everything to you." - Daisaku Ikeda, World Tribune, June 25th, 2010


It's another hint from the SGI as they prepare the members for the inevitable. Here's a link to the video: [www.youtube.com]

Big ups to SGBye for posting the video...

While SGI don't disclose there finances and continue to prey on the pockets of the lower tier members, it's quite interesting that they can shell out the money to ASCAP for the Eminem song for the promotion of there events. Do SGI have the licensing rights to play that song and how much have they paid for it?

Correct me if I am wrong but for an artist to use sampling doesn't it cost from anywhere to $25,000-$100,000. Think how much it cost for licensing rights to half of a song - Just saying...

"Actual proof" to everyone except the lowly tiered general SGI member that they are being swindled.

Quote
Nichijew
May Contribution Video

One video given to each District.... I love the Japanese YMD telling about how he didn't even have a bowl of rice before donating his last penny to the SGI and now he's driving a Lexus. I also love how Nathan "Brainwashed" Gaeur and Danny "DON'T YOU THINK SO" Nagashima shill, lie, and cajole to get every last cent out of even the poorest members. Don't forget the tremendous benefit you will receive, a photo thank-you card of Daisaku and Kaneko Ikeda that you can place on your altar.

Hehe, I think the thank-you card will help you remember Taisaku [Fat Building] Ikeda at the moment of your death, the goal according to Jeff Krieger SGI-USA Study Chief. WHAT A BENEFIT! I think the members should deeply ponder this and think of Taisaku at the moment of his death. They can remember the dear leader's guidance to be sure to brush their teeth before retiring into the good night. LOL

Nichijew

Nichijew, - Funny you should say that, I've always found SGI methods of distributing these videos ABOVE ALL ANYTHING ELSE suspicious. It will be some district meeting and one lowly SGI member will be assigned the DVD copy of the latest speech from Linda Johnson, Nakashima or whoever and will manage to make their rounds to every district meeting for everyone to see it. It's atypical affirmation to the "always win and never give up on the SGI and take Ikeda as your Sensei," self preservation mumbo jumbo SGI continuously espouse but it's on STEROIDS. They have very well protected the members for it's surprising that none of these videos have never made it on You Tube...

Quote
KR
Nichijew, - Funny you should say that, I've always found SGI methods of distributing these videos ABOVE ALL ANYTHING ELSE suspicious. It will be some district meeting and one lowly SGI member will be assigned the DVD copy of the latest speech from Linda Johnson, Nakashima or whoever and will manage to make their rounds to every district meeting for everyone to see it. It's atypical affirmation to the "always win and never give up on the SGI and take Ikeda as your Sensei," self preservation mumbo jumbo SGI continuously espouse but it's on STEROIDS. They have very well protected the members for it's surprising that none of these videos have never made it on You Tube...

SGI is extremely controlling, to the point of paranoia, about their public image. Life was much easier for the Gakkai, in the pre-internet days, when SGI was pretty much the only source of information about SGI. Youtube, blogs, this website -- has been a total game-changer for SGI, and they know it. As the internet began to develop, SGI leaders began to monitor what is posted about SGI online. The world can see videos of President Ikeda ridiculing his underlings. Dissatisfied former SGI members in Ohio can share observations and concerns with ex-members in India and Germany.

While SGI is working to fight this trend -- getting videos yanked off of Veoh and Youtube, closing websites, harassing people whose posts are unflattering to SGI, it's a losing battle.

An SGI member, Wendy Byrd Ehlmann, was on the receiving end of much harassment from SGI in 2007-2008 for this very reason. Here, in her blog on www.fraughtwithperil, "A Byrd's Eye View":

-------------------------------------Beginning of Quote---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 14, 2008

Last week, I discussed how happy I was to receive some written response, however scolding, from an SGI-USA staff member. One of the groups I was supposed to owe an apology to was the area leaders who govern the SGI-USA Area where my friends Michele and Richard Chavez live - Richard is the fellow who was told he couldn't have SGI meetings at his home anymore due to the fact that his wife was joining a different Nichiren denomination.[

Anyway, apparently, I owe an apology to these area leaders for misrepresenting the reasons why meetings were discontinued at this particular home. The problem is, we still don't know what the reasons were, except that whatever I say is a misrepresentation. At least that's a rule we can all count on.

Anyway, when I first received the apology demand related to Michele and Richard's home, I forwarded it to Michele. I mean, it did concern her and her home and her husband, right? And it did come from an SGI e-mail account, and an SGI staff member, right? Why shouldn't she know about it?
Well, she got sort of a laugh out of it, and drafted an explanation of her and her husband's perspective and sent it to the staff member in question, copying all the leaders he had originally copied on his request for an apology from me. So, now, for the first time ever, the people who apparently made the decisions are actually hearing from the people they've been making the decisions about. I guess that's a step in the right direction.

Anyway, Michele didn't receive a response which spoke to the actual issue of why her husband was no longer able to host Gakkai meetings, but she did get a mesage which made it clear that the staff member's e-mail to me had been "meant as a private message" - in other words, the staff and the area leaders were supposed to be talking about Michele and Richard and demanding apologies from me about them without Michele and Richard even knowing about it by way of a pesky forwarded e-mail. I guess I was just supposed to get an e-mail about them from Gakkai Central, copied to a whole bunch of leaders, and keep them in the dark about it? Gee, where's that written in the new personnel manual?

Even stranger was the idea that I should get an e-mail all about the content of my blog from an SGI e-mail account, (and copied to several other leaders' private e-mails), and see this as being "private". I don' t get that. If you want an e-mail to be private, don't copy people I don't even know. That's kind of easy, isn't it?

Anyway, as part of the non-responsive response, this individual also wrote to Michele in part:
Contrary to what you might have heard, the SGI Plaza does not know of yourself or Byrd. Because I work at the Plaza, my concerns are being represented as those of the Plaza.

This is what Washington correspondents call "backpedaling". Kind of like, "the White House denies that the President had any knowledge..." Maybe there was even a lawyer involved in that wording, although I doubt it. Not verbose enough.

Anyway, what is that figure of speech where you use a building to represent a person or a group of people? Like "The White House", or "10 Downing Street", or..."Dodger Stadium". Help me out here, someone. Because I know that the SGI Plaza Building itself doesn't talk. That's a good thing. I wonder what sorts of tales it would have to tell if it did.

Anyway, I'm kind of surprised that the good people at the SGI Plaza don't have any awareness at all of the online discussions which go on at this site. I find that just incredibly hard to believe. Even Patrick admits to writing to Gakkai Central about this site. Didn't they open his mail?

Curiouser and curiouser......anyway, the day after the good people at SGI Plaza didn't read my post about the apologies I owed to Makiguchi and Toda, I got a phone call from a WD Area leader who wanted to set up a home visit at my place with herself, me, and a Region WD leader. Coincidence, I suppose. Anyway, I look forward to the meeting, it should be interesting.

Anyway, the next time you're in Santa Monica, you can drive by the SGI Plaza. Bring a microphone. Put it up to the plaster walls. See what the Plaza knows. See what it is concerned about...

How incredibly wierd.

Well, anyway, it's back to painting my living room. What a fun job that's turning out to be. You can come by and ask the walls some questions sometime.

Bye for now, 
Byrd in LA
---------------------------------------------End of Quote--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What started all this was -- there was a couple in this part of California (Richard and Michele) -- he was an SGI member; she'd joined another Nichiren sect -- I believe Nichiren Shu. The SGI leaders of the area said that Richard could not continue to hold SGI meetings at his house. Was Michele using the SGI meetings to shakabuku people into her sect? She has commented on Byrd's blog, as have other members who've attended meetings at this couple's house, and they all say no. And really, even if she did, so what? These members are adults who can make their own choices regarding what meetings they participate in, and what doctrines they follow.

The local SGI leader, or leaders, simply decided that Richard could not hold meetings in his home, without any discussion with the couple or the other members. They gave no reasons for their decisions. Typical SGI, "Obey us without question because we are SGI!"

Then the leaders all wanted it kept secret...so that the leader, or leaders who made the decision would never be held accountable -- and then, the leader or leaders who are trying to get Byrd to shut up are not going to reveal who they are either! They're just "SGI Plaza!" The poor, unhappy building, everyone misunderstands it!

All the secrecy and the talk behind people's backs....as if it's a private matter. Well, it was NOT a private matter. It affects the couple who wanted to hold meetings at their house, the members who want to go to those meetings -- and as Byrd said, all these leaders that she didn't even know, were copied on the e-mail.

To me, this sounds so much like middle-school bullying, kids spreading vicious rumors behind someone's back, and then denying everything when a teacher or parent confronts them about it. Secrecy is a bully's best ally. Bullies look for opportunities to isolate their victims, and strike when no one who will intervene is watching. Bullies know how to intimidate and shame their victims to keep the victim from telling. Bullies are skilled at shifting the blame for their actions onto their victims.

Byrd was not willing to allow SGI to do their dirty work quietly...she publicly called them on it. IMHO, SGI would have cut their damages if they'd just backed down at this point. They didn't --- and in the following months, they showed the world a very ugly side of themselves.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2012 10:33PM by tsukimoto.

Quote
tsukimoto

Quote
Nichijew
"Try it anywhere else, and there is a good chance SGI-USA will try to get it shut-down with their internet monitoring." -- Anticult

SGI finally shut down my Nichiren Buddhist and anti-SGI blog. The owner of the blog site is Nancy Thomsen, an SGI Chapter Leader. I had 1.3 million views over the last several years. Fortunately, I managed to save much of my work but lost at least a third. She was a liberal SGI member but I suspect SGI indoctrination eventually soured her to my "terse" criticism of her personality cult.

Nichijew

Nichijew, I'm guessing that most of the "Byrd's Eye View," on the Fraught With Peril blog site was deleted too. ( Wendy Byrd Ehlmann was a blogger and SGI member who wrote blog entries that criticized and questioned SGI. She died, apparently of a pre-existing heart condition, in the summer of 2008. The timing has always seemed suspicious to me, as she was in the midst of a battle with SGI. SGI leaders were telling her that she couldn't come to meetings anymore, and they wanted her to submit her writing to leaders to approve before she posted it online. After her death, SGI members continued to post insulting things about her. This is all on pages 109-111 and 115-116 of this thread.)

I did go to the wayback machine. I was able to copy six of her posts regarding her problems with SGI. I could not find the ones she wrote closest to her death, where SGI is really harassing her. Maybe they were there somewhere and I missed them....or gee, could it be that someone made them disappear!? Fortunately, we have some of that on our pages 109-116.

Tsukimoto, thanks so much for alerting us that they've 'disappeared' Byrd's blog and thank goodness you saved some of it on 109-116.

I've been on the wayback machine as well, reading some of her posts again and it has actually made me more angry than I have felt for a long time reading about how SGI treated this beautiful and compassionate human being. When you read her posts it is obvious that Byrd was right behind SGI and only trying to help it become sucessful. What she didn't know was that she was dealing with a cult and therefore would always be on the losing end of it.

I'm going to copy/paste her last two posts with selected comments and then I'm going to take a break from posting here as my anger has now turned to profound sadness.

Byrd's Eye View, from www.fraughtwithperil.com, July 16, 2008 via Wayback Machine [web.archive.org]

Penultimate blog written by Wendy Byrd Ehlmann (She also posts as "Byrd," and "Wazoh.")

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 16, 2008
A Conversation With My Hero

Well, yesterday, my lovely literacy pupil picked me up at the public library for our tutorial session. My pupil is my hero because of his courage in deciding, at 50 years of age, to learn how to read. We have become friends, and I trust him. I recognized his white pickup truck, waved him down, and climbed way up into the cab.

We know each other pretty well by now, and he knew there was something wrong.

HIM: You OK? What's up?

ME: I haven't been sleeping too well. I'm just kind of tired and bummed out, I guess.

HIM: What's the matter?

ME: Well, I think I'm in the process of getting kicked out of my church.

HIM: Is that the group you wanted to take me to?

ME: Uh.....yeah....but the Buddhism part is OK, it's just the group that's acting kind of weird.

HIM: Well, if the Buddhism part is OK, I mean, if it helps you be a better person like you say, then why are they acting so weird?

ME: Good question, Gilbert. I can't help you with that one.

I kind of stared silently out of the truck for awhile, while the scenic cement of Panorama City rolled past my window. I felt as desolate as one of those cracked, empty parking lots. Gilbert decided to break the silence.


HIM: So, uh...what'd you do?

ME: Huh?

HIM: What'd you do to get kicked out?

ME: They don't like things I wrote on the internet. I don't agree with some stuff that the church has done, and I started asking questions they didn't like, so they're kicking me out. They say it has something to do with the leader in Japan - that I have to be more respectful to him.

HIM: You mean like you said "goddamn the Pope", or something?

ME: Well, I didn't actually say "goddamn" anybody. It was more like I was just hoping people would think for themselves and talk about ideas without only having to talk about his ideas. I thought I was just sort of throwing stuff out there for people to think about and talk about. You know, basic free speech stuff.

HIM: And now they're kicking you out?

ME: Looks that way.

HIM: That's why I won't go to no damn churches! It's that kind of crap! I'm not going to that damn church! You better not ask me again.

ME: No, I won't ask you again, Gilbert, I'm so sorry I ever did. I would never take you anyplace where anyone would try to shut you up or shut you down. I'm sorry...I dunno....I'm just so bummed. I've been with them for 24 years, that's all. That's a long time - like a marriage, or something. And then to just get a phone call saying "you're not welcome anymore". It's kind of a weird feeling.

HIM: You got friends in that church?

ME: Oh, yeah - a lot of them. I thought so, at least.

HIM: Did they have a vote or something? To kick you out?

ME: The gal who called me said they did, but I don't know. If there was a vote, I wasn't invited.

HIM: That's why I don't go to no damn churches! You know, one time I had a preacher tell me that if I didn't bring in my whole family, that he'd kick me out.

ME: What'd you say?

HIM: I said "goodbye". Besides, he didn't know what he was asking for. He don't know my whole family. Those churches are always telling you who you can hang out with. And Jesus hung out with everybody. Nope, you won't catch me going to no damn church.

ME: Gilbert, some day I'm going to collect all your sayings and put them in a book, and I'm going to call it "The Wisdom of Gilbert".

HIM: And then we can read it together.

ME: You got that right. Then we can read it together.


Posted by wahzoh at July 16, 2008 03:31 PM
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments

Byrd,

You know, I think you just gave yourself some really great advice within your blog today:

You wrote (to Gilbert): "I would never take you anyplace where anyone would try to shut you up or shut you down."

If you'd never do that to someone, well, perhaps you shouldn't be doing it to yourself either.

It must be heartbreaking to have put so much time and energy into the SGI, to try and "improve" it, as I believe you have tried, through your attempts at constructive criticism, only to be booted out

And yet, in my humble opinion, there is "more" out there - places, practices, where things like free speech and your singular voice will be valued. May this shunning be the start of a flourishing spiritual life for you, Byrd.

Namu Myo Ho Renge Kyo
Kris
Posted by: Kris at July 16, 2008 05:01 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks, Kris - you make a good point. I'm always happy to read or hear your voice.

Wahzoh
Posted by: Byrd in LA at July 16, 2008 05:11 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(It was me who emphasised "I felt as desolate as one of those cracked, empty parking lots", Simplify.)

Byrd's Eye View, from www.fraughtwithperil.com, July 19, 2008 via Wayback Machine [web.archive.org]

Final blog before her death, written by Wendy Byrd Ehlmann (She also posts as "Byrd," and "Wazoh.")

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 19, 2008
Bento Box Buddhism

I am taking a vacation from my "divorce" issue surrounding the SGI, and won't be trying to go to any activities until after I finish my project on August 8. We'll talk after that, OK? So, you can stand down, guys- I won't be trying to chant with my friends in the SGI until I'm done writing the piece I'm working on. I'm trying to write a comedy, and the set of issues raised last week is major sansho shima for my sense of humor.

OK...You may be wondering about the title of this entry. "What," I hear you cry, "is Bento Box Buddhism?" Well, if you look below, you can see a Japanese bento box - it's a style of serving food. Each dish is in a completely separate compartment, walled off from all the other foods -- gastronomic apartheid raised to the level of art:

[photo of bento box]

It's awful pretty, isn't it?

I wanted to post this picture and think out loud about Bento Box Buddhism, because a dear Dharma friend who practices in an adjoining compartment gave me this image. He seems to feel there's something uniquely Japanese about this style of serving food. One big plate, and each food isolated in a separate, non-connecting room, completely walled off from any contact with any other food. I suppose this could be a good thing sometimes - you do want to keep that fish sauce from running into the chocolate cake, after all. But I can't help contrasting this kind of presentation with the way we in the West serve up, say, a holiday meal.

On our plates, the beans and the dressing shove each other aside and complete for which one gets to cover up the turkey. If the butter actually lands on your roll, you've done well for yourself, and the gravy could pretty much soak anything except the apple pie - but that's only because dessert is a separate course. Regional tastes come into play, too -- seafood gumbo in Louisiana and tamales and salsa near the Mexican border.

So, what does this have to do with Buddhism? Well, for some of us, Buddhism is all about keeping ourselves and our practice walled off in a separate compartment, unpolluted by interaction with Buddhists who do not belong to our group. Others of us feel compelled to pour gravy on everything, and mix up our beans and dressing. If, as Mom always said, "it all ends up in the same place", then what difference does it make how our nourishment is served up?

My tummy is growling in anticipation of your thoughts, dear readers...

Byrd in LA
Posted by wahzoh at July 19, 2008 10:20 AM
Comments

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A few of the comments to this post follow)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I can't think of anything more useless than buddhism compartmentalized away from everything and everyone else in your life. Who would advocate such a thing? Not anyone who had a glimmer of knowledge of what they were talking about.
Posted by: clown hidden at July 21, 2008 02:04 PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps Byrd didn't want to get me into trouble, but I am the one who uses that analogy.

To be clear, it's not about Buddhism being walled off from everything else. It's about the Japanese Buddhist tendency to wall off the various sects from each other. It is quite unlike the rest of East Asian Buddhism: Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese. The rest of East Asian Buddhism is more like that Korean dish Bibimbop (sp?) where everything is all mixed in together.

What you will find in a typical Chinese or Korean or Vietnamese temple is this: Pure Land is what most people seem to be practicing. But the monks and nuns follow the pre-Mahayana Vinaya and study the doctrines of Huay-yen and perhaps T'ien-t'ai. The leaders tend to be Zen Masters of the Lin-Chi (Jap. Rinzai) lineage and their Dharma talks tend to take that perspective even when they are discussing Pure Land or some of the other teachings and practices.

The compartmentalization of Japanese Buddhism is in my view one of its strengths - as things got to develop on their own terms. But it is also a weakness as each sect became insular and even defensive and overly dogmatic in its development or eventually lack therof.

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
Posted by: Ryuei at July 21, 2008 02:47 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for chiming in, Michael, although I don't know who I could possibly "get you in trouble" with!

I think you have touched on the problem as I see it - that extreme insularity and the building of sectarian "walls" ends up resulting in stunted growth and development.

Best, Wahzoh
Posted by: Byrd in LA at July 21, 2008 04:22 PM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's excately it, Byrd - "stunted growth and development" in the name of loyalty and the idea that one teaching is "superior" to another. Frankly, I couldn't care less. Actually, I had a bento box for lunch. It was delicious, and I love eating Japanese food from the box. But that's where it ends. I am no longer interested in compartmentalizing my mind. We get enough of that from our culture - school systems, media, political systems, and many mainstream religions. The last thing I need is a compartmentalizing Buddhist practice. But, that is excately what I practiced for years, and it made me very unhappy.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Ashley
Posted by: Ashley at July 21, 2008 04:39 PM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wish I was as good a writer as Byrd and I knew how to express what I'm about to convey in the spiritually dignified manner that she deserves.

I live in the same building as Byrd. I was mentioned in one of her previous blogs about her cats. Sadly, Byrd has passed a way. I knew Byrd in a neighborly way. I thought Byrd had a wonderful, wonderful, heart. She was an evolved and conscious intelligent, loving, soul.

From what little I know, Byrd passed away quietly and unexpectedly at her home in solitude. Byrd's passing was discovered on August 6th, 2008 by her neighbors in the Coop where she lives. The police (who called a coroner) indicated that according to a perscription they saw in her home, she had seen a doctor on July 25th for a heart issue.

I just thought I would share this information here, so you, her friends could pray, meditate, and support her spirit in its passing.

Also, Byrd had three cats. Although I'm guessing a family member of hers will be handling the details, if there is anyone of Byrd's friends who would be able to provide a loving home for any or all of her cats, I presume that Byrd would appreciate that.

God bless.
Posted by: Byrd's neighbor at August 7, 2008 02:15 AM

Quote
KR

Quote
Nichijew
May Contribution Video

One video given to each District.... I love the Japanese YMD telling about how he didn't even have a bowl of rice before donating his last penny to the SGI and now he's driving a Lexus. I also love how Nathan "Brainwashed" Gaeur and Danny "DON'T YOU THINK SO" Nagashima shill, lie, and cajole to get every last cent out of even the poorest members. Don't forget the tremendous benefit you will receive, a photo thank-you card of Daisaku and Kaneko Ikeda that you can place on your altar.

Hehe, I think the thank-you card will help you remember Taisaku [Fat Building] Ikeda at the moment of your death, the goal according to Jeff Krieger SGI-USA Study Chief. WHAT A BENEFIT! I think the members should deeply ponder this and think of Taisaku at the moment of his death. They can remember the dear leader's guidance to be sure to brush their teeth before retiring into the good night. LOL

Nichijew

Nichijew, - Funny you should say that, I've always found SGI methods of distributing these videos ABOVE ALL ANYTHING ELSE suspicious. It will be some district meeting and one lowly SGI member will be assigned the DVD copy of the latest speech from Linda Johnson, Nakashima or whoever and will manage to make their rounds to every district meeting for everyone to see it. It's atypical affirmation to the "always win and never give up on the SGI and take Ikeda as your Sensei," self preservation mumbo jumbo SGI continuously espouse but it's on STEROIDS. They have very well protected the members for it's surprising that none of these videos have never made it on You Tube...

Hi KR. PROTECTION: Word used in SGI top leader circles in the sense of "protecting the members from the TRUTH." Talk about a sick religious organization. The original meaning in the Lotus Sutra is, "To protect what the Buddha has entrusted to us", the opposite of hiding the truth.

Mark

The "PROTECTION" code-buzz word, as in "we must protect the members", is one that I had forgotten, but now remember in full: Translation = Go into full offensive mode and do whatever it takes to achieve your "goal" (lying, harassment or other outright evil things). It was a rare occurrence, but I do recall this "call to arms" being used on more than one occasion.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the key to understanding this cult is to understand the Japanese mindset. Japan is HUGE on public apologies, obsessed with them. Hence, all the focus on "apologizing to the members" (which really means, to the leaders who you pissed off by your insolence).

On that note, [www.youtube.com], is essential viewing. I recommend choosing nothing lower than the "DOGEZA" level apology (anything higher will not only save your posterior but also highly impress those secret sgi-plaza phantom mini-lords who ordered it).

I kid you not.

SGBYE...Just found ur post re the kids & May contribution & I was telling my husband last nite about the same picture! Doesn't creep u out? I went thru the W.T. just to make sure I wasn't misjudging the intent...NOPE! U would think people would b leaving in mass at this point! How does this not meet mainstream America at this point? It is not something anyone would b comfortable with, right?