| Starbucks retraining goes down smoothly
Baristas crowd together as they make espresso drinks for an overflowing crowd at Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Co. Tuesday in Seattle. The small chain, with four shops in Seattle, was giving away free espresso drinks while the world's largest gourmet coffee retailer closed for three-hour nationwide for training sessions earlier tonight. .
Hominy & Hash
SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- There's no question our language changed with the advent of the computer. Where our parents had an address and telephone number, we now have an address, telephone number, cell phone number, web address (or, in the vernacular, a dotcom) an e-mail address and a "nick," which is how you're identified for instant messaging. Thirty years ago, citizen band two-way radios were the rage and along with our CB radio we had to register our "handle." My handle was "Rag Mop," and if that gives you a visual, well, you're probably right. All of those identifiers are something you set for yourself according to how you see yourself or how you want to present yourself. We recently went all wireless at home and the final selling point was that we could keep our own phone number.
Harper's 12
Bruce is our mechanic," says a Harper confidant. "He can fix anything." Well, maybe not anything. Back in 2006, Carson was loaned to then environment minister Ron Ambrose when her handling of the government's high-profile climate change strategy was spinning out of control. The intervention wasn't enough to save Ambrose, who was later shuffled out of Environment to sink from sight as intergovernmental affairs minister. But Carson wasn't blamed. Established on the file, he stuck with it to play a key behind-the-scenes role as an architect of Environment Minister John Baird's bid last spring to succeed where Ambrose had stumbled in crafting a plausible global warming strategy. In that role, Carson appeared on the radar screens of powerful industry lobbyists, particularly in the oil and gas sector, who are worried about how any emissions regulations could hit their bottom lines.
SFGate: Politics Blog
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has given mixed signals about whether he will filibuster the resolution. Republican Sen. John Warner has offered his own resolution, which would garner significantly more Republican support. And Vice President Cheney made the vote count sound like a moot point. "It won't stop us,'' Cheney told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in a contentious interview Wednesday afternoon. "The Congress has control over the purse strings. They have the right, obviously, if they want, to cut off funding. But in terms of this effort, the president has made his decision.'' The matter is expected to come to a head on the Senate floor next week. With at least half a dozen Senators taking steps toward running for president, the vote is certain to have political consequences even if no one at the White House is listening.
Electoracle/New Jersey Democrats see nothing to fear in Nader
Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic."He's not new. He's not fresh. He's not different," Van Drew said. "He's been around for a long time, and he's not what people are looking for."Party spokesman McGrath said he doubts Democrats will criticize Nader for running because it's his right. According to the state Division of Elections, Nader needs to submit a petition containing 800 signatures by July 28 to get onto the New Jersey ballot.But don't expect too many rank-and-file Democrats to sign up for Nader, 74, and his running mate, Matt Gonzales, of San Francisco. Nader made it onto the ballot in only 34 states in 2004. Several Democrats said fewer and fewer people want to waste their votes on him."There isn't a real lot left of his reputation. And I think he diminishes it a tiny bit more every time runs," Van Drew said.It's quite a change in opinion about a man who used to be a hero for liberals and progressives.Shooting blanksAn embarrassing video of Republican U.S.
Welcome to 'magic town': Todos Santos on Baja California
The innkeeper had a ready reply for those who showed up at the door of Posada La Poza a little shellshocked from the road that leads to his gate. ''There's an old saying in Mexico: Good roads bring bad people. We only want good people, that's why the road is so bad,'' said Juerg Wiesendanger, a Swiss native who created the upscale inn and restaurant with his Czech wife, Libusche. Highway 19 heads north from Los Cabos at the tip of the Baja California peninsula on a 47-mile drive to the seaside community of Todos Santos. A series of small signs point out twists and turns through the dirt roads of the town toward the Pacific Ocean, where Posada La Poza awaited. Along the mile-long route, there were wheel-jarring ruts, discarded car parts and sleeping dogs so lazy that you had to swerve around them.
Review: 'Tir na nÓg' a bumpy ride
It's a disappointing outing for both Smith, directing his last play as the Magic's outgoing artistic director, and O'Brien. Her inventively constructed and tantalizingly oblique "Triptych" in '03 remains one of the highlights of Smith's five-year tenure. "Girls" and the succeeding novels that make up "The Country Girls Trilogy" ("The Lonely Girl" and "Girls in Their Married Bliss") were the books that established O'Brien as one of Ireland's leading contemporary writers (getting banned in Ireland didn't hurt). But the lack of descriptive clarity that haunts the novels carries over into the dramatization in ways that will frustrate those who know the books and perplex those who don't. Characters who play important roles in young Kate's life are reduced to broad caricatures - or, in the case of Michael Louis Wells' Hickey, touching anomalies - whose relationship to her or purpose in the story is left unexplained.
Clinton's confidence dwindles as aides face her campaign's possible ...
Hillary and Obama are identical on policy issues, It takes an all-powerful One World Government to solve these problems, and we must surrender our individuality to the higher purpose! The only difference between them is style. He has style, she has that stubby little finger sticking up in the air. Join the Obama-nation! Google this: Ten Reforms That Will Save America .
Buzz Briefs: Madonna, Ethan Hawke
The pop star's "Confessions" world tour pulled in $260 million, Forbes said. She also made money from album sales, her fashion line with H&M and a deal with NBC to broadcast her concert performance at London's Wembley Stadium.
Forbes.com said it compiled the list by examining concert grosses, merchandising revenue, album sales and other revenue from clothing lines, fragrance deals and endorsements.
Barbra Streisand is No. 2 with $60 million, thanks to her comeback tour of North America and Europe.
Celine Dion ranks third with $45 million, largely from her successful "A New Day" show in Las Vegas, which she wrapped up in December after a five-year engagement at Caesars Palace.
Shakira is fourth with $38 million, followed by Beyonce ($27 million), Gwen Stefani ($26 million), Christina Aguilera ($20 million), Faith Hill ($19 million), the Dixie Chicks ($18 million) and Mariah Carey ($13 million).
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