After the recent horrific bombings in the capital Amman, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been brought into the spotlight in news media as an influential American ally in the Middle East. Though this is one of its key roles, Jordan has been influential in the Arab world not only for its progressive policies, but for its willingness to work with world powers on both sides of the proverbial fence in order to bring peace in the region.

King Hussein of Jordan signed a historic peace treaty with Israel in 1994 and has worked closely with its neighbors, including Israel, to bring development to the area. King Abdullah II has worked furiously since his father’s passing in 1999 to push for economic and political reform, and has reaffirmed his commitment to the peace process and has endeavored to bring stability in this region.

Amman also recently hosted the International Islamic Conference in July of this year, where Muslim leaders from different interpretations of the faith came to an unprecedented understanding on what it is to be Muslim. By acknowledging the diversity of interpretations in Islam, Muslim leaders have outlined a “degree of mutual respect between rival versions of Islam that has not been seen since the Fatimid empire a millennium ago. More practically, the pronouncement should act as a restraining influence in Iraq, by denying Sunni Muslims any right to attack their Shia compatriots as heretics.” (The Economist) In addition, this conference was influential in “undermining the legitimacy of so called Islamist (rather than Islamic) terrorism.” (The Telegraph)

With the Hashemite Kingdom doing so much to further the cause of the acceptance of pluralism of practice, culture, and opinion, it is truly heartbreaking to see it being the target of such violent crimes against innocent people. Though it is truly inspiring to see everyday Jordanians rising up from the aftermath of these heinous attacks and speaking out against injustice and violence. Though it may be far from perfect, Jordan has many things it can teach its neighbors and allies; most specifically, that there is strength in dialogue and diversity.

(I’m exhausted, so I didn’t get a chance to fact check, everything in this post has come straight off the top of my head. If there are any glaring errors, please let me know.)

Inspired by this post at green LA girl, I decided to take the Starbucks Challenge and see which location will actually serve me fair trade coffee as indicated in their company policy.

I visited three locations in Toronto, each with varying results:

Bathurst & Wilson (October 30, 2005)
The barista at this location had never heard of fair trade coffee. She didn’t even know what fair trade was. So after a 30-second lesson on the concept, she went to the back to ask her manager. The verdict? Starbucks “doesn’t sell that kind of coffee.”

King & Yonge (November 1, 2005)
The barista informed me that they only serve one blend of coffee that was “certified” fair trade, but Starbucks ensures that all their coffee blends are obtained through fair trade practices. That being said, they didn’t have any of their “certified” blend available, so I settled for a cup of Sumatran.

Yonge & Eglinton (November 3, 2005)
When I asked for a cup of fair trade at this Starbucks location, the barista blurted out, “yeah, I should have some now too, I’m about to go on break.” Whether she was flirting or not, I can’t say, but she did look around and realize they had none in the back. The problem was solved when another employee went around the counter, grabbed the bag of fair trade whole-beans they were selling in packs on the display, and asked me if I could wait for a few minutes while he “grinds the beans and brews a fresh pot.” And wait I did, and then joined the lovely barista for a cup of fair trade coffee on her break.