mgk nominated for 2006 Best Australian Political blog
Monday January 16th 2006, 9:00 am

mgk:Machine Gun Keyboard has been nominated in the category ‘Best Australian Political Blog‘ in the 2006 Australian Blog Awards.

Thanks much to the roughly 1000 people per week who read and have nominated mgk.

My nomination for the category went to Suki Lombard of Suki Has An Opinion for her dogged and tireless pursuit of Women’s Issues in Australia, particularly on matters of reproductive freedom. I really think that there should have been an independent Australian Women’s Issues category, but c’est la vie.

Also nominated in the Best Australian Political blog category is the anti-racist FightDemBack group (to which I am a frequent contributor), who really go far beyond mere politics. Racism isn’t a simple political matter- it’s a core human rights issue. The Cronulla race-riots of December 2005, coordinated and fuelled by neo-nazis and white supremacists, put the issue of racism on the front burner in Australia.

FightDemBack scored coup after coup after coup in 2005, exposing racists who hide in the shadowy corners of the Net. No one should be victimised simply for what they are- and FightDemBack gets that message across across- like a full overhead swing of a sixteen pound sledgehammer on a walnut.

FDB conveys the message of tolerance and equality- and not just to mainstream readers. FDB is highly effective in shutting down race-hate propagandists and exposing their hypocrisies. FDB truly came of age in 2005, now working closely with Australian and New Zealand journalists and law enforcement to score several arrests, convictions and jailings of race-hatemongers in Australia and New Zealand.

Nominations for the 2006 Australian Blog Awards have now closed and voting is on until 26 January 2006.

-weez 


11 Comments so far
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Thank you Weezil. It’s a buzz just to get nominated.

Congratulations for your mgk and fightdemback! brilliance.

Comment by suki 01.16.06 @ 12:07 pm

Thanks, Suki. Your work on SHAO proves to many women that they are not alone in reserving the sole right to control their own bodies. It’s important stuff. Keep cooking. 🙂

While it was Darp who initially conceived and set up FDB, it has grown into a substantial group effort. FDB is a network of skills and connections that could not have coalesced any other way. It is the armada of talents which comprise FDB that make it so powerful. It’s one of the very few online efforts in any genre that make a real difference out on the street.

And to think it all started because a few narcissistic nazis thought they would manage our neighbourhood by fear and intimidation. Rule number one of bullying is that you should never, ever take on people who will not be cowed.

Comment by weezil 01.16.06 @ 12:41 pm

My sincere congratulations to both of you, as well as FightDemBack. It’s great to see blogs being produced to such a high standard of quality that they are able to truly affect positive change in communities.

The value of new media to society as a means of conveying information is certainly looking promising thanks to the intelligent, deliberative and compassionate work of people such as yourselves. Again, well done and good luck in the proceedings.

Comment by Gary F 01.17.06 @ 9:41 am

Thanks for the praise, Gary. I don’t expect to win- a nomination is plenty for me!

You’re quite right- FDB is only possible due to internet media. However, the nazis have tried to exploit the same availability characters of this mode. FDB shuts them down, time and time again. Not in our sandbox, mate. 😉

Comment by weezil 01.17.06 @ 9:46 am

Congrats Weez. And Suki! And FDB!

Comment by @ndy 01.20.06 @ 7:13 pm

Fightdemback have got my vote. Congrats Weez and Suki.

A fan!

Comment by Kieran Bennett 01.22.06 @ 12:28 am

[…] Bad news, bad news, and bad news everywhere I look. Even on my blog. And so I’m announcing a new regular feature. Sunday is good news day. Join me in sharing and discussing this week’s good news. According to MGK, the anti-racist group Fightdemback has been nominated for an Australian blog award. Its no surprise considering their astounding success in combating the loony right online. […]

Pingback by KieranBennett.com » Sunday Good News 01.22.06 @ 1:07 am

Thanks, @ndy & Kieran.

FDB isn’t so much a political blog- it’s a tool of partisan activism. However, FDB is instrumental in putting racism into the realm of consideration for many who would otherwise sleep through it, happily agreeing with any racist rumour they hear. That alone is an important lever in moving Australian political support away from casual xenophobia- and children overboard.

Comment by weezil 01.23.06 @ 12:43 pm

I voted Suki and MGK -keep rockin.

Comment by Brownie 01.23.06 @ 6:35 pm

Y’all know which blogger is conspicously missing.

Darp.

Darp, get off your ass and maintain your blog dude.

Comment by duck monster 01.24.06 @ 1:20 am

Thanks guys.

Comment by suki 01.24.06 @ 1:09 pm



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