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Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Strike while the iron is hot (i.e. when a Labour government is on its last legs) London is today in the grip of a tube strike. Tube as in underground railway. For a brief summary of the anti-strike arguments, try Burning Our Money. (Burning Our) Money quote:
Here we have a reeling dispirited government who no longer care if they give away the shop. They’re way beyond that. Their main aim now is to minimise the scale of their defeat, which definitely DEFINITELY means no Winter of Discontent style public sector strikes.
Sure, if they give in to big union demands they’ll be increasing the problems facing the next government. But why should they worry? They don’t care if they make life more difficult for Dave and George in 12 months time – in fact, that would be a positive bonus.
And the union bosses ain’t quite so dumb as they look …
In other words, another bit of earth will get scorched.
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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This Labour govt is the worst ever. It will land Britain with a 30 year legacy of debt and a ruined society.
Of course, strikes by government employees of any sort should be illegal, and grounds for automatic, immediate and permanent termination, but no one dares say that . . . .
I like what Reagan did to the air traffic controllers. Sacked the bastards.
Except that this is TfL, so the mayor gets a say. It isn’t quite in HMG’s gift to throttle Mr Crow with gold, though I’m sure they’d like to.
Hey Samizdatistas – you must watch the video here. Guido Fawkes even rates a mention. This deserves a post.
http://www.transatlanticpolitics.com/2009/06/10/brown-and-the-lefts-demise-in-eu-elections/
Whilst things seem dark, someone, somewhere, has light. I wandered into a bookstore yesterday and discovered “A Brief History Of The Future” by Jacques Attali. (I was expecting Dr. Who)
The book is a serious look at history, and where the longterm trends will take us. his conclusion, put in the forward, is “….from century to century, humankind has asserted the primacy of individual freedom over all other values.” He uses history to back up his ideas.
Sell the “tube” system for whatever it will fetch (which will not be much – the money has gone on making the stations look like the mansions of dictators – whilst the deep underground lines are neglected) and allow the private owners to decide these matters.
Another reason to keep your automobile. The drivers aren’t likely to all go on strike.
The previous Labour govt was a farce and this one is a tragedy. Labour cannot even get their failures the right way round.
Tim C, that was a brilliant line. I’m still chuckling.