Australian Bloggers Alliance

2004-10-03T20:08:00.001+10:00

Weekly? Monthly? Whatever. Featured Blog

Okay, so I've been busy with crap. Sue me.

This time around is the man with the eyepatch who may or may not be a pirate. But if Cyclone is a pirate, then he's the first pirate with downright non-piratical skills in artistry. His images are intensely textured, and have a tremendous 'realness' to them that makes them seem like a slightly over-exposed photograph. The image isn't always clear, but the animus is.

Check his blog out NOW!

2004-09-11T15:29:00.000+10:00

Sincere Empathy

On behalf of the members of the Australian Bloggers Alliance, I would like to extend our most sincere condolences to the people of the United States, on this, the third anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Sad News

2004-09-09T21:06:00.000+10:00

Sad News

Darp, one of the ABA's more prominent left-of-centre members, has decided to leave the alliance, mainly because of some abusive and threatening remarks that were made on his blog, by other members.

2004-09-01T16:53:00.000+10:00

Rising, Phoenix-Like

Famed Aussie Blogger, The Usurer has returned, and he's joined the Alliance!

I strongly recommend that novice bloggers check out his site, and see how he got to be one of the best known and well-respected bloggers around.

2004-08-31T09:50:00.000+10:00

Featured Blog

2004-08-31T09:42:00.000+10:00

Featured Blog

This week's featured blog belongs to the delicious Patrick Hawke. He's a corker of a bloke, with curvy thighs and full hips. He'd make someone a wonderful husband someday, if Kathi hadn't beaten someone to it ages ago.

Seriously though, Paddy isn't just a blogger, what with the usual fare of rampant cutting and pasting and sneering and ranting. He rants, oh my, yes. But his rants don't seem like rants. They're more like shakespearian narratives that leave the reader feeling both informed, and oddly aroused.

He's also one of the most prolific posters around. So forget the viagra. Go get some opinion.

New Members

2004-08-31T09:41:00.000+10:00

New Members

Please welcome to our ranks: Vinny Boombutts and Todd McKenzie.

2004-08-26T13:30:00.000+10:00

Featured Blog

This week's victim is Speaking My Mind, authored by the venerable Reckers.

He's not as showy as most of the blogger's I've encountered, and has none of the megalomaniacal tendencies that evil competitors have so often accused me of possessing. He's instead insightful, often witty, and selective in the current events he examines.

An all-round solid blog, one that you should make a point of adding to your favourites list.

2004-08-23T15:23:00.000+10:00

As Promised, Bi-Partisan Cartoon Mockery

2004-08-17T10:45:00.000+10:00

Featured Alliance Blog

Paul & Carl's Daily Diatribe has to be the most consistent weblog around. Consistent in ideology, consistent in accuracy and consistent in viceral humour. They have, over long experience, developed a respected reputation amid the community of Ozblogistan.

I'm serious, if you aren't in the mood to be drawn down into the black depths of bleak, pre-apocalyptic depression, like some blogs can do, and instead wish to be made to laugh until the lining of your stomach disintegrates, then you should pay their site a visit today.

2004-08-13T23:07:00.000+10:00

A Thousand Apologies

If you have sent me an email over the past few days, and I have not as yet replied. This is largely due to the efforts of a disgruntled anti-Jerichite, who managed to send me an uber-mass-mailing, all from different screen-names, all bearing the message "Re: Bloggers Alliance" and other clever variants.

One and all they were invitations to visit pages that I otherwise would have thought illegal.

Please, if you feel this applies to you, re-send your email if you can, or just surmise it in the comments below this post.

Tiberius puts the boot in

2004-08-11T20:46:00.000+10:00

Tiberius Puts the Boot In

ABA member Tiberius Alatheus shoots off a Parthian shot at the retreating (chubby) figure of Niall, the Anti-Blogger.

2004-08-10T21:34:00.000+10:00

Niall Claims Victory

It's true, despite having the broken remains of his arguments shattered at his sandal-clad feet, Niall remains triumphant.

Desired Effect Achieved

'Poster boy for Oz blogging's left'; 'fetid, nasty, totally insane hobo'; 'spasmodically lurching upon people on the street, arms wildly gesticulating, shrieking at them in a spittle-flecked invective '........oh, how sweet it is!

Oh, in case those of you new to blogging, per se, don't understand what it's really all about, I'd strongly suggest you contact Mr. Jericho. In brief, it's all about scoring hits. You know....getting people to read your diatribes. Why escapes me, but I suppose if you're a little self-obsessed, or more likely feeling inferior, then you're sure to have your ego boosted by random hits from search engines which make a hit counter spin 'round.

Want a good chuckle at what blogging ISN'T all about? Go take a read. It's worth the chuckle.

I remain, however, rather confused.

He is, you see, contradicting himself in two alarmingly small paragraphs.

He starts with the tacit inference that, while his earlier claims about bias, conspiracy and general rightwing evility within the ABA were unfounded (he must be conceding that much, as he makes no attempt to address our repostes. Thus, he concedes our points) he revels openly in our colourful descriptions of him. "How sweet it is!" he enthuses.

Glad to be of service to your ego, Niall.

Notice, the title of the post reads: "Desired Effect Achieved". Of course, he doesn't actually, at any point in the post, outline precisely what his desired outcome was. By his churlish, giggling first paragraph, however, we are forced to conclude that he was after attention the entire time. What else is left? Nothing applicable.

But, then, he goes on to chide the alliance in the last way available to him; by attacking our central goal of raising public awareness of Australian Blogs. This is how he puts it:

Oh, in case those of you new to blogging, per se, don't understand what it's really all about, I'd strongly suggest you contact Mr. Jericho. In brief, it's all about scoring hits. You know....getting people to read your diatribes. Why escapes me, but I suppose if you're a little self-obsessed, or more likely feeling inferior, then you're sure to have your ego boosted by random hits from search engines which make a hit counter spin 'round.

How scornful! Yet, how strange! Is he deliberately castigating us for something he has just himself effectively confessed to doing?

Niall, we make no use of cheap stunts or clandestine charades to draw attention to Australian Blogs that otherwise wouldn't see the light of day. We make no attempts through guile or deceit, to garner attention. We place it straight, through mutual assistance. You are a person who delights in the ability to gather hits through misguided attacks that flounder hopelessly on the rocks of basic, honest examination.

Had you simply joined our alliance, instead of attempt to make use of us to score petty points, you could have saved yourself some time.

The problem with you, Niall, is that you can't admit to being mistaken.

New Member

2004-08-10T20:55:00.000+10:00

New Member

I know that this is going to be hard, even personally traumatising for us mere blogger mortals to accept, but one man is responsible for all of the blogs below. His freakish levels of raw output recently moved me to nominate him as The Fall of Jericho's Hardest Working Blogger.

Dr John Ray is an academic, but (again, bizarrely) he isn't sporting a well hidden Star of Lenin under his jacket, awaiting the day of the glorious downfall of western civilization.

On the contrary, this guy might just save it. If any bloggers are bound by their efforts and skill to make a real, tangible difference to the perceptions of ordinary people, Dr John Ray is that man.

Here are his blogs, which are now proudly joined with the others of the ABA.

Dissecting Leftism
Gun Watch
Greenie Watch
Leftists as Elitists
Political Correctness Watch

The Alliance Speaks

2004-08-10T12:49:00.000+10:00

The Alliance Speaks

Members of the Alliance have had their own reactions to Niall's critique (see post below), and this is where you can read them:

Chris Berg: "Gentlemen, gentlemen."
Patrick Hawke: "Moonbat Alert!"
Sigh Clone: "good news & un petite aggro"
Chief Bastard: "The wookie returneth!"
Reckers: "Alliance=VRWC?"

Prepare Yourselves

2004-08-10T09:57:00.000+10:00

Prepare Yourselves

For a shocking disappointment.

The Australian Blogger's Alliance has recieved a two thumbs down from armchair activist & Ozblogistan fixture, Niall.

I used to know his last name, but as I can't find it on his site, and nobody else seems to care what it is, I won't bother offering an excuse. Anyhoo, this is what he had to say about us:

Ah HAH!!!

If you've ever wondered about the vast right-wing conspiracy, wonder no more. Y'know, it's rather inaccurate to call it an Oz Blog Alliance when only right-wing blogs appear to make the grade.
I'm Mike Jericho, but this isn't my blog. The Alliance of Australian Bloggers is an idea I had to help newer or less-well-known Australian Bloggers get ahead and get attention. This is the core focus of the Alliance, and is our only real stipulation. If you wish to join the Alliance, you must link to all the other members. I'm a bit of a cold-hearted, reptilian pragmatist, so I'd even suggest that you give the alliance links preference on your page. Hey, if everyone else does it, it means more hits for you, too. Here at the Alliance Homepage, I'll maintain an updated list of membership, and occasionally write news pertaining to the Alliance. This is, I think, also a good way to meet other great, interesting people from around Australia.
The guidelines? Thought you'd never ask....
-No Nazism.
-No Stalinism.
-No Racism.
-No Islamism (radical Islam, as opposed to moderate, non-political Islam).
-Link to everyone in the Alliance, regardless of whether or not you agree with them. That's it.
No Racism and No Islamism......I smell a contradiction in terms. As for the Nazism/Stalinism taboos, well, one wonders if Mr Jericho understands his own intent, let alone the inference. It's tempting.....oh so very tempting, but honestly, I'm afraid I can't be bothered. Guns, intoxication, self-righteousness and irrational abuse of one's fellow blogosphere inhabitants just aren't up my alley. Have fun, chaps and do keep your hands to yourselves.

I say that Niall is a "fixture" in Ozblogistan not because his views are influential. Nor can he be so named because of any popularity, his lack of which is attested to by the somewhat limited number of blogs that endorse him, and the fact that although his site has been around since the beginning of 2002, he has attracted half the number of visitors that my humble blog has accrued in eight months of operation.

No, Niall is a "fixture" in the blogosphere in the same way that a fetid, nasty, totally insane hobo is an inevitable presence in otherwise picturesque country towns. Every town has one, perpetually smelling of everything you might imagine to be repellent, and spasmodically lurching upon people on the street, arms wildly gesticulating, shrieking at them in a spittle-flecked invective against something they really ought to be equally upset about.

Such people, unsuprisingly, don't socialise well. The applicability of this to Niall is additionally seen in the fact that his blog's commenting function is locked up tighter than Fort Knox. You must first apply directly to Niall the Omnipotent, Benevolent Master of His Domain before speaking.

This is truly a man in the Stalinist tradition of leftist politics; poetically yawping about the rights of the people, whilst severely curtailing the people's ability to express even the most mild form of dissent.

But enough analysis of this admittedly uninteresting fellow. Let's deal with what he had to say.

If you've ever wondered about the vast right-wing conspiracy, wonder no more. Y'know, it's rather inaccurate to call it an Oz Blog Alliance when only right-wing blogs appear to make the grade.

This is a complaint that was, up until late last week, a valid one. Not in the strictest sense of his infered meaning, however. The ABA was never supposed to be politically exclusive. I had not written anything that even mildly suggested that it was. I had simply not gotten around to the minutae of the "mission statement" at that point, as the Alliance was still very much in its infancy.

His complaint is therefore one of bureaucracy. I had not clearly stipulated this, that and the other.

Also valid until last week, was the complaint that the membership of the Alliance was almost entirely comprised of right wing political blogs. This was hardly some sort of planned conspiracy, however, as no invitations to join the alliance were ever made.

The people who most swiftly joined the alliance were people that frequented my site, and saw the advertisement for the ABA that I had placed there. I approached no-one, sought to entice no-one directly, and hoped from the very outset that those people that joined did so without any prompting from me.

It is an alliance of pragmatic self-interest, after all, and is no more ideologically or altruistically motivated than each member wishes it to be. It can be, if they wish, a vehicle to meet other bloggers from around Australia. It directly facilitates that by the (again, voluntary) exchange of email lists.

These two points might have been fairly attacked before Wednesday August 4th, when, on the ABA homepage, I placed this post outlining (I think, quite clearly) the non-partisan goals of the Alliance. Immediately after I made that post, several leftist/liberal political bloggers have willingly joined the ABA.

Niall wrote his critical post five days later, on Monday 9th of August. Neither argument was, by that time, in the least way relevant or evidenced by the facts. It was 100% sneer and tinfoil-hat paranoia.

Let's move on.

No Racism and No Islamism......I smell a contradiction in terms.

Niall doesn't know the difference between Islamism and Islam. I'm not overly suprised.

I knew that I would be challenged over the guidelines when I stipulated them, and am fully prepared to defend them.

I define "Racism" as the act of discrimination of one human being against another human being, based purely upon the latter's racial heritage. Racism is demonstrably irrational and has no merit whatsoever. Further, it is inciteful, and will cause nothing but hate-filled arguments within any non-partisan alliance.

I define "Islamism" as the pursuit of the political installation of Islamic law and governance, both in the lands of Islam, as well as the "lands of war" (all non-Islamic nations). Islamism is not Islam; the simple adherence to the religion of Islam and the teachings of the Qu'ran.

Islamists twist certain sections of the Qu'ran in order to justify terribly brutal, repressive regimes such as was the case in the Taliban's Afghanistan, and still is the case in Sudan, where slavery and racial/theological-genocide is being inflicted upon Black African Christians. Islamism is also inherently anti-Semitic, blaming Jews incessantly for every bad happening since the beginning of time.

I will happily welcome any Muslim blog into the Alliance who has no trouble with the basic western philosophies of religious equality, liberal democracy and tolerance. These are not the buzzwords of Islamism.

Racism and Islamism are not welcome in an alliance of fair-minded, reasoning bloggers.

As for the Nazism/Stalinism taboos, well, one wonders if Mr Jericho understands his own intent, let alone the inference.

The only trouble I'm having is understanding what kernel of philosopical truth this hopelessly convoluted language is attempting to impart.

Niall needs everything defined for him. Very well.

In short:

Nazism = Concepts of ethnic cleansing, racial superiority/inferiority + holocaust denial/revision + anti-Semitism + religious intolerance + anti-democratic notions of governance.
Stalinism = Marxist-Leninism perverted into genocidal totalitarianism + anti-democratic notions of governance.

I am opposed to Stalinist blogs. I don't know of any, but I wanted to be clear that only Stalinist blogs would be excluded. Blogs that advocate Communism (robbed of Stalinist apologetica) would be quite welcome. Stalin is the greatest mass-murderer in history. Blogs that attempt to exhonerate him will be treated in the same way as those that seek to excuse or deny Hitler's Holocaust.

Yes, Niall, I do believe that I am quite aware of the "inferences" of each.

It's tempting.....oh so very tempting, but honestly, I'm afraid I can't be bothered. Guns, intoxication, self-righteousness and irrational abuse of one's fellow blogosphere inhabitants just aren't up my alley. Have fun, chaps and do keep your hands to yourselves.

Niall isn't interested in joining a self-righteousness club? Fuck me, but that's a shock. Had we been such an organization, we might have made him our grand exalted ruler.

No guns have been advocated on this site. I mentioned only that one of our members reviews them. There has been no intoxication that I am aware of. I was drunk whilst surfing the net on the weekend, but I limited myself to abusive remarks on other blog's commenting facilities. As for "irrational abuse of one's fellow blogosphere inhabitants", I'm just dazed. If he can point out where that occurred, I'll be flabbergasted.

This is, after all, the first time that the ABA homepage has been used to criticise any blog, and it is being done in response to ludicruously unsupported remarks made by a trite, inarticulate buffoon whom nobody seems to want to read.

But perhaps I'm entirely mistaken. Perhaps Niall's just upset that he can't join the Alliance, because of our strictly non-racist criteria.

This [care of Tim Blair, Niall has prudently removed the original post from his site] is what Niall had to say on his blog about a Vietnamese fellow that accidentally scratched his beloved car:

These four shots are the result of an ignorant, slitty-eyed, slimy little Landcruiser-driving vietnamese prick which tried to squeeze past me on the freeway entry ramp this morning. It doesn't look too bad, in fact I dare say 80% will just polish off, but that's beside the point. It's MY car and I don't go around driving into other peoples cars then shrugging it off and driving away. Not to worry, though. I have the slippery little shit's registration number and will be following him up via the police. Might be a nice chance to get the car re-sprayed at someone elses expense. I'll teach the ignorant, non-english-speaking immigrant to go around rubbing up against other peoples cars and fucking off without barely a word.

Very humane, Niall.

Note this revealing section:

These four shots are the result of an ignorant, slitty-eyed, slimy little Landcruiser-driving vietnamese prick which tried to squeeze past me on the freeway entry ramp this morning.

The correct word to use in that instance would have been "who". It is, after all, a person he is describing, not a thing.

Very Freudian, no?

I shall say no more.

Weekly Featured Blog

2004-08-09T16:00:00.000+10:00

Featured Alliance Blog

A few people have complained to me in emails that once we have 20 or so members, or even more, those people joining at the end of the line won't get as many hits.

I wish I could say that I've lost sleep over it.

I've made the decision to keep the blog listing in the order in which people joined, so as to avoid any accusations of favoritism.

Still, I think the whiners have something akin to a valid point, so I'll do a weekly review of a member blog, in order, so that they get a little more attention.

This week's blog should be mine, The Fall of Jericho, as I founded the damn alliance, but I know the kinds of whiny emails that would generate, so I won't bother.

Instead, let us have a look at the enigma, the riddle, the riddle in the enigma, the man behind all that bullshit, Chief Bastard, and his mighty blog; Bastards Inc.

Chief really is an enigma to all but those that know him best. I don't think that I am giving too much away by saying that he is a long time veteran of the military, and isn't ever backwards about coming forward to hotly debate every topic you might care to mention.

His reviews of state-of-the-art weaponry are the stuff of legend, and I would venture that aside (perhaps) from Kim Du Toit, Chief Bastard was probably doing them before anyone else.

His blog is attached to the Gravett Empire, that dark cabal of evil Australian conservative bloggers that I myself was (briefly) a part. At the same time, Chief has managed to make Bastards Inc so uniquely his creation that it has a truly autonomous air.

Chief also, you have noticed, doesn't pull punches. He gives it to you hard, calling things as he sees them with resolute honestly and a larrikin's elan.

If you check out no other blog today, make it his.

New members

2004-08-09T15:50:00.000+10:00

New Members

Our non-borg collective grows yet again, with the worthy additions of:

Grinder.Com
Revenge of the Hamster
Chris Berg
Slattsnews

New Members

2004-08-05T16:56:00.000+10:00

The Alliance welcomes the following blogs into its growing ranks: Intemperate Thoughts, The Dog Blog & Welcome to the Asylum.

New Members

2004-08-04T14:26:00.000+10:00

New Members

Welcome to our uhh... esteemed... ranks.

Niner Charlie
Is it Wrong to Wish on Space Hardware?
Greyice. There is no more...

But there will be more. Oh, yes, there shall be. Soon we shall overwhelm the wo... uhh.. *cough* nothing.

2004-08-04T07:27:00.000+10:00

Fair N' Balanced

It has been brought to my attention, that by placing an undeniably rightwing cartoon up, and by the constituents of the first round of Alliance volunteers, I am inadvertantly giving the impression that my design was to make this alliance conservative in everything but name.

That is not my design.

As I will make clear, I intend the Alliance to be a meeting point of a diverse number of views.

Few views will, in themselves, be cause for non-entry into the Alliance.

Advocating Nazism would be one. Stalinism would be another, for similar reasons. Advocating racism* would be another. Finally, the advocation of Islamist ideas is also banned.

The latter prejudices the role of women in society, advocates political violence against civilian populaces (terrorism) and actively seeks the destruction of modern western democracy. I will not seek to provide such people with a platform.

All others are welcome.

To make this homepage as equitable as possible, I will make an effort to conduct it even-handedly. For every conservative-slanted cartoon I might put up, I'll ask one of our leftist members to nominate a leftist one.

I will not editorialize on this site, so there will be no need for an additional (leftist) moderator at this time. This page will be used purely for things such as announcements, congratulations, and other Alliance news-related issues.

* Note: I do not see opposing Affirmative Action as racism. Normally, that opposition is based on the desire of the person opposing it to see all races treated and respected as equals. If a person opposed AA, and justifies that opposition by appeals to racism, that would be against the membership guidelines, and they would be expediently dispatched.

2004-08-03T14:09:00.000+10:00

2004-08-03T14:06:00.000+10:00

So you want to join the alliance...

Easily done. Simply send me an email (the address is in the left column) stating the name of your blog and its URL.

Please write something in the subject box of the email, as 99% of the emails I get are blank, and I delete them, assuming them to be spam.

So just write "Re: Blogger Alliance" or something.

Alliance Guidelines

2004-08-03T13:31:00.000+10:00

ALLIANCE GUIDELINES

Using the plural term probably wasn't the way to go. Really, there is only one guideline that we insist members adhere to: Cooperation.

No, that has little or nothing to do with loaning me your wife.

Cooperation is how you get ahead in the world of blogging. You learn that quickly. Unless you have the kind of raw blogging talent that rocketted people like Tim Blair to heights of dizzying influence, chances are that, at first, it is going to be hard to get attention for your labours. With time and the help of other bloggers, usually through linking to your site, your work will get known.

The aim of the Australian Bloggers Alliance is to accelerate that process, for the benefit of Australian voices. I believe that we have a good deal to contribute, and ought to try to help one another towards this end.

So please, try to help each other out. Talk to each other, exchange emails and whatnot, and pretty soon we'll be more of a fraternity than an Alliance.