Coffee Love!

<3 Coffee

I love coffee. I love it a lot, it wakes me up. I wake up, and dont feel awake until I have a coffee. I think I may be addicted to coffee. If I dont have a coffee in the morning when I wake up I cant cope. I hope its not bad for me. I know that it cant exactly be good to me, but you hear of all these scientific experiments telling of serious consequences of excessive coffee drinking; but I never know how serious to take them. Either way, I love coffee and just want to highly recommend a few coffees that I love -

Jurang Coffee

Oromo Harar

Clipper Organic Coffee

All the coffee above is Fair Trade coffee, if you read below in my blog you will find more on Fairtrade.

:)

The Fuel thats Sparked the Riots

'A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.' - Martin Luther King

 

The media has had 24 hour coverage over the past 5 days on riots that have been taking place from London to Birmingham to Liverpool to Manchester. Apparently the BBC News website has never had so many hits, as the story has gone viral world wide. The world has been shocked and many disgusted at the violence and behaviour of the youth shown on the internet and T.V. screens.
My question is, what is really going on here? Is there something deeper that needs to be tackled?
To be quite honest, Im shocked that people are shocked.
I doubt I am the only one that could see this was obviously going to happen.

The media has presented these young rioters as 'mindless thugs', and many viewers it seems have agreed without even thinking deeper. I strongly believe the question that needs to be asked here is quite a different type of 'why'?


It seems the question baffling the media and the government is the question as to why these rioters are doing what they are doing. Yet nobody seems to be asking the question, why are these youth the way they are in the first place?

In my opinion the reason is simple yet deeply complex. Most of the 12-21 year olds causing these riots are brought up in situations where there is no hope and no opportunity. They have no voice, no aspirations and nothing to do. Many of these 'yobs' as David Cameron addresses them are brought up in broken families, surrounded with gang culture. There is a deep obsession for consumerism; which is a lie, sold to them by the very media itself. This lie tells these young people that identity is based on what you own. It may be true to say that this lie comforts the rich and powerful, but for those loosing jobs and houses, it means emptyness.

Now ok, this does not make it morally justifiable to set fire to Miss Selfridges, or throw rocks at police, smash windows or steal playstations; and I also understand that if these kids really put their minds to it and try 10 times harder as those born into priviledged situations then they may be able to escape such dire situations. But at the same time, if you really look at the gang culture and how it appears attractive to those brought up into it, not only because the way in which the media presents it as attractive with films, games and music videos. But it also really does give these kids a sense of community, a sense of identity and even quick easy money if one decides to deal such produce as drugs. My point is that we who are brought up into privildged surroundings, with hope, aspirations and opportunities at our finger tips, need to be careful to not be so quick to blame the individuals in these riots that are most likely part of a bigger deeper problem on a much larger scale that is completely not their fault and are unable to do anything about it.

These kids look at the government, who are power greedy and don't seem to be doing anything for their poor parents and think 'well whats the point in even trying to be good, lets go start a riot and get something free'. This is NOT the right response, but we need to be careful to not be so quick to judge, as for me, its these actions from these youth that reveal a deeper cry out to be heard.

These riots are wrong, and being in their situations does not mean looting currys is the right thing to do. But it needs to be understood in my opinion, that though there may be no right reasons for the looting, there are vital reasons as to why these people are mindless thugs in the first place.

Another point I want to quickly make is the following:

What is the difference of an MP stealing money from our taxes, and a youth involved in a gang stealing a plasma TV?

Both are responsible, but for me, the MP should know better. The government seems to be speaking as this high authority over these people that are perfect and are now deciding to put these kids right by giving them harsh sentences. Just something to think about...

Either way, God cares for these thugs just as much as anyone else, and these kids should not be condoned as mindless and they are most definitely in need of guidance, rather than being thought of as useless and worthless (which is likely the reason they are in this riot in the first place).


I strongly recommending reading this article as it mostly definitely inspired my thoughts on the riots -
Fulcrum Anglican Article

'Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.'

The Message needs to be heard.

Andy Hawthorne, the CEO of The Message speaking to a bunch of MPs at a conference. He has no fear and lacks no shame for his beliefs, a truly inspiring man of God -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlQF8jIsQ8U&feature=player_embedded

The Vision of Fairtrade

Summer Holidays

Before I speak of my views on Fairtrade, it would first make sense to give a reason as to why I am writing about Fair Trade in the first place, especially since this is my first post. Two reasons, the first being I am currently a theology student studying a BA Degree at Cliff College, and therefore ethical discussions are of an interest. Secondly, it is the summer holidays for all students, and for me personally the summer holidays has consisted of me spending 5 days a week working for a Fair Trade Wholesale company called Jurang.That being if I have been able to get up in time...

Combining these two reasons should hopefully mean that I have learnt a little about ethics and Fair Trade, and therefore it seems appropriate as my job comes to an end and the beginning of my second year studying begins, to write some of my thoughts on Fairtrade.

What is Fairtrade anyway?
Fairtrade Definition - trade that satisfies certain criteria on the supply chain of the goods involved, usually including fair payment for producers. 

It seems the best way to explain Fairtrade is by defining it as a vision; a vision to set right unequal trading relationships which often exist between the western world and developing countries. Or in a less technical sense, Fairtrade ensures that everyone involved in a trade, for example the selling of coffee, is fairly paid...
'Is that it?'  Yes, thats it. If thats it, then it may seem like Fair Trade isn't really much of a big deal and therefore nothing to bother getting 'involved in'. At least, thats what I thought, until I looked into the reasons as to why all of a sudden a group of people decided to make a stand; a stand against the injustice of unfair trade. The benefits of Fairtrade do not become evident until one grasps with clarity the sheer scale of unfair trade along with the depth of poverty it can and does cause millions oversees... all because those in the Western world enjoy a nice cup of warm coffee in the morning whilst watching Jeremy Kyle.

Before I started working for Jurang Wholesale Ltd,  I was already someone who was bothered by people stating: 'well its not my fault' or 'well what difference does it make if I do something, Im just one person'. True, however some of us Westerners may appear to be two people unfortunately... Either way, it makes a massive difference. If that one cup of coffee has been unfairly traded, there is a strong possibility that farmers in countries oversees are being so badly paid that they can only just about afford to survive. For me, when its that black and white, it seems completely unethical to buy anything but Fair Trade.

Unfortunately, I do not have the time to go into specifics concerning exactly how much of a difference Fair Trade makes for those that otherwise would be badly affected due to Western consumerism. However, it is very easy to find out such facts, simply type 'Fairtrade' in Google, or have a look at some explanatory videos on YouTube. Anyway, thats probably enough rambling. I hope that this has not come across as a negative post, but rather highlights the positive work that Fairtrade does and all those that strive to support the vision it has. God desires justice above all things, and therefore His creatures should do so likewise.
Thanks for reading!

Minds are always thinking of something, never nothing.