“Jeff Demisson, Political Scientist” Originally aired on ABC TV’s 7.30: 16 Aug 2012
http://www.mrjohnclarke.com
Clarke and Dawe: A Fresh (Economic) Perspective [video]
“Economics Lecturer Number 14,000,006” Originally aired on ABC TV: 30 May 2013
http://www.mrjohnclarke.com
Dragon Baby
Amazing what you can do with special effects.
With thanks to Ryan.
Libération: "Return of the Mummy"
“Le Retour de la momie” — headline on the cover of left wing French newspaper Libération, heralding Silvio Berlusconi’s bid to seek re-election as Italian prime minister.
See the cover on Business Insider | French Newspaper Headline Sums Up European Reaction To Berlusconi’s Return.
PSY Gangnam Style
Some kids in US 2nd Infantry Division stationed in South Korea have fun with Gangnam style
With thanks to Ryan.
The Candlemakers' Petition
I was reminded of this amusing satire by Frederic Bastiat:
To the Honourable Members of the Chamber of Deputies.
(Open letter to the French Parliament originally published in 1845)Gentlemen:
You are on the right track. You reject abstract theories and have little regard for abundance and low prices. You concern yourselves mainly with the fate of the producer. You wish to free him from foreign competition, that is, to reserve the domestic market for domestic industry…….We are suffering from the ruinous competition of a rival who apparently works under conditions so far superior to our own for the production of light that he is flooding the domestic market with it at an incredibly low price; for the moment he appears, our sales cease, all the consumers turn to him, and a branch of French industry whose ramifications are innumerable is all at once reduced to complete stagnation. This rival, which is none other than the sun, is waging war on us so mercilessly we suspect he is being stirred up against us by perfidious Albion, particularly because he has for that haughty island a respect that he does not show for us.
We ask you to be so good as to pass a law requiring the closing of all windows, dormers, skylights, inside and outside shutters, curtains, casements, bull’s-eyes, deadlights, and blinds — in short, all openings, holes, chinks, and fissures through which the light of the sun is wont to enter houses, to the detriment of the fair industries with which, we are proud to say, we have endowed the country, a country that cannot, without betraying ingratitude, abandon us today to so unequal a combat…….
Bastiat goes on to argue that such an action would raise prices, boost French industry and create new jobs — arguments put forward by many politicians for increasing protectionism — while ignoring the huge burden to the consumer.
Hat tip to Matthew Yglesias. Read the full petition at bastiat.org.
The difference between California and Texas
Amusing parable told by Dallas Fed President Richard W Fisher at the Cato Institute:
“The governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks the governor’s dog, then bites the governor. The governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie Bambi and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.
“He calls animal control. Animal control captures the coyote and bills the state $200 for testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the state $200 for testing it for diseases. The governor goes to the hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and getting his bite wound bandaged.
“The running trail gets shut down for six months while the California Fish and Game Department conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous animals. The governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a ‘coyote awareness program’ for residents of the area. The Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.
“The governor’s security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The state spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training, re: the nature of coyotes. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protests the coyote’s relocation and files a $5 million suit against the state.
“The governor of Texas is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and tries to attack him and his dog. The governor shoots the coyote with his state-issued pistol and keeps jogging.
“The governor spent 50 cents on a .380-caliber, hollow-point cartridge. Buzzards ate the dead coyote.
“And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Texas is not.”
Australians will identify with his description of a “nanny-state”.
Korea's answer to Michael Jackson
See if you can spot Kim Jong-il in the video 😉
In the classroom | Abstruse Goose
Bill Cosby: My father's car
Classic Cosby: