“LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD”

Food & Culture /

“LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD” Wow! February! Lovey dove time for couples to share flowers, chocolates, dinner, special gifts, and of course, intimacy! But let me blow your mind with some facts. Until 450 BC, this was originally the last month of the year and still marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year. It celebrates Canada’s national flag day, President Lincolns birthday, and initiates African American History Month. But what I found interesting was FEBRUALIA; the Roman Empire’s month-long community festival, an orgy celebrating purification and atonement. Can you imagine that still happening today? The Roman festival involved drunk young men running through the streets naked, women being smeared in animal blood, and unusual fertility rites.  Men literally hit on women by whipping them with the hides of the animals they had just sacrificed. Women willingly participated believing this would make them fertile. After having their names drawn from a jar, couples would lie together during the festival with hopes to conceive. Thus, the dating phrase of women “being hit on?” Although much of the marriage and fertility traditions from the old ways persisted, when the Roman Empire became “Christianized,” the festival (renamed Lupercalia), came to eventually honor Valentinus, a priest martyred into sainthood for defying Emperor Claudius II (soldiers were prohibited to marry). It being a way to spare young men from war, Valentinus secretly married couples until imprisoned, tortured, and beheaded. Legend has it that before his end, he befriended, healed, and signed a letter to his jailer’s daughter Julia; “From your Valentine.” It’s also said that the jailer’s family members and servants came to believe in Jesus and were baptized; that because Valentine wore a purple amethyst ring (hinting he may have been a bishop), it became February’s birthstone; that Julia, the jailer’s daughter, planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave. Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship. Around the 6th century, the church designated February to celebrate the “Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary” (in Jerusalem) and later associated it with the “Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.” But it wasn’t until the 14th and 15th centuries that Valentine’s Day was romanticized.  The Parliament of Fowls (1382) honored the engagement of England’s 15-year-old King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia in a dream vision portraying birds (doves) choosing their mates. It became an annual community celebration when Charles VI of France introduced The Charter of the Court of Love: Lavish festivities where members of the royal court enjoyed amorous song and poetry competitions, jousting and dancing. Amid these festivities, the attending ladies would hear and settle disputes between lovers: Marriage Counseling? Today, Valentine’s Day is a major, worldwide, source of economic activity. In 2020, Americans alone, generated an estimated revenue of $50 billion. But consider Tina Turner’s song: “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” For many, surviving the remaining 364 days should make Pat Benatar’s song a reality: “Love Is a Battlefield.” So don’t celebrate this day without sharing the many victories you overcame along the way: TOGETHER. Continue to read all my columns, by visiting: https://2bspoken.blogspot.com/ Read More From This Writer All Post Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Peace People “LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD” February 17, 2022/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More FOR WHAT’S ANOTHER NEW YEAR January 17, 2022/No Comments FOR WHAT’S ANOTHER NEW YEAR The New Year is a worldwide celebration mainly full of parties, costumes, drinking and resolutions Read More OH NOEL! December 17, 2021/No Comments OH NOEL! Oh Noel!   I’ll “Not Tell” of; I’ll “Not Dwell” on past spells of discouragement and disappoints. This Read More Load More End of Content. Meet Our Columnists / Writers

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WNY Peace Center – Interfaith Peace NetworkUN MOMENTO JUSTO POR LA PAZ

Peace /

Feliz Cumpleaños, TPNW! – Happy Birthday, Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons! Que importante este tratado!! It’s now one year since the 1/22/21 activation date for this important treaty! So – yes, nuclear weapons are now illegal worldwide, due to the TPNW, signed by 122 countries and activated on 1/22/21 upon 50 countries have ratified it (now 59). However, we must still work to put TPNW into effect!! Among the signers are Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela – Latin American countries represent 26% of the signatories! Nuclear weapons couldn’t be less undemocratic. You may have no desire for nuclear weapons, but you will live with their threat anyway. That goes for every country that doesn’t have nuclear weapons (every country but the US, Russia, China, France, UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea). None of the Latin American countries have nuclear weapons (neither do any African countries). Yet they all have the threat of nuclear war hanging over their heads – imposed by the above list. Likewise, most citizens in countries with nuclear weapons – such as here in the US – have not to be asked, nor have we been given a vote on whether we want our country to have nuclear weapons (or nuclear power for that matter). Nuclear materials are also with us for the longest time – the most potent nuclear material needs “safe storage” (whatever that means – difficult to impossible) for one million years. Nuclear waste is stored at the West Valley Nuclear Site, on unstable ground. It has been leaking into Cattaraugus Creek, which leads to Lake Erie, Buffalo, our water filtration facilities, and 20% of the world’s freshwater supply. The West Valley clean-up is inching forward but neither covered nor adequately monitored. We also have nuclear waste in Niagara Falls and on the Tuscarora Reservation; transported on our highways, and liquid nuclear waste coming over the Peace Bridge (WNYPC vigil Fridays 2-3pm at Vermont & Busti). Please go to Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS.org) for more info, especially on this local issue. Nuclear weapons take resources away from humanity and the planet’s other needs (from health, education, infrastructure, and basic human needs; to the costs of changing to renewable energy to mitigate climate catastrophe). The planned cost of a new generation of US nuclear weapons is $100,000 per minute for the next ten years. That would cover a college education for all qualified students over 16 years! For more info, see the Talking Peace session on this issue at WNY Peace Center’s Youtube channel; and/or go to PeaceAction.org; BackFromtheBrink (preventnuclearwar.org), or ICAN.org. Time’s up!! To help abolish nuclear weapons, including working together locally, please contact me at victoryross9@gmail.com. Think globally, act locally – this issue, again, is too big not to tackle. For #PeopleAndPlanet, Juntos – Si, se puede!! Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Military & Veterans Peace People Politics A TRAGEDY July 4, 2023/No Comments LEADING TO AN ANTI-BULLYING CAMPAIGN (a Community Responders Pilot and a Peace Ship for a Nuclear-Free Future) Hola, mis Amigos!!  Read More CAMP PEACEPRINTS 2023: HEALTHY LIVES MATTER June 4, 2023/No Comments ¡Hola, Amigos! Pronto sera el tiempo por los ninos para ir a campamentos de verano. We are excited to present Read More EMBRACING BUFFALO / HEALING MOMENTS May 10, 2023/No Comments EMBRACING BUFFALO / HEALING MOMENTS “No podemos dejar que la gente abra brechas entre nosotros… porque solo hay una raza Read More Load More End of Content.

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AMINAH!

People /

AMINAH JOHNSON As part of this new column, I’ll like to celebrate people in our community for the work that they’ve done and haven’t been recognized as much as they should. I would like to begin with Aminah Johnson. She is one such person —  although she has been recognized as a staple in the community for the past several decades, she has recently been missed by many.  Allow me to explain. In the past 15 years, she has dedicated herself to PUSH Buffalo, the West Side, and the greater community.  Aminah was a Founding Member of PUSH and the organization’s first employee. She was drawn to her passion for tenant advocacy after 7 years of being a Community Outreach Coordinator. She naturally was able to create the Tenant Advocacy Department and authored her own job description based on the needs of people she met every single day. She has performed in this capacity for over 7 years. She had never been issued a verbal warning or written up in all her years there. She would have retired from PUSH Buffalo in June 2022.  Unfortunately, for reasons that are STILL not clear to her, she was terminated by PUSH Buffalo on August 21, 2020! Although she has surmised that she was terminated for the same things she has advocated for when helping others and for which PUSH Buffalo itself purports: Engagement and Transparency.  She believes that she was terminated because her name was on an email with six other individuals requesting to attend the meeting with the Board of Directors of PUSH. This action was done as a group decision of and by the Organizing Team. She or they in no way meant any harm toward the agency or any individuals. It was a simple request that they did not feel was out of bounds or reach for their position in the agency. She believes this joint decision was mistakenly viewed as an attack and subsequently cost her her career. But that’s not all she lost … For the rest of Aminah Johnson’s story, please go to the Latino Village Facebook page where I’ll post the rest of the story. Read More From This Writer All Post Food Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development People Aminah Johnson February 13, 2022/No CommentsRead More INTRODUCTION: January 13, 2022/No Comments INTRODUCTION: Peace!! I’m QueeNia AsheeMa’at, born of another name but bold enough to embark on a spiritual journey thirteen (13) Read More

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