October 12, 2010 marks a historic day in France, one of the most socialist nations in the world.  Open ended, rolling strikes have overtaken the country, with as many as a million workers, most of them unionized, protesting in the streets of Paris and other cities.  This is hardly the first protest from the French unions.  In fact, it has become quite the time honored tradition to have organized protests in the street whenever some measure is implemented by the government that is unpopular with the workers.  They even have a catchy name for it: manif (short for manifestations).    While this is definitely not the first strike, it is different.  This one is much larger and may last much longer than the traditional twenty four hours, and is intended to halt many necessary functions such as communication and transportation.  What are they protesting, you ask?  Could it be dangerous work conditions?  Exploitation by evil...(Read Full Post)