ARTICLE 1
Opening of Starbucks’ first juice bar a sign of what’s to come
Starbucks’ launched their first premium juice bar store in the US this week called Evolution Fresh. — AFP Businesswire
WASHINGTON, March 22— A newly opened juice bar by coffee giant Starbucks in Washington provides a first glimpse into what’s poised to become a major trend, akin to the ubiquitous green and white logo around the world.
After acquiring California-based juice company Evolution Fresh four months ago, the company has wasted no time in setting up their first outlet which opened in Bellevue, Washington this week and will serve freshly-pressed premium juices in addition to healthy snacks and food options.
The experience begins with an interactive wall display featuring digital illustrations of juices and smoothies being made.
Juices are made without the need for heat treatment due to a technology called High Pressure Processing, which Evolution Fresh says retains more of the flavours, vitamins and nutrients of raw fruits and vegetables.
While the premium juices will be available as ready-to-drink bottled beverages, customers will be able to personalise their food orders like wrap sandwiches, salads, soups as well as vegetarian and vegan options.
The Washington store was designed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification with locally-sourced, reused and recycled components.
The ready-to-drink bottles will also line grocery store shelves in the US.
The latest venture into premium juice comes following vocal warnings by Starbucks’ sustainability chief who has been sounding the alarm on dwindling coffee supplies due to climate change.
The move is also seen as a big step in the company’s overall strategy to enter the health and wellness sector.
Over time, the company says it plans to expand Evolution Fresh into additional channels.
News that Starbucks will be entering the premium juice market has existing retailers on high alert. US-based Jamba Juice, which sells smoothies and freshly squeezed juices and anti-oxidant ‘shots’, has embarked on an ambitious global expansion that includes locations in Toronto, Canada, South Korea and the Philippines which just opened this month.
Canadian-owned Booster Juice also sells nutrient-packed juices, smoothies and energising fruit shots, and has locations in India, Mexico, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. — AFP-Relaxnews
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Barring quality comparisons, a company that has no focus should not be considered a specialist anymore. Other coffee ONLY CAFE companies will take over where Starbucks has left.
General Categories (not complete) are :
Tea
Coffee
Deserts (milkshakes, candies etc.)
Cakes
Ice Cream
Yoghurt
Fruit
Beer
Non-beer Alcohol
;for food
Pizza
Burger
Chicken/Barbeque and Grill/Seafood (single cooking style or even food animal i.e. Kentucky)
Pasta
Mexican
Sushi
Indian Cuisine, Curries etc.
Chinese Cuisine, Dimsum etc.
etc..
All in one restaurants in general could well be less elitist being more inclusive rather than exclusive in specifics only restaurants, though F&B specialising in extreme low prices to control entire markets are also a second type of specialist – they specialise in bringing cheap to the masses banking on large numbers of 99% ters rather than small num,bers of 1% types as in above specialists attempt to do. Both arevalid and each has their own demographic.
;with each additional food type ‘thrown in’ lowering the ‘competitor ethics’ / ‘focus product’ value of the franchise. The best and most focused, largest product chain offered at best prices by any will likely win. The ‘encroach’ and ‘despecialise’ factor will doubtless dampen enthusiasm for Starbucks, and as the franchise grows to include any and everything, the brand will fade into anonymity among a sea of already All-in-1 type franchises which we already know as ‘Mom-n-Pop’ stores that double as cafe/newspaper-magazine stands serving pork, mac-and-cheese (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyF8__fR8PQ) or whatever in dirty ash trays or the toxic yet unbiquituous styrofoam cups foil packages. Say good bye to the franchises unable to respect the unwritten specialist franchise code. Major fail packaged as a major in. Much like when Arnold Schwarzeneggar stopped being the ‘Terminator’ (1984 James Cameron) and became pregnant in ‘Twins’ (Ivan Reitman 1988) or when Noriyuki Morita (d.2005) from The Karate Kid (1984 John G. Avildsen) became a gay waiter in Spy Hard (1996 Rick Friedberg). Not just advertising and media dominance is needed, the REAL stuff 0 consistency and specialisation are needed to stand out!
ARTICLE 2
The Masterchef effect: Chefs see bookings for their restaurants soar up to 400 per cent after guest roles on show – by Liz Thomas – PUBLISHED: 00:04 GMT, 23 March 2012 | UPDATED: 00:04 GMT, 23 March 2012
There may be only one champion on Masterchef but it seems even a guest appearance on the BBC1 prime time show can make you a winner.
Guest chefs, who feature on the show for little more than ten minutes, are seeing bookings for their restaurants soar by as much as 400 per cent.
Branding experts said a cameo appearance on such a prestigious programme is “priceless” advertising.
Winning formula: Chefs who have appeared on BBC1’s hit TV show Masterchef have seen bookings soar by up to 400 per cent
Despite the difficult economic climate it seems a brief cameo is enough to boost business for the chefs that appear.
David Thomson, who is head chef at London’s exclusive Nahm restaurant, saw bookings rise at the venue by 400 per cent in the week he appeared on the show.
He advised contestants on how to cook street food on location in Chang Mai, Thailand.
Benjamin Tish, executive chef at the Salt Yard Group which owns three venues in London, said his restaurants had seen a 100 per cent jump.
Star chef: Australian Michelin starred restaurant owner David Thompson cameoed on the show, featuring his London restaurant Nahm
He appeared on the show in an early task to show contestants how to prepare dishes from his restaurants.
Mr Tish added: ‘The spike [in bookings] was amazing we had literally 500 bookings over about 36 hours, which is absolutely incredible. We are always busy so it means that people are booking further ahead.’
A spokesman for Gordon Ramsay at the Royal Hospital Road said it was fully booked and operating a waiting list of up to three months.
…And in the week he appeared he saw bookings at the venue rise by an astounding 400 per cent
Head chef Clare Smyth, who has three Michelin stars, helped the finalists prepare a three course meal for seven of the world’s best chefs.
Leading brand consultant Paul Hitchens said the power of Masterchef was “priceless” and could have a long term positive effect.
He said: ‘To be endorsed by a BBC family entertainment show which has been running since 1994 is priceless.
Feeling the effect: Clare Smyth, head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in London’s Royal Hospital Road, helped the finalists in one episode of the culinary show
Feeling the effect: Clare Smyth, head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in London’s Royal Hospital Road, helped the finalists in one episode of the culinary show
‘It is the best kind of publicity as the chef is introduced as an expert in their field and by association endorsed by the BBC.
‘The chef can then use this publicity to promote their restaurant, books and products with the endorsement ‘as seen on TV’.’
Marketing expert Allyson Stewart-Allen added: ‘The general rule-of-thumb is that PR is worth three times paid-for media.’
…The restaurant has since become fully booked and is operating a waiting list of up to three months
Masterchef broadcasts on BBC1 in peak prime time to around 5 million viewers.
To buy a 30 second advert at a similar time on ITV ranges between £59,549 and £ 43,243.
So a ten minute appearance is worth between £865,000 and £1.2 million worth of advertising.
This cameo could then lead to further TV projects, endorsements, and build the chef’s reputation longer term.
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The response-postulation may be wrong, but this response is to warn-prevent kickback/bribery abuse by media monopoly that this sort of article could give to Masterchef and the subsequent culture of bribery that occurs backstage. No hard feelings ‘Masterchef’! Any F&B does not need a Masterchef programme. They only need live cams at all times at all angles monitoring the kitchens counters and staff attitudes. It’s not the reality programmes that are valuable, the transparency and accountability (which cams also can provide) is what the consumers want. So put those inhouse and live stream cams up in your F&B, and the effect will be the same as a ‘Masterchef’ appearance. Also helps if the local government thinks highly of the establishment and features local officials at the places of work. Meanwhile the endorsements and adverts’ income could directly be earned by the F&B instead of going through ‘Masterchef’ and creating a monopoly effect which this article could well be written and paid for the purposes for – mercenary journalism is not unknown dear readers.
ARTICLE 3
Obama disowns De Niro white First Lady joke (AFP) – 21st March 2012
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign distanced itself Tuesday from a joke by Hollywood veteran Robert de Niro about the prospect of a white First Lady returning to the White House.
The reaction came after Republican candidate Newt Gingrich slammed the jest, — made by Democrat-supporting actor De Niro at a fundraising event with Michelle Obama — as “unacceptable.”
“We believe the joke was inappropriate,” said the first lady’s campaign press secretary Olivia Alair after Gingrich’s comments triggered a tide of online argument about the joke.
“Raging Bull” star De Niro made the contested remark as he introduced Michelle Obama at a fundraising event on Monday in New York’s trendy Greenwich Village district.
“Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?” the actor said, referring to the wives of Republican candidates Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney.
“No” yelled one person as the crowd roared, while De Niro added: “Too soon, right?”
The joke played on the ubiquitous discussion four years ago about whether America was ready for its first black president, ahead of Obama’s November 2008 election victory.
But Gingrich — struggling in his campaign to win the Republican nomination to take on Obama in November — took issue at a campaign stop on Tuesday, demanding an apology from the president.
“I do want to say one thing on behalf of both my wife, and on behalf of Karen Santorum and on behalf of Ann Romney, and that is I think Robert De Niro is wrong,” the former House Speaker said on the campaign trail in Louisiana.
“I think the country is ready for a new first lady, and he doesn’t have to describe it in racial terms.” He added: “I call on the president to apologize for him.”
De Niro insisted the comments were a joke.
“My remarks, although spoken with satirical jest, were not meant to offend or embarrass anyone — especially the First Lady,” he said in a comment forwarded by his publicist.
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“My remarks, although spoken with satirical jest, were not meant to offend or embarrass anyone — especially the First Lady,” Look up ‘nepotism’ De Niro, this is also kinda racist. This is not a club or casual setting where satire is normal, the WH and ‘official opinion’ factor counts, if people go around Obama or any officials spouting semi racist, unethical nepotism b.s., USA will lose credibility because a whole lot of angry people in the world are still fuming at USA Mr 185 Million Plutocrat.
Money makes you tough? Well not to the psychos ready to blow themselves and everyone else up. USA is in deep sh1t, technically collapsed from default, too many wars and a bunch of plutocrats sequestering much needed wealth while the country falls apart. Instead of making worthless remarks, how about supporting 300+ 401Ks for veterans who are protecting Hollywood’s candy a$$? Acting and film is NOT real life, and any slips Obama makes here could cost USA far much more than 300+ veterans to support. Nice to be ‘Hollywood Insular’ isn’t it? One wonders how USA even manages to function at all, well actually USA is crumbling from that fatcat 1% (that means you de Niro!) holding all the wealth (especially the liquid asset, not so much the first properties which are overvalued and needed for living in anyway – most housebuyers got cheated, condo dwellers totally conned . . . ) to no good purpose . . .
ARTICLE 4
‘Harry Potter’ actor jailed for joining riots – Associated PressAssociated Press – 21st March 2012
LONDON (AP) — A judge has sent a cast member of the “Harry Potter” films to prison for taking part in rioting that flared across England last summer.
Judge Simon Carr sentenced Jamie Waylett, who played Hogwarts bully Vincent Crabbe in six of the films, to two years in jail.
Prosecutors said Waylett was part of a small gang that took part in the riots in north London on Aug. 8.
A jury at London’s Wood Green Crown Court found Waylett guilty Tuesday of violent disorder, but acquitted him of another charge of intending to destroy or damage property with a fire bomb he was holding.
The 22-year-old had already admitted handling a bottle of stolen Champagne from a supermarket during the riots.
Waylett has a previous conviction for growing marijuana.
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Lets say that the damage caused by the riots could be repaired with a fraction of wealth a single of these ‘actor plutocrats’ have. The riots were caused by unequal wealthdistribution, Waylett was entirely inappropriate in participating – too rich.
ARTICLE 5
Drones to host Pirate Bay servers flying over intl waters – Published: 20 March, 2012, 19:09
Sky Pirates: Torrent site’s drone server solution.
Controversial file-sharing website The Pirate Bay has had more than its share of legal troubles over the past few years – investigations, raids, fines. Now the site has come up with a radical new plan: hosting its servers on unmanned flying drones.
According to TPB’s most recent blog post, being down-to-earth is just not doing it for them anymore. So they are looking to take advantage of advanced technologies like the super-small Raspberry Pi computer, GPS-controlled drones and far-reaching cheap radio equipment.
The plan is to mount the cheap radio devices and computers on drones (“Low Orbit Server Stations”) and launch them high above neutral territory over the ocean.
“With modern radio transmitters we can get over 100Mbps per node up to 50km away. For the proxy system we’re building, that’s more than enough. This way our machines will have to be shut down with aeroplanes in order to shut down the system. A real act of war,” the blog says.
For what it is worth, most of the comments on the blog post are very supportive of this outlandish idea. And it certainly would lend support to TPB’s slogan, “the galaxy’s most resilient system”. The question now is: will they actually be able to pull it off?
Commentator Comments :
salparadise March 21, 2012, 01:02
+15
“With modern radio transmitters we can get over 100Mbps per node up to 50km away. For the proxy system we’re building, that’s more than enough. This way our machines will have to be shut down with aeroplanes in order to shut down the system. A real act of war,” the blog says.
Up to 50km’s away.
Isn’t International water some 200 miles off the coast (where permitting)?
And even if they could get the range it won’t help anyone who lives inland and it doesn’t matter anyhow because the Americans have declared the entire earth a battlefield and so there isn’t any such thing as “International waters” anymore. They’ll declare PB a “terrorist organisation” and shoot the things down.
A.Smith March 21, 2012, 00:46
+20
For decades Pirate Radio broadcasters used old shipping freighters or cargo ships as their base of operations in International Waters.
While it is possible for a goose stepping Zionist agency to move a counter jamming vessel near them to effectively shut them down, the cost would be enormous to any nation doing so on a regular basis. Of course US taxpayers have found the evil Zionists are the biggest parasites on planet earth and the backs of the 99% non-Jew American people.
I have zero doubts the gigantic buildup in the Mormon State of Utah on the new NSA base costing US taxpayers enormous domestic funding which would have repaired hundreds of US public schools, bridges, roads, harbours is intended on focusing on the darknet.
The new US Airforce cyberforce base appears entirely designed to wage endless US/Israeli Wars on Internet Users, creating 1000’s of faux military sock puppet social media accounts to spew propaganda and ensnare US citizens into various sting operations.
Soon privacy minded US citizens will follow what the Mexican Drug Cartels setup across Mexico with their own secure encrypted darknet and communications systems entirely independent of Mexican, US and Corporate forces, powers and eavesdropping taps.
Pirate Bay founders and darknet operators should join with independent nations such as Iran, Russia, India and possible North Korea to secure a satellite transponder to anchor some of their darknet traffic. US/Israel of course would try to jam the uplinks but that could be entirely minimised with uplinks in friendly non-western nations.
If slaves realised their tribute to their Caesar was used to buy a bigger whip to be used on their backs, would they stop paying and work to oppose that evil Zionist corrupted regime? Wake-Up Americans, that is precisely what is happening to YOU. Your tax funds are being used by the Zionist corrupted US Gov. to attack YOU, to wage war on YOU, your family and loved ones.
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Hey Technofreak Plutocrat IDIOTS (that means people like the Megaupload types). At very least build something like Death Machine (1994 Stephen Norrington) so that a Columbine could be pulled off in relative safety . . . if not able to break the world or rain hellfire on those destroying god given autonomy of humanity by druggings or non-consensual implantations psychically etc., or to be productive, use that money to lobby for abolition of Eminent Domain Laws and for granting of Allodial titles and protection of 2nd Amendment laws. Then buy as much land as possible and LIVE a REAL life in the real world and have real entertainments. Those drones can be ‘accidentally’ shot down or fried with EMPs/ELF weapons from weapons satellites you fools. This drone b.s. thing is a waste of time and money, mere nerd-bation.
How about developing and mass producing anti-mind control helmets instead? Those servers are useless if all citizens are electronic brain implanted zombies. FUND candidates to run for election in as many contituencies as possible. Lobby for electrosmong white zones and wiifi free zones. Stop running and start fighting politically. BUY the WH, not buy drones and nerd tech. Wheres the IRL Arm of the resistance? Stop hiding in cyberspace, nutjobs with bad priorities. try the below and create ‘flying’ squads able to detect and remove the implants from all illegally implanted citizens and activists as well as would be politicians taergeted for sabotage. These were intended for epilepsy but are being used as tools of control instead. So rich? So tech inclined? Then get those medicos on your payroll, equip them, and help those abused by the psyche establishment on behalf of big government, fundo religious groups and the Orwellian state.
malaysiandemocracy 