Murdoch: Ouf! Is this meltdown?

[Lateralthinking1]

......To be serious again for a moment, and actually the second para of my last was entirely serious, what about national security? If the police were so closely connected to NI, and to the parts of Government Departments managing security, notwithstanding any meetings there might have been between NI and those Departments, how sure can we be that national security has not been compromised by those connections?

[Mahlerei]

Guardian reporting that one of Coulson's original accusers has been found dead. Also, IPCC investigating claims that Yates secured a job for Neil Wallis's daughter.

[french frank]

Guardian reporting that one of Coulson's original accusers has been found dead. Also, IPCC investigating claims that Yates secured a job for Neil Wallis's daughter.

I missed the point that Yates was suspended earlier this morning and his resignation came after that.

[hackneyvi]

I missed the point that Yates was suspended earlier this morning and his resignation came after that.

I'm very sorry to say that watching Yates' resignation speech, I was powerfully reminded of Jonathan Aitken.

I wondered if he'd been given PR advice to look straight at the camera. If he was, it was ill-advised. He looked very much to me like a man giving a performance, not a man concerned about making a dignified exit from the stage.

[amateur51]

Guardian reporting that one of Coulson's original accusers has been found dead. Also, IPCC investigating claims that Yates secured a job for Neil Wallis's daughter.

Here's the Guardian link, which also contains details of what Sean Hoare (the whistleblower in question) said that Coulson knew about what Hoare was doing regarding hacking etc.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/18/news-of-the-world-sean-hoare

[Lateralthinking1]

QUOTE=Mahlerei : Guardian reporting that one of Coulson's original accusers has been found dead.

Oh yes. Another peculiar "not suspicious" death. Must be something to do with the marquee pole his relative accidentally used to break his nose the weekend before last.

I absolutely detest Francis Maude - the worst of the lot imho - but this shows that Cameron went above his head in 2007 with the appointment of Coulson (actually as it was in The Times I have removed it but you get my drift.)

And I also found this on ConservativeHome - http://conservativehome.blogs.com/in...cis-maude.html. A pretty damning article on Maude, the comments below it from people generally saying they too think he is awful. Then scroll down to comment 8 from 1 June 2011 and oh my word -

"Christopher Shale said...
I couldn't disagree more with most of the previous comments. This is a good man: hard working, talented, energetic. Years before others did he understood the scale of change we needed".

I bet no one has checked that one since Glastonbury and would be surprised that it is there!

Not only was this possibly his last comment on any forum. It also places him firmly in the non-Murdoch, some might even say the anti-Murdoch, camp!

[hackneyvi]

I've just heard Alan Johnson (Home Secretary 2009) on Channel 4 news. He's asked by Jon Snow about John Yates and expresses doubt about him because Yates, he says, was responsible for making the decision not to reopen the hacking business in 2009. Yates arrived at his decision in 8 hours and a ministerial statement was then made.

Snow: Did you know he'd only taken 8 hours?

Johnson: Well, I knew he hadn't taken very long about it.

Johnson then says, 'we' didn't know about the Dowler family, the 7th July etc - if 'we' had - if the story had been in more than one paper - if it hadn't been before an election when he (Johnson) could have been accused of making political decisions in the matter - then he might have made a different decisions.

The officer he feels is culpable doesn't look at the evidence, Johnson knows this and 2 years later he dares to itemise what 'we' didn't know. How could 'we' know if the police didn't look at the evidence? How could 'we' even begin to know?

[Mahlerei]

And while all this bubbles on Greece is about to run out of money and the US needs political consensus very soon if it's to avoid economic meltdown. Stocks fell sharply and now estate agents are saying the bottom is about to fall out of the property market.

'We're doomed, I tell you, doo-'

[Lateralthinking1]

Yes. hackneyvi - Thanks for this info. Very interesting. Thought I would check that timeline again. Alan Johnson - the sudden stepping down has never been explained - ceased being Shadow Chancellor on 20 Jan 2011. And Andy Coulson stepped down because of renewed phone hacking allegations on - oh what a coincidence - the morning of 21 Jan 2011.

For the record, the CPS had decided to reopen the hacking investigations on 14 Jan 2011 after which the non-Murdoch press were pouncing.

I asked this morning about Julian Assange. Tonight I have had a go at answering my own question. Before he is shunted away, never to be heard of again, I bring you this from his interview with John Pilger in the New Statesman on would you believe 12 Jan 2011. That would be a whole two days before the CPS decided to do something again!

Assange says - "If something happens to me or to WikiLeaks, 'insurance' files will be released."

Pilger comments - "The contents of these files are unknown, but, according to Assange, "They speak more of the same truth to power." It is not just government that should be worried about the content of these files, however. "There are 504 US embassy cables on one broadcasting organisation and there are cables on Murdoch and News Corp," he says."

(Incidentally, why was a guy who had significant knowledge of Home Affairs and knew zilch about economics made Shadow Chancellor by Ed Miliband? One reason is that he didn't want Ed Balls there although when Johnson went the switch to Balls did not appear to involve qualms. The other reason could be...............oh well, to quote Frankie Howerd, please yourselves"). :smiley:

[hackneyvi]

Yes. hackneyvi - Thanks for this info. Very interesting. Thought I would check that timeline again. Alan Johnson - the sudden stepping down has never been explained - ceased being Shadow Chancellor on 20 Jan 2011. And Andy Coulson stepped down because of renewed phone hacking allegations on - oh what a coincidence - the morning of 21 Jan 2011.

I believe everything we're looking at is Public Relations, however weird some of it may seem.

Murdoch talking about his mum and dad.

James Murdoch declaring his personal feelings about what's happened.

Brooks' solicitor in his statement today.

But look at John Yates 'trusty sword of British justice' resignation performance, straight to the camera. Not a speech, a performance. Was that his idea? Or some other genius. "You must look directly at the camera, otherwise you'll look guilty. Whatever you do, perform. Whatever you do, look sincere." And of course he looks guilty as hell.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14190805

I believe what we're watching is a co-ordinated effort to humanise News Corps and to redirect the spotlight on the police because throwing mud and getting it to stick is what News International are about.

I think it'll work if we let it.

[Ferretfancy]

I loved the Sunday Times Section 4 front page yesterday, "Secrets And Lies -- Why Investigative Journalism Is A Force For Good" by the editor, no less !

[hackneyvi]

I believe what we're watching is a co-ordinated effort to humanise News Corps and to redirect the spotlight on the police because throwing mud and getting it to stick is what News International are about.

By 'humanise', I mean of course to clothe in humanity as far as is presently possible and useful; which is a very little, but even a little is some more than none. Not at a stroke, but by a degree, the PR has already worked in suggesting humility, humanity. Why, Murdoch even comes recommended by the Dowlers. PR.

No-one could have held his head in his hands more.

At first glance, the behaviour described seems quite natural. But why? Shouldn't it be a surprise?

No-one? No-one could have held his head in his hands more? How much do you need to hold your head in your hands? How much do you need to talk about your mother's and father's values to quietly suggest to the parents of a murdered girl that you, too, are a child. PR. And what happened as a result of this?

The Dowlers felt pity.

Where are you looking if you have your head in your hands? Are you looking in the eyes of the people you're with?

And afterwards, Murdoch says nothing and lets the Dowlers do the talking. PR.

Meanwhile, the cops and politicians have still got it all to come and by then Murdoch will have disappeared behind a self-cleansing creed.

[ahinton]

Meanwhile, the cops and politicians have still got it all to come and by then Murdoch will have disappeared behind a self-cleansing creed.

Disappeared? Nonsense! Self-cleansing, perhaps - if he could even care about such issues - but the whole point about the BSkyB takeover and such like examples is that it/they can and probably will still happen in principle because when the going gets tought the potential corporate victims will simply sell their existing wares to an offshore private equity firm and, with its help, buy just whatever stakes it wants in just whichever firms it wants to, without the risk of being brought to book by any particular legislature's competition commissions or the like anywhere in the world, thereby not merely preserving but enhancing the status quo without anyone being able to do anything about it. Plus ça change and all that stuff...

[hackneyvi]

Disappeared? Nonsense!

The Dowlers were Murdoch's PR. He's rebranding.

[ahinton]

The Dowlers were Murdoch's PR. He's rebranding.

Sure - but isn't he and hasn't he been doing that kind of thing all the time and won't he and those like him continue to do so with each minute that passes? Who should be surprised at any of this and who can do anything about it? Constant artificial reinvention without real reinvention is the name of the global game, n'est-ce pas? The politicains and the police are in the pockets of him and those like him, but then the police and acting governments are likewise - in other words, "they're all in this together" and will stay that way, regardless of how those at the top might appear continuously to exchange places and regardless of what anyone outside their côterie might attempt at any time to do to break this mould...