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Let’s make all crimes legal over Christmas
Remember this movie? One night a year, all crime is legal. THE PURGE Survive the night. According to Wikipedia, The Purge posits that ‘In 2014, a political party called the “New Founding Fathers of...
View ArticleEppur there has been record spending on the NHS
On @BBCr4today, Unison's @cmcanea did an excellent job of explaining why Govt claims of "record" funding for the NHS are misleading. (ie health inflation higher than normal inflation + demographic...
View ArticleGreenpeace Aotearoa lives in hope
I am not being sarcastic when I say that I admire the way that Nick Young, writing for Greenpeace Aotearoa (the country formerly known as New Zealand), at least has the guts to admit that Sri Lanka’s...
View ArticleSamizdata quote of the day
“A reasoned case can be put that the NHS, the education system, welfare state, housing stock and even our transport infrastructure cannot cope with a rapid and relentless growth in the number of people...
View ArticleTelling people they are not welcome, then being surprised that they leave
“Private rents in Glasgow rocket as landlords exit market” What brought this on? The report from the Glasgow Evening Times quotes Colin Macmillan of Glasgow Property Letting as saying, “Whilst the...
View ArticleBroken how, exactly?
Sweden has made its choice and must live with the consequences. Two years ago almost to the day, after a vote that attracted unprecedented public interest, Sweden introduced a new national flower. It...
View ArticleWho would be a landlord in Ireland when they could Airbnb?
There is much anger in Ireland over the country’s ongoing housing crisis. The Dail put in place an eviction ban over the winter. It got them some good headlines for a while, but the ban had the usual...
View ArticleA racist “race” any rational person wants to lose
As a “lukewarmer”, I am more of a believer in climate change than many here. One thing that pulls me towards scepticism is the habitually dishonest language used by advocates of measures against...
View Article“They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist…”
Those were reportedly the last words of General John Sedgwick at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in the American Civil War. (Wikipedia boringly says that he did complete the sentence. Just.)...
View ArticleSamizdata quote of the day – office vs working from home edition
“Flexible working is not a new phenomenon. It has been around for decades, with varying degrees of success depending on the companies and industries that have implemented it. You do not need to be a...
View ArticleWill this also apply to public sector pensions?
“Labour willing to force pension plans to invest in £50bn ‘growth fund’”, reports the Financial Times. Labour is prepared to force pension funds to invest in a proposed £50bn “future growth fund”, as...
View ArticleThe real test is tiddlywinks
When you lose the big match, try to get the result declared void and run the match again. If you can’t get a rematch, try another game entirely and say that’s the one that matters. “Citizens’ juries...
View ArticleA British bank helped repress dissent in Hong Kong, and British banks help...
As reported in the Telegraph, HSBC accused of persecuting dissident Hong Kongers who flee territory The bank allegedly prohibited residents of the city state from making pension withdrawals Before it...
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Dropped to a ten-rupee jezail
A scrimmage in a Border Station — A canter down some dark defile —Two thousand pounds of education Drops to a ten-rupee jezail —The Crammer’s boast, the Squadron’s pride,Shot like a rabbit in a ride! I...
View ArticleA film explaining the monetary system, from The Cobden Centre
The good folk at The Cobden Centre have put together a very good documentary to explain how the fiat money system works, and has some suggestions as to what to do about it. At the instigation of the...
View ArticleSamizdata quote of the day – universal basic income disaster version
…“some stories stand out. The one that confuses me is the call for Britain to trial some form of ‘universal basic income.’ What exactly do people think we’ve been doing for the past two years?” – Sam...
View Articleassist/require
“It is likely that the central bank will assist/require the banks to provide the same interest rates and terms on replacement Scottish pound mortgages and loans as you had on your old sterling ones.” –...
View ArticleSamizdata quote of the day
“At least a few people seem finally to be catching on that the basic idea behind “homelessness” advocacy is to exploit an issue that brings forth great human empathy to generate vast taxpayer funds and...
View ArticleDaily Telegraph columnist has tantrum about North Sea oilfield
Say what you like about the Daily Telegraph, which generally tilts centre-right in its politics and economics (particularly with incisive writers such as Allister Heath and Matthew Lynn), it does not...
View ArticleYes, Leave voters probably were on average less intelligent than Remain voters
If the philosopher A. C. Grayling ever had ambitions to stand for elected office, this tweet will have killed them stone dead: U of Bath study: "only 40% of people with the lowest cognitive ability...
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