Free Trade and You

Today in economics, my professor handed out an in class assignment that was such a blatant attempt to brainwash us I found it insulting. In groups, we were to determine the response of our imaginary country to a resolution that proposed free international trade. We were to base our decision mainly on the opinions of our advisors - four of which made strong arguments against free trade and the remaining one quoted some economic theory with poor sentence structure.

While I know others exist, he’s the only economics professor I’ve heard of that opposes free trade. But the theory on how free trade promotes economic growth and increases production is soundly demonstrated, in my opinion. If a country has a comparative advantage in the production of a certain good, they can specialize and trade it with another country. Then both countries are producing more than they could individually.

A country that imposes tariffs, on the other hand, will end up hurting its own export industry. Naturally, a tariff will decrease the number of imports we get from other countries. If we buy less from other countries their aggregate income is lower so they have fewer assets to purchase the goods of our country. Quotas and voluntary export restraints decrease the gains from trade in a similar manner.

The national security and infant-industry arguments fail to invalidate the theory behind free trade because it is more efficient to supply strategic firms and important developing industries with subsidies financed out of taxes than to restrict trade. The fear of a global monopoly charging arbitrarily high prices is also a weak argument; a market could always reopen since there are many foreign resources for virtually all goods.


Some lies you may have heard about the “protection” of domestic industries from foreign competition:
- Protection saves jobs
- Protection allows us to compete with cheap foreign labor
- Protection penalizes lax environmental standards
- Protection preserves national culture
- Protection prevents rich countries from exploiting developing countries
(List from Macroeconomics, Seventh Edition, Parkin 428)


Let me know if you have any thoughts. My arguments were quite abbreviated.


cartoonbank.com

For Lack of Better Words

Here is some weird stuff.

Music

-Are they "not that innocent?"
Stairway to Heave Backward
Britney Spheres Backward



Religion

Jesus, the Vegetarian



British Humour

-This stuff is almost funny. But it takes special person, perhaps one from the UK, to really appreciate it.

Fat-pie
My Dad actually showed me this one. Borderline disturbing, but worth checking out if you have some extra life to waste. I listed a few decent ones. Don’t watch Milkman, or else you will really wish you didn’t. But now you’re going to watch it just cause I said that…

-You may enjoy episodes 1 and 2 if you fancy Mr. Bean and Helen Fielding.
Shorter DLs:
-Burnt Face Man (I think I get this one)
-Salad Fingers (Spoons.)

Blode 6
It doesn’t get anymore UK-esque than this.

Coinbird
This is based on the true story of a bird that learned to steal money from a change machine. A couple thousand dollars in coins were recovered from the top of a roof.



Other stuff and Old News

What’s wrong with this picture?

Rejected cartoons

Penguin Game

Subservient Chicken

StarWars Kid – If you think you’re life sucks…Some kid made this video and left it in his video productions class. He is now famous, thanks to his good buddies that put it on the internet.
Clones

Mystery Celebrity – Try to guess who it is

End of the World - Inappropriate for all Audiences

Stongbad – Here are some of my favorites
-Techno
-Trogdor
-Duck Pond

Feel free to post any additions.

The Wheelbarrows

I'm posting this week's picture early because I am not bringing my computer with me tomorrow. It looks slightly better if you click on it, but these pictures are available in higher resolution upon request. Looking at this one sort of reminds me of my childhood. It also reminds me of this pop-up ad I keep getting about travel deals.

No, wait, that's the pop-up I'm looking at.

The Blame Game

Well basketball season is now in full swing, especially after the brawl in Detroit this week. But what do you expect in America’s second most dangerous city? Luckily I’m safe here in Atlanta, America’s third most dangerous city.

A lot of fingers have been pointed over the past couples days. Some people blame the fans, others blame the players, still others blame President Bush. But now that the smoke has cleared, the responsible parties have surfaced: the Detroit tourism industry, fortune 500 investors, and the consumer whores of the United States. The whole thing is a marketing scam.




With Detroit's reputation reinforced, its street side vendors aren't complaining.



Various knick-knacks are available as well.



The new Ford Truck advertising campaign: Big Ben Tough



Now that he has the rest of the season off, The Artest Formerly Known as Pacers’ Forward will have some time to promote his upcoming release - The Black and Blue Album. But if you go to see this rap artist in concert be sure to bring your pepper spray. And for cryin out loud, don’t throw anything up on stage.

Thursdays

To try something new, on Thursdays I'm going to start posting some pictures that I've taken - at least until I forget. Here is the first one.

Due Credit

While I was procrastinating I came across this picture that looked familiar.




Then I remembered that it looks a lot like this one I took a while back.



I'm not going to point any fingers because I can't deny the possibility of him standing in the same place at the same time. And I wasn't even going to mention it because I actually do know the guy and he's cool in my book. But he then proceeded to copyright it, so I figured I should do the same.

© Now - End of Time


Wow, that was easy.

Question #6

"What’s the most cost effective way to handle household pests?"

- Samuel


Malathion. A few drops of that stuff could kill a full grown person. And it’s easy to use.

Unfortunately, if you want to live in your house then you may have to look for some alternatives. The easiest one is to just clean up after yourself. If pests are around, it’s because you have something they want.

When I… errr, when one of my friends first started college he didn’t take out the trash very often. Who could blame him? He had to walk five flights of stairs and half a block down the street to get to the dumpster. When he could no longer throw trash away without jeopardizing the structural integrity of the towering trash heap, he figured out instead of putting pizza boxes in the trash you could put trash in the pizza boxes. Plus they stack conveniently. Well 10-15 pizza boxes later he noticed a few little fruit flies had made their home in his dorm. Since they weren’t big and didn’t take up too much space, he wouldn’t bother them if they wouldn’t bother him. But then they laid eggs in the trash heap and when he got back late one night there were hundreds of fruit flies swarming around the room.

This seemed like a clear violation of the mutual contract so he got out the vacuum cleaner and started sucking up all the fruit flies, one by one. At first it was easy, but when it got down to the last few dozen it was only the smarter ones left that flew away from the loud sucking noise of death. By that time it was easier just to take the trash out and leave the window open for a few days.

So that’s how I proved natural selection. That was the question, right?



John sucking flies. (Reenactment. Name has been changed to protect confidentiality.)

My Computer is Fixed

If you didn’t know it was broken, then I probably only talk to you through my computer. No offense.

I downloaded one of those, what do you call it, “virus scanners.” I think it did the trick. It deleted the 53 viruses that I have accumulated since my software update subscription expired two years ago. And there was another virus that could not be deleted or quarantined. I figure it’s not that big of a deal though, since it takes 54 of them to reach the critical point at which my computer ceases to function.

The only reason I’m telling you this is because I think we can all learn a valuable lesson from it. That is, if your virus scanner detects something in a file someone sent you, then tell them about it... and that nothing is ever my fault.




Well, I guess it's ok..

It’s so Romantic!

“So where did you two meet?”
“We met on the internet!”


Man, internet dating services are goldmines... I mean.. for people who want a date. So, if you are looking to meet that special someone just send me $10 and I’ll set you up with the male/female/multigender of your dreams!

Along with the payment, include your responses to this simple questionnaire to ensure compatibility.


1.) In a relationship, your ideal geographic proximity would be:
a.) within 500 miles
b.) on the same continent
c.) an adjacent hemisphere

2.) Your favorite color is:
a.) blue
b.) other

3.) Your ideal partner is:
a.) literate
b.) legally blind
c.) not Kobe Bryant or OJ Simpson

4.) You would best describe your past relationships as:
a.) existent
b.) nonexistent
c.) prefer not to say

5.) In a relationship, you look for:
a.) getting free stuff
b.) good cooking
c.) free stuff and cooking

6.) Something your potential match should know about you:
a.) carrying STD(s)
b.) ex-convict or serial killer
c.) the picture of my face looks pretty good, but I’m actually fat
d.) two or more of the above


Remember: If you’re not married yet, there’s something wrong with you!

Send check or money order to:
Brien’s Awesome Dating Service
PO BOX 325207
Georgia Tech Station
Atlanta, GA 30302

Let's Just Flip a Coin From Now On

Just to let you know Florida already screwed up again. I heard from a Palm Beach girl that her absentee ballot was the same on both sides! The presidential candidates weren't even on there! The lawyers will have a field day with that one. Plus most of the residents there are legally blind. I don't know how they expect the elderly citizens to read the ballots from some of these precincts.


Click to enlarge (to actual size).