Free Republic

The National Gun Victims Action Council has declared a Valentine’s Day boycott of Starbucks to protest the coffee chain’s support for American gun laws. TTAG Commentator Greg in Allston has a counter-proposal, as originated by Sebastian and gay cynic . . . “OK everyone, let’s have some real fun, shall we? Good! Listen up and please hear me out. The antis are planning a boycott. Let’s counter with a BUYcott. On February14, please make the effort to go to Starbucks and buy something. Don’t like their coffee? Get a tea, a cocoa, a pastry, anything. Thank the clerk for Starbucks’...

Starbucks has joined the fight for gay marriage, as Washington state edges closer to becoming the seventh state to approve marriage equality. Executive vice president of Partner Resources at Starbucks sent an email to business partners yesterday afternoon with the subject, "RE: A Message From Kalen Holmes: Starbucks Supports Marriage Equality." "Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples," Holmes wrote.

An anti-gun group is attempting to organize a nationwide Valentine's Day boycott of Starbucks over the coffee chain's gun policy. Starbucks does not ban guns in its stores; rather, it defers to local laws. The National Gun Victim's Action Council (NGAC) says that amounts to a pro-gun policy that endangers customers. "Starbucks allowing guns to be carried in thousands of their stores significantly increases everyone's risk of being a victim of gun violence," NGAC CEO Elliot Fineman said in a news release. "Open and conceal and carry are among the reasons there are 12,000 gun homicides each year in the...

This Iowa Coffee Shop owner doesn’t mess around. When Occupy Iowa goons invaded her shop, Java Joes, Friday morning, they were given the boot immediately. Via The Morning Spew, Chris Moody of Yahoo News reports:

December 17, 2011 Coffee Blend Named After Rick Perry’s 9/11-Inspired Cowboy Boots Arlette Saenz CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — Rick Perry’s cowboy boots, which make an appearance on the campaign trail every now and then, have kicked their way into the coffee world. One coffee shop has created a coffee blend named after those famous Texas boots bearing the words “Freedom” and “Liberty.” The Cabin Coffee Company here in Clear Lake developed the “Freedom & Liberty Blend,” made of 100 percent Arabica Beans and described as being “Rich & smooth, medium bodied, sparkling acidity, with Smokey undertones.” Brad Barber, the owner...

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Talk about a caffeine kick. A morning trip to get a cup of coffee turned into more than several customers bargained for at a Sacramento-area Starbucks when an angry panhandler ransacked the store, according to police. The bizarre incident began at the Starbucks at West El Camino and Truxel after a man began asking customers for money. When he failed to get any donations, witnesses said he grew very agitated and started screaming at people. Officials said he also allegedly shattered a glass counter that separates the customers from the baristas, and threw coffee and other items...

Just saw an apoplytic demise of coffee by the reporters on CBS 11 Dallas around 4:54 CDT, stating that according to Starbucks "scientists" that the coffee bean will be extinct in 20 years, to guess what, global warming.

Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Howard Schultz, who has been on a mission to cut the national debt and boost job creation, has pledged to donate at least $100,000 of profits annually from two Starbucks stores in low-income areas to boost jobs in those communities. Profits from Starbucks stores in the Harlem section of Manhattan and the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles will go toward two community organizations that work to improve education and job training for young adults in those areas. High-school students in those neighborhoods also will receive barista training at the Starbucks shops. "We can't wait for Washington....

For many, a cup of coffee offers an essential kick-start to the day. But it seems this is not the case for American newsman Anderson Cooper - who tried the caffeine-filled drink for the first time yesterday.

As Wade Rathke, the New Orleans-born community organizer who founded ACORN, prepared to turn 63 this month, he was at a crossroads. The U.S. branch of the activist organization he turned into a powerhouse and a punching bag for the political right was dead, a victim of internal and external strife. Although Rathke has kept busy traveling to the 12 countries that are partners in ACORN International, he wanted something that would let him do some organizing in New Orleans. So he bought a coffee shop. It isn't just any coffee shop. It is the Fair Grinds Coffeehouse, a two-story...

A yet unidentified component of coffee interacts with the beverageÂ’s caffeine, which could be a surprising reason why daily coffee intake protects against AlzheimerÂ’s disease. A new AlzheimerÂ’s mouse study by researchers at the University of South Florida found that this interaction boosts blood levels of a critical growth factor that seems to fight off the AlzheimerÂ’s disease process. The findings in the Journal of AlzheimerÂ’s Disease. Using mice bred to develop symptoms mimicking AlzheimerÂ’s disease, the USF team presents the first evidence that caffeinated coffee offers protection against the memory-robbing disease that is not possible with other caffeine-containing drinks...

This fall marks the centenary of William Mitchell. You may not have heard of him, but in his day he was a big cheese. Indeed, he was a big processed cheese, with what’s now Kraft Foods. Mitchell invented Cool Whip and quick-set Jell-O and powdered egg whites for cake mix. He was in the grand tradition of American entrepreneurial energy: Henry Ford made travel faster, Alexander Graham Bell made communication faster, Bill Mitchell made Jell-O even faster. When he died, I wrote an appreciation and noted his one great miscalculation, late in life. He noticed the dahlias growing on his...

I would trade a cow for these magic beans. Seriously. "Coffee Joulies" are a new invention that are stainless steel "beans" that keep your coffee at the perfect temperature for several hours. Hours. How do they work? Their Kickstarter page says: This material is designed to melt at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and absorbs a lot of energy as it melts. This is how Joulies cool your coffee down three times faster than normal. Once it reaches this temperature, the special material begins to solidify again, releasing the energy it stored when it melted. This is how Joulies keep your coffee...

Tampa, FL (June 21, 2011) – A yet unidentified component of coffee interacts with the beverage's caffeine, which could be a surprising reason why daily coffee intake protects against Alzheimer's disease. A new Alzheimer's mouse study by researchers at the University of South Florida found that this interaction boosts blood levels of a critical growth factor that seems to fight off the Alzheimer's disease process. The findings appear in the early online version of an article to be published June 28 in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Using mice bred to develop symptoms mimicking Alzheimer's disease, the USF team presents...

Glen Coffee abruptly walked away from his NFL career in August, saying he wanted to focus on his Christian faith. The former San Francisco 49ers running back still isn't enamored with the NFL lifestyle, but he won't rule out returning to the game. Actually, he's back, sort of, playing linebacker in a semipro football league in his native Florida while taking online classes at the University of Alabama, where he starred before going to the 49ers in the third round of the 2009 draft.

Swilling coffee may protect men against prostate cancerGuys who drank six cups a day had least risk, says study that debunks long-ago findings By Robert Bazell updated 5/17/2011 7:21:22 PM ET Coffee is good for men, according to research released Tuesday from the Harvard School of Public Health. Those who who drank the most coffee — regular or decaffeinated — have the least risk for prostate cancer, especially the deadliest forms of the disease, the 12-year study of almost 48,000 male health professionals found. But, wait! Almost exactly 30 years ago this same lab in a separate study concluded that...

Coffee is one of our guilty pleasures, and not only because of the calories that can be packed into a double latte. Many of us feel guilty that our pleasure is coming at the expense of the Third World coffee farmer, so much so that we gladly pay more for "fair-trade" coffee, which certifies that farmers receive more revenue for their crop. Today, on World Fair Trade Day, we have something else to feel guilty about. That fair-trade cup of coffee we savour may not only fail to ease the lot of poor farmers, it may actually help to impoverish...

“O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good.” Jeremiah 16:19 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

A live blog follows this "Picnic" of the far left going on today in Berkeley. Snip "LIVE BLOG May 1 - In light of the suspected Teatards infiltrating the picnic, we know they are there, we are holding a 30 second Same Sex Kiss In at 12 noon. Anyone not kissing will be asked, then forced to leave. It is the only thing we can think of to identify the homophobe racist tea patry types. "UPDATE: We have two gay Marines, Mark and Jerry who will be leading the event. They don't have their uniforms with them but Jerry has...

Coffee prices have topped $3 a pound for the first time in more than 34 years. A drop in supplies of high-grade arabica coffee beans and a growing taste for upmarket coffee among the middle classes of China, Brazil, Indonesia and India are blamed for the sharp rise. Continuing weakness in the dollar has also kept many commodity markets soaring and encouraged a buy-up of arabica beans. New York's July arabica contract hit $3.025 a pound on Wednesday, the highest since 1977. According to the Guardian, coffee futures inched lower to $2.94 on Thursday. Coffee prices have more than doubled...

(Reuters Health) - Despite earlier concerns, downing lots of coffee doesn't seem to increase the risk of high blood pressure, according to a new report -- but the evidence isn't conclusive. High blood pressure has been linked to heart disease, stroke, and a shorter life expectancy, and some scientists have suggested that coffee might fuel the problem.

Oregon teen stabs himself to death on stage during open mic nightPublished: Monday, April 18, 2011 BEND, Ore. -- Open mic night ended in tragedy as 19-year-old Kipp Rusty Walker took his own life Thursday night at a coffee house. While the scene shocked patrons, one of Walker’s friends, who did not want to be named, told a local television station he saw it coming. "I've been preparing for it for a while. I'm sad about it, but I think I'm in shock -- it's like a whirlwind of emotions," Walker's friend told KZTV. Walker was playing the keyboard for...

Here Come The Increases In Coffee Prices Robert WenzelApril 4, 2011 Price inflation is about to hit from every angle. Since the financial crisis, Bernanke has printed too much money for it not to have a major impact. All indications are that it will hit hard in the second half of this year. The only persons who appear not to be concerned about price inflation are NYT columnist Paul Krugman and his former Princeton colleague, Ben Bernanke, and other members of the Fed. But keep in mind, just a few months ago Krugman wrote this: There’s really nothing here to...

We reported on Thursday of a schism between the progressive wing of the Coffee Party and its leadership. Launched with high hopes last year and seen by some as a progressive answer to Tea Party, the party has instead been an example of the failure to counter the power and energy of the tea party movement -- and its own board members are portraying it as an organizational disaster. This week, the organization also announced the dissolution of the interim board this week, and three board members lashed out against the two cofounders in response. "We are writing to you...

ORANGE — The coffee war has gone from “grande” to “venti.” The same day news surfaced that a dozen Town Hall custodial and clerical staff won a grievance against the town, requiring taxpayers to provide free coffee and milk and compelling town officials to reinstate dress-down Fridays, First Selectman James Zeoli said there is a chance he could appear later this week on conservative Fox News host Sean Hannity’s nightly television show. Several television trucks also took up residence at Town Hall Wednesday. Republican State Chairman Christopher Healy also issued his own take on the situation Wednesday, criticizing the workers...

Arizona (IMpossible News) -- Finally, someone has come up with a very welcome solution to the immigration crisis on the American-Mexican border. Welcome Centers are slated to be built every 100 miles along the border to assist Mexican migrants with efficient processing of visas, temporary work permits or American citizenship applications. Each center will be as modern and welcoming as our highway rest stops. Features included will be a free clinic for basic health check ups, a library of free American literature, coffee bar, spacious bathrooms with showers and baby care rooms, free survival supplies for those who must return...

What is the modern opinion regarding coffee in the office. Is it no longer proper to pour a cup of java, add a little cream, and drop it off on the boss's desk when he comes in? I always thought it was courteous and a demonstation of respect to greet the boss with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Guess I'm from the old school, but, I'd like to know what is done nowadays.

Nonprofit Gathering of Eagles Hawaii Chapter has helped more than 25 local farmers send Kona coffee to servicemen over the past three years. To date, 2.5 tons of Kona coffee have been donated to Hawaii-based units of the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan

BUFORD, Ga.— A Cobb County jury has awarded a Buford woman $1.2 million after she said she was scalded by 190-degree water that shot out of a cappuccino machine at a QuikTrip convenience store. Lawyer Nelson Tyrone III says the woman, 52-year-old Cynthia Nance, was burned on Halloween night in 2007 at a QuikTrip convenience store. Atlanta attorney Valerie Pinkett, who represented QuikTrip, said the case was settled on confidential terms after the jury's verdict. She said the machine involved has been replaced with a newer model at all QuikTrip stores. Tyrone said Nance was burned on her hand and...

Coffee and an aspirin 'best hangover cure' after all Forget hair of the dog, honey on toast or raw eggs - if you really want help overcoming a hangover - drink a cup of coffee with an aspirin. Caffeine and painkillers are said to be the best cure Photo: ALAMY By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent 6:00PM GMT 17 Jan 2011 Scientists have confirmed what millions have suspected for years if you want to soothe a tired head - simply take some caffeine and a painkiller. They found the caffeine in coffee and the anti-inflammatory ingredients of aspirin and other painkillers...

Starbucks Corp will roll out its biggest drink size yet -- the 31-ounce "Trenta" -- in all of its U.S. coffee shops by May 3, the company said on Sunday The new size will be available only for iced coffee, iced tea and iced tea lemonade drinks in the United States. The Trenta is 7 ounces larger than Starbucks' "Venti" cup for iced drinks, which currently is its largest size on offer. Drinks in the Trenta size will cost 50 cents more than similar Venti-sized iced drinks, the company said. Seattle-based Starbucks tested the new size in several U.S. markets...

Coffee, that morning elixir, may give us an early jump-start to the day, but numerous studies have shown that it also may be protective against type 2 diabetes. Yet no one has really understood why. Now, researchers at UCLA have discovered a possible molecular mechanism behind coffee's protective effect. A protein called sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) regulates the biological activity of the body's sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, which have long been thought to play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. And coffee consumption, it turns out, increases plasma levels of SHBG. Reporting with colleagues in the...

A pilot's spilt coffee inadvertently triggered a hijacking alert and interfered with the communications system on a United Air Lines jetliner, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at Pearson International Airport Monday evening. Flight 940 from Chicago to Frankfurt was in the air when the commanding captain spilled the caffeinated beverage onto the plane's radio, causing it to send out transponder code (or “squawk”) 7500, denoting a highjacking, says a Transport Canada report released Tuesday.

A shortage of coffee may become "acute" because stock levels are low and disease, weather and blocked roads in Colombia are curbing supply, Macquarie Group Ltd. said in a report distributed today.

A Brooklyn coffee shop is offering customers a real jolt: 10 shots of espresso in a single serving with the nickname "porn in a cup." The Pulp & The Bean in the Crown Heights neighbourhood put the item on the menu Tuesday with the official name of Dieci, Italian for 10. The nickname comes from a sign advertising the drink outside the store, whose specialty item was first reported by the New York Daily News. Shop owner Tony Fisher, 37, said sales were brisk in part because "nobody's ever had the chutzpah (audacity) to do anything like this before." "This...

When 24-year-old Alex Stein is looking for a morning pick-me-up, he doesn't reach for a cup of cappuccino as his parents Len and Berdie did daily while he was growing up in Westchester County, New York - he grabs an energy drink. Coffee just doesn't cut it with him. "The taste is just so bitter - I couldn't have more than a couple of sips of it without needing to wash it down with water," he says. A recent report from Mintel, a market-research firm, predicts that Stein's generation may become coffee-resistant unless marketers find ways to make coffee drinks...

If you have infiltrated DUmmieland, this is a good time to build up your post count leading up to the November election. And the best way to build up your post count is to post on non-political threads in which you might have have an interest such as this THREAD, "Do you drink coffee?" This is an easy one in which to participate especially if you are a caffeine fiend such as me. So let us now watch the DUmmies discuss java in Bolshevik Red while the commentary of your humble correspondent, suddenly craving a cup of iced coffee,...

Starbucks Corp... announced plans for "targeted" price increases in some markets on certain products as green arabica coffee prices hit 13-year high and other raw ingredients jump. "Over the last six months a highly speculative green coffee market and dramatically increased commodity costs have completely altered the economic and financial picture of many players in the coffee industry," said Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz. "And while many, if not most, coffee roasters and retailers began raising prices months ago, we have thus far chosen to absorb the price increases ourselves and not pass them on to our customers. But...

A beetle known asthe coffee berry borer that threatens the health of Hawaii’scoffee industry has been found on several farms in Kona on the Big Island. Officials at the state Department of Agriculture says the beetle was discovered last week by a University of Hawaii graduate student who was in theprocess of conducting research. “She was finding about 90 percent of the trees in the field she was doing her research in were infested,” said state entomologist Neil Reimer. The beetle is a native to Central Africa but is found inmany of the world’s coffee growing regions, including Central and...

Coffee prices hit a 13-year high Wednesday, extending a rally that has sent prices up about 43 percent in the past three months. Sen. Charles Schumer , D-N.Y., says he wants U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to warn some major coffee growers in Brazil and Vietnam not to stockpile their crops. He said that could boost coffee futures contracts even more.

A new report given before the European Society of Cardiology Congress suggests that drinking coffee could help older people who suffer from high blood pressure. According to lead researcher Christina Chrysohoou of the University of Athens in Greece, older people who drink one to two cups of coffee a day elastic blood vessels than those who drink less or more. For the study, Chrysohoou and her team examined 485 Greek men and women between the ages of 65 and 100. They found that 56 percent of the group drank one or two cups of coffee a day and that the...

Food And Drink Prices To Soar By Addison Wiggin 08/30/10 Baltimore, Maryland – Today’s report begins with an abominable horror: The world’s most valuable commodity has soared to its highest price in a generation. Coffee futures are approaching a 13-year high of $1.88 today. And the case for more expensive coffee is growing stronger every week: Columbia had a smaller-than-normal harvest last year, and dry conditions in Brazil this year have pinched supply even tighter. Demand for this delicious, addictive stimulant is (naturally) growing. Thus, stockpiles at Intercontinental Exchange-certified warehouses are down 35% this year and swill makers like Maxwell...

There’s an unusual art display in Waterloo’s Public Square. Thousands of coffee-filled cups have been carefully arranged to recreate an iconic image – King Tut’s mask. It took seven hours for artists and volunteers to put together the mosaic.

Perhaps you've seen the rotating ads on CMR promoting the Mystic Monk coffee. Well, they do more than roast beans. They are a newly-founded energetic community of contemplative Carmelites known as the Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel who are serious about what they do: "strict monastic enclosure, two hours of contemplative prayer daily, study and spiritual reading, and manual labor." While the community is currently still small (under 20) they are being inundated with vocation inquiries and are planning to build a new monastery on a striking site in Wyoming to be known as the...

Iran's Oil Mafia April 16, 2007 Frontpagemagazine.com Hassan Daioleslam Robert William (Bob) Ney is a current federal prisoner and a former Ohio Congressman from 1995 until November 3, 2006. Ney pled guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in relation to the Jack Abramoff lobbying and bribery scandal. Ney reportedly received bribes from Abramoff, other lobbyists, and two foreign businessmen - a felon and an arms dealer - in exchange for using his position to advance their interests. Conspicuously missing from this dossier of disservice to the country was Ney’s assistance in the creation of a Washington-based lobbying...

NORTH SPOKANE-- Bikini Baristas in North Spokane are at the center of a clothing controversy. Some locals claim the outfits at Big Shots Espresso at Lidgerwood and Francis have crossed the line. The girls say they’re just trying to have fun at work. In fact, they were comfortable enough to let KREM 2 News videotape them at work. The owner says the girls make up to $19 an hour. But not everyone likes it. One woman says she found it shocking to see the ladies out dressed like “porn stars” and “prostitutes” trying to sell coffee. The baristas say they’ve...

Getting caffeinated is going to get costlier. The J.M. Smucker Co. just bumped up the price of most Folgers, Dunkin’ Donuts, Millstone and Folger Gourmet Selections coffees that are sold retail IN THE U.S., according to Reuters. The approximate nine percent hike is due to ongoing increases in the cost of green coffee beans. The price increase will be immediate. Prices for the aforementioned coffee brands had already been jacked up by an average of four percent in May by Smuckers. Arabica coffee futures started a steep climb back in June. IN the past eight weeks, the market has increased...

Indonesia's top Islamic body declared Tuesday that Muslims can drink civet coffee—the world's most expensive coffee, which is extracted from the dung of civet cats.

Homeland Security: President Obama promised lobbyists wouldn't run his White House. They're just doing it from across the street — at a Shariah-compliant coffee chain tied to a radical jihadist group. That's right: According to the New York Times, prominent K Street lobbyists are buttonholing Obama officials at a Caribou Coffee shop on Pennsylvania Avenue, raising far more than just ethics questions. What the Times story neglects to mention is that Caribou Coffee is a Shariah-compliant firm owned by an Islamic bank based in Bahrain. One of its founders and a current adviser are leaders in the radical Muslim Brotherhood....

ZIMBABWE'S coffee production has hit a record low since Independence following the chaotic land reform exercise that reduced coffee growing estates to four from 120. Statistics gathered after a high level coffee stakeholder conference held last week in Mutare show that organic coffee production mostly in Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands pl-unged to 300 tonnes in 2010 from a peak production of 15 000 tonnes in 1990 when farmers raked in US$37,5 million from sales. Production has been in freefall for the past 10 years, signalling a threat to the livelihood of both commercial and communal farmers ... Today the coffee sector...