Letters to the Editor
killinginthenameof
Published Letters: 22
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What can I do to help?
[Read the article: Is this the end of organic coffee?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think it's fairly obvious this ruling could have a tremendously negative effect on grower's cooperatives, and these groups have already had a pretty tough time to begin with. It doesn't really matter if you drink coffee or not, or if you find it vile or not. What matters is that we (and the USDA) not dismiss these groups out of hand or quietly pass along rules that favor the leviathans.
If someone who is active in this field could post a web address or something, I'm sure many of us would be willing to send a letter or two to our congressmen, senators, to the USDA, etc, etc.
The growers and organic-coffee drinkers may well find a way round this, but if we can help un-stack the deck against them then we have moral obligation to do so.
Or we can just write them off, who the fuck cares right?
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To: CynStern
[Read the article: Is this the end of organic coffee?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Standards are standards"? You've got to be kidding. It sounds as if they were adhering to a sound and reasonable compromise as regards the standards.
Your axiom is rarely if ever true. What an incredibly quietest, defeatist attitude.
How is that the powerful get some average schmoe like yourself to defend them?
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contacting Souleymane...
[Read the article: Is this the end of organic coffee?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]those of us who would like to protest this action,we could e-mail Souleymane Diaby from the office of Organics Analysis, the Foreign Agricultural Service (souleymane.diaby@fas.usda.gov)
I did in fact write to Souleymane Diaby. I referenced this article and expressed my displeasure in a civilized way I think. Here is his response.
From: "Souleymane.Diaby@FAS.USDA.GOV"
To: Kelly.Strzelecki@FAS.USDA.GOV
Cc:
Sent: Friday, April 6, 2007 5:56:56 PM
Subject: Fw: USDA ruling on Organic Coffer growers certification
Kelly - Could you answer this question? tx
Solo
Souleymane Diaby
Agricultural Economist
Africa & Middle East Division/Africa Desk
OCRA/FAS/USDA
I've not heard from either Kelly or Souleymane.
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More Greenwalds Fewer Paglias
[Read the article: Real inconvenient truths]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Glenn Greenwald is the only reason I have a premium account with Salon. But bringing in Camille Paglia is like dropping a sack of horse shit on a blueberry muffin, while you may really have wanted that muffin, you're not going to eat it now. I want my muffin without the horse shit please.
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Shooter's right if you don't have something nice to say....
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hate speech
Like it or not, characterizing this blog as a hate site isn't far fetched. I have seen not a single instance of anything less than derision for the Bush administration. Certainly there is no praise anywhere.
In addition the verbiage used here is inflammatory. You folks ared just so used to using and seeing it that it has become passe. Perhaps for a moment you folks should consider that you aren't perfect, and that life isn't completely one-sided.
-- shooter242
Shooter do you suppose that Iraqi bloggers had the same comments aimed at them when they blogged about how bad Saddam was?
"sure he killed a whole lot of kurds, tortured a lot of people, and trampled on human rights like an elephant at a peanut festival, but why can't you anti-Saddamites say something good about him? I mean no one's perfect right?"
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Should we simply let it stand?
[Read the article: The Dan Gerstein sham]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't get it
what's really the point of a columm that exists to point out the comments that other people make about prior columns and to then smear them a little bit too?
-- RealName
RealName seems to be arguing for a quietist strategy whereby we simply allow the main-stream press to do what it does unchallenged. What would be the purpose? To blindly accept the status quo? To let them march our sons and daughters off to another war? Does Aker, by virtue of her position, speak with an authority unavailable to the rest of us? This kind of journalism (Aker's) is part and parcel of the kind of journalism that got us into this ill conceived war, that works to justify its own privilege, and that would have us accept a democratic party that is only different in name from the Republicans. Again, no thanks.
No. We go after each and everyone of them each time they do something like this. We need to be, like Glenn, relentless.
This is no smattering bit of meta-gossip produced by another member of the lumpen-chattering class. FDL is an important piece of the puzzle that is a part of a grass/net-roots movement to take back our democracy from those that piss on it daily. Mr. Greenwald has done well to defend FDL.
The 4th estate as it now stands has almost entirely abdicated its responsibilities. Who will speak for us? The WAPO? the Times? Akers? No thanks. The 4th estate has moved and what is left behind are quietists and apologists for a neo-fascist state. What has emerged is a network of folks from DailyKos-PrairieWeather-FDL-to Glenn Greenwald, a network of people who work tirelessly on our behalf.
relentless. Thank you Mr. Greenwald.
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Don't confuse the spin for the people
[Read the article: Al-Qaida does it, too]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I see tremendous contempt for the people and for our architectonic system of government in nearly everything that has happened with both this administration and the MSM. They despise us, all of us. And you do their work for them when you pile on as well. I think you may be confusing the real people with the imaginary ones in your head in the same way David Broder and Taranto do. Fuck them.
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Don't confuse the spin for the people
[Read the article: Al-Qaida does it, too]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]that was directed at Democritus.