By Thomas Omestad Nation & World March 16, 2007 It's not a position that a star of 21st-century retailing admired for its social good works–Starbucks Coffee Co.–is accustomed to being in. But this week, two executives from the Seattle-based caffeine giant came to Washington, in part, to defend their coffee-buying practices in Ethiopia and elsewhere and to reinforce the message that Starbucks is supporting poor farmers, who in any case receive a relatively small share of what consumers ultimately spend on their cuppa joe. The executives met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and senior officials at the State Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, along with some in Washington's large community of Ethiopian-Americans. The company has been uncommonly stung by criticism from nongovernmental groups as well as some Ethiopians that it had earlier tried to discourage Ethiopia from trademarking some of its regional coffees–and that it was still refusing to sign a li...