Murdoch hacking scandal latest

[scottycelt]

Misnomer dear. From the old French mes- mistake and nommer to name. So what about the "man of the world"? Is there really much "man" in him? And - not off the topic - it would somewhat assist our analysis would it not were we able to discover whether the "Carry On" moving pictures remain quite as tremendously popular in Britain to-day as they once were.

If he/she is indeed English, Lateralthinking only spelt the word as any person from the southern two--thirds (approx) of this island would almost certainly pronounce it, Mr Grew ...

The 'Carry On' films, like McGill's saucy old postcards, could actually be very funny, despite their rather incontrovertible vulgarity, whereas the NoTW had all the atmosphere of a group of sweaty male Neanderthals leering and shouting lewd comments at every pretty female they encountered.

There is simply little real comparison, in my ever-humble view ....

[MickyD]

Funny, I've always thought that ... its unofficial (yet possibly more commonly-used) title, 'News of the Screws', was much more accurate ...

My father told me that when he was in the Navy during the war, the NOTW was always affectionately known as "The Whore's Gazette."

[Lateralthinking1]

Yes, Lateral is a he last time I looked, a southerner who lived for some years in North Yorkshire. He has also spent 26 weeks on official duties either side of the French/Swiss border near to Geneva but that is another matter.

His first selection on that non-existent radio programme which asks you to take just eight comedy sketches to a desert island would be from "Hancock's Half Hour". The "Carry On" team would be left at home. However, he has a bit of a soft spot for them - after all, Sid, Kenneth and Hattie were a part of them too.

[Sydney Grew]

. . . The Strange Death of Christopher Shale

Incidentally, isn't life full of coincidences? . . .

Fascinating just fascinating! But my problem is that I have no idea of who these people are so have no real business to be on this thread. My subscription to the Eye has lapsed; but to-day I discovered that they have improved their net-suite, so it may be possible to glean some understanding there.

I remember in the '-seventies there were at least two Englishmen who came to a similarly strange sticky and never to be explained end somewhere in France.

On Friday evening I looked in upon the Corporation's "News-Night" I think it was called on the tele-vision, but am none the wiser. There was a young woman crouching forward, waving her arms about, and continually interrupting the other speakers. And there was a man - not a gentleman - described as a "comedian" - with frizzy hair and no tie. He was having a ding-dong row with another man who in a white suit with tie half undone looked more than half-way under the weather and simply resigned to having not much end to hold up. But the whole discussion and argument if discussion and argument it can be called had a distinctly staged and rehearsed appearance.

So do you think the B.B.C. is somehow in on it (whatever it is) too?

How Britain has changed since the days of Gaitskell! Of course many think it was the Russians that did him in.

[Lateralthinking1]

Sydney - When you ask whether I think the BBC is in it, the answer is "no". That we the licence payers contributed to VIP tickets for MPs led to criticism of the Beeb later in 2007. It had muttered something lame along the lines of attempting to raise their cultural awareness. Don't know if it ever happened again. While it showed that even the relationship between the Corporation and Parliament can be too cosy, there was no hint of party political bias. Labour MPs were given tickets too - notably Sion Simon. There may have been Conservative enthusiasm because Cameron was going through his green period. What I do know though is Villiers is more of a regular. In fact, I was among those ordered not to send her any briefing one weekend just a month after she became a Minister because she was going to be away for several days in a Somerset field.

I have to be careful on what I say about the Shale case. I am not implying anything specifically. In truth, no one knows for sure. What I would say, though, is that a typical member of the public might have been surprised to hear that the Chairman of any Conservative Association was at Glastonbury, let alone that he had died there. It is therefore easy for it to be portrayed as an "oddbox" moment at a fringe event wholly removed from London. But huge amounts of planning goes into the building of a weekend city that is much bigger than York. The planning consent falls to the tiny local authority. Of course, people often think of, and indeed over-emphasise, the drugs and would not be surprised to hear about the involvement of the local police force. There is though so much more to it and at the national level. A no-fly zone has to be agreed. There is a certain amount of coordination on the facilities so, for example, it was agreed that there will not be a festival next year to free up portable toilets for the Olympics. And as I have explained, Government research was actually taking place there this year with senior police involvement.

So....all of this provides a very different kind of picture to the one presented. Rather than being anti-establishment, as it was in 1971, the place is almost swarming with establishment figures although culturally the original essence can still be found. Shale attended regularly and everyone knew it. Furthermore, he was not quite the off-message one in the Conservative family as many think except in his political conclusions. The death didn't happen while he was off on a highly individualistic jaunt. Even the Minister with responsibilities for police knew the festival site. That Minister is effectively answerable to Ken Clarke and Theresa May but neither is considered particularly influential and crucially neither is in the Cameron inner circle. By contrast, he is in that inner circle - as all of the Murdoch people are - and it is widely believed that he was picked by Andy Coulson. One could imagine that on many issues he would have direct communications with the police, No 10 and the Government-friendly Murdoch media.

I once had the misfortune to have to shake the hand of Geoff Hoon. During those seconds, fairly or unfairly, all I could think about was Dr David Kelly. I have no reason to believe that Shale did not die of a heart attack but - and call me illogical if you wish - I will always have my doubts. I have attended Glastonbury on ten occasions. I believe that the toilets, even those not in the VIP area, are cleaned about every four hours. This would mean that Shale would have had to have been missed five times before the police allegedly broke the door down. And I have to say that I have never seen them break any toilet door down there. It is just accepted that among those in any block, some are permanently broken and therefore inaccessible. Normally there is a sticker whereas if a toilet is occupied, the cleaners wait until it has been used and then go in. As for the publication in the Mail on Sunday, he could have leaked that himself, believing for some reason that they couldn't sack him, even as Chairman of Cameron's constituency party and in the area where the Murdoch clan and indeed Steve Hilton hang out. - Lat.

[french frank]

Syd

I wonder if you would mind editing the quotes you use, particularly if they are long? The link at the top allows anyone who wishes to return to the original for reference. This applies to all members, btw.

Fascinating just fascinating! But my problem is that I have no idea of who these people are so have no real business to be on this thread.

Veri similis.

[Sydney Grew]

Syd

I wonder if you would mind editing the quotes you use, particularly if they are long? The link at the top allows anyone who wishes to return to the original for reference. This applies to all members, btw.Veri similis.

No sooner said than.

By the way Rupert's millionairess mother is still going strong at a hundred and two; she is said to be a woman both wise and generous, with a large and wholly delightful garden.

[Lateralthinking1]

To clarify - Murdoch, not Soames!!

[johnb]

Murdoch as a an extremely skilful and very persistent fighter but Jeremy Hunt now going back to Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading poses problems for him.

If Murdoch believes that News Corp might be ruled not a suitable organisation to own the whole of BSkyB my guess is that he will withdraw his bid very quickly. Such a ruling in the UK would probably have global implications for his empire, e.g. whenever someone, say, in the US wanted to block Murdoch expanding his empire there they could cite the UK ruling.

By the way, can someone explain this:

- Vince Cable says he is opposed to the Murdoch BSkyB deal going through and responsibility for the deal is taken away from him.

- Jeremy Hunt had repeatedly said (on TV, etc) that he didn't see any problems with the deal and was in favour of it going through. He was then given the "quasi-judicial" responsibility.

[mercia]

Peston with more revelations
the NotW paid a Royal protection officer for contact information of Royal family members

[amateur51]

[QUOTE=Sydney Grew;66852]

How Britain has changed since the days of Gaitskell! Of course many think it was the Russians that did him in.

Many what?

[Lateralthinking1]

Peston should know. He is very close indeed to key Newscorp figures. Is there anything more he would like to volunteer? (Everyone knows that Gaitskell and Butler were the same person. They just appeared to be different entities until 1963. )

[french frank]

If Murdoch believes that News Corp might be ruled not a suitable organisation to own the whole of BSkyB my guess is that he will withdraw his bid very quickly.

It was 50/50 in the city that the bid would fail, now apparently 90/10 - with the possibility (perhaps remotish) that if he's not fit and proper to own the whole of BSkyB, he's not fit and proper to own any of it ...

Master Clegg has said he should do the decent thing and withdraw the bid. Might be better than having a custard pie from Ofcom?


'Analyst Alex DeGroote, at Panmure Gordon stockbrokers, said: “Our new assessment is 10:90 in favour. In other words, we believe the deal is all but dead.”

He also raised the possibility of a forced divestiture of News Corp's 39% shareholding in BSkyB.

"If the 'fit and proper' test is applied rigidly by Ofcom and events elsewhere worsen, it could become a factor," he added. '

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

yep Lat the Oxbridge PEPPIE CLONE is still at it ..... speaking as a subject of Her Maj i would respectfully point out that we have been trying this model for some time now and it er ,,, ain't working ....

[mangerton]

Peston should know. He is very close indeed to key Newscorp figures. Is there anything more he would like to volunteer? (Everyone knows that Gaitskell and Butler were the same person. They just appeared to be different entities until 1963. )

Yes, if I recall correctly he was called Butskell.