An architect is struck off
I originally read this story about the striking off of the architect Peter Kellow by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) on page 19 of my paper copy of today’s Times. The headline reads “Architect...
View ArticleAre lockdowns and government missteps “teachable moments” for libertarianism?
Like a number of other readers of this blog, I have wondered how or whether the COVID-19 disaster, and the government responses to it, might actually lead to a sort of “libertarian moment” when people...
View ArticleSo, Mr Dorsey and Mr Zuckerberg, how are your fact checkers getting on with...
“When will they be reporting? Surely not after the election?” “What have they found out so far?” You know you could check on the veracity of the emails by asking other recipients – have you done that?”...
View ArticleSamizdata quote of the day
“In the first week of October, there were 91,013 cases of coronavirus reported in England and Wales, and 343 Covid-related deaths. That same week a total of 9,954 people died from various causes. Of...
View ArticleThe anti-Watergate
Did you ever watch All The President’s Men? It was a true story about two heroic journalists doggedly tracking down and bringing to light a scandal at the heart of American politics. “The list is...
View ArticleThe Scottish Justice Secretary says that hate speech in people’s own homes...
Sometimes I try to think of a funny or attention-grabbing way to introduce a news report that I will link to in a Samizdata post. The following report from the Times grabbed my attention without...
View ArticleHistory repeats itself: alcohol prohibition in Bihar
The Indian news channel News 18 reports: On April 1, 2016, Bihar was declared a dry state. The JD(U)-led government enforced a five-year jail term for first-time offenders. In 2018, the law was amended...
View ArticleJudicial quotes of the year – Justice Neil Gorsuch
“…we may not shelter in place when the Constitution is under attack. Things never go well when we do.” Justice Gorsuch in ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK v. ANDREW M. CUOMO, GOVERNOR OF...
View ArticleHow State lockdowns make actual planning difficult, if not impossible
One of the paradoxes of the current lockdowns/restrictions that have been imposed by the State is that they make it much harder for private firms and individuals to plan ahead, particularly when the...
View ArticleThe interim director of Liberty comes near to defending liberty
While Gracie Mae Bradley does not go all the way, her opinion piece in the Guardian, “How the British government is trying to crush our right to protest”, does get close to an actual defence of...
View ArticleTime for a name change?
Although much of the focus in the UK political reporting is on Boris Johnson’s government (the UK has gone into “Tier 5”, which is basically a lockdown in plain language), it is worth remembering that...
View ArticleDud war analogies
I saw this comment on Facebook from a friend and I quote this in full because it sums up so much for me about what is at stake and what the issues are. My friend here is absolutely not a “covid...
View ArticleSamizdata quote of the day
Surrender is a choice, old chum. In the face of policies designed to cause fear & despair, refuse to be driven by fear & do not give in to despair. Even if that is the sum total one can...
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Take action now… because choices will be made for you if you do not
If you do not hold the ‘correct views’, the time is rapidly approaching that you need to find alternative venues for expressing those views. So set up your own blog (& do NOT host it with a company...
View ArticleThe arsonist warns of the danger of fire
The Times reports, The European Union is not immune to “the danger to democracy” unleashed by Donald Trump and must “rein in” the internet to prevent the spread of conspiracy theories and...
View ArticleI do not usually recommend that you read the publications of the Socialist...
The Socialist Workers Party (Glad you asked, comrade: apostrophes are a bourgeois affectation!) are a bunch of Trotskyist goblins with admittedly good organisational skills. Back in 2011, I reminisced...
View ArticleGeorge Monbiot comes out in favour of censorship
“Covid lies cost lives – we have a duty to clamp down on them”, he writes in the Guardian. I will skip the bit where I tell Samizdata readers why censorship is morally bad. You already know. Once upon...
View ArticleNot literally Hitler
“Piers Corbyn has been arrested over leaflets comparing the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout to Auschwitz”, the BBC reports. The 73-year-old brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he...
View ArticleNo place outwith the State
“MSPs back criminalising hate speech at the dinner table”, reports the (Glasgow) Herald HATE speech in the home is set to be criminalised after a Tory attempt to stop it failed at Holyrood. Critics...
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