Firstly, let's get this out of the way: today's nationwide strike in France is expected to be larger than the one in January. This will gladden the hearts of all those who want to see more and more trouble on the Continent and, perhaps, in Britain, believing against all historical experience that strikes and riots bring about a healthy society.Unemployment in France has risen above two million (clearly, their way of fudging figures is superior to ours). The strikers, mostly from the bloated public sector, are protesting against President Sarkozy's economic reforms that he had promised in his election campaign. Presumably, continuing to spend billions of euros on the aforementioned bloated public sector will, in these people's opinion, bring about some kind of an economic salvation.
The really bad news is a much smaller item that I picked up via Instapundit. Iranian blogger Omid Reza Misayafi has died in prison, possibly by his own hand, which just might have something to do with the treatment he was receiving.
Iran has many bloggers though periodically the Mad Mullahs and President Ahmadinejad together with their secret police crack down on them. Numerous of our colleagues who try to tell the world and their own countrymen what really goes on in Iran are still in prison.
Periodically, though not often enough, we try to write about journalists and bloggers around the world who get into trouble with authorities. If nothing else, these stories should help to remind us that our own undoubtedly serious problems are in a different category from most around the world.
As I point out to all those idiots who send me e-mails with carefully worked out and completely inaccurate comparisons between Gordon Brown and Robert Mugabe - it is an insult to the people of Zimbabwe.
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