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Letters: Trademark, data, diamonds and beer

Marketplace Staff Aug 17, 2010
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Letters: Trademark, data, diamonds and beer

Marketplace Staff Aug 17, 2010
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TEXT OF STORY

Singer: I’m going to sit right down and write myself a letter…

Kai Ryssdal:We open our letters segment this week with the cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Our story about the group last week had you racing to write in. The charity is suing other nonprofits that use the phrase “for the cure.” “Kai acts for the cure,” “Kites for the cure,” you get the point. A point, though, not appreciated by Havertown, Penn.’s Tina Woods and a whole lot of the rest of you too.

Tina Woods: It sounds like the branding campaign is overshadowing the original mission to eradicate breast cancer. Maybe there is such a thing as “too big to care.” When a charity has sufficient resources and time to include legal harassment of smaller charities for less common causes as a fundraising strategy.

Google’s fundraising strategies have gotten a good deal of coverage lately. It’s come to an agreement Verizon on ways to charge different prices for different kinds of content online.

The other day I did an interview with a Wall Street Journal reporter about how Google’s using data from our searches and e-mails to send more relevant ads our way. Most of you hated that idea — just too invasive, you said. Brian Kinnear from Hillsboro, Ore. thought not.

Brian Kinnear: Considering that Google provides free e-mail and free search and free maps, it’s hard to argue that trying to make a profit on the data that they collect is evil.

Another story on sketchy profits, Zimbabwe, this time. The country makes loads in the diamond trade, but a lot of the gems would be classified as “conflict diamonds,” if not for a loop hole. And that story struck a very personal chord with new bride Reiley Curran of Chelsea, Mich.

Reiley Curran: This is exactly why I didn’t want a diamond engagement ring. I got a kayak instead and I love it. Some people don’t get it, but after hearing stories like this, how can any woman feel good about wearing diamonds? We got married this weekend, and I definitely feel good about kayaking with my husband.

Finally today, oh my goodness, beer. I probably figured we should get some heartfelt responses to my trip down to the Stone Brewing Co. yesterday. There were a lot of tweets and e-mails about it. We will let this from Kirk Vogel from Charlotte, N.C. stand as a representative sample.

“European beers ‘mostly thin, watery lagers’?” he wrote, “that is the single most idiotic statement I have ever heard on public radio. Do some research! What’s next, you’re introduce pasta to Italy?”

First of all, that is not the single, most stupidest thing ever. I happen to know; I’m in public radio. But anyway, there were a good number of fans of that story. But just to show you that we are equal opportunity offenders here at Marketplace, our senior editor Paddy Hirsch heard the show on the bus on his way home. Sent this note:

Paddy Hirsch: ‘Thin, watery lagers’? It seems it’s high time I took you down to Royal Claytons Pub and poured you full of pints of Old Speckled Hen.

So I will just say this and then we’re going to have to agree to disagree, beer is subjective. One person’s “fizzy yellow stuff” is another person’s beer of choice. And that’s kind of the beauty of it, isn’t it? Whatever you favorite beverage and if it happens to be beer, we’ve got some good listener suggestions yesterday. You might want to check them. But whatever it is, write to us.

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