Tuesday, June 08, 2004


note from a friend who wishes to remain anonymous

as is my practice, the links and notes are mine, inserted to help readers who may be newer to these issues:

"Enjoyed your tirade on Walker's column which was, indeed, incredibly weird and offensive.

It's just loaded with loaded phrases and illogical statements.

'... according to a nonprofit called TransFair USA' [Of course you've never heard of this group, so we'll call it "a nonprofit called"]

'if they pay more, they have to raise prices -- and risk losing customers' [How about, "If they (note: they, the so-called "big four" multi-national firms who roast the coffee in the supermarket cans: kraft, nestle, p&g, sara lee) collude to help bring about a crash in the price of green coffee, they can keep their prices right where they were and rake in buckets of cash."]

'. . . such coffee, which can cost twice as much as Folger's' [Now why in the name of God would anyone pay $8 a pound for coffee when they can get coffee for $4 a pound? (note: there are those in the specialty coffee community who wonder if that's really coffee in that can, or more properly, "coffee-by-products." it's a pity, because there was a time when folger's was decent coffee.]

'How many Fair Trade buyers also stick to free-range chicken?' etc. [Okay, Rob. What, exactly is your point here? If the people who buy Fair Trade coffee don't follow through with this thinking in every facet of their lives, they're obviously idiots and should be ridiculed. If they had any brains, they sit back and wait for that legislative solution that's just around the corner.]

You know the really amazing thing that I can't believe he didn't get into? TransFair is based in La La Land [sic]. That's right, it's one of those weird California deals. I think he should be given five demerits for missing a chance to make fun of California in the pages of the Times yet again."

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