The time has come! There will be an edition of Stilgherrian Live tonight from 9.30pm Sydney time. You’d better start nominating people and things for “Cnut of the Week”.
“Cnut of the Week” is where we honour the example set by King Cnut the Great, who demonstrated to his sycophantic courtiers that trying to hold back the tide is pointless.
We’re after your suggestions for people, organisations or other entities who are futilely trying to hold back the tide of change — especially changes wrought by our increasingly networked digital society. It has to be related to something in the news in the last week, and you have to explain yourself. Nominees have to be not merely doing bad things, but failing to notice or adapt to the change around them. And you have to nominate here, in a comment on this post, for your entry to count.
We’ll have our usual offer of a t-shirt of your choice from our friends at King Cnut Ethical Clothing. Just nominate a “Cnut of the Week” and be watching the program when we draw a name from the Cocktail Shaker of Integrity.
(Of course, neither me nor King Cnut Ethical Clothing are as lame and unethical as to share your email address with anyone else. I for one have site policies about this sort of thing, and so do they.)
Who do you nominate, and why?
James Murdoch is the one, his MacTaggart Lecture speech was just the bee’s knees for nomination.
[I’ve edited this post to link to a report on the speech, which in turn links to the text of the speech in question. Stil.]
I forgot to mention that nominations close at precisely 8.30pm Sydney time. I then choose a shortlist of four nominees, based on both popularity and my own idiosyncratic moodswings. Voting to choose this week’s Cnut takes place during Stilgherrian Live.
However everyone who nominates someone and leaves a valid email address is eligible for the prize draw — but you have to be watching the program to win.
You can’t go past Della. He made people feel sorry for Belinda Neal.
Martin Ferguson.
Holding back the tide? He certainly thinks he can.
The oil slick is not spreading, and much smaller than any video footage shot by a sketchy Greens senator and posted on the internets would have you believe, OK?
Wot a tool.
While I’m obviously not eligible to win the prize, I will throw another name into the ring: Geoffrey Emerson. His new business service uses people taking on fake identities to post blog comments linking to their clients — without disclosing that they’re being paid to do so.
oh hands down James Murdoch. For calling an organisation that does try new things (oh like open source, video, digital radio e.t.c) “State Sponsored Media”, implying the air of State Sponsored Terrorism whilst at the same time thinking that people will actually pay for the drivel his company puts out.
the anonymous telstra spokesperson who said the following –
“Telstra says is confident no further problems will be experienced.”
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-business/telstra-internet-down-for-over-an-hour-20090903-f99u.html
… or Mike Rann, just because
Kate Neil from Newtown for endangering the future of the progressive Australian Labor Party in New South Wales by allegedly engaging in sexual activity with one of it’s senior ministers.
All media outlets that made me think of Della in a sexual relationship. They have spoilt many meals and dinner times conversations.
Microsoft, for (badly) photoshopping out the black man’s head in an ad used in Poland, while leaving his hand intact.
http://adjix.com/thvd
Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Co. for this gem
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10320096-38.html
“Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.
Dont let Sen Conjob know about this one.
They’re not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.”
I could nominate a colleague who I just introduced to LOLCATZ, who then went on to exclaim that there were just too many people with far too much time on their hands and she refused to be drawn into such things.
But I won’t. ’cause she ain’t famous ‘n’ stuff…
Paul Hogan was a contender for me, being someone at 70 years of age and still resisting the tide of his own ageing with never ending cosmetic surgery. refer: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/02/2673872.htm?section=entertainment
But my official nomination for cnut is Nathan Rees who is simply unable to accept that one way or another Frank Sartor will shove him out of the way to take the leadership.
+1 to James Murdoch for his sheer fucking shamelessness.
And I’d like to throw Brendan Nelson in the ring, for his crappy pop-pysch evaluation of Malcolm Turnbull.
I’d like to also nominate a local government authority in Azerbaijan for jailing 2 bloggers over a satirical donkey clip they uploaded to YouTube. Lets Jail all the comedians in Australia for all the poor satire aimed at our fearless and hard working representatives.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8233598.stm
I love this quote from this story
http://newteevee.com/2009/09/02/censorship-fail-azerbaijan-jails-video-bloggers-for-donkey-video/
“In Azerbaijan possibilities for donkeys are enormous. If you are donkey enough, you can succeed in possibly everything.â€
hmmm
My vote goes to Meryl whatserface and the Australian Vaccine Network. Their blatant misrepresentation that vaccines cause Autism (even after the research was shown to be totally bogus) and continual urging for parents to NOT vaccinate their children, which indirectly, caused the death of a baby in the North of NSW due to the whooping cough epidemic in an area where only 1 in 4 children have been vaccinated. Their site is full of misleading and false information, and should be shut down. People like this woman make my blood boil and make me want to screeeaaaaammmmmmmm!!!
The Daily Telegraph, for somehow asserting that politicians are (or should be) more noble than any of the rest of us. For caring whom a politician beds down with. For forcing all of the rest of us to know the most intimate details of Della’s life.
Oh yeah, and James Murdoch. And I quote: “The only reliable, durable, and perpetual guarantor of independence is profit.”
Thank you, everyone. Nominations are now closed. Stilgherrian Live starts in one hour.