Peace Coffee

These days there appeared a video over the Internet that shows the story about the company that makes so-called "Peace" coffee. What exactly distinquishes this kind of coffee from others? See the video. I will make only a tiny highlight that the whole production and delivery are highly stylized. You'll see them baking, packing, tasting, toasting, roasting on a machine (a quite old machine!). And the whole time that it took them to grow - it's around four years!

At Peace Coffee, they trade fairly with small, organic coffee grower cooperatives in Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ethiopia and Sumatra. They are also a founding member of Cooperative Coffees. This is a green coffee importing cooperative committed to supporting and partnering with small-scale coffee farmers and their exporting cooperatives. By importing directly from our partner-farmers, Cooperative Coffees seeks to creatively foster a more equitable and sustainable system of coffee trade that directly benefits these farmers, their families and their communities. Organized in 1999, Cooperative Coffees is owned and managed collectively by a small group of specialty coffee roasters like Peace Coffee, located in the United States and Canada. Roasters share a common interest and concern that each has addressed individually – the desire to source sustainably grown coffees and to work closely with the farmers growing it. Roasters work together, cooperatively, this way Peace Coffe can more readily impact and multiply the positive effects of their selective coffee purchasing.

Israelis and Palestinians are blogging for peace

It seems that peace topics are getting more and more attention in people's blogs. These places as an inevident demonstration of their thoughts today perfectly reflect the worldwide desire to regain peace betwen neighbours, as sometimes it is regretfully disobeyed. The example of such thoughts expressed on blog is what I am going to tell you about.

Two friends was writing that blog. But they are not two comon dudes that live one side the street. One of them is dwelling in Sajaia refugee camp in Gaza and the other can be found in Sderot, that is a small town near Gaza. But Sderot is on the Israeli side.

As we all know the violence is ongoing among Gaza and Israel. It has been greatly intensified byt the inner and outer forces since the new century beinning. Lots of Israeli and Palestinians people were killed and also lots received injures. In addition to this any broadcast on radio, televisn or press abut all these causes had been greatly biased. The blog that they write is held by two inbiased people, that live and communicate on both sides of the war frontier.

Everyone can read their blog and sign their petition.

http://gaza-sderot.blogspot.com/

Life must go on in Gaza and Sderot

Prefatory Letter (1904) to Gustave de Molinari’s Society of the Future (1899)

by Frédéric Passy (1822-1912)

Prefatory Letter
TO MR. FISHER UNWIN

You are about to publish an English version of my friend M. de Molinari’s book, “La Société Future,” and you do me the honour to request a few lines of introduction from my pen. To a write adequately of such a book would require time that my age and obligations do not, unfortunately, permit me to give. Since, however, the opportunity does occur, I should be most unwilling to let the book appear without at least testifying my esteem and admiration for the character and talent of the man who is to-day, unless I am mistaken, the doyen of our economists – I should say of our liberal economists – of the men with whom, though, alas! few in number, I have been happy to stand side by side during more than half a century.

Their principles were proclaimed and defended in England through the mouths of Adam Smith, Fox, Cobden, Gladstone, and Bright. In France they were championed by Quesnay, Turgot, Say, Michel Chevalier, Laboulaye, and Bastiat. And my belief grows yearly stronger that, but for these principles, the societies of the present would be without wealth, peace, material greatness, or moral dignity.

Monsieur de Molinari has maintained these principles from his youth, from the day when – at the epoch of our Revolution of 1848 – he first upheld them at the Soirées de la Rue St. Lazare. [Online editor’s note: This is surely a mistranslation of “he first upheld them in his Soirées de la Rue St. Lazare.” – RTL] His “Conversations Familières sur la Commerce des Grains” gave them a new and attractive shape. He has defended his convictions both in his regular courses of lectures and also in those other lectures by means of which he has spread his principles even within the borders of Russia. Month by month the important Review of which he is editor-in-chief repeats them in a fresh guise; and annually, so to speak, a further book, as distinguished for clearness of grasp as for admirable literary style, goes out to testify to the constancy of his convictions no less than to the unimpaired vigour of his mental outlook and the virile serenity of his green old age.

The book which you are about to introduce to the English public is, in some sort, a summing-up of his long studies of the past, his clear-sighted observations upon the present, and his shrewd predictions for the future. You, Sir, do well when you endeavour to obtain for it that additional publicity which it deserves; and I count myself fortunate that you have permitted me to contribute, in however small a degree, to so admirable an end.

Frédéric Passy.

Gustave de Molinari, The Society of To-morrow: A Forecast of Its Political and Economic Organisation
(London: T. Fisher Unwin / New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904, trans. P. H. Lee Warner); a translation of
Esquisse de l’organisation politique et économique de la société future (Paris: Guillaumin, 1899).

Steal the Show

If you are uncomfortable with the gay community, I would not suggest taking up residence in New York City, particularly in the West Village. New York has some of the largest communities in the United States for individuals whose sexual orientation is other than heterosexual. And there are many orientations, as seen in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center at 281 West 13th Street. You can read about them here.
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Insult to Injury

Let's try to create the most inhospitable outdoor dining situation imaginable and see if anyone comes. First, let's pick the largest city in the United States, New York, to make sure we have potential for congestion. Second, pick one of the busiest thoroughfares in Manhattan - Houston Street, so it's like eating on a super highway. Third, we make sure we choose a really crowded area to insure opportunity for the
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View of the World

I hate to use the phrase de rigueur again, but if there ever was a need for it, this is a prime example. Because familiarity with this image, View of the World from 9th Avenue, is de rigueur for every New Yorker and anyone who wants to understand this city's people. This really is how many
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Sea of Yellow

What was most remarkable about my journey in this vehicle was the comment my friend Joey made while driving me uptown - he referred to what we saw as a "sea of yellow" - that is exactly the phrase I have used many times and what was in my mind as we crept through slow moving traffic. I shot a number of photos "blind" by raising the camera through his open sunroof. The evening light really enhanced the already yellow hue of the taxis.
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No Salga Afuera

I used to know a Puerto Rican woman who roared when I used to demonstrate my limited command of the Spanish language, defined by the NYC experience. My favorite was the recitation of a sign which appeared in the subway cars for as long as I can remember. I used to just recite two lines:
"La via del tren subterraneo es peligrosa. .... No salga afuera." This warning alerted passengers to many dangers, including the the electrified third rail. See full wording and translation below.
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Bagels

When i first moved to new york city to attend college, I had never heard of a bagel or deli. Hard to believe? Not at all. Before the internet or cable television, life was much more insular and information much more local. Growing up in a small bluecollar town in New England I was exposed to very little. Cappucino was unheard of.
But it was only minutes after arriving in the Big Apple, however, that I sampled
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Cult Meets Attitude

The cult like phenomenon surrounding Apple Mac users is well known. In fact, Guy Kawasaki wrote of it in his book, The Macintosh Way. He advances the concept of marketing a business by creating an evangelical customer base. This may sound far fetched, but only if you haven't met some hardcore Mac users.
But we have a small problem. Even with the tremendous success of
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