Friday links

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1/ Funny summary of idiotic buy-local campaigns

"I'm walking through a local Phoenix mall and pass a kiosk for Rosetta Stone, the language-learning software. There's a sign indicating $125 off each course. I ask the woman manning the kiosk, "Is this a discount price over an internet purchase?" She responds, "Where do you live?" I indicate I live locally. She says, "Why would you want to support the Virginia economy [I gather this is where Rosetta Stone is headquartered] rather than our local Phoenix economy? It's the same price either way, but don't you want to keep the money here?"

I told her she made a good point and asked her where in Phoenix she lived? She told me she lived in the Biltmore area. I sighed and explained that was too bad since I lived in the Arcadia area, and wanted to help support the Arcadian economy.

She looked at me like I was crazy. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident..."

2/ The chocolate industry and Valentine’s Day

"Until the mid 20th century the global chocolate industry faced a huge problem – a lack of holidays and between Easter and Christmas meant that the never-ending circle of life, during which Santa Clause is reborn as the Easter bunny and Rudolph magically transforms into the Paschal lamb, was endangered! The time between Christmas and Easter was too long to keep chocolate and the circle of life could not be sustained! This did not only pose the industry with wildlife conservation problems, confronted it with Sweetpeace campaigns, but also raised the serious problem of how to get rid of tons of leftover stocks (and if you’re now gonna say that the time between Easter and Christmas is even longer, think about when the first Santa’s hit the shops… ).

The industry was in a desperate position: wasting chocolate is a cardinal sin and a ruthless crime! Left stranded, melting and looking for answers, the industry turned to God and he, acknowledging their prayers, shared his endless love with them and encouraged them to share it amongst each other on Valentine’s Day! This not only meant that men had to remember one more meaningless date in addition to birthdays and all sorts of anniversaries, but also gave industry another holiday which they could shamelessly exploit!"

3/ Alistair Darling rejects economists calls for spending cuts. What kind of an idiot would listen to economists on matters concerning the economy anyway?

4/ The importance of technological innovation for Small and Medium Enterprise growth. An academic study.

5/ Was Alaska a good buy?

6/ How to be British (a link especially for Amitha :) )

7/ Arguments for aid as direct cash transfers to individuals

8/ Do you laugh a lot? You’re probably not a very powerful person.

9/ Valentine’s Day in numbers (HT: Chart Porn)

10/ South Africa gives away 1% of its GDP to its neighbours. And Western countries still struggle to spend a pathetic 0.7% of GDP on Overseas Development Aid.