Maybe PETA should take some cultural sensitivity courses instead.

You know Peta and the rest of the media should mind their own freaking business. Just because a person works in the US doesn't mean that these organizations should control what a person does in their own country. A protest for cock fighting in another country unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!
What's next? Protest what one eats in foreign lands.

OR maybe we should consider the barbarity of watching two animals kill each other for the "entertainment" value.

PETA what does this mean?

People For The Eating and Tasting of Animals.......PETA

Michael Vick wishes as he sits behind bars wondering what went wrong.....this is our culture...Hip Hop

What about making thousands of volts running through a human being's body in the name of the law? What about poison running through the veins of a human being in the name of the law? What about suffocating a human being with poisonous gas in the name of the law? All of these ubiquitous atrocities are made in front of family members of the victim as if justice is nothing more than revenge, as if justice and vendetta are synonyms, as if such a macabre spectacle can compensate the harm done to society. In fact, executions do nothing more than legitimise the crime purportedly done by the convict. What about ´waterboarding´ in the name of national security? It seems to me that the moral code that reign in some nations award more dignity to roosters and bulls than to prisoners of war and convicts, human beings after all.

I would rather be a fighting bull or rooster than a farm chicken or cow: at least I would have a reasonable chance to defend myself from whoever pretends to end my life. Have you ever seen the living conditions of your average milk cow? Do you realise how much freedom to move do chickens have in the farm during their life, before they’re turned into poultry? Did you know that milk cows are excessively milked on a daily basis making pus coming out of their udders? The differential of quality of life (before they get killed or slaughtered) between fighting roosters and average poultry is a no-brainer to me. The only way for an anti-bull/cock fighting individual to not incur in double standards is to be strict vegan. I do not like either bull fighting or cock fighting, but it is defamatory to say that their fans just love to watch animals bleed, suffer and die. If it were so, why would they pay loads of money to see cock or bull fights when they can go to a slaughterhouse for free?

You know who truly murder innocent animals for sport? Sport fishers and hunters (deer, grouse, duck, moose, goose, elk, bear, bighorn sheep, etc). You know what is really killing an animal just for the sake of killing it? Canned hunting: the majority of states allow it, even New York. The rooster gets the opportunity to neutralise its opponent rooster; the bull gets to attempt several deadly rams against its matador, many times with success; but, on the other hand, reindeers are completely helpless: they don’t even see the rain of bullets coming. What I see here is plenty of double standards, people caring about the dignity of just those animals that don’t end up in their dishes, don’t get poked by their hunting bullets, whose heads don’t end up decorating their study halls or whose skin doesn’t end up in their jackets, belts, shoes and car seats. There are two possible causes behind these double standards pandemic: naivety or hypocrisy.

By the way, who the hell PETA and Humane Society think they are to tell Pedro Martínez and Juan Marichal what they ought to do?

your anti death penalty tirade could at one time have been directed at minister of justice Che....he used to supervise all firing squad executions at the national soccer stadium in Havana ...there were many hundreds by the way...and he enjoyed it very much ,he even sometimes fired the coup de grace with his pistol to the head.....Oh yes the Great Doctor che who never was a doctor had a special window made in his office so he could witness every execution.....What a guy...my hero the murderer

gouletcolonial, 10 Feb 2008 7:06 AM, who in this thread has said or insinuated that Ernesto ´Che´ Guevara was a prominent example of humanity, tolerance, love and compassion? How on earth did the ´Che´ Guevara topic spring out here? Only prejudiced minds like yours assume that ´Che´ is my idol just because I criticise the double standards that reign supreme in the United Sates of America. If you want me to be clearer, take this: I strongly disagree with many aspects of the Castro undemocratic regime; I think it is ridiculous to enshrine vicious ´Che´ as a role model for our youth; I believe communism is not a feasible socioeconomic system as long as humanity remains selfish and reluctant to share material wealth: capitalism is more practical and easier to enforce; (continues)

(continuation) on the other hand, I strongly disagree with many aspects of US’ paranoia-backed, greed-fuelled , bloodthirsty foreign policy; I think it is worryingly ridiculous to enshrine Ronald Reagan as ´The Greatest American´ (according to a Discovery Channel poll); I believe the current state of affairs around the world (actual distribution of economic resources and political power) is bound to end up in many civil wars and social unrests in many countries with stark economic contrasts, such as the DR. As you can see, gouletcolonial, 10 Feb 2008 7:06 AM, I am an independent thinker. Please, don't you ever prejudge me again. My political views are complex, difficult to describe. Simplistic labels like ´left wing´ or ´right wing´ are not suitable for characterising independent minds like mine.

OLE Armando...well said

This thread efinately became sidetracked. The point is cultural differences and the attempt of one nation to castigate a person who is a citizen of one country whose idealisms or culture do not conform to those of other countries.

these PETA people are like GREENPEACE and other international groups...they dont like clubbing seals either or harpooning whales.....But they are not defined by american versus dominican and their cultural differances

they are defined by throwing paint on ladies with fur coats...freeing millions of laboratory mice and generally acting fanatical......saying that I know public figures ie. sports figures will not like to have their pictures taken at these events any more....you can bet on it, just like those roosters

Per Diario Libre...

Marichal y Martinez. The countries have their own roots, their own history and their culture. In Puerto Rico cockerels were declared cultural heritage by the Governor Anibal Vila four months ago, because there cockfighting is part of their history, part of their own passion and their everyday living.

In Spain bulls are part of a very special culture as well as in Mexico, Peru and Colombia.

In Peru, Ecuador, Brasil, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and the Dominican Republic cockfighting is a show that has the support of thousands of followers.

but not without controversy....it is growing each year everywhere outside the third world the controversy that is.....bullfighting is attended by many thousands of spectators and.... without the betting which drives cockfighting...bullfighting is more dangerous ballet and spectacle ...than flying feathers and 500 peso notes...as societies become more affluent they have more time to look at these things and think of them as barbaric....but animal rights groups are on the rise...next time Pedro should where a disguise ......or get down with his bookie ha ha

I think you may see a lot of dominican politicos being photographed at cockfights ...to show they have gigantic cojones...for their constituents and they will not be influenced by outsiders

the great Juan Marichal will explain to Pedro exactly whom those voters are that open the door to hall of fame....They are people with no cultural ties to cockfighting...SAY IT AINT SO JOE

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/sports/othersports/13fight.html this is todays new york times an interesting article