Sheaf Saint

I agree with all of this, and it is perhaps inevitable that Labour would take this point-scoring opportunity to attack Cameron and criticise his judgement. But I still don't see why anybody's views on the whole subject would or should be dictated by their political leanings, which appears to be the point that Lord Duckhunter is trying to make.

OK, have you ever gone to the newsagents with the intention of buying, for example, the Telegraph, only to change your mind and buy the Express because they had a picture of a celebrity on the front page? Thought not.

Why are you using this issue to have a pop at 'lefties' (whoever they may be)? I haven't seen anybody throughout the course of this thread claim that hacking and deception is OK so long as the victim is on the opposite side of the political spectrum, but it appears from your posting that this is the picture you are trying to paint. I ask again - Why should an individual's political persuasion dictate whether or not they find hacking and corruption distasteful. This is an issue that has nothing to do with left or right, but right and wrong.

As many people have already requested, please don't bring political point-scoring into this. For once I am in complete agreement with dune ()... it doesn't matter what your political persuasion is, nobody should be happy about bribery and corruption in our police / security services.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/11/phone-hacking-news-international-gordon-brown So Mr Murdoch, Ms Brooks... would you care to revise your stataments in which you insisted this whole sorry episode was due to one bad apple in the bunch (ie - the NotW)? It seems preety clear that the culture of hacking and illegally obtaining information via deception was widespread across all of NI's publications. do you still insist you knew nothing about it at the time? I think I just saw Babe fly past my window!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/11/phone-hacking-royal-contact-book Surely this is tantamount to treason???

I have been thinking about this today... One of the points raised by a number of posters relating to the popularity of the NotW is that they are only satisfying a demand, and that the British public are partly to blame for the phone-hacking scandal due to our thirst for gossip, and this has got me thinking... Is this really the case? Or is it more like a self-fulfilling prophecy - in that they tell us what we want to read and eventually people accept that this is normal and enters popular culture? Think about it... Will anybody on here who ever bought the NotW admit that they only bought it because they wanted their fill of juicy celebrity gossip? That certainly isn't the impression I get. Based on the posts I have seen recently, most people only ever bought it for their excellent sports coverage. I am reminded of the furore surrounding the culture of the paparazzi in the wake of the death of princess Diana in 1997, and how they desperately tried to justify their existence with the line that "pictures sell papers". Well I can honestly say I have never bought a newspaper based solely on the picture printed on the front and I expect most, if not all, will agree. I guess my point is that the media like to tell us what we, the British public, want. But is what we actually want often completely different from their own deluded ideas? And do they subconsciously have a hold over the popular culture by constantly repeating the same ethos until we accept it as part of modern life?

They just played the recording of his call on Newsnight.

Dancing bumper to bumper?

Don't worry Phil, you're not the only cynic. This was pretty much my first thought when I saw on the news earlier that today's share price drop wiped the best part of £2.5billion off the overall value of BSkyB.

Now confirmed. News Corp's bid for BSkyB referred to regulator... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14112465 It begs the question: why has it taken all of this scandal to force the government to do something that they should have done as a matter of course anyway? This whole thing stinks to high heaven.

So you admit that the right are just as guilty as the left when it comes to restricitng liberty?

It's OK. He hasn't answered my question either. It's a bit like waiting for a sensible answer from dune.

Common decency, manners, kindness and responsibility cost nothing.

Left of centre is still centre. None of this proves your point about ALL left-wing governments being dictatorial and controlling. Let me ask you this... What has improved since the colaition came to power? what policy changes have they made which have given us more liberty and freedom?

I imagine that the retailer would probably be agreeable to replace the suite for one of equal value that will fit through the doors, but I think they can forget about getting a full refund really.

But hang on.... according to dune the majority of people in the UK are Conservative in their views so the dictatorial policies introduced by a non-left wing Labour government are the fault of a Conservative electorate who voted in a non-left wing party? I'm confused.

Yes I know all about the mass collection of personal data etc.. under the previous government. But I still don't see how that proves your point about the left, seeing as the previous government could in no way be described as left wing.

One of the most over-rated bands ever IMO.

How have my civil liberties changed since 1997? well I guess the biggest change is the terrorism act where I could be arrested and detained for up to 42 days without charge. But that was brought in by the Blair government... how does that prove your point about the left? Blair was about as left as my right hand.

Well yes, in a far-left communist dictatorship like North Korea, for example, you would be correct. But to assign those attributes to anybody who is considered to be on the left of the political spectrum is just plain wrong I'm afraid.

Well I bet Jenson is gonna be p155ed at his mechanics. What a cock up. Not that he would have won, or even made it onto the podium, but that's unforgivable.

Yeah, so you'd think they would show a little bit more f***ing respect to those who laid down their lives for their country. Just because they have championed the cause of the military in the past doesn't in any way justify the depths they plumbed to in this instance.

Say everything is "groovy." Everyone will be really impressed at how down with the kids you are, honestly.