Bushfires, Isocracy etc, Search for A New Home

[tcpip]

The South-East Australian bushfires continued to rage during the week. Estimates of the dead are now around three hundred, although the official toll has stood at 181 for some time. The number of animals that have died is estimated to be in the millions. Apparently one needs to be university researcher to blame trees and the Greens, and divine inspiration to blame the decriminalisation of abortion.

I have started a new public policy website in accord to my 2009 plan. The idea is to combine elements of liberal, socialist and anarchist theory into a practical and results-orientated perspective. The intention is to gradually build the movement, one person at a time, into something that is both far more interesting and independent than what passes for most political organisations. On a related topic, having become frustrated over the years by the inability of semi-professional organisations to deal with IT workplace issues (wages, OH&S, collective bargaining), I have joined the ACTU-affiliated APESMA.

For sequential unix timestamp day (hat-tip to tajna for the name), caseopaya and I went to the hills to look at housing to buy despite the smell and haze of smoke that covered the city. Our landlords have increased the rent on our apartment by almost 25% and we're in the situation when where we can buy a significantly larger property with a mortgage repayment of less than we're currently paying in rent. So we had a trip out to Belgrave, Sassafras, and Mt. Dandenong and had a very late lunch outside the William Ricketts Sanctuary. No firm decisions yet from the initial scouting mission.

During the week also had a visit from hathalla and ser_pounce; it was a belated birthday gathering for the latter. I provided him a signed copy of robin_d_laws's HeroQuest and made an enormous tiramisu using a famous frou_frou recipe.

Comments

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

Just a brief comment about the site --

An isocracy avoids the common criticisms of democracy (e.g., tyranny of the majority) by limiting public governance to the public sphere and private governance to the private sphere.

So does, arguably, absolutely every single system of governance ever conceived, albeit entirely informally. Can we get some more meat on that paragraph at some point?

[forwrathandruin.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to load up LJ this afternoon and find that you've started up a separate updating website.

Is it contributor-only, or are you planning for a more forums-based approach? Am I looking at a blog or a discussion group?

Either way, much appreciated. This kind of thing is needed, and publicising it is the first step.

[lefae.livejournal.com]

Sassafras!

Such an awesome word.

[mr-figgy.livejournal.com]

I certainly hope you bunch stay safe. All we have locally is bank-bursting rivers reducing a couple of sidestreets to one lane, due to a very strange and early thaw.

[darknova666.livejournal.com]

isnt 25% illegal?

good luck with the house hunting, first home bonus will b handy too but fires out that way are a bit scary.
a garden for the rats!