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Phone-Hacking Scandal

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"Mislead. Mislead. Mislead".

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The latest in the Rupert Murdoch/News of The World/News Corp/News International Phone hacking scandal finds the much-awaited release of the findings of the Leveson Inquiry damning of Rupert Murdoch and the Editors in charge at News Of The World.

In short, the Members Of Parliament found Rupert Murdoch had a curious habit of "looking the other way" with regards to the Phone Hacking Scandal. And as a result, was deemed by the panel to be "unfit to run an International Business".

Although the panel was split along Partisan lines - with four of the Conservative Members of Parliament voting not to include the "unfit to run a company" disclosure, they were unanimous in their agreement that Murdoch had mislead and deceived the Leveson Inquiry as to the true nature of the scandal.

In the report findings, aired over BBC Radio 4 's program PM, it was considered by some to be not all that earth shattering and that the scandal as a whole had more interest in Westminster than it did on the street.

Whether or not that's true remains to be seen. It's interesting to note that calls on this side of the Atlantic for an FCC inquiry into the operations of Murdoch's Fox News seem to have made more newsworthy headlines in the UK than over here. The move may be regarded as more symbolic than anything else, judging by the somewhat punchless and ineffectual state the FCC is in. However, there is still the ongoing DOJ Investigation of Phone Hacking and Bribery charges involving News Of The World related cases over here.

And all that lurks somewhere in the future.

But for now, Westminster has spoken and Rupert Murdoch's school of Tabloid Journalism received a slap on its faux-incompetent wrist.

ED. NOTE: We are just thisclose to our fundraising goals to protect this fabulous archive of Gordon's. If you haven't contributed (even $5 moves us closer to the goalposts), please consider doing so tonight.



Rupertgate Weekend - Mark Lewis: Lawyer For Phone Hacking Victims.

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While the Criminal investigation and the Leveson Inquiry continues over allegations of phone hacking at News of The World and its implications to Rupert Murdoch and his publishing empire, I ran across this interview done earlier today via the BBC World Service Hardtalk program which features attorney Mark Lewis, who is handling several of the phone-hacking victims cases as well as being on the receiving end of harsh reprisals and threats from his former colleagues as well as those in the Murdoch Organization.

Lewis, himself a victim of the debilitating disease MS, has been taking on the herculean task of these cases and is considered by some, not only in the press, but in the legal profession, as something of a crusader.

Whether or not that's true doesn't diminish the fact that he's bearing the brunt of a lot of intimidation from many sides. But the bottom line is he's actively engaged in doing the right thing. And one gets the impression that those throwing the biggest stones are the ones living in the largest glass houses.

It's a great interview on a story that is anything but over, and which will be having far-reaching implications in the weeks and months to come. Stay tuned.



Rupertgate Thursday - Post Mortem And Prevarications.

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While the press is generally offering up a Post-Mortem to the proceedings of the day before, there are stories bubbling under the radar which are sure to gather steam in the coming hours/days.

One of course is the FBI involvement in possible phone-hacking of victims of 9/11. The other is a request for further scrutiny at previous trials involving Newscorp going back to 2003. The latest is that the testimony James Murdoch gave at the inquiry has been questioned by none other than the former editor of News Of The World and a member of the Legal staff over some statements the younger Murdoch gave to be patently false, There is rumor of proof and it will no doubt come to light shortly.

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Here are two audio reports via The Guardian website. The first one is Politics Weekly, a wrapup of the week and speculation over the coming week as filed earlier today (before the latest batch of allegations were made). The second is a special edition of Media Talk which was aired yesterday and features a panel of Guardian columnists (Matt Wells, Alan Rusbridge, Nick Davies, Jonathan Freeland, Jane Martinson) and a special report by Vanity Fair U.S. columnist Sarah Ellison on U.S. reaction to the scandal in general and the hearings specifically.

Everyone is in agreement this whole scandal is gathering steam. How it will play out in the U.S. may be much worse for the Murdochs than even the current UK scandal, particularly if the phone hacking question surfaces with regards to the 9/11 victims. That may prove to end the Murdoch dynasty (as it seems to be doing now but in a much more devastating and universal way).

Despite the revelations a few hours ago, it is doubtful James Murdoch will be in any position of power within the Newscorp/News International camp. The bigger question has been, how is this impacting on the David Cameron government. There have already been some calls from the Right Wing British Blogosphere for Cameron to step down. That his error in judgment in hiring Andy Coulson signaled some weakness in his leadership ability. I expressed that hunch some days ago, but in light of all the circumstances and fast moving developments, any hunch or speculation on my part is completely pulling something out of the air.

It's gone past the point of being believable. So I'm not even trying.

The top player is the Politics Weekly Podcast from The Guardian and the bottom player is the one-hour audience participation special on the Media Talk program.

All in all, a very busy week with no letup in sight.