The e-petition reforms have the support of Downing Street strategists anxious to make politics more relevant to people's daily lives.

Just as an aside, I tried to copy the text in the post header into the body of the post, but couldn't as the 'paste' option was not operative.

Weird, man. What's the point of a copy 'n paste function - apart from the opportunity to write "'n" of course.

Anyway, to the intro I would have written if I'd been able to paste the text where I actually wanted it...

Some years ago I knew some folks, within government, who were working extremely actively on mechanisms just like this, to bring executive government closer to the people. More recently we have the government 2.0 project.

Interesting to see a couple of comments in the thread of this story - and oh! how you'll enjoy the comments thread - pick up on this notion of governments actually wanting to relate more closely. The risks are enormous - ask Mr Assange if you doubt me - but I would guess that many western governments would wish for newer ways to obtain feedback than their backbenchers doing the rounds of the senior citizens morning teas or putting a folding table up in the main street. What governments would actually do with the input is another matter and goes to heart of the risks they face.

That so many commenters dismiss the idea as simply symptomatic of a lack of ideas for policy action does, to some extent I think, reflect the declining trust in politicians that we see in citizens of many western countries.

But mainly it's probably just typical on-line behaviour, ie he said she said and what I thought of first, but entertaining none the less. Especially the bits about hanging and shooting. It certainly highlights the risks inherent in any on-line mechanism that might be devised.

Meanwhile here in very damp Capricornia it's wet wet wet and even moreso as one travels south and west. The river is rising again, will pass its 2008 level tomorrow and start heading for 1991 territory, in which case town becomes an island.

For the last few days we have played unsolicited owners of 6 kittens which were born to next door's cats, but next door disappeared for some time and cat's mummies rightly decided that a house with people was a better bet for the littlies. However next doors returned home, we alerted them to our guests (the second time we've had to do this mind you) and returned the 6 little 'uns. We think they've gone to kitty heaven now, and we can only hope it was humanely, at the vet. We're pretty unhappy about the whole affair and the neigbourhood tom, what did the damage the first time, has been sniffing around again so we're bracing for kitteh 2.0.

Life on the tropic, it's a gas.