Coffee and Provocation

Teddy Roosevelt Got Things Done

The father of our National Parks and the US Forest Service drank a gallon of coffee a day and may coined the line “Good to the last drop” when he was served Maxwell House coffee at the Hermitage, the home of former president Andrew Jackson.

Is This a Problem?

It seems 60-7 percent of the male smallmouth bass in the Missisquoi River in Vermont bear eggs, a characteristic known as “intersex.” It may be due to agricultural runoff, but intersex fish seem to be common all over. Has it always been this way?

Drone Footage of Syrian City Destroyed by War

This amazing video shows what is left of Homs, Syria after a seige destroyed much of the city and displaced or killed  its population. Syria has become a proxy battlefield between Iran and Saudi Arabia, with Russians, Americans, Kurds, and Turks providing supporting roles, sometimes on both sides and at the same time. 

No Women Allowed in Saudi Starbucks
Women are forbidden from entering Starbucks in Saudi Arabia.  Starbucks issued the following statement: "Starbucks in Saudi Arabia adheres to the local customs by providing separate entrances for families as well as single people. All our stores provide equal amenities, service, menu, and seating to men, women and families. We are working as quickly as possible as we refurbish our Jarir store, so that we may again welcome all customers in accordance with local customs." One is left to wonder if "local customs" allowed slavery whether Starbucks would open up a shop with slave labor. Profits before people much?

Where Did American Slaves Come From?
Most were not imported from Africa, but instead were bred here, many in Virginia, which served as a breeder-nursery for southern plantations. The ban on the importation of slaves after 1807 may have been more about trade protection for Virginia than any moral light being kindled.

Marijuana Kills
Rat poison set out by marijuana farmers in California is killing scavengers and predators.

Want to Make More Real Estate Money?
Buy a house near a future Starbucks, Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.  Quick: what's the opposite of NIMBY?

There Used to be an International Trade in Ice
In the mid-19th century, ice clinking in glasses, from India to the Caribbean, came from a global commodities trade in frozen water.

Balzac drank up to 50 cups of coffee a day, as did Voltaire.