News International/BskyB Debacle

[synsei]

Hi all,

I'm sure most, if not all members are aware of the disgusting phone hacking practices which have been attributed to The News Of The World over the past few months. I'm certain the NoW aren't the only villains of the piece, but the spotlight is firmly on the NoW right now and its parent News International. This company is morally bankrupt and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see it become financially bankrupt over this issue. The government is currently considering a takeover bid by News International for BskyB. This would give the Murdoch's ownership of most TV broadcasting in the UK. Do you really want this shockingly unethical company to take control of your TV viewing? If the answer is 'NO', you have 48 hours to register your opposition. The link below will take you to a website where you can put your name to a pre-composed email recommending that the government puts a stop to this farce.

If, like me, you are totally disgusted by the behavior of the News Of The World, the Murdoch's and their croneys, please share this link with all your friends and contacts on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/

Thank you... :cool:

[ursus262]

Hi all,

I'm sure most, if not all members are aware of the disgusting phone hacking practices which have been attributed to The News Of The World over the past few months. I'm certain the NoW aren't the only villains of the piece, but the spotlight is firmly on the NoW right now and its parent News International. This company is morally bankrupt and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see it become financially bankrupt over this issue. The government is currently considering a takeover bid by News International for BskyB. This would give the Murdoch's ownership of most TV broadcasting in the UK. Do you really want this shockingly unethical company to take control of your TV viewing? If the answer is 'NO', you have 48 hours to register your opposition. The link below will take you to a website where you can put your name to a pre-composed email recommending that the government puts a stop to this farce.

If, like me, you are totally disgusted by the behavior of the News Of The World, the Murdoch's and their croneys, please share this link with all your friends and contacts on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/

Thank you... :cool:

I signed the Avaaz a few days ago. I actually consider Murdoch to be quite evil and our politicians too weak. Let's hope they stitch him up once and for all.

[aquapiranha]

Why murdoch has not yet been stopped from getting his dirty hands on all of Bskyb is beyond me. furthermore, cameron should admit to the extent of his friendships with that hoorible woman and the murdoch spawn. It is no accident that less than 24 hours after cameron 'won' the election, murdoch was at number 10. He should go too IMO.

[Effem]

I'm pretty sure what we are seeing during this fiasco is only the tip of the iceberg. Some of the other tabloids have also probably paid some dirty money towards the News of the World way of investigative reporting and the signs of guilt will be demonstrated by where the NotW story is being featured.

I don't think either it's any kind of accident that politicians are very chummy with the media moguls as it is in their best interests to keep the media contented with their particualar set of pecadillos being kept under wraps and self-promotion on the simmer.

[Macca]

Some interesting history to this - Murdoch's father was a journalist and was sent to cover the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey in 1915, attached to the ANZAC force.

What he saw there made him anti-English - the waste of Australian troops on pointless assaults and the contempt he perceived that they were held in by the British generals in charge. He was highly critical in his reports and later wrote a book that was even more scathing.

Some theorise that this hatred of the English/British was passed down to his son, Rupert...

[John]

I think as Frank says the tip of the iceberg I can see this taking down a few politicians and also a few officers in the police. There is a lot more to come out but not sure if we ever really hear it all

[Mark Grant]

I guess a lot of this will be happening right now :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd_O7-rqcHc


http://www.microteam.co.uk/mobile.php?menu=4&serv=1


http://www.shred-tech.com/document-destruction/north-american-trucks

-

[Beechwoods]

Not safe for work... the inevitable 'Downfall' version :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtk3yLVUOKg

[colinB]

Plus points for the Guardian for sticking with this story for 2 years when the other papers were to scared to run the story.
Reminds me of Blairs Bernie Ecclestone moment early on in Labours tenure although i dont think Cameron will get away with this one. All involved are his mates.

[John]

I think he probably survive be perhaps quite damaged by it all

[Tim]

Not safe for work... the inevitable 'Downfall' version :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtk3yLVUOKg
:D

[ursus262]

Today, I hear that the situation is getting ever more damaging for the Murdoch empire, as apparently the Royal Family has been involved. And there are two things I'd like to get off my chest.

Firstly, there is an old proverb that says that there is always pride before a fall. Any organisation that becomes too powerful loses its sense of place and perspective, and does things that otherwise would be considered unwise or just plain wrong. News International thought it was too powerful to fall from grace - yet it made one major mistake. It forgot that it operates in a free society and that, eventually, in free societies such as ours, the truth always comes out in the end.

Of course they bullied elected politicians and upset all sorts of people. Eventually, they would be bound to turn on them. Deep down, I am not at all surprised at all of this sad state of affairs. As much as I hated Murdoch and the extreme right-wing politics that he supports, I always took comfort from the fact that, eventually, he would fall from grace. The only thing that surprises me, really, is that this hasn't happened sooner.

The second thing I would like to say is this: we all stand back in moral indignation, tut-tutting at the behaviour of the rich and powerful. But it is us who put them there. We buy the papers, the satellite contracts and stand back in moral indignation, tut-tutting at the behaviour of those victims whose shortcomings in their behaviour were reported on, victims who weren't powerful enough to take them on and have their right of reply. We collectively were the ones with our snouts in the trough, who collectively consumed the pigswill within.

I have, at times, struggled to make sense of all of this, and I still wonder if this is a commentary on the arrogance of the rich and powerful, or if this is a commentary of how rotten to the core our nation has become.

[Yoga]

I've signed that a few times (not the same petition, it's been repeated), Avaaz is an excellent movement.

While you're at it, donate to Seva (http://www.seva.org/site/PageServer) and grant someone's wish; their eyesight back. A marvelous charity run by a marvelous man, Ram Dass :¬)

Props for sharing it here :¬)

[Alex_UK]

Unbelievable to see how many people are trying to make a quick buck selling the last edition of NOTW on eBay (http://collectables.shop.ebay.co.uk/Paper-Ephemera-/124/i.html?rt=nc&_nkw=news%20of%20the%20world&_catref=1&_dmpt=UK_Collectables_Paper_RL&_fln=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m283)!

[Yoga]

Unbelievable to see how many people are trying to make a quick buck selling the last edition of NOTW on eBay (http://collectables.shop.ebay.co.uk/Paper-Ephemera-/124/i.html?rt=nc&_nkw=news%20of%20the%20world&_catref=1&_dmpt=UK_Collectables_Paper_RL&_fln=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m283)!

Hmmm indeed.

This one for £50,000.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEWS-WORLD-FINAL-EDITION-10-July-2011-/110713896720?pt=UK_Collectables_Paper_RL&hash=item19c70fff10

80% to go to charity, the rest 'to start a free newspaper'.

Yeah, right :¬)