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September 29, 2005

I like my Slim Fast fresh

There are only two grocery stores anyone needs nearby, Wal-Mart for low priced Spaghetti-Os and Whole Foods for organic arugula. I don't understand why people like bodegas, the small independent grocery stores that charge $2 for a 2-litre of Coke that sells at Wal-Mart for 88 cents. I think the bodegas just provide a convenient place to smoke weed in public, which leaves Lenox Ave smelling like downtown Amsterdam. Can we at least have some women in windows surrounded by red lights?

In downtown Chicago, where I used to live, the bodegas were weed-free, but a new government investigation shows that 71% sell outdated merchandise or have related violations. The Sun-Times reports on a bodega next to my former residence:

The East Delaware Pantry, 200 E. Delaware, was socked with a $10,000 fine for allegedly selling 43 expired products, including 2-year-old weight-loss shake and mixed cereal for babies that expired on March 17.

I did a client study once where they flew me to Charlotte and I noted the expiration dates on dozens of products in a few dozen grocery stores. Wal-Mart had by far the freshest products anywhere. So little independent grocers charge more, have a more limited selection, and sell 2-year-old Slim-Fast. Wal-Mart and Whole Foods are all that are needed.

Posted by adrianjo at 10:43 AM

September 26, 2005

My current mood

My current mood:

montparnasse train.jpg

This is a famous wreck in 1895 at Gare Montparnasse, one of Paris's major train stations.

Posted by adrianjo at 03:54 PM

September 24, 2005

Update from CONA alumni

I'm blogging as I'm on AIM with Molly, whom CONA '97 alumni will remember. We haven't spoken much since her wedding in June 2003. Molly is in Ft. Lauderdale, where she is a proud kitten foster parent (including these guys) and highly recommends this site for visiting every day. It's nice to know that she's forgiven me for voting with the majority to deny the Supreme Court justices entry to observe the Indiana State Senate in 1998, and I've forgiven her for subsequently giving the Senate the standing-room-only space when we visited the Supreme Court.

Among other members of the infamous Indiana Delgation of Delegates, Governor Hannigan ('96-'97) has a website with his guide to Washington DC that is up and running again. There are numerous pics of folks like Governor Erin ('97-'98) and the Ha brothers at Molly's wedding--and even a picture of me there. Jaime ('97-'98), who beat me for Best Senator in 1998, can be found on Friendster and in various bars in and around Bloomington. Karl Frisch (CA '95-'97?) is still in touch, most recently trying to get me to join a petition for Karl Rove to resign. (Sorry, Karl.) Also from the California delegation, Kristen ('97-'98) is on Friendster and in DC. Indiana's own Fil Fortes ('96-'97) also has his blog running again. Here is a story on Erick Hong ('98-'99). Mandar (?-'97) is in med school in Virginia and keeps up with Jaime.

I found a really old and small picture of us all residing on this webserver. This was the 1997 Delegation of Delegates:

And who could forget this? Or listening to this at 7AM?

Posted by adrianjo at 09:24 PM

Where have you been?

Here is a site where you can make a map of the places you've been. Here is mine:


create your own visited country map

I'm kind of cheating with Greenland because the plane never touched the runway and had to turn back to Iceland.

Posted by adrianjo at 07:00 PM

September 22, 2005

Macau and Thailand pictures are posted

I have finally finished uploading pictures from the August trip to Asia. (Note that it is NOT necessary to sign-in at ofoto to view the pictures.) In addition to (1) Beijing, (2) Shanghai, and (3) Hong Kong here are (4) the Macau Special Administrative Region of China, (5) Chiang Mai and the Golden Triangle of Thailand, and (6) The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok.

1. Beijing (Peking), People’s Republic of China

Link to pictures. Beijing is a hot, unhuman, oversized monument to the world’s most dangerous political philosophy: Communism. Beijing’s saving graces include the tranquil Summer Palace, a nighttime stroll through Tiananmen Square (pic below), easy access to the Great Wall, and a cheap “Underground Dragon” subway system.

Beijingcover.jpg


2. Shanghai, China


Link to Pictures. It is said that if Beijing is the big, rough, hairy dude of China, then Shanghai is China’s soft, affectionate lady. That pretty much sums it up; most of our group found that Shanghai had far better food, nightlife, shopping, and general livability. Whereas Beijing has destroyed almost all of the historic hutong (residential alleyways), Shanghai is an intriguing mix of architectural styles from the traditional to colonial to modern (such as Jin Mao Tower, the world’s fourth-tallest building). A new Wal-Mart provides shopping joy for Chinese and Westerner alike.


3. Hong Kong, SAR, China

Link to pictures. Hong Kong is perhaps one of the world’s most unique cities, along with perhaps Paris and New York. As for Paris, everywhere has a Paris of something or another. Tromsø, Norway, is “Paris of the North,” Shanghai is “Paris of the Far East,” and St. Petersburg is “Paris of Russia.” Hong Kong is the same way: e.g. Dubai is “Hong Kong of the Middle East.” The city is thoroughly Chinese; despite being a British colony for 150 years, Hong Kong is a predictor of what will happen when capitalism spreads to all of China. Festooned with Times-Square-like neon signs, with one of the densest populations on Earth, Hong Kong is a voracious consumer of Westernism, yet the city’s population is clearly Chinese. There are certain British sensibilities that are oh-so-comforting, like a double-decker trolley and bus system and the Peninsula Hotel. With cheap air connections from the US (as low as $600 round trip), Hong Kong should be on every world traveler’s list. If you don’t plan to make it there soon, at least browse the Peninsula photo gallery.


4. Macau, SAR, China

Link to pictures. Macau is a 450-year-old former Portugese trading outpost about an hour from Hong Kong. It was the first European settlement in the Far East, and like Hong Kong, it was handed back to the Chinese in the late 1990s. The economy is driven almost entirely by tourism and gaming, both of which are expanding rapidly. John, Claudia, and I spent the afternoon in Macau on August 27.

5. Chiang Mai and the Golden Triangle of northern Thailand

Link to pictures. Chiang Mai is the old capital of the Lanna kingdom in Thailand. It used to be a favorite backpacker hangout--they were drawn by its inexpensive prices ($1.50 for a cab from the airport), easy transit connections, and colorful old temples. Today, the Four Seasons and others have moved in, and the city is more worth visiting for $1.50/hr spa treatments than anything else.

6. The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok

Link to pictures. The Oriental (homepage) is Bangkok's most famous hotel and one of the best in the world. (The Zagat Survey says #3 best outside the US.) It's low season, and the Oriental had some great deals. I live-blogged the experience here. The indulgence was totally worth it. Have a look at the pictures, some of which are borrowed from the Oriental.

Posted by adrianjo at 03:03 PM

Al Sharpton learns about unintended consequences

I have twice derided Al Sharpton's overhyped endorsement of Freddy Ferrer in the New York mayor's election. (once, twice) Sharpton likes to think that he actually matters in politics, and today a new poll confirms that Sharpton might be having an effect. Fully 7% of voters now are "more likely" to vote for Freddy, while over four times as many (29%) are "less likely" to vote for Sharpton's guy. Another 61% don't care. The net result of Al's endorsement? 93% of voters either don't care or are likely to do the opposite of what Al wants. Keep it up, Al!

Posted by adrianjo at 02:03 PM

Sell the Fo'shizzle, not the steak

Since my last paper for Opinion Writing was considered too boring, I'm posting my paper for next week here. I am hoping for some feedback. TH's review says that "only two things really bother me," and both are corrected. Please send comments here by Saturday noon.

The column is posted in the continuation below.

If elite Special Forces soldiers can’t find Osama bin Laden, maybe Jenna Bush could? Can American Idol survive if Ryan Seacrest joins the hunt? Should we dispatch Snoop Dogg?

A usually-ignored Congressman named Chuck Rangel (D-NY) continues his one-man quest to make young people learn to draft-dodge like Bill Clinton, whose ballyhooed Harlem office is next-door to Rangel’s. Rangel says a draft would spread the burden of fighting wars to the wealthy and privileged.

“We could end this war overnight,” Rangel said last week, “if we had a draft where everyone had to serve.”

The military has already acted on Rangel’s proposal by secretly drafting able-bodied young males—and females—according to an urgent forwarded email I received. Although I could be drafted, this announcement does not dilute my joy from today winning the “Grand Pr1ze of $25,00O,0O0.0” from a lottery in Nigeria.

Who will soon be donning a uniform? And what will they be doing? Will they be better at fighting wars than professional soldiers? Here are the results of my investigation.

Let’s start with the war’s big prize: Osama. Nobody has penetrated the liar’s lair, but newly-minted Specialist Jenna Bush is prepared to try. Specialist Bush demonstrated “mad skillz” at using fake identification—despite obviously being the President’s underage daughter—to penetrate the tough security at Chuy’s bar in Austin. This reporter visited Chuy’s to investigate, and the doorman didn’t even bother to ask for ID. The bodyguards of the world’s most successful terrorist might be a bit smarter. Oops.

One young partygoer who never saw the need for a fake ID is Private Paris Hilton, the new Joint Chiefs spokeswoman. Say “later, sexy” to the grizzled generals of Centcomm telling the movements of tank battalions. And say “hi, cutie” to the pink princess telling the movements of her Chihuahua. (Let’s hope that Tinkerbell makes her movements in the litter box… .oops!)

As spokeswoman, Private Hilton would bring a touch of honesty to a military that is often accused of hiding the facts. Here is her reaction when dropped into Iraq’s desert yesterday: “That’s hot.” Who can argue with that? Rumor says that President Bush loves the straight-talk.

Like many people called up, Private Hilton can live on the military’s near-poverty wages because of her well-endowed bank account. Her equally un-endowed body fits well into military uniforms, while her eating habits use half the MREs of a typical G.I. Jane.

Also holding a well-endowed bank account is draftee Colonel Donald Trump, Jr., who is running rebuilding efforts. He has already signed agreements to build three major casinos on Kurdish reservations. Colonel Trump has already been promoted to an officer’s rank on account of being the only one recent draftee to have attended—and actually passed—college.

Considering Los Angeles’s concentration of wealthy and spoiled soldiers-to-be, the Selective Service soon scraped the bottom of the barrel there.

The draft took Private Calvin Cordozar Broadus, better known as rapper Snoop Dogg. A Joint Chiefs “spokesprincess” identified as Private Hilton confirms that the military denied Private Broadus’s request to create a new military rank of “Doggfather.”

Private Broadus has been assigned to guard Iraqi prioners. “Those naked prisoners have longer rap sheets than the ODB,” said Private Hilton. “And I think Rummy will really like Dogg’s ‘doggystyle’ discipline.” A prison-abuse scandal will come to light when teenagers hack sexually-explicit “doggystyle” prison photos out of Private Hilton’s Sidekick. Oopshizzle!

The Selective Service in LA also drafted Nick Lachey, on-again-off-again husband of chicken-of-the-sea Jessica Simpson. Lachey joins the same platoon as Kobe Bryant. Corporals Lachey and Bryant are wasting no time in deflowering the 72 virgins that so motivate sexually-frustrated suicide bombers. The military should note that they’ll soon need a week of leave to visit Harry Winston in a bid to convince their wives to forgive the cheating. Oops, I didn’t mean to, honey!

To avoid being called up, LA-based Ryan Seacrest finally said yesterday what the world already knows: Seacrest, out! Word is that a few other celebrities are also thankful for “don’t ask, don’t tell.” But what’s the military’s policy on metrosexuals?

Fortunately, the military has some standards, and some promising draftees failed the cut. Britney Spears was considered ideal, except for her new baby and that barfing episode at the LA Ritz-Carlton’s pool. As luck would have it, a drafted Britney would probably use her trailer-park toughness to do something heroic, resulting in an honorary event with a Japanese Prime Minister, and… “Oops, I did it again.” That would be just too toxic.

Thanks to Chuck Rangel’s draft, we now have the finest conscripted military in the land: Jenna, Paris, Nick, Donnie, the Doggfather, and Kobe. The new draft has netted the American military a cast of clowns who do not want to serve and are desperately unqualified to serve. The American military is the world’s best because it is composed of professional soldiers. We’re asking for trouble if we use a draft to send in the clowns.

-30-

Comments please.

Posted by adrianjo at 12:32 AM

September 21, 2005

At least we're #1 in something important

The Wall St. Journal says that Columbia is the #1 MBA program in the world in which to recruit women. Some of the men of Columbia may disagree, since the ratio here is still 2:1. Nonetheless, it's probably a lot worse at other MBA schools.

Posted by adrianjo at 12:29 PM

Coming soon to a public school near you?

Linked to this post is my first essay for Opinion Writing class over in the journalism school. TH (surprisingly) liked the essay, telling me, "you're a better writer than I thought; you used far fewer big words than I expected, and there was even some humour." However, she added, "it's crazy that you spent seven hours writing that."

The professor found the essay "dry" and "too legalistic." I also didn't explain fully the Lemon decision and why it matters. (It's unfortunate that in old-fashioned prose, one can't just link to a decision and let the reader research it till his heart's content.)

I have been hearing things about how liberalism pervades Columbia's ivory tower outside the cozy capitalist enclave of the business school. And yet I was still surprised at how several of my classmates' papers seethed the sort of Paul-Krugemanesque anger at the Bush administration that so turns-off moderates. I hope that by the 12th class, I might convince the class that politlcal attacks are far more potent when backed by facts rather than invective, since I learned this lesson the hard way back when I wrote opinion for the Post.

The whole essay follows below...

John Roberts, the Supreme Court’s soon-to-be Chief Justice, learned in grade school that God created humans as told in the Bible’s creation story. But the teaching of creationism is not coming soon to a public school near you.

Throughout this week’s confirmation hearings, Roberts repeated his belief in the Court’s long-held practice of ‘letting the decision stand,’ or following the precedents of previous courts. That answer, while perfectly acceptable, left Democrats fearing a wide berth for conservative interpretations of gray areas in abortion rights, affirmative action, disabled rights, and religion in schools.

At least on teaching creationism in schools, however, the Court’s record over the past three decades is well-settled: intelligent design, creation science, creationism—-or whatever the euphemism du jour—-has no place in public schools. There is almost no gray area.

Roberts may well move the court to the right on gray-area issues like abortion rights. The right to “privacy”—-the basis of Roe v. Wade (1973)—-is never mentioned in the Constitution, although Roberts says he believes in such a right.

By contrast, the Court’s decisions on creationism in the classroom are so well-settled that the Court would have to reverse itself completely—-a rare occurrence—-to find any way of allowing creationism to nestle into public classrooms.

The rulings of judges-to-be are about as predictable as next month’s weather, but we can be sure that spring does not overnight become autumn, and Roberts is unlikely to sway the Court’s distaste for creationism.

The Court’s hostility towards creationism statutes is deeply-rooted. In 1971, the Court established the so-called “Lemon test,” which determines if a law violates the First Amendment’s prohibition on government creating an “establishment of religion.”

Fifteen years later, the court used the Lemon test to strike-down Louisiana’s Balanced Treatment Act, which demanded schools that teach evolution also teach “creation science” (Edwards v. Aguillard, 1986).

The Lemon test asks three questions of a law concerning the establishment of religion. The law must have a “clear secular purpose”; it must “neither advance nor inhibit religion”; and it must not cause government to be “excessively entangled” in religion.

A law that fails any one of the three tests is unconstitutional. “Creation science” and its derivatives were found to fail not just one test, but all three tests.

The Court’s reasoning was fairly simple. Try finding a secular purpose for teaching Adam & Eve, or its watered-down equivalents that assert that an “intelligent designer” created life. No matter how heavily veiled, creationism, intelligent design, and the rest are usually the pet project of religious fundamentalists, and the Court has seen through it.

For example, the book that popularized the term “intelligent design”—-Of Pandas and People (1991)—-was backed by a Texas religious group, according to The Textbook League, a California textbook-review newsletter. Ordinary folk are not exactly protesting to have their children taught “intelligent design” any more than other religious counterfactuals like flat-earthism and geocentrism.

The Court has also understood that “creation science” is not science but rather religious propaganda. “Out of many possible science subjects taught in the public schools,” noted Justice Brennan’s Edwards decision, makers of Louisiana’s creationism law “chose to affect the teaching of one scientific theory that historically has been opposed by certain religious sects.”

Edwards placed an almost-airtight prohibition on creationism in the classroom, and the Court’s more recent decisions provide little wiggle room for a Roberts court to try to erode Edwards.

“The Supreme Court has decided to ‘grandfather’” religious references in public, argues Paul Mirengoff, the Akin Gump lawyer who co-writes the conservative Powerlineblog.com. “That means leaving references to [religion] on the coins and the old buildings but beating back new references.”

Since creationism statutes have been struck down since the 1986 Edwards decision, based on the earlier Lemon test, it is unlikely that a court could find reason to “grandfather” them into the acceptable realm of government mixing with religion.

It is possible that a slick pro-evolution campaign could emerge from some backwoods hamlet, which could correct some of the more egregious problems in Louisiana’s writing of its Balanced Treatment Act. The Louisiana Act was struck down in part because the Legislature overplayed its hand by building-in legal protections for those who teach creationism and mandating the development of teaching materials for creationism but not evolution.

A better-written law might comport more closely with the Edwards decision, but it is difficult to fathom how a creationism law could pass all three prongs of the Lemon test.

John Roberts may have grown up learning that God commands that he created man, but like most Catholic schoolboys, he did not become a theologian. If Roberts “lets the decision stand,” Christian beliefs about man’s creation will remain reserved for study in Sunday School.

-30-

Posted by adrianjo at 12:26 AM

September 19, 2005

It's not hard to out-smart Rev. Al

Rev. Calvin Otis Butts III, pastor of Harlem's world-famous Abyssinian Baptist Church, is a bit smarter than my friend Al Sharpton. Not only is Butts more deeply respected as a black civic and political leader, Butts also is far shrewder politically. Rev. Al travels by limousine and stays at the Four Seasons. Rev. Butts says that a trip to Central Park counts as a vacation. Rev. Al debates which Democrat sure-to-be-loser to endorse in the Democratic primary, while Rev. Butts waited until recently to endorse Republican Mayor Bloomberg. Guess who will have more influence at City Hall next year.

People who don't look like they live in Harlem but are interested in hearing Butts speak can (1) queue up with the tourist throngs outside Abyssinian on Sunday morning and hope to get in, or (2) listen online. I suggest the latter. Online listening also includes the choir's music.

Posted by adrianjo at 09:57 PM

September 17, 2005

Parental Discretion is Advised

We held an end-of-summer dinner last night. Among the festivities were an open bar and a series of superlatives. In fact, everyone got one. I won't say which is mine. And I thought that they'd be stuff like "best dressed." No, this list is X-rated:

Posted by adrianjo at 02:33 PM

September 14, 2005

No word on cause of Copterline crash

I wrote last month about a crash of a helicopter I took last year. The first results of an inquest into the Baltic Sea crash that killed 14 people are inconclusive, with all obvious causes ruled out. The equipment apparently was in good shape, but the copter spun 13 times before crashing into the Baltic Sea. More here and here.

copterlineinairport.jpg


Posted by adrianjo at 01:18 PM

Is the grass greener on the other side of campus?

I am taking a class in Opinion Writing over at the Journalism School, the school founded by Joe Pulitzer that awards the Prize in his name. I'll probably blog occasionally on the class because it's far more interesting than certain classes here at the business school. (Is it too much to ask that Columbia's finance professors use the same notation to describe a basic concept like the CAPM?)

We started by reading a Pew report that suggests that public confidence in the mainstream media (MSM) has declined to record lows. Even a jaded MSM consumer like me was surprised at how far the MSM has fallen. The audience for the nightly network news has fallen by nearly half in the last 10 years. In 20 years, the portion of people saying they believe "almost nothing" that CNN says has nearly doubled, to 28%. Meanwhile, consumption of nearly all news sources has fallen dramatically.

That was surprising last night when I read the report. Today it makes sense. CNN.com, for the first time in weeks, isn't leading with something about that overblown windstorm that flooded newsrooms throughout the country and tugged the heartstrings of oblivious Americans who only give to charity when there is a photogenic disaster. No, CNN's headline is "Bombers, gunmen kill 151 in Iraq." As long as the MSM's news coverage consistantly focuses on seeing the glass 1/4 full and pointing out the world's problems, is it any wonder that Jon Stewart now attracts more viewers than any of the network newscasts?

Posted by adrianjo at 12:42 PM

September 12, 2005

Londoners must hate these tourists

KLH sends a message from her time living in London:

The [Tube] train was broken down, and there was all this confusion at the station. We met a (completely inept) older American couple who were at a loss for what to do. I explained the situation and helped them figure out how to get to station they were trying to head to. How would these people manage in a country where the language isn't English?!

This is one reason I didn't really like London when I was there; the most inept tourists all visit London first before venturing to more exotic locales like, oh, Paris or Madrid. Yes, the ones who think the stores ought to accept dollars, think their First Amendment rights apply in Britain, and think that all the locals are stupid.

Then there's this description of a restaurant and a nearby table:

A man in his forties with a woman in her twenties...I think he must have told the waiter at least three times that they had taken a helicopter and private jet up from Cannes this morning just to eat at this restaurant. I don't know how trophy wives put up with it....just overhearing this man talk about himself and his wealth for an hour at dinner was enough to make me want to shoot myself (or him).

A fool and his money are soon parted. This man is a fool, and Mrs Trophy Wife realizes it.

Posted by adrianjo at 03:31 PM

Al Sharpton's dirty laundry

I came home from the laundromat on Saturday to find news cameras and trucks parked outside and Al Sharpton speaking in the next-door-neighbor's back yard. (Al's limo was double-parked in front of a fire plug.) The guy who lives next door is Al's attorney, a job that surely provides lots of steady business.

From what I heard while folding my laundry, Al was meeting in the back yard with nearly 30 black leaders to decide whom to endorse in tomorrow's New York mayoral election. As if it matters. Blacks here are in a pickle because the "black candidate" is last among four Democratic contenders. The leading Hispanic candidate, Freddy Ferrer, recently offended black leaders and gave up a large lead in the race with comments they considered insensitive. Freddy now finds himself neck-and-neck with some weenie. If Weiner actually wins, it will lock blacks out of City Hall through 2013, since Weiner would get the nomination as incumbent in 2009. Hence Al's having to chose between two evils: endorse foot-in-mouth Freddy or the loser "black candidate." (In private, Al calls African-Americans "blacks".)

The hour-long meeting was decidedly down-beat, since Bloomberg will crush whatever lamb the Democrats sacrifice. The most cheers were garnered when Al reminesced about the various marches he had done--"we marched on washington, we marched on Wall St., we marched on City Hall." The meeting started with Al invoking supporters to "maintain the Black-Hispanic alliance" and ended with Al's attorney charging his listeners to "stand with Rev. Al in supporting the black community" with "no dissent." Black leaders are great at organizing marches, but after blacks monolitically supported Democrats with "no dissent" for 40 years, what do they have to show for it? By contrast, Hispanics (who don't consider themselves in such an alliance with Al Sharpton) divide their vote and get kowtowed to by both major parties.

Throughout the meeting, I never heard it cross the mind of Sharpton that they might consider supporting the clear winner, Bloomberg--since, well, Bloomberg is a sort-of Republican. Better a lousy black candidate than a good Republican. This is how we get stuck with mayors like John Street, Harold Washington, and the numbskull who runs New Orleans. The discussion was which evil to choose of many, which candidate to endorse while holding a giant clothes-pin over one's nose. At least Freddy can gloss over Al's many reservations and trumpet the endorsement on his website.

Incidentally, Al urged his supporters "not to talk to the media outside." Too late. After I told the press corps that the meeting was occuring in the back yard, they giddily set-up listening devices and heard the whole thing first-hand. No wonder some blacks hate whites in Harlem.

Posted by adrianjo at 07:37 AM

September 08, 2005

The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round

All of the new kids are here on the b-school's campus. They all seem so young and impressionable as they ask where the bathrooms are, work on easy little first-year cases, and buzz about happy hour. Then I realize that the average age of these kids is 28 (as compared to my 25 years), and probably fewer than 10% of them are younger than I am. They still look young.

Paranthetical note: as for the undergrads, they really look young, since their average age is 18.

Posted by adrianjo at 02:50 PM

September 07, 2005

The healthy version costs more in Harlem

Pathmark of Harlem has Doritos on promotion this week. Doritos, high in fats and sodium, are about as unhealthy as corn chips can get. In fact, Doritos' maker, PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, dominates the salty-snack aisle and makes few products of great nutritional value (except for Tropicana and some recently-acquired businesses like Quaker).

I have generally been skeptical of claims that food companies are responsible for America's obesity crisis. Unlike cancer-stick makers, America's purveyors of junk food never claimed that their product was healthy. And recently, Frito-Lay has slowly introduced baked versions, though these products are sold at higher prices and have increased sodium per serving. (E.g. Baked Doritos have 220 mg vs. 200g for regular Doritos). Given their high sodium content, Baked Doritos are hardly healthy, but indulge me for a moment if I call Baked Doritos "the healthy version."

This week's promotion at the Harlem Pathmark might cause one to change his mind on the culpability of junk-food sellers for the obesity epidemic. Why? Because in very small letters is a note that the promotion "excludes Baked." (Here is a copy of the sales circular.) In other words, the market leader of a junk food category is in a poverty-stricken neighborhood like Harlem, where obesity is particularly acute, charging twice as much for the health version of its product as the unhealthy version. Meanwhile, the company touts "the important role that [PepsiCo] can play in helping people lead healthier lives" especially "in the Hispanic and African-American communities." (See also.) When in a market where most customers are poor and can afford few healthy foods, a company who charges twice as much for the healthy version may arguably be considered culpable for contributing to an obesity problem.

I see no reason to explain charging a high price for a healthier version of one's product. In a hyper-competitive aisle like salty snacks, it is highly likely that an allowance from Frito-Lay is behind the promotion. Cost of sales and distribution for a baked product might be higher, but cost of sales at the manufacturer level is very small in proportion to overall cost. Frito-Lay faces significant distribution costs because Doritos are sent DSD (direct-to-store), but distribution costs for the baked product are probably little more than for the fried product, depending on how fixed costs are allocated.

It would seem reasonable that Baked Doritos sell at a higher price (i.e. are not in special deals) because Frito-Lay knows that conscious eaters will pay more for them. Unfortunately, in neighborhoods like Harlem, a promotion that pitches Doritos but excludes the baked version looks more like Frito-Lay is gouging the poor by making healthy eating prohibitively expensive. If Frito-Lay is to run promotions on Doritos, baked Doritos should not be excluded. A family that scrapes for every dollar, like most in Harlem, should not have to pay an extra $1.74 to eat a bit more healthfully.

PepsiCo has been invited to respond; I will post a reply if/when received. (Indeed, I note that I'm not anti-Pepsi: I defended Indra Nooryi after her controversial speech here at Columbia Business School in May.)

UPDATE 1: Christine Jones (no relation), PepsiCo VP of Consumer Relations, has written to say that she has forwarded the request for comment to her "counterpart at Frito-Lay."

UPDATE 2 (9/13): I received the following from an anonymous Consumer Affairs representative at Frito-Lay today. Forgive them for addressing me as Ms. Jones:

Dear Ms. Jones:

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your question about pricing on
Baked Doritos. Frito-Lay is committed to providing consumers with the highest
quality snacks and keeping our price levels as low as possible. As with all
consumer goods, the prices charged are influenced by raw materials and
manufacturing, as well as distribution costs. Since they were first introduced
in the late 1990's, the baked varieties of our chips remain more expensive for
us to make than our regular chips. As a result, the higher production costs
for Baked Doritos are reflected in the price to our consumers with a suggested
retail price that is the same across the country. Just so you know, there have
been a variety of reduced price events on the Baked products offered at all
Pathmark stores throughout this year.

Frito-Lay is committed to providing consumers with great tasting, superior
quality choices that cross the spectrum of nutritional variety. For years,
we've led the industry in research and testing of different cooking oils. In
early 2003, we completed a full conversion to non-hydrogenated cooking oils
virtually eliminating trans fat from our snack chips. Trans fats are
considered by the scientific community as among the worst types of fats because
research indicates that they raise the LDL (or bad cholesterol) while lowering
the HDL (or good cholesterol). Frito-Lay was also the first company to include
trans fat information on the nutrition label of its packaging - prior to the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final ruling in July 2003 requiring the
inclusion of this information by January 1, 2006. The company actively
followed the nutrition research on trans fatty acids and moved proactively to
include trans fat information in accordance with the FDA's interim guidelines.

Moreover, in our conversion out of hydrogenated oils, Frito-Lay switched to
using corn oil in brands such as Doritos, Tostitos, and Cheetos (Fritos have
always been made with corn oil). Corn oil is very high in mono and
polyunsaturated fats. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that
most fats/oils should come from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated
fatty acids such as corn and other vegetable oils. These fats are recommended
because total and LDL-cholesterol levels are reduced when saturated and trans
fats in the diet are replaced with unsaturated oils such as corn oil which
helps reduce the risk of heart disease. Therefore, Frito-Lay brand snacks made
with liquid vegetable oils are a healthy choice for all consumers. In
addition, Sunchips brand snack chips are made with sunflower oil - also very
high in unsaturated fats - and provide a full serving of whole grains.

Our snacks can be part of a balanced diet and part of a healthy, active
lifestyle. We are committed to continue to look for ways to offer consumers a
wide variety of choices and sell them at a price that represents a fair value.
Thanks again for your comments and the constructive spirit in which they were
offered.

Sincerely,

Frito-Lay Consumer Affairs

Reference #: AAAA-6FZSDP

To which I replied:

Thank you for your reply concerning the significantly higher price of Baked Doritos in low-income neighborhoods of New York and the contribution this makes to the national obesity problem. You claim that the cost of producing and distributing baked product is higher. I find it difficult to believe that this would justify a 100% price difference.

For a typical branded food product, raw materials, conversion, packaging, and distribution costs typically total around 20-30% of gross sales value. Thus, in order to justify a 100% higher price for Baked, the costs of Baked would have to be 4 to 5X as high. (This would produce the same unit margin per package.) While a Baked product will always be more expensive until it has the same volume as the fried product (because of overhead allocations), I don’t think that the difference is enough to drive the 100% differential in price observed in the Harlem Pathmark. Variable distribution costs, for example, are the same for baked and fried because they use the same DSD. (Perhaps you could provide some numbers to back your assertion of higher costs.)

Furthermore, your response does not address the claim that you charge more for a healthier version of your product because wealthy consumers are willing to pay more for the healthier version. Why else would you put “excludes Baked” in the half-off ad? If you are running promotions separately on Baked, could you please explain?

If food companies want to avoid blame for the obesity epidemic, they cannot charge premiums for healthier versions of their product in low-income neighborhoods like Harlem where people cannot afford many food options. The healthier product must be made just as accessible to the poor as the base product.

Posted by adrianjo at 09:23 PM

September 05, 2005

China pictures Round 1

VALPARAISO, INDIANA – After 30 hours of travel, I am back home again in Indiana. I’ll download and post my pictures from Asia when I am in NYC. For now, please enjoy the pics below. CLICK TO ENLARGE.

Peking Duck. This is a part of our group from Columbia at a touristy Peking duck restaurant in Peking (now Beijing). A real Peking Duck is fried in its juices and cut like a turkey. It is then wrapped with sauce and onions in a naan-like pancake. It was fairly good but not on many peoples’ diets.

The naming ceremony. Beijing is not known for its bars or nightlife. However, what few pockets exist are fairly good. We ended up one night at a place called Lotus Leaf or something; it’s on a touristy promenade along a lake. Bottle service starts at $75, which is a hella deal compared to $300+ in New York.

The Futon Honey. John and I spend some time with the Futon Honey, who wasn’t too hot on the whole nickname thing.

Alfredo’s nickname (“The Mexican”) carried over from the Russia trip. There are also Geisha and Concubine 23 here. I don’t remember Vivek’s nickname. We’re in Beijing, boarding one of the worst flights I’ve ever been on. A word of advice: avoid China Eastern Airlines if you dislike hot and smelly planes.

Yes, I own Hong Kong. Just look at my expression. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t own a razor.

IFC. The International Finance Centre, to my left, is the world’s fourth tallest building. Here is a round-up of the current world’s tallest.

Supper Club. Claudia, John, and I joined his friend Greg and wife Eugenia at a Hong Kong supper club for a more-authentic Shanghaiese banquet than the usual fare in Chinese tourist joints.

Posted by adrianjo at 02:41 PM

September 01, 2005

"If only all hotels could be like this"

KHAO SAN ROAD, BANGKOK, THAILAND -- I arrived this morning at the Oriental, the Bangkok hotel made famous by authors including James Mitchner and Gore Vidal. The hotel often voted world's best is quite an experience, so much so that it's difficult to leave, even to go out to find a book to read by the pool.

Upon arrival, a guard in traditional attire opens the taxi door and also realizes that there is luggage in the trunk. This sets into motion a well-staged set of actions that result in one being in a room not sure what just happened. A teenage Thai girl comes to the taxi, hands me a small bouquet of orchids, and escorts me past the front doors, which are held open by smiling young men. In the lobby in front of an 8' tall arrangement of lotus and other flowers is an older manager (a guy who looks like Dean Hubbard) to greet new guests. My orchid-bearing flower girl asks my name and leads me to the front desk, where they have my key waiting as well as a package left by the Columbian (see previous entry). In 10 seconds, they take a credit card imprint and the flower-girl leads me to the elevator, attended by another young man. I should note here that this is as close to celebrity treatment as ordinary folk get. (Celebs often have their roadies arrange all the credit cards and such in advance.)

Upon reaching the proper floor, the room door is being held open by another young girl. They turn on the lights, some jazz, etc. They show the room, which includes a large executive desk where we sit down to review my check-in information. After two minutes of controlled hussle involving at least three hotel people, they are all gone, but the bell rings: it's the floor butler, another young woman with an unpronounceable name, bearing orange juice and more orchids. By now the room reeks of orchids; it's a pleasant smell but reminds me a bit of drying paint. I try to cut open the mangosteens left in the room according to the instructions provided. I realize I've forgotten my luggage--it arrives with a knock a few minutes later.

I filled out the card that directs the butler to send guests to the pool to meet me and proceeded to find a good book and relax there until sunset.

Posted by adrianjo at 03:21 AM