&gt; Starbucks To Begin Sinister &#x27;Phase Two&#x27; Of Operation<p>&gt; SEATTLE–After a decade of aggressive expansion throughout North America and abroad, Starbucks suddenly and unexpectedly closed its 2,870 worldwide locations Monday to prepare for what company insiders are calling &quot;Phase Two&quot; of the company&#x27;s long-range plan....<p>&gt; Though the coffee chain&#x27;s specific plans are not known, existing Starbucks franchises across the nation have been locked down with titanium shutters across all windows. In each coffee shop&#x27;s door hangs the familiar Starbucks logo, slightly altered to present the familiar mermaid figure as a cyclopean mermaid whose all-seeing eye forms the apex of a world-spanning pyramid.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theonion.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;starbucks-to-begin-sinister-phase-two-of-operation-416" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theonion.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;starbucks-to-begin-sinister-...</a>