We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Samizdata quote of the day – X is a latter-day Radio Free Europe In the UK right now, @X is performing the same function that Radio Free Europe did in the Eastern Bloc. Without this site, or if it still remained Twitter under the control of the American left, our government would be much more able to hide things they don’t want to discuss.
– Peter Hague
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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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Citation needed.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Elon Musk is the most important human alive today.
Here is a simple fact, he spent $45 billion to save free speech. In doing so he put all his companies at risk, and risked his personal fortune and safety, he did so when the company’s value crashed way below what he paid. He broke the government’s control over speech. He published all the dirt on what the government has been doing on speech, and ever since his actions have lead a cascade of other SM companies stepping up to the plate and also taking their own stand against censorship.
Like him or dislike him, be irritated at all his quirks and faults if you like. But this alone makes him transcendent. Like all heroes he is flawed, but this alone makes him my hero. I am an irredeemable Musk fanboy.
If you are reading this Elon, I’d love to do lunch. I’ll even pay, assuming you like Taco Bell.
Taco Bell: I take it you’ve seen Demolition Man?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-7zED_o62w
😎
I’ve not seen Demolition Man but that clip has put it on my list. Sandra Bullock is such a GREAT actress!
and back to the post topic: what Fraser said!
@Johnathan Pearce
Taco Bell: I take it you’ve seen Demolition Man?
I have not, but I’m gonna… Sandy Bullock in a tight little uniform. Very nice.
BTW I am also a big fan of Stallone. Here is a guy who has created two entirely iconic characters, characters whose names pervade our language and idioms. He is just a remarkable person, and not at all your typical Hollywood leftie. Despite sounding dumber than a bag of bricks, listening to him interviewed, he is sharp as a tack and very insightful.
I used to REALLY love Schwarzenegger, a guy who reached the pinnacle of three impossibly competitive industries, body building, acting and politics, that any one of which would be a herculean achievement. Then he did that ridiculous woke version of the Terminator (what was it called, Genysis), and then continued down the “won’t everyone in the leftie world just like me and forgive me for my republican past”. My god it is like someone cut off his balls.
I like X when I use the ‘Following’ tab. Scrolling through the ‘For You’ the algo suggests is just wall to wall slop, sensationalism and fake news. So X is both better and worse than the MSM.
As for Musk,he’s no hero of mine , but credit where credit is due, he’s got some cojones to go after the ghouls of the Anti-Defamation League
Elon:
If you are reading this, please buy You Tube.
I think Arnie is still the GOAT when it comes to bodybuilding. His political career is embarrassing though, and it’s even more embarrassing that Republicans ever fell for it (mind you, this was when they had the reprehensible GWB as President so perhaps not surprising). Still, listening to Arnie about bodybuilding even today is inspiring and insightful and I far prefer to listen to guys like Arnie or Tom Platz about it in their 70s than growth hormone addicts in their 20s and 30s who look big but very unhealthy.
Martin – Governor Schwarzenegger presented some sensible proposals, on government spending and so on, to both the State Legislature and to the people of California – the State Legislature (controlled by the Democrats since the 1960s) rejected everything and just carried on its leftism, and the people remembered how (some years before) the corrupt courts in California had voided the vote of the taxpayers to limit government benefits and public services to illegal immigrants – and did not support the Governor’s proposals either – “what is the point of supporting things the judges will reject?” being the attitude.
After that Governor Schwarzengger basically gave-up and joined the left – and California was finished.
It really is over for California – which is a terrible shame.
Good posts and good comments.
The United Kingdom arrests more people for expressing their opinions, or revealing facts the powerful do not want revealed, than any other country in the Western world.
And X, thanks to Elon Musk, is a partial corrective to that – but only partial.
Economically Britain is rather like California – it is not a good place to have a business enterprise. And this includes the “creative service industries” (not “just” farming and manufacturing) – television shows and films are now just far left lecturing (ditto even the advertising industry) – they bore people rigid, the London film and television industry is going to go down the same rat hole that Hollywood is going to go down. As for “banking and financial services” – anyone who thinks that these will save London (or San Francisco and Los Angeles – or New York and Chicago in other parts of the United States) is delusional.
But California is vast – Britain is not. Britain, especially England, is vastly over populated and will not be able to sustain itself.
The future of Britain is most likely going to be worse (yes – worse) than the future of California.
YouTube has lightened up somewhat. Sargon and his boys are allowed now.
Jon Eds.
Yes – and Google “Alphabet” (the owner of YouTube) admitted it was following a political agenda in active coordination with the American GOVERNMENT in its censorship policy.
That is a clear violation of the First Amendment – and the government officials involved need to be prosecuted and punished.
Mr. Marks: I’m glad you qualified your statement “economically UK is rather like CA….”
“CA is vast” is an understatement. CA is such a powerful economic engine that liberals are going on 50+ years aggressively trying to ruin it, and it’s still the 4th largest economy in the world.
As mentioned: UK is in dire straits. It can’t power itself, defend itself, or feed itself.
I’d be the first to admit Britain is in a perilous state. Nonetheless I’m not aware there is anywhere in the UK quite as bad as those areas of cities like San Francisco which are effectively occupied by fentanyl addicts. And California’s murder rate is six times the UK equivalent.
Off topic: Hegseth just gave the assembled generals and admirals the most jaw dropping anti-woke speech ever. A joy to watch. The Donald is just starting his speech. I expect fireworks.
@Todd Turley
As mentioned: UK is in dire straits. It can’t power itself, defend itself, or feed itself.
It can, it just chooses not to.
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Calls the state Congress ‘girlie men’
State Congress still says no
Arnold gives up
As I said, pretty embarrassing. I’ll admit I found the macho rhetoric amusing at the time. But if the macho rhetoric is followed with meek acquiescence, it’s worse than useless.
The UK right now is performing the same function as did the USSR in the eastern bloc.
“The internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.”
Thanks to Musk.
This morning I woke up ro a very unnpleasant email from NightCafe (the AI art site – I have mentioned before). It was red on black and told me I’d been put on the naughty step for trying to create images deemed unsuitable. I think it was my attempt at re-doing Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” in a kinda Andy Warhol, silk-screen, pop-art style. I’m barred from doing anything for three days. Just enough that I lose my streak. I can’t even download myown stuff – I have several thousand images and over 5700 credits (an image costs roughly 1-15 credits, up to about 60 for short animations). The bastards. I am not renewing my pro memvership on the 13th. I’ll download the lot (I alredy most on my own HD) and play down the credits and tip a load to mates and promising newbs.
This is what government fails to understand. Almost all of the internet is heavily moderated anyway. I’d had individual images banned before – invariably attempts with prompts channeling artists like Goya and Velasquez. Seriously not Frankie Vaughn. Much more like stuff you might have school-trips go and see in a gallery. I am very careful to tag anything that might seem “risque” (and they set that bar very low) as NSFW (which means 18+)
NightCafe is based in Cairns, Queensland BTW.
I suspect it’s not entirely their fault. I suspect the outfit lives in continual terror of what the government could do to them. I’m really sick of this moral panic it’s (like all the other ones through the ages) being whipped-up by the powers that be just so they can get more draconian for the sheer giggles of it and sanctimoniusly claim it’s “For the Chiiildreeen!!!”. Cunts. Deport them to Kabul. They don’t have any internet there. They’d hate Afghanistan because everything has been banned already!
Good comments – I have nothing to add.