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Krav Maga

Black7Sun — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:22:17 GMT

Alright, who can tell me about Krav Maga (Israeli martial-art fighting style)? Does it really live up to all the hype?

I heard that Jews/Israelis developed their own style of martial-arts since back in the 80s but I've been hearing more and more how good it is over the last couple of years. So is it really all that?

(here's one of their websites)
Krav Maga Association Of America Inc., Israeli Self Defense - HOME

The Value of Culture

The Talking Drum Collective — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:00:25 GMT

"The value of culture as an element of resistance to foreign domination lies in
the fact that culture is the vigorous manifestation, on the ideological or
idealist level, of the material and historical reality of the society that is
dominated or to be dominated. Culture is simultaneously the fruit of a people's
history and a determinant of history, by the positive or negative influence it
exerts on the evolution of relations between man and his environment and among
men or human groups within a society, as well as between different societies."

Amilcar Cabral
Unity and Struggle

Ethiopia Brands Its Prime Luxury Coffee After Protracted Protests by Starbucks

Pragmatic — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:32:25 GMT

Supermarket Guru

June 20, 2008

After more than four years of effort to brand its own coffee crops, the country of Ethiopia has become the first African country to pursue marketing of its products through brand management.

The key to this is its new 'e' logos for the three Ethiopian coffee varieties: Sidano, Harar, and Yirgacheffee. Oxfam International, a major supporter of Ethiopia's quest for branding, predicts that this will help generate $75 million or more in revenues this year alone.

Estimates are that Ethiopia will produce more than 177,000 tonnes of coffee worth $500 million during 2008 or approximately 15% of the world's total coffee production. It will use the new logo design on the burlap sacks of all coffee beans exported throughout the world. Creating the new logo design was London ad agency, Brandhouse, known for food packaging design. The Ethiopian logos are the small case letter �e� in the shape of a bean over the name of the variety with the slogan "Ethiopian Fine Coffee."

The impact of an Ethiopian logo has been likened to the Juan Valdez character used to promote Colombian coffees and will enable the Ethiopian coffee industry, the largest African producer of coffee, to develop an equally memorable "story" attached to its renewed marketing efforts.

With the power of a branded logo behind it, Ethiopia has signed agreements with more than 70 global companies in nine countries to promote its coffees, a goal first begun by Getachew Mengistie, director general of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office, in 2004. He believes that licensees investing in Ethiopian brands will enable the 15 million coffee farmers of his country to reap the benefits in "the short, medium and long term." Ethiopia has successfully registered trademarks in Canada, the European Union, Africa, the United States, and Japan.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has confirmed that Ethiopia is the sole owner of the Sidamo coffee trademark. The trademark for Yigacheffee has already been secured in the U.S. and the trademark for Harar is pending with every indication of similar confirmation.

Known for its sophisticated, elegant taste, Ethiopian coffees are usually priced well above most other producers throughout the world. So much so that Starbucks Corp. forced the country into a protracted legal battle, particularly for the right to market Sidamo. The battle also involved Oxfam and the U.S. trade group, the National Coffee Association. Resolution came with an agreement between Ethiopia and Starbucks in June 2007. More than 96,000 supporters called upon Starbucks to sign a licensing agreement which indicates that Starbucks may license, market and promote the three Ethiopian coffees as other licensees may do without exclusivity.

Oxfam America president Raymond C. Offenheiser, said, �This agreement represents a business approach in step with 21st-century standards in its concern for rights rather than charity and for greater equity in supply chains rather than short term profits�.Harnessing market forces and allowing poor countries to benefit from intellectual property rights are keys to creating fairer and more equitable trade."

Oxfam International is an international relief and development agency that involves a confederation of 13 organizations working together with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice.

Black Gold : A Film About Coffee And Trade
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Peace be upon you

:lookarou: ...~if you didn't know..that's a victory!:afrika:

also in news:

Adios! San Diego Starbucks closing down stores

The list is finally out and there's 10 san diego starbucks closing, with an additional two in chula vista. here are the san diego closings:

9450 Mira Mesa Blvd. (near Black Mountain Road)

6171 Mission Gorge Road (near Vandever Avenue) - this kind of sucks for me, it's where i go for the 2 hours it takes to get my tires rotated next door at "express" tire.

101 Market St. (at 1st Avenue) - fond memories of this one - our friend visiting from new york vomited on the sidewalk after we got coffee there. it wasn't the coffee, rather the ridiculous amount of alcohol she consumed on the flight out here.

5131 College Ave. (at Lindo Paseo)

1722 Euclid Ave. (at Federal Boulevard)

6511 University Ave. (near Rolando Boulevard)

2990 El Cajon Blvd. (at 30th Street) - the one inside renaissuck condos; the patio always seemed desolate when i biked by.

3582 National Ave. (at 36th Street)

3830 Park Blvd. (at University Avenue) - the egyptian loses its starbucks. there's always urban grind across the street. plus i'm not a big fan of northeast-facing patios, no sun.

1122 Broadway Ave. (at 11th Avenue) - first smart corner goes rental, angering its condo-owners. now you can't even cure your caffeine headache there anymore? time to sell.

so long starbucks. for many, you won't be missed, but i'm not a militant anti-sbux person. while i prefer to support independent cafes, any place that attracts people to hang out in a casual setting is a bonus for its neighborhood.

SupermarketGuru

Ethiopia Brands Its Prime Luxury Coffee After Protracted Protests by Starbucks
sd urban: adios san diego starbucks

The Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts

Im The Truth — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:06:41 GMT

The Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts

New York, New York (October 14th, 2009) - EMMY winning and Oscar-nominated legendary actress Cicely Tyson announced today that she will host an event for the unveiling of the new state-of-the-art Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts, located at 35 Winans Street in East Orange, New Jersey on Saturday, October 24th, 2009. The red carpet and unveiling begins at 3:00pm with a private dinner to follow.

The Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts serves as the East Orange School District's educational center for the development of performing and fine arts for students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The school reflects a system of formal academic instruction with an intense arts curriculum. The academic/performing and fine arts curricula have been designed to allow students to be artistically creative in a field of their choosing; yet the academic program remains the foundation of all educational development. Ms. Tyson accepted the offer to have the school named in her honor on the condition that she is actively involved.

The idea to build the school was developed almost seven years ago and construction began in 2005 on the $143 million dollar project with funding from the State's School Development Authority. Built with the idea of revitalizing key neighborhoods in East Orange, the complex was created as a shared-use facility. After school hours, residents in the surrounding community will be able to use the school's library, media centers, gymnasiums, cafeterias, music and art rooms, and health and dental clinics.

The Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts and the Washington Academy will occupy a 309,000-square-foot facility. The new school is one the most technologically advanced schools ever built in the state of New Jersey, with extensive performing arts facilities built to Broadway standards in terms of sound, lighting, and acoustics.

CNN’s Soledad O'Brien will be the evening’s mistress of ceremonies and Reginald Van Lee, Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton and philanthropist, is the evening’s sponsor.

“These children have God-given artistic talents that we can now properly nurture and train,” said Ms. Tyson. “It is my hope that we will provide them with a foundation that will allow them to become productive members of the creative class and that their works will tell our stories for generations to come. I am pleased that the City of East Orange has chosen to invest in our collective cultural future.”

blackgivesback: The Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts

Great africa vision staff recruitment

cdemafa — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:31:15 GMT

Great Afrikans

We have a lot of work to do!

The Great Africa Vision [GAV] organizing committee is excited to announce the availability of new positions/roles.

On the 1st of October 2009, our Strategic plan was put into action. There has been a rapid growth and expansion with GAV Zimbabwe already established and GAV South Africa, UK, Canada, Swaziland close to establishment. As a result, GAV is searching for revolutionaries who will help fill in the newly created positions, take on these important roles and work as part of our Leadership and Management Team in the following Departments:

Economic Power Base

Culture and Information Propagation

Vanguard Party

Strategic Operations

We are only looking for Africans who appreciate GAV�s Mission, Africans who have and share the same passion for actualizing GAV�s Vision of Earth with Africa as super power.We need Africans who are not frightened of getting their hands dirty, we need Africans who are tired of rhetoric and ready to get the work done. We need Africans that are willing do the work and get it done by any means necessary.

Remember, wherever you are, you can be a part of this. We all have a role to play! So if you feel you are up to it, if you are ready to join hands and help in the fight to break and free our mother from the shackles of colonialism and put her back on her rightful throne, then this is your opportunity. Let us all come together and make Africa great again!

We, the Revolutionary Midwives at GAV have dedicated our entire life, our entire being, our every existence to actualizing this beautiful �Vision� of �Great Africa� before the closure of the 21st century. Certainly, there is a lot of work to do! We need people with various corporate key skills, campaign skills, and other skills to help us achieve actualize this vision. You do not necessarily need academic qualifications to work in these roles on this project but you will need a proven history of working in a similar field or have great interest in and passion for GAV�s Vision.
We look forward to welcoming you to GAV!

West Africans are encouraged to apply as plans of GAV West Africa are well underway and branches will soon be established [in Ghana and Nigeria]

Interested applicants should contact me via: gav-admn@email.com, Facebook message, or by responding to this post.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Applicant must be willing to adhere to all our organizational governing principles which include strict self-discipline.

For all roles applicants need to be able to work independently and as part of the Great Africa Vision team. Candidates, depending on the level of experience, may also need to complete role suitability testing.

All applicants will also need to show evidence of the ability to make quick decisions, concentrate and focus on goals in spite of disruptions or distractions from our oppositions/enemies and pay attention to detail at all times.

If you are interested and willing to answer to this divine calling, to play an intricate role in changing the course of history, redrawing the map of the world, and making Great Africa a World Superpower, let me know. I will further familiarize you with the necessary procedures. And if you anyone who may be interested please do forward this message.

The New World Order

ShakaZulu — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:21:41 GMT