Forero / NYT have something nice to say about coca
The question: Has Forero been learning about coca's upside from Narconews?
I'm probably missing some nuances here, but here's part of what Forero says:
In this Andean country, that pitch - that KDrink is natural and good for consumers - has the beverage flying off the shelves of some of Peru's biggest supermarket chains. Though priced at $1 a bottle, far more than what other beverages sell for, KDrink is selling about 50,000 bottles a month.
But it is the possibility that KDrink could be sold abroad that is seen as a tantalizing solution for poverty-stricken coca farmers who are periodically forced to eradicate their illicit crops in Washington-backed antidrug efforts.
The rest of the story is at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/business/worldbu siness/10coca.html?ei=5007&en=5d8b5778042ed949 &ex=1402286400&partner=USERLAND&pagewa nted=print&position
Email this page
Forero Claims to Drink the Stuff
Submitted on June 10th, 2004 by Al GiordanoI don't doubt it (although that makes his Embassy-spun coverage against the coca growers themselves from Colombia to Peru to Bolivia even more loathesome in its knowing falsehood and hypocrisy). I mean, even Pope John Paul II, when he went to Bolivia, drank the tea in public and praised its sacred, god-given, powers.
In the Andes, most wealthy households and restaurants serve coca tea. They may hate the people who grow it, for the "crime" of not wanting to be like them, but they're happy to enjoy the fruits of the labor of others.
But this is par for the course: To Forero, the campesino who grows the coca leaf doesn't become a human being until he starts a soft-drink company.
In any case, did you know that reporters at the New York Times have to take urine tests to prove they are not sniffing cocaine? Drinking coca tea, or soft-drink, sounds like an excellent excuse to cry "false positive" in case the bladder cops invade the cubicle at an inconvenient moment, no? Abbie Hoffman would have loved that one.
A new drug euphemism in the NYT newsroom?
Submitted on June 10th, 2004 by Steve YoungI've suggested another kind of "test"
Submitted on June 10th, 2004 by Al GiordanoIt would probably have much more positive impact on "full disclosure in journalism" over there.
Parental Advisory: Do not let your parents read my PG-17 proposal without supervision... Here is a G-rated excerpt...
Hey, they always tell me that if I'm going to criticize I should also make positive suggestions for reform!
Portugal to Let Soccer Fans Smoke Pot
Submitted on June 10th, 2004 by Al GiordanoCommon sense there... common sense here... before ya know it common sense will be breaking out all over the place!
And then there's the British approach...
Submitted on June 11th, 2004 by Steve YoungBeer sales are expected to rocket, with an anticipated £200 million boost if England do well.
Sales are expected to beat the £165 million increase during the World Cup in Japan and Korea two years ago.
The British Beer and Pub Association predicts England’s game against France will result in up to £30 million in extra takings, in addition to the £60 million on an average day.
The body, which represents publicans and brewers, believes England’s next game against Switzerland could mean £20 million extra being spent in pubs and bars.
England’s final group game, against Croatia on June 21, is estimated to result in £30 million of additional business for the licensed trade.
But if England was to go one further, pubs and bars could sell £120 million of drink from one game...
“We could be looking at £200 million extra if we get through to the next round,” said Rob Hayward, chief executive of the BBPA.
And you wonder how Britain got that drunken soccer hooligan reputation. Portugal just might be on to something here...
The British could keep the money from the pubs, just let everyone mellow out a little bit through alternative means...
Portugal Vs. Britain in match over drug policy
Submitted on June 14th, 2004 by Steve YoungThis report leads with the violence in Britain:
while mentioning at the end:
Cannabis comes to the rescue!