CCNA , Game Development, Speaking, Taxes, Bigotry and more

[tcpip]

Because I have an upcoming two weeks in Perth, I've had to move ahead somewhat in my Cisco classes at NMIT. Last night I sat the final two module tests (85.7%, 94.6%) and the end of semester exam (89.2%) and have therefore passed a couple of weeks early. Onward!

Visited Kyle Schuant on Thursday, designer of the d4-d4 roleplaying system which is quite a sound publication. He has also been making some good contributions to the Mimesis RPG list, which will receive a pretty thorough upgrade over the weekend as it beginning to attract a fair bit of traffic. For the Outbreak of Heresy game, I've taken the opportunity to put up some maps for Europe in 1560, Central Europe 1547, Medieval Commerce, the Ottoman Empire (two maps), and Medieval Universities. Links via the Heresy page.

Ever thought there was something unfair, upside down and back the front with our tax system? Apparently, under this government, it is designed to reward single income families with children who earn a lot of money. How about that for ideology? For an opportunity to hear about a voluntary tax system where you only pay for what you use, come along to tonight's Prosper Australia dinner.

Bronwyn Bishop is just a regular racist who hates freedom when it doesn't comply with her point of view. Leslie Cannold is a different sort of bigot - one who thinks that the way to achieve equality is through suppressing choice. On a related note, mainly because of a dissenting figure on the Committe of Management, the Melbourne Unitarian Church is having a debate (September 18) on the recent state legislation on racial and religious vilification. Speakers include Mark Zirnsak (Uniting Church, for the legislation), Anne O'Rourke (Liberty Victoria, against the legislation) and I'll be conducting the service; with a couple of choice readings, I assure you..

Pat Robertson called fro Chavez to be assasinated. In response? Venezuela to Provide Discounted Heating Oil and Free Eye Operations to U.S. Poor, Venezuela's CITGO to Provide Cheap Gas for U.S. Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Schools, Venezuela to Completely Overhaul Its Health Care System. I so enjoy seeing "actually existing socialism" that is libertarian, democratic and functional.

Meanwhile, in the UK publishers are desperate to stop the research findings of British academics being made online for free. A case of vested interests against the public good.

Comments

[shorxrore.livejournal.com]

i have one of those feelings that Venezuela isn't going to last long.

i think if china really does overtake the US as the global superpower in the next few years, as is suspected, then maybe - finally - countries like venezuela can be left alone to develop and eventually be on par with all the white countries that have kept prospering to themselves.

still, you know the old story, if things don't change eventually the US will DEFINITELY overthrow the venezuelan government.

[severina-242.livejournal.com]

On a totally unrelated tangent but still up a political alley, what do you think of this whole John Brogden thing?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I think he's an arrogant idiot who has a stupid reactionary point of view and disgraceful attitudes and behaviour. He also evidently has a terribly fragile ego and for that he has my deep sympathies.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

i have one of those feelings that Venezuela isn't going to last long.

People said the same thing about Cuba ;-)

The difficult path is whether Venezuala can continue to have a system of government which allows oppositional politics that have no desire to accept the government of the day. Allende tried to run a democracy in a situation where the opposition wanted fascism. That doesn't work.

I'd also imagine that any attempt to invade Venezuala would be met with a rather stern response from their big neighbour, Brazil.

Brazil versus the U.S. would be quite messy.

[fryboy.livejournal.com]

Hey

Saw you got tapped by LUV for this year's committee...poor guy :)

We did that poll go?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

BTW - If you're wondering where the anarchist poll (which I scored as a Christian anarchist!) went, I zapped it upon discovery that changing one question could invert the result. Not good enough!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah... Treasurer! No, it should be OK... Not too onerous and has the interesting task of finding out what is exactly required to become a charitable or educational body.

Thought I'd leave the announcement off until it was actually confirmed ;-)

[v3nu5.livejournal.com]

Bronwyn Bishop is just a regular racist who hates freedom when it doesn't comply with her point of view. Leslie Cannold is a different sort of bigot - one who thinks that the way to achieve equality is through suppressing choice.

I'd like to see that in a national publication with a massive reader base, because how you have phrased it is perfect and I'm frightened of the way things are headed

[shorxrore.livejournal.com]

i dunno, everyone's pretty afraid of the US, and latin america has never had the conviction of say...the middle east, to freak out declare war on the US.

cuba is the one and only acception and i'd say, off the top of my head, that's largely because it's a small island.

[fryboy.livejournal.com]

http://www.nswccl.org.au/issues/bill_of_rights/other.php

Support the adoption of a national Bill Of Rights!

[catsidhe.livejournal.com]

Remember when Bronwyn Bishop was touted as a potential First Female Prime Minister?

[v3nu5.livejournal.com]

Sadly yes :/

[spinner.livejournal.com]

Just to jump in, should we really consider getting a bit pissed and going nuts on one's forearm with an letter opener a suicide attempt?

Not that that's what happened, but I sincerely doubt his ultimate intentions.

Re: We did that poll go?

[splodgenoodles.livejournal.com]

What, you found an online poll that was badly designed?

Quelle horreur!

Re: We did that poll go?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I thought it was amusing at first, but then discovered it was a poor execution of an interesting subject. Shame really.

(And yes, most online polls are designed by people who don't have any clue whatsoever in such things.)

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

I don't really think China would be more tolerant of uppity small countries than the USA is. Their treatment of Vietnam is not very pleasant.

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

You know I find myself rather loathe to really get in behind Chavez. Now in many ways, particularly in that he allows opposition to exist, he's better than his buddy Castro, but we are talking about a former coup-leader here. I worry that he simply cloaked himself in semi-socialist rhetoric because it's fashionable now. He clearly seems to enjoy the paperphenalia of power.

And I really don't like the term 'Bolivarian'... Simon Bolivar was a pretty terrible person.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to tell with people like that. They're so full of false self-confidence from their positions of power, that when their ediface collapses the results can be quite random.

Mind you, many people are attracted to power because their ego needs it.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Quite right. Pax-sino would be much worse than pax-Americana. For all it's great problems I have no problems picking sides on that debate.

I also suspect that any attempt to invade any country without some level of domestic support is doomed to fail. China discovered that when they invaded Vietnam.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Simon Bolivar was a pretty terrible person.

Well, he did set himself up as dictator, but that was pretty common at the time. And of course, he was a soldier so we can imagine he killed a few people as well.

However most will see him as the person who gave South America independence from the Spanish.

Whilst Chavez did attempt to lead a coup d'etat some years ago, today he's an elected President who, if opinion polls are telling the truth, has overwhelming support. In that respect, he should be supported.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

It is good of course to see women like yourself coming up against Leslie Cannold's point of view that because something is (apparently) a symbol of oppression that therefore we should attack the symbol and not the oppression.

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

He was also a slave owner and a proponent of feudalism. I'm against judging people by the standards of their time - well, not as a historian, but I'd be very scared about somebody trying to import Bolivarian ideals into the present. Luckily, that's not what Chavez is trying to do, he's just appropriating Bolivar as a symbol - but I do wish people would look a bit harder at their symbols (or not use them at all).

Yes, Chavez has been elected and re-elected, but I don't think it's naive to doubt the commitment to democracy of somebody who's tried to gain power through force before.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

True on both counts.

[shorxrore.livejournal.com]

yea, but i feel like a lot of the problems between china and other countries are there because of old problems. the US just tends to go wherever it wants and create problems, i just don't see china doing something like that.

[monkeygirldiva.livejournal.com]

the scheme to provide cheap fuel to impoverished communities in the US appealed to me on so many different levels... it's brilliance on hugo chavez's part. :)