Roquefort: The Revenge

Looks like shipments of Roquefort cheese and other European comestibles won't be interrupted after all. The stinky delight was threatened by a 13-year long trade dispute over E.U. importation of U.S. beef, which is now on the verge of being resolved by what seems like a pretty obvious compromise:

Under the deal, the EU will buy more US beef in return for keeping a ban on hormone-treated beef, which it claims poses a threat to human health.

More from me on the silliness of trade wars here, and my favorite libertarian-leaning cheesemonger here, or watch her below.

Comments

[DHS Thinks I\'m a Terrorist]

I love fine cheese, unfortunately my local cheese shop folded due to the depression - uhumm - excuse me, recession. I guess I'll have to make more trips to Whole Foods now. One thing the French know how to do and do well is their food - especially their cheese and their chocolate. Their wines, their wine is still decent but I have found that wine from California and New Zealand and some Australian wines are now Superior to most French wine.

[DHS Thinks I\'m a Terrorist]

And that Ice Wine from Pele Island, Canada is to die for!!!!

[Suki]

K M-W, she is cute, but can't you use your own pic more often?

[DHS THinks I\'m a Terrorist]

Suki, I just read your blog, LONEWHACKO now has a novel about him!!!

[Suki]

DHS THinks I'm a Terrorist,

If you actually read my blog you would know that I linked to that like very early today.

Unless you were commenting on one of my posts, then 'never mind'.

[Randy dude]

Who is that hunny on the video? She can have my american beef! Har har har! You know who can't have it though? Advice goddess. That picture of her gives me the heebie jeebies.

K M-W, she is cute,

Gross understatement,KM-W is beautiful,charming, lovely and talented.Unlike that former editor Kerry Holey KM-W is a libertarian goddess and not a collectivist-feminist pixie.She is one of the best writers on staff as well.She should be a Senior Editor.

[Teucer]

The French don't get enough credit for their hard country sausage, like that sold in the south, Apt and similar market towns. Why the hell don't they export more of it? I would pay an ultra premium price for that stuff.

[Art-P.O.G.]

Awwww yeah, KM-W has her own stalker. Righteous. I hope she's stocking up on mace.

[runescape power leveling]

I have read your article, I think very popular with this article.

[Suki]

Sad news in blogger world:

Blog has been removed
Sorry, the blog at hrsugarfree.blogspot.com has been removed.

I just discovered moments ago.

Hope it was mirrored someplace.

[Art-P.O.G.]

I just discovered moments ago.

Why? Truly we live in a cruel and absurd universe.

[Suki]

Why?

Because I clicked through my post about it and discovered that it was gone 😉

Truly we live in a cruel and absurd universe.

Yes, APOG, we do. But the possibility had crossed my mind if that was all about a real person, even though the actions were fictional.

If this is going to be the weekend thread, I have a question about online advertising: How can you tell if "adult products" affiliate programs are any good? If the company is reputable? John finally warmed up to my suggestion of getting some of those advertisers on the blog and website since the book content is adult in nature too.

[Art-P.O.G.]

How can you tell if "adult products" affiliate programs are any good?

You've got to watch the pr0n.

Yes, APOG, we do. But the possibility had crossed my mind if that was all about a real person, even though the actions were fictional.

Hm. I thought satire was protected. Plus, making fun of someone pseudonymously seems almost compassionate. This is all part of the metafiction, hopefully. I know Charlie Kaufman could take the fictional LoneWacko, the real Lonewacko and his own life and make a narrative classic.

[Suki]

Puzzle solved!

SF took it down himself. Got the e-mail about an hour ago.

You've got to watch the pr0n.

LOL, well I do like erotica, but I was asking about determining if the company actually pays out and tracks traffic accurately.

[Art-P.O.G.]

I'm going to have to ask SF, "Hey, did you get a Cease & Desist from a high-powered attorney representing the Lone and Wacky One?"

LOL, well I do like erotica, but I was asking about determining if the company actually pays out and tracks traffic accurately.

Oh, like the BBB or something. Hmm, that's a good question.

[Suki]

Oh, like the BBB or something. Hmm, that's a good question.

Yes. I was googling the ones John found, but did not find anybody commenting about them. Probably a good sign for a firm that has been around for at least a couple of years.

On the LoneWacko novel, I asked if I could post it at our blog. That thing needs to be preserved!

[Peter K.]

Why do producers of YouTube documentaries so often insist that, for the privilege of listening to whatever point they're attempting to make, I pay the price of listening to their disagreeable choices in music?

I turned this off after a few seconds of that annoying soundtrack.

[Suki]

Someone please help my little girl liberal brain with this? Yes, I am serious.

France, now the whole of the EU, refuses to allow importation of perfectly fine beef that was raised using hormones, taking away the choice of their own consumers to decide to buy it or not.

The US imposes a tariff, then triples it, in retaliation for a European ban on a certain type of beef. Am I understanding this right?

The lady with the cheese store (nice sign btw) starts a protest by selling Roquefort at her cost and sales went from one pound per (month?) to sixteen in the same amount of time.

1. I am missing how the US is "bad" for this sort of retaliation. If they banned every single US product should we just not do anything?

2. The lady complaining about the tariff is selling 16x as much as she did before, just by advertising that she is protesting and cutting her margin(?) to zero. There might be a price between $20/lb and $30/lb (her normal price) that keeps sales high, yes?

Reason, love the borderline pr0n music!

[DHS Thinks I\'m a Terrorist]

Suki,

Tariffs harm the country that is imposing them more than the country that has the tariffs imposed against it. Tariffs *might* help a particular industry in a country (i.e. domestic cheese makers) but they harm the country as a whole.

In economics there is a concept called "comparative advantage". Imagine two un-contacted rainforest tribes in the Amazon. One tribe knows how to make bows and arrows very, very well but has no skilled hunters. The other tribe has plenty of very skilled hunters but no members of the tribe are very good at making bows and arrows. Should they trade with one another? Or would it make more sense for them "protect their domestic arrow and hunting production"? You see, the laws of economics are the same whether you are talking about rain forest tribes are large, modern nation-states. In trade, both parties benefit and anything done to limit or punish that trade is harms both sides but it harms the side that imposes the tariff even more.

By the way, when I made my last post that was the first time I had ever read your blog so sorry if I didn't realise when you made that post.

[Suki]

DHSTIAT,

In this case I am not seeing what you are seeing. I see Europeans trying to protect their precious free range beef, or whatever they are allowed to raise, and the US protesting against it.

The "compromise" does not look reasonable either.

[DHS Thinks I\'m a Terrorist]

"In this case I am not seeing what you are seeing. I see Europeans trying to protect their precious free range beef, or whatever they are allowed to raise, and the US protesting against it."

Yes, and doing so at the expense of European consumers who may with to have alternatives. European cattle ranchers benefit but the European consumers loose by having fewer options available to them.

Our protest was in such a form as to harm U.S. consumers. It might harm European cheese manufacturers but it will also harm U.S. consumers by giving us fewer choices.

[Amy Alkon]

She can have my american beef! Har har har! You know who can't have it though? Advice goddess. That picture of her gives me the heebie jeebies.

Advice Goddess has beef of her own, thanks.

[P Brooks]

President Obama said he wants to make it easier for people to collect unemployment benefits while they go to school or retrain for jobs, promising to "lay a new foundation for our economic growth by investing in our citizens."

hier

That's it- I'm adding "invest" to my drinking game.

[Jimmy Sobourn]

LOL, you go girl. You go!

RT
http://www.privacy-web.net.tc

[Hippie looking for good thread]

Where have all the flowers gone?

[Suki]

Advice Goddess has beef of her own, thanks.

You tell 'em Amy! You are cute.

I didn't see you post anything about the Pres and VP burger run, thought that would be a juicy one for you? I threw something together on my blog about it.

[MNG]

You see anonymity-bot, Satan is going to slowly chew you up, spit you out, rape you, then slowly chew you up, then spit you out, rape you...

For all eternity.

When that day comes I will be singing and dancing.

[Roger]

Is anyone else having trouble following these comments? You people are all over the map. Stick to the theme.....Rouquefort good, protectionist policies bad.....Cheese lady cute......

[P Brooks]

Is anyone else having trouble following these comments? You people are all over the map. Stick to the theme

You're not from around here, are you?

[Soon to be phrases without me]

all over the map

not from around here

Cheese lady cute

Now ART-P.O.G. is going to have to buy her mace!

[..]

You people are all over the map

What, this isn't an AOL chat room?

[New Cassandra]

Blessed are the Cheesemakers............