When the latest intifada related boycotting started, everyone was really into it for a while and shopped local [and inferior!] products first just for the cause. Then we read stuff in the newspaper about how the government just bought over a dozen airplanes worth a gazzilion dollars from countries whose products we were boycotting. The money is going there either way, whether from our taxes, purchases, or whatnot so what's the point of boycotting anything really...we're never going to be united and determined enough to make a difference!

I hate to put you down, bs it will never happen here in Kuwait; Do you know how many do we have here? Their policy is to open 2 stores every month & man they do love it .. I still think the money goes to the brand owner here in Kuwait

and may i add kaman in the heat of the discussion that we should boycot anything inside our countries that hurt our values and principles, because believe it or not they are messing our community and making it so weak the rest of the world is laughing at us, im talking about alcoholic places, night and dance clubs and even Arab music, ah ya3ammi ya3ni if u pay for a cassette for hayfa wahbi what have u done to stop the madness? bagool to those who say its worthless, again, whats it to u, u dont change the world u can only change yourself, so do ur part, let rabbel 3ebad take care of them... PLEASE :(

bas heik? they have gone one over and teamed up with an israeli firm to build a hotel in singapore:

http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSSIN33210120071204  

So we do have something in common. Abu Issa's coffee is really great I miss it.

but, I just thought of this, Do you think Palestinians are better off living under Israeli control or Arab (PLO and/or Hamas) control? think of the better life 1948 Arabs are living these days.

a red herring or tuna, it does matter. the Palestinian case has been a drain on the development of the middle east. 1948 Arab Israelis are iving a far better life than any of the Arab people in all 22 countries.

We all now that Arabs will never be able to do anything if it did not suit the leaders. and as it was mentioned above, if we boycott McDonald's, Starbucks, or whom ever, Arab governments will be the first to invest their "hard earned money" in global companies. no body said boycott Sun Microsystems. it has a lot of R&D ops in Israel yet Prince Al Waleed owns 10% of it.

Abu Issa wadi Sagra willa Prince Mohammad St?

If you're talking only about boycotting an Israeli based brand, fair enough, but if you're extending that to anyone who does business with, or invests in Israel, then it's not only hopeless but practicaly impossible for most of us.

Let's see, ever used Intel CPUs ? Watched a Steven Spielberg movie ? Used Johnson Baby Shampoo/powder for your infant ? Slept in a Hilton/Hyatt/Mariott/Sheraton ? Drank Nescafe ? used ICQ ? Had an AOL Account ? used Heinz Mayonnaise ? Rented from Hertz ? Printed on an HP Printer ? Bought an NBA cap/t-shirt ? Used Viagra/Visine/Vicodin ? Ate at Pizza Hut ? Drank a pepsi ? Ate a Big MAc ? Flew in a Boeing plane ? Owned a polaroid camera ? Beware, you're doing business with companies that invest in /  have plants in Israel ! If you are a UK/US Citizen, your tax money paid for Israeli weapons. Revoke your passport now !

What some people fail to remember is that economic tools of resistance do not have to be so extreme and so painful. Sometimes cutting back our consumption of products from companies who support killers of Arabs by 50% can have a devastating impact on the pocketbooks of those companies.

I know it's sad when some Arabs behave like cattle who cannot control their feeding impulses, even to the point of helping killers of Arabs profit from Arab money, but a partial boycott is still far more effective than no boycott.

So if someone is addicted to Starbucks and must drink there once a day, they should try to skip a day, and instead try coffee at a Jordanian cafe. So not only are they hurting the bottom line of Arab haters, they are supporting national business, by shifting their spending to businesses that are purely Jordanian/Arab or business that have principled stances toward killers of Arabs.

the sad part is that you will find so many Arabs trying to justify their lack of discipline and lack of dignity by attacking those who show concern and live their their ideals to the best of their abilities.

As a matter of fact I know so many religious Muslims who frequent Starbucks and other pro-zionist business and they will give you lectures about Hijaab and prayers and get upset over what happens in Gaza. It's these religious Muslims who make me want to throw up. To them, religion is reduced to personal rituals and annoying, gratuitous lectures about morality, when their money is buying bullets to kill Muslims.

one has to be smart about what to consume. and like I said, sometimes a 50% cut in consumption of zionist products, is better than trying to make justification for doing something that's obviously wrong.

Mab3oos wrote "the Palestinian case has been a drain on the development of the middle east. "

Really? how? give me one proof and one study how the Palestinian cause has been a drain on Arab development? All you have is a few cliches to throw around but nothing of substance.

But I will try to help you out here.

Let's take corruption in jordan. How is that driven by the "cause".

Let's take poverty and gender in Oil-rich gulf countries. how is that driven by the Palestinian cause?

Let's take the Americans invasion of Iraq that destroyed one of the most promising countries in the region. How is that driven by the Palestinian cause.

Let's take the failed Hamza hospital in Jordan and the corruption index and the Wasta and the garbage babies and the...how are these influenced by the cause.

And what about police brutality and torture in most Arab countries. how is that influenced by the cause?

And the billions of dollars oil countries spend on needless armemant, to prop up American and British industries. how is that influenced by the Palestinian cause?

The list is long.

So please, stop the crap. the only thing that stopped Arab development is US support for corrupt Arab dictators who looted the national wealth and left their countries in ruins, trying to survive on what's left after the loot. Do you know how many billions of dollars are in the foreging bank accounts of Arab dictators and their families? do you know how many schools can be built with this money? are you saying when those US-protected thieves skim their countryman's money for their own personal bank accounts that they are thinking of Palestine when they rob their beloved countries?

Please, cut the crap.

Mab3oos, are you saying that having Starbucks is considered promotion of development in the Arab countries? I always thought that having indigenous industries is a sign of positive development. We should learn from Syria and Iran. They lead the middle east when it comes indigenous industries. If anything, their confrontation with the US and Israel forced them to develop their local industries and agriculture to the point they have started to archive self-sufficiency, and even export some of their products to their neighborers. If any, those two countries sense of urgency has forced  them to develop their industries and capacity.

Mab3oos says "no body said boycott Sun Microsystems. it has a lot of R&D ops in Israel yet Prince Al Waleed owns 10% of it. "

are you slow or do you just play one on blogs. Computers are necessary for our development, Starbucks is not. Computers will give us a fighting chance in the global economy, sipping coffee will not. Countries at war will use espionage to learn of each others' technological secrets, they will not use espionage to learn a coffee recipe.

And by the way, Mab3oos = Hani Obeid.

Salem, no he's not. Hint: people who disagree with you aren't all the same person. Please leave it to Qwaider to decide who's who on his blog as he is much more qualified.

do u know that there is starbucks in mecca infront of haram?? i was shocked when i had seen it.

Taste is subjective. Personaly, I think both tea and coffe taste like crap, and I have never visited the local starbucks. However I noticed several airlines serve starbucks coffee and actually think it's so great, they announce it over the intercom. "We have Starbucks XYZ blend!". 5 Star hotels stock their rooms with it. So some people obviously like it.

Now I don't know if they do or don't support the IDF, but I don't see the "in your face" attitude you mentioned since the company publicly denies any link with the IDF. Please see their statement:
http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=668

About the war on ideas being fair. I'm glad you require registration to your site as it makes it much more difficult to impersonate other people as Salam here accused me of doing. Thanks.

Well if his Gazan relative is a member of hamas, has ever seen, heard or smelled a member of Hamas, Starbucks wouldn't have to do much. The US department of homeland security known worldwide for making people go barefoot in airports and arresting them if their name happens to have 1 silable matching someone on their watchlist - will do the work for them !

Having said that, aside from the rumor, what source do you know of that published about links between Starbucks and the IDF assuming we are in agreement on what a trusted source is !

Come on, not the (If you deny it, then it must be true) philosophy !

Didn't a fellow blogger attempt to tarnish your reputation ? You maintained your innocence - if indirectly, but that didn't make you guilty !!! (3 exclamation marks beat 2)

I read the "wakeup" profile you linked on Starbucks, their biggest point is that Howard Shcultz got the (Friend of Zion Tribute Award) from (Aish HaTorah), and then they go on to detail Aish HaTorah's activities (not Starbuck's).

I'll put it more bluntly:
1. Howard is Jewish
2. Howard is wealthy
3. His company has franchisees in Israel (and dozens other countries).

Is this enough to condemn them and any other company that satisfies these conditions ?

I just noticed Margeret Thatcher got the same award that same year.

Done, Below is the letter attributed to Schultz that the "wake up" profile you posted and the basis of the Starbucks rumor.

Searching Google for:
"First and foremost I want to thank you for making starbucks"
will return 25 links including other boycut starbucks posts.

Here is the letter itself:
Dear Starbucks Customer,

First and foremost I want to thank you for making Starbucks the $6.4 billion global company it is today, with more than 90,000 employees, 9,700 stores, and 33 million weekly customers. Every latte and macchiato you drink at Starbucks is a contribution to the close alliance between the United States and Israel, in fact it is - as I was assured when being honored with the " Israel 50th Anniversary Friend of Zion Tribute Award" - key to Israel's long-term PR success. Your daily chocolate chips frappucino helps paying for student projects in North America and Israel, presenting them with the badly needed Israeli perspective of the Intifada.

Starbucks, through the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah, an international network of Jewish education centers, sponsors Israeli military arms fairs in an effort to strengthen the special connection between the American, European and Israeli defense industries and to showcase the newest Israeli innovations in defense. As my contribution to the fight against the global rise of anti-Semitism, the reason behind the current conflict in the Middle-East, I help Aish HaTorah sponsoring the website " honestreporting.com" and produce material informing of Israel 's side of the story.

Without you, my valued customer, I wouldn't be able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars each year to support Israeli citizens from terrorist attacks and keep reminding every Jew in America, to defend Israel at any cost. $5 billion per year from the US government are no way near enough to pay for all the weaponry, bulldozers and security fences needed to protect innocent Israeli citizens from anti-Semitic Muslim terrorism. Corporate sponsorships are essential.

Having the bigger picture in mind, Starbucks have donated a store to the US army to help in the "War on Terror". I cannot emphasize enough, how vital the "War on Terror" is for the continued viability and prospering of the Jewish State.

So next time you feel like chilling out at a Starbucks store, please remember that with every cup you drink at Starbucks you are helping with a noble cause.

Howard Schultz
Chairman & Chief Global Strategist
Starbucks Coffee Stores

If the letter really was written by him then its certainly proof enough. It just doesn't strike me like something the CEO of an international corporation would be caught saying in an official capacity.

Don't i always :)

Hani, i am amazed and amused that someone who claims to be Arab (are you) and Palestinian (are you?) is spending so much time trying to defend a corporation, as if it were a person wrongly accused.

Can any living blogger from our fellow Jordanian bloggers vouch for Hani's identity?

Hani, as common sense should tell you, that's a FAKE letter! Complete spoof! it started out as an email forward and spread like wildfire.  Howard Schultz's people wasted no time in responding to that letter. There's an official respone out there somewhere which I'm sure you can find by googling.  You make a great point on comment #29!

Salam, as when you asked that question before. I have nothing to prove to you about my heritage, so I won't address that.

From a legal standpoint a corporation has many properties that an individual has, including the right to sue for libel. Corporations have one purpose which is to make money for their stockholders, so I have no dellusions that any corporation has a conscience or morals if that's what you're implying. I just wanted to figure out why everyone is so convinced that Starbucks supports the IDF, and tried to ascertain the facts about it. The most obvious fact is that the CEO got an award from a Zionist organization.

The letter above helped prepetuate the rumor, and Asoom I agree it's fake even without reading the official response since no CEO in their right mind would align their corporation with a political cause so bluntly when they have so much to lose.

If so, why would anyone publish a fake chain letter implicating an international corporation ? Could be a competitor, or someone that finds it enough for Howard to be Jewish to condemn him. I don't know.

or maybe the rumor is based on facts, but who has those facts, and did everyone who called for the boycut check the facts ?

We have a rumor of an earthquake every year here. It always coincides with the time when schools do an earthquake drill. Something to think about.

guys, i wish if some of you are as loyal and motivated about human rights in your own backyards. i mean here you are defending a billionaire rfor chrissake who serves coffee brought for peanuts from 3rd world farmers. i mean, if it were Bill Gates or Steven Jobs or Steven Speilberg I can understand. But a coffee guy who exploits poor farmers? Jeezeee! where did Arab parenting fail?

Salaam, I can't apply the morals my parents taught me to one race and not another.

Why ? because one day one of us, or a business owned by one of us could face the same test.

Tired of coffee, let's talk bombs. When the Oklahoma City Bombing happened, the rumor, the word on the street was that Arabs did it. Period. They even arrested one for having "bomb making material". I think it was duct tape, and a paper clip or something. I was there at the time, people were complaining about the "damn arab terrorists". Lucky for all of us the investigators didn't beleive the rumors and found the real culprits. Surprise surprise, they were White Christian red-blooded Anglo-Saxon Americans through and through.

We've been through this at least ten times :) I still have the same opinion, boycotting solves nothing. while we are waisting our time and breathe on deciding what to boycott or on boycotting campaigns, why don't you guys have a campaign to actually help palestinians, or better yet rid them of the corrupt rulers.
arabs just love judging and giving orders and suggestions that doesn't invlove work for them.
Sorry Q i disagree i still think it is pointless,

let's say a miracle happens and all arabs agree on boycotting just certain product, and the west find out, assuming boycotting is working, they can cut the essentials that we cannot live without..

"boycotting solves nothing"


WOW! some people strong desire to feed and procreate gets in the way of anything, from nation building to liberation to fighting corruption. god lord. can i have a genetic change operation. i am not sure i want be part of the same gene pool people like Wonders and Hani Obaid (did any one vouch for their real identity?).

i mean, it's one thing to do something wrong and keep quite about it, but it's truly beneath contempt to do something wrong and not only try to defend it, but to attack those who try to do something right, no matter how symbolic.

Salaam, it's close-minded of you to see to the seeking of actual facts in order to know the reality of things simply as "defending a corporation/billionaire".

Qwaider, LOL, go back and read your post.  You mentioned starbucks 3 times and you seem to be equating it with "MI", so I think YOU brought it into the discussion.  It's funny how you say to leave starbucks out but then you go on and state your stance.......

I wouldn't say that boycotts solve nothing, but I do think they have little effect and there's WAY more we can do that has a bigger effect.  For one, we can start educating ourselves and using our BRAINS for thinking and not our emotions so that we can know to take the proper actions like raising awareness in the general public without looking like crazy buffoons.  As an example, I'm a big fan of educational sit-ins, movie screenings, and hosting speakers/discussions for the public because I've seen their POWERFUL effects.

"I wouldn't say that boycotts solve nothing, but I do think they have little effect"

YOU ALL KEEP MISSING THE POINT. to refuse to give your money to those who support Arab killers is not about driving them bankrupt, it's about making a stance. Who cares if it's effective or not. if the local grocer punches your sister in the face, would you go buy stuff from him? YOU WON'T, irrespective of whether this will drive him out of business or not.

Amazing the extent we are willing to go just to rationalize something that is blatantly selfish.

"I don't see Starbucks closing any times soon in the middle east"

Ppl here don’t drink water but stabucks coffee…
Lets admit, Israel played it well..we are almost 22 arab countries apart from other Islamic countries & we are still fighting whether we can let women drive a vehicle  with 4 wheels.  
They penetrated the region very well…soon ur children will be watching TVz broadest from Israel…

Arab Lady, we already know that some people are like cattle, they simply cannot control their feeding and reproductive impulses, even as they are being led to the slaughter house by the same people who feed them to fatten them up. they are totally out of control.  i can't believe there are people in this world who would take the time to defend a billionaire who is known to exploit third world farmers. I mean if Howard Schultz is a man who invited a vaccine to save lives, I can understand their motives and would probably join their cause.  There is something wrong with these people.