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Rupertgate - The Smoking Phone.

phone-hacking-graphic-resiz.jpgPhone Hacking Scandal - Bearing a strong resemblance to a Ouija Board.

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With almost daily revelations surfacing on the News Of The World/News International/Newscorp/Rupert Murdoch scandal, there is still very little being said in our own mainstream media regarding what could very well become the potential takedown of a government. No big surprise there.

As these revelations now involve the former Communications Director for Prime Minister David Cameron, Andy Coulson who was, prior to his appointment, editor of News Of The World and who has subsequently resigned his post with Cameron in January, questions continue to rise over how much Coulson knew and how far reaching actually is this scandal. It's been said to have taken on Nixonian proportions, and that may well be true. That now it is revealed Police bribes and sand bagging have been ongoing since 2009 and earlier suggest the scandal is far more prevalent than previously thought. That this scandal is being paid scant attention here in the U.S. begs to entertain a more sinister atmosphere (not merely the breezy smokescreen that it's the code of ethics among members of the Fourth Estate not to discuss such matters) and that this is a scandal very much about to break on our own shores involving people who have taken the lead of fact-free and loosely procured sources in the name of journalistic integrity, fairly expose the root of what has been a problem ever since our introduction to the ways of The News Of The World and the tabloid atmosphere so much a part of the Murdoch empire.

So as a manner of getting you up to speed and keeping this story from being buried, I am posting three clips that have come out as of today (July 6th). First up is a piece first broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 Today program featuring interviews with Director of Corporate Affairs for News International, Simon Greenberg, Former Managing Editor of The Times Professor George Brock and BBC Business Editor Robert Preston who offers this assessment:

Robert Preston (BBC Business Editor): “George Brock has said that this a hugely damaging set of revelations about a very important bit of Rupert Murdoch’s empire. What is quite striking is that the initial disclosures about the hacking into celebrity’s voice mails didn’t appear to do much damage to the News Of The World circulation or indeed its advertising. But, we’re seeing advertisers saying they’re questioning whether or not to continue advertising and it will be very interesting to see whether or not the News Of The World’s circulation starts to suffer. News Of The World are a hugely important part of this empire because of the series of disclosures that there, to quote a number of commentators, there were no depths to which some journalists would stoop in terms of invading the privacy of vulnerable people.”

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Credit: Associated Press
Andy Coulson - new revelations.

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Next up is a BBC Radio 4 Profile on former Communications Director Andy Coulson whose resignation from the Cameron government in January sparked further revelations over the extent of Phone Hacking at News Of The World and this reaction from David Cameron:

David Cameron: “He did a very good job as Director of Communications both for the government and for the country. He ran the Downing Street Press Office in a very professional and straight forward and correct way, and I think has done some very good work. But I understand why he wants to go with the things that happened at The News Of The World, the stories about that. Obviously he resigned at the time and I’ve always felt he’s been punished for the same offense twice, but I quite understand his position and I wish him well for the future.”

Suspicions are now raised, since the revelations of Police bribes, triggering a Scotland Yard investigation that perhaps David Cameron may have known more than he let on and that this new call for further investigations could be a deflection of sorts of many potential key players, not the least being Rupert Murdoch whose attempt at trying to buy a 100% stake in the Sky Channel may well be the tipping point. At the moment it would seem the attempted lid placed on the scandal has done nothing but fly off at least once a day. How far it will go would be mere speculation at this point.

The last clip is an interview done earlier today with Graham Foulkes whose son David was one of the victims of the bombings in London on July 7th 2005 and whose phone was one of those hacked by News Of The World reporters.

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The revelations don't appear to be over by any stretch. My suspicion is it's only a matter of time before revelations about Newscorps activities in the U.S. are discovered. My hunch, and only a hunch not based on anything other than speculation based on reports I'm hearing today, is that this may very well have the potential to bring down the Cameron Government - or at least do serious damage to credibility some weeks or months down the road.

Asked if this is causing cracks in Rupert Murdoch's empire the answer at the moment is no. But strains are appearing. It's interesting the New York Times are being assailed as whistle blowers in all this, blaming a feud with The Wall Street Journal (another Murdoch paper) for setting off the firestorm. I guess it doesn't occur to anyone that, when you have achieved a certain level of perceived impunity it sets up the misconception you have become bullet proof. Scandals are almost always the product of the assumption you're above everything.

Sound familiar? Stay tuned.

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21 Comments

well then, give money to candidates so they can spend that money on ads in our own mainstream...

er- , what was that thing about rewarding bad behavior again ??

ggggggggggggggg----------Morduch is the king PIG!------------ggggggggggggggg

Phylter's picture

You're aware that you have a termite problem, your house has already been destroyed. This is what Murdoch's empire is doing/has done to countries. Eaten from the inside out and they high fived themselves when they got away with it.

You can guarantee that what's happening in Britain is happening here. Make no mistake, a successful "business model" is disseminated to every corner of the business.

There is no dungeon deep enough for these creeps. Everybody needs to be ringing alarm bells, calling their congresspeople, demanding investigations, tearing the scab off this thing and exposing the cockroaches before they can scurry back into the dark.

fitley's picture

I'm Loving This and I ain't talking about no Happy Meal. It couldn't happen to a more FETID STOOL than Murdoch.

Phylter's picture

Re-watched the Star Wars movies over the long weekend. Murdoch bears a striking resemblance to the "Emperor, Darth Sidious", and I mean that in more than the visual aspect. Will a Darth Vader come along and fling this execrable creature into the abyss?

gonf's picture

Last Word hosted by Chris Hayes opened with this today. He covered it about 40 minutes into the show. At least it was something. I agree with the fetid stool comment above. I'll be following this on british press for sure.


Is it the 21st century yet?

Scarabus's picture

I saw that show tonight and was gonna mention it. You've made that unnecessary, gonf! :-)

joegolden's picture

Absent from this is James Muroch's (Rupert's son, Daily News owner and GSK director) hiring of Brian Deer to "find something big" "make up something big" about Andrew Wakefield, Wakefield's work apparently brought attention to the fact that GSK's dangerous Urabe strain of the MMR vaccine (which was had already been banned in other countries for problems) found a friend in the public health minister who for some reason decided money was more important than protecting the children who would receive this vaccine.

Jimbo's picture

Bit of a leap to say this could potentially take down the government. They kicked Coulson to the kerb like a puppy in a rest stop and so should avoid much tarnish from this.

Couple of things that interest me;

Why is this only being reported by Fox Business? Nothing on Fox News.

Has anybody over there check Casey Anthony's phone logs?

Also Rebekkah Brooks' name is splashed all over everywhere over here in the UK so expect to see her being made scapegoat and resigning by the end of next month. If Fox are using their usual playbook.

Ape-Man's picture

Not being reported on CNN either to my knowledge.... could they be involved in similar activities?


"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-

Iwegian's picture

There have been constant reports on this subject on CNN. This morning there were several different reporters talking about it, and reporting how disgusting it is. They must be doing something right because on their website, a Faux News viewer repeated that CNN is a shitty network. There was an interview with Hugh Grant, and he was stating how there will not be a true investigation because the conservatives in Parliment rely on News Corp to get elected. Sounds familier doesn't it. Obviously Herr Rupert Goebbels is pushing the facist idealogy for an eventual takeover of several world governments.

MacJr's picture

You've been warned.


Humpty Dumpty was pushed.

An Average Joe's picture

Jeffrey Archer. This is an obvious paralell of Rupert Murdoch vs. Ted Turner. A riveting page-turner.

Murdoch and his ilk are scum. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see his empire shatter as a result of this. Pathetic, but not at all surprising. "It is amazing, the depths to which we have sunk."...Lance Ito.


"Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying..."-------Roger Waters, "Comfortably Numb"

of a British Commonwealth nation. With the Queen as the head of state, there's no escape from legal accountability for him by hiding in Australia. If he's made himself an enemy of the royal family he may well be in for a lesson about how worthless his imnagined sovereignty as a plutocrat is when pitted against the real thing. Throw his ass in prison and let him rot, dismantle News Corporation, Incorporated.

Iwegian's picture

My understanding is that Murdoch is now an American Citizen, he was forced to do this because of the FCC rule about foreign ownership of News media outlets.

miss_kitty's picture

he did not have to give up his Commonwealth citizenship for a bothersome US citizenship he was forced to buy, because we are a proud nation of laws.

miss_kitty's picture

The one that really pissed them off died mysteriously. Capn Bob's rag, The Mirror, printed the transcript of Prince Chas telling Camilla he wished to be reincarnated as her tampon. He printed that and somehow strolled off his well-crewed yacht in the dead of night into the Mediterranean in about a years' time. Of course, he was The Dirty Digger's chief rival, so there is more than one suspect in the accidental death of R Maxwell.
Why couldn't have the prince wished to be reincarnated as her husband? A little less gross.

taller ghost walt's picture

goes down faster than a crack whore at a prison rodeo.

As Barney Fife used to say "Nip it. Nip it in the bud!"

last night on CNN. Never thought it would be covered here. Looks like what they covered pretty much related facts as they stand. woulda thought?

arasta's picture
ah.

here we go.

too little too late - when was it the scandal first erupted again?

but the word ffrom the man himself, a condemnation, if you believe that:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=82...

James Murdoch has said that this weekends NOTW will be the last.

Couldn't be anything to do with him being the next link in the chain after Rebekah Brooks. Getting a bit close, cut and run.

I don't think that will particularly turn the heat down though.

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