Jump to content

New depths?


bridge too far

Recommended Posts

And of course totally co-incidentally, the BSB share price has now dropped well below the last offer value.

 

Saved Murdoch around a billion.

 

Damned smart piece of business that, hell if this runs on for a year before he is cleared (with that much money involved anyone want to take a bet?) he could be billions in the pocket.

 

No not an opinion, just another thought that a cynic COULD come up with.

 

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let's see how brave the modern career politicians are. Will they have the balls to break with NI?

 

For 30 years they've been at his beck and call.

 

Governments are temporary. It's the institutions that persist through Parliaments that build real power. It'll be interesting to see how far the politicians are willing to go on this. If they go after News International, they've got to go for the kill. Otherwise NI will persist into the next Parliament and many of the politicians will not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Governments are temporary. It's the institutions that persist through Parliaments that build real power. It'll be interesting to see how far the politicians are willing to go on this. If they go after News International, they've got to go for the kill. Otherwise NI will persist into the next Parliament and many of the politicians will not.

 

UK Gov will not kill NI.

 

Wall street will kill it.

 

Post Enron days means that all US registered companies are tied in to Corporate Responsibility & Processes. One rogue operation breaking those rules could really burn the parent. The only out for them is that a lot of the allegations relate bck to 2003 before SOX became fully implemented.

 

UK Gov will be like a small annoying Mosquito bite. Wall St & US Corporate Legislation - now that is where to go after them.

 

Start to look for the articles on Succession Planning - when Analysts really turn against Rupert's Choice the battle lines will be drawn. Wall Street wants Independent new Management in...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This move by ni to change the deal is a clever one. The government cannot allow the takeover in the current climate without getting slaughtered. They also can't block it without a ton of legal issues. Ni still want the deal but are realistic enough that the sentiment is against them, however they don't want to be seen to be caving in.

 

So by changing the deal, ni give the government an excuse to refer it to the competition committee where it will rot for six months. Ni get their delay until the dust settles and the government get to look like they have done something positive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This move by ni to change the deal is a clever one. The government cannot allow the takeover in the current climate without getting slaughtered. They also can't block it without a ton of legal issues. Ni still want the deal but are realistic enough that the sentiment is against them, however they don't want to be seen to be caving in.

 

So by changing the deal, ni give the government an excuse to refer it to the competition committee where it will rot for six months. Ni get their delay until the dust settles and the government get to look like they have done something positive.

 

And a cynic would wonder where the hell David Cameron was all day today....

 

Supposed to meet the Dowler parents, Questions in the House........

 

And would probably come up with a damned good guess

 

Perhaps time for Ed to don a tin helmet methinks - OK Rupes we'll help out with the deal let it keep bubbling away you just do this. Oh, and as a favour, could you.... you know re-aim some of the artillery shells by any chance?

 

Oh that's great thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone who thinks that News Corp. are deliberately releasing all this stuff as part of some plan to improve their business is a nutter.

 

Thanks for your valued input into the thread.

 

Also Specsavers are quite helpful, may assist you to read the word Cynical questions in all of the posts about this.

 

Anyway go back and do some research.

 

The documents were handed to Police in January. They relate to events starting 8 years ago.

 

It is now July.

 

Just ask yourself why this week?

 

Don't need an opinion, nobody can know what the hell is going on, just have a question in your mind and show you have a brain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your valued input into the thread.

 

Also Specsavers are quite helpful, may assist you to read the word Cynical questions in all of the posts about this.

 

Anyway go back and do some research.

 

The documents were handed to Police in January. They relate to events starting 8 years ago.

 

It is now July.

 

Just ask yourself why this week?

 

Don't need an opinion, nobody can know what the hell is going on, just have a question in your mind and show you have a brain.

 

You have no idea.

 

The Murdoch's are at risk of being arrested, yes... arrested... within the USA. Their BskyB deal is down the toilet, their whole company is at risk and its value is falling day by day. Their influence in UK politics is also diminished.

 

Do you really think they instigated this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone who thinks that News Corp. are deliberately releasing all this stuff as part of some plan to improve their business is a nutter.

 

At the very least it's a stretch to argue that Murdoch deliberately orchestrated the utter chaos that has befallen his entire empire in order to play hoopla with the share price of a small-ish bit of it.

 

The idea that he would have thought it worth the trouble to alienate some of the biggest institutional investors in his corporation, and subject his senior employees to prolonged police investigation, political scrutiny and public opprobrium, all in the name of a little bit of share-price skimming, amounts to saying merely that he is guilty of yet one more criminal act (as the manipulation of share prices is).

 

On top of the mountain of accusations and charges that NI now faces as a result of this criminal conspiracy, I'm sure a bit of share-price fraud it's exactly the kind of thing he would think it a good idea to do...

 

It's bonkers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have no idea.

 

The Murdoch's are at risk of being arrested, yes... arrested... within the USA. Their BskyB deal is down the toilet, their whole company is at risk and its value is falling day by day. Their influence in UK politics is also diminished.

 

Do you really think they instigated this?

 

 

Do you really think that someone

 

With an Axe to Grind

 

Financial benefit to be made

 

In competition with them

 

Hates Cameron

 

Opposed to their takeover

 

Did not instigate this?

 

Again go back to the FACTS.

 

NOWT supplied 11,000 pages of information to the Police in January 2011.

 

It is now July.

 

Why did the story break THIS month?

 

Why did the story not break in January?

 

Then look at the posts you so clearly have not read. Not ONE person has said "Oh this is obviously a plan to save money"

 

People have used the words "IF" and "Thinking About" and "Cynic". They are ALL rhetorical QUESTIONS

 

The reason we are in this mess is because of muppets who do not stop and wonder what the feck is going on when they read something in the paper.

 

Jesus, are you denying that even the POLICE are questioning WHY and WHO is leaking this stuff and WHAT THEIR MOTIVATIONS ARE? So are we.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you really think that someone

 

With an Axe to Grind

 

Financial benefit to be made

 

In competition with them

 

Hates Cameron

 

Opposed to their takeover

 

Did not instigate this?

 

Again go back to the FACTS.

 

NOWT supplied 11,000 pages of information to the Police in January 2011.

 

It is now July.

 

Why did the story break THIS month?

 

Why did the story not break in January?

 

Then look at the posts you so clearly have not read. Not ONE person has said "Oh this is obviously a plan to save money"

 

People have used the words "IF" and "Thinking About" and "Cynic". They are ALL rhetorical QUESTIONS

 

The reason we are in this mess is because of muppets who do not stop and wonder what the feck is going on when they read something in the paper.

 

Jesus, are you denying that even the POLICE are questioning WHY and WHO is leaking this stuff and WHAT THEIR MOTIVATIONS ARE? So are we.

 

The motivations are obviously to damage Murdoch or maybe just to do the right thing. As it is mainly the Guardian who have been driving this story, I suggest it is the former. I hardly think it matters though, as these revelations are clearly in the public interest.

 

All the illegal practices must be fully investigated and those responsible brought to justice.

 

Murdoch will have no role in instigating this affair. It's in his interests that none of this came to light, especially at this time.

 

Either way, the truth will out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok for the simples.

 

Here's another possible idea.

 

News Corp leaks the information BECAUSE they know how bad it will be and want it all done and out in a few months rather than hanging over a multi-billion US listed company for the next xxx years.

 

Maybe Large corporations try and run damage limitation exercises. Hell the UK media have a track record of being Outraged for days and sometimes even weeks, then they move on.

 

This "scandal" could bring down a $35billion empire. Is it ot right to be at least sceptical or at worst cynical about everything that comes out?

 

You guys are the big losers at the moment - share price in Billion dollar company plunges 10% - ha guess what - non Public sector workers just got ANOTHER hole in their savings/Pension plans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're getting into flying saucer territory here, Phil. Ever heard of Occam's Razor? It's a good principle to apply to your arguments because you'd end up discarding all of them, or at least acknowledging how out there they are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The motivations are obviously to damage Murdoch or maybe just to do the right thing. As it is mainly the Guardian who have been driving this story, I suggest it is the former. I hardly think it matters though, as these revelations are clearly in the public interest.

 

All the illegal practices must be fully investigated and those responsible brought to justice.

Murdoch will have no role in instigating this affair. It's in his interests that none of this came to light, especially at this time.

 

Either way, the truth will out.

 

Yes but they occured in the period 2003 - 2007 and WERE investigated. People WERE jailed

 

Badly it seemed at the time and by the Police's own admission.

 

Again Cynic - is this all an attempt to hide "someone who knew more about this than has been said" or is it all truly altruistic Pullitzer Prize winning Journalism.

 

Just stay sceptical, that's all. So much more to come and so many new ideas to throw around

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the very least it's a stretch to argue that Murdoch deliberately orchestrated the utter chaos that has befallen his entire empire in order to play hoopla with the share price of a small-ish bit of it.

 

The idea that he would have thought it worth the trouble to alienate some of the biggest institutional investors in his corporation, and subject his senior employees to prolonged police investigation, political scrutiny and public opprobrium, all in the name of a little bit of share-price skimming, amounts to saying merely that he is guilty of yet one more criminal act (as the manipulation of share prices is).

 

On top of the mountain of accusations and charges that NI now faces as a result of this criminal conspiracy, I'm sure a bit of share-price fraud it's exactly the kind of thing he would think it a good idea to do...

 

It's bonkers.

 

No-one got arrested for (allegedly) inflating the SLH / SFC share price in April 2007...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No-one got arrested for (allegedly) inflating the SLH / SFC share price in April 2007...

 

Anyone investigating THAT would not have proceeded because they were too busy laughing at the loonytunes mock-Irishman who used to peddle the crap that sent the price through the roof.

 

Not QUITE the same thing, though, is it, trousers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone investigating THAT would not have proceeded because they were too busy laughing at the loonytunes mock-Irishman who used to peddle the crap that sent the price through the roof.

 

Not QUITE the same thing, though, is it, trousers?

 

Agreed.....I just have this OCD condition whereby I have to mention the SFC takeover shenanigans once a day otherwise I turn into a loonatic Tory. I have the odd lapse every now and then...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Murdoch throws his UK toys out of the pram what happens to the prem? The implications of all this for football could get interesting.

 

Been thinking the same thing.

 

Using a hypothesis that Phil would be proud of... :-) ...Saints could become one of the best placed clubs (financially) if the Sky money disappeared 'overnight'... Indeed, some might say that Cortese had a motive to engineer the downfall of the Murdoch empire...we already know there is a connection to the Saints takeover (Barry the Briefcase)...it's all starting to add up...

 

Phil - am I warm...? ;-))

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/11/phone-hacking-news-international-gordon-brown

 

Journalists who have worked at News International say they believe Brown's personal bank account was accessed on several occasions while he was chancellor. An internal inquiry by Abbey National's fraud department found that during January 2000 someone acting on behalf of the Sunday Times contacted their Bradford call centre six times, posing as Brown, and succeeded in extracting details from his account.

 

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been thinking the same thing.

 

Using a hypothesis that Phil would be proud of... :-) ...Saints could become one of the best placed clubs (financially) if the Sky money disappeared 'overnight'... Indeed, some might say that Cortese had a motive to engineer the downfall of the Murdoch empire...we already know there is a connection to the Saints takeover (Barry the Briefcase)...it's all starting to add up...

 

Phil - am I warm...? ;-))

 

Nope. I am - my fecking a/c blew up again at 11pm last night 3rd time in a week - that's warm I can tell ya.

 

The train of thought has to be more specific otherwise as Verbal says we really would go off into UFO land.

 

The actual question is simple - why did this all come to light now? This mess has been (according to one report today) 11 years in the making, and the information went to the Police in January. All I do is look at who possibly benefits, it's a train of thought underpins each possible scenario.

 

At the end of the day, all the other thought processes removed.

 

Taken at face value it is great investigative journalism by the Guardian, and with a pinch of salt as large as the cynical questions I have posed, the timing really could have been simply down to the fact that the Journo had everything ready to go. So on this basis, we are expected to believe that the timing and impact on the BSB takeover is simply a co-incidence. Fair enough, that might actually be the case, although for me I think Bexy's Babe just landed on my balcony.

 

There is to me, a simple and easy to understand conclusion to the why NOW question - "it APPEARS to have been leaked deliberately by someone to cause the maximum damage to the Gov announcement on the BSB takeover (the date for submissions was last week)".

 

But equally as the story keeps unfolding I question my own opinion/assumption and look for other reasosn Was it a co-incidence) (who else could benefit) we are DAILY seeing other possible harm and benefits to many parties in the mess

 

The fate of football hangs on this if News Corp goes pop? Don't be daft, outside of the UK there are many other Broadcasters who would simply LOVE to get into the UK market. Abu Dhabi Media Group have global aspirations, are opening a global Sky News Arabic operation down here, they'd LOVE the chance to pick up NI's share of BSB in a fire sale of assets? You'd have adverts for Etihad running every 10 minutes...

 

Hmm another line of possibilities 8)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me the most serious issue here is not the hacking, but the police corruption.

 

These are two separate issues.

 

One would expect journalists to scrape the barrel when it comes to morality, but you don't expect the police in Great Britain to act like the authorities in some banana republic ruled by a small, self-elected, wealthy, corrupt politico-economic plutocracy.

 

The whole fabric of our supposed democracy has been brought into question here and heads need to roll.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The actual question is simple - why did this all come to light now? This mess has been (according to one report today) 11 years in the making, and the information went to the Police in January. All I do is look at who possibly benefits, it's a train of thought underpins each possible scenario.

 

 

Taken at face value it is great investigative journalism by the Guardian, and with a pinch of salt as large as the cynical questions I have posed, the timing really could have been simply down to the fact that the Journo had everything ready to go.

 

The question of 'why now?' presupposes that The Guardian has only just broken this story. They haven't. Here's a list of Nick Davies' stories on the subject going back two years - not quite far enough, in fact, to include the article he wrote which broke the criminal conspiracy angle in 2009.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/nickdavies

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Daily Fail is reporting that the BBC's Robert Peston is being fed 'strategic exclusives' by News International so Murdoch can steer events in the direction he wishes, and thus pre-warning his senior team of what the police will be investigating next...

 

Isn't this what used to be known as "perverting the course of justice"...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The question of 'why now?' presupposes that The Guardian has only just broken this story. They haven't. Here's a list of Nick Davies' stories on the subject going back two years - not quite far enough, in fact, to include the article he wrote which broke the criminal conspiracy angle in 2009.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/nickdavies

 

I believe Phil is highlighting the 'explosive' elements of this story coming out now (i.e. The hacking of murder victims and families phones etc).

 

Yes, the phone hacking story has been out there for years but people didn't care much about 'celebs' being hacked per se.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The question of 'why now?' presupposes that The Guardian has only just broken this story. They haven't. Here's a list of Nick Davies' stories on the subject going back two years - not quite far enough, in fact, to include the article he wrote which broke the criminal conspiracy angle in 2009.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/nickdavies

 

Yes, obviously, and many other articles in many other papers feeding from that or expanding on it.

 

So again, is the current explosion simply because the UK population became so immune to scandals that it took the horror of hacking Milly Dowler's phone or The Afghan Soldiers to "take things to this level?". The story as you say isn't a new one.

 

So again - can take it all at face value and believe it was just about timing circumstance and emotion, or can ask when did they know about her phone being hacked?

 

From what I have read, that info only came to light in the release in January, and Police told the Dowlers some days before the story broke. But I think I read that some days ago and there are so many pages on this damned if I can google it now!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If News international were hacking the one eyed idiots communications then why the hell didn't intelligence services realise?

 

My hunch is that bribery and corruption is not just limited to the police, but to our intelligence services.

 

So who the f/ck can be trusted to investigate all this?

 

Bring back Roger Cook I say because we cannot trust the police anymore and that is a fact.

Edited by dune
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe Phil is highlighting the 'explosive' elements of this story coming out now (i.e. The hacking of murder victims and families phones etc).

 

Yes, the phone hacking story has been out there for years but people didn't care much about 'celebs' being hacked per se.

 

The revelation about the criminal conspiracy at the heart of NI WAS the 'explosive' element. The Millie Dowler episode was merely one aspect of it. Short memories aside, Davies' original report DID attract a lot of attention - and its wasn't about celebs but about payoffs on an epic scale. Davies, as well as Tom Watson in the HoC, have plugged away at the issue of this conspiracy for years. They weren't so much ignored as repeatedly warned (Watson in particular) that they were in a certain amount of danger if they persisted.

 

Until recently, the balance of threat was always in favour of NI. The Dowler scandal tipped the balance, and continues to do so in ways which no one - least of all Murdoch - can control or predict.

Edited by Verbal
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dune, are you on sensible pills today? I agree....

 

Spot on, we all knew what the NoTW was like but I didn't realise that so many policemen and women are corrupt.

As for royal protection officers selling their soul for £1000 - astonishing.

He could've asked £20K for that info, it was an odd transaction - £1k to kill your career and prove yourself morally bankrupt.

 

MPs, bankers, police and media - the UK doesn't look very clever from the outside at the mo - and the streets of Southampton are paved with rubbish bags.

 

Maybe its time for us to stop wagging fingers and lecturing the world on corruption, a free press, and how to govern.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Daily Fail is reporting that the BBC's Robert Peston is being fed 'strategic exclusives' by News International so Murdoch can steer events in the direction he wishes, and thus pre-warning his senior team of what the police will be investigating next...

 

Isn't this what used to be known as "perverting the course of justice"...?

 

hence the article yesterday about the Police being furious that a number on here already commented on

 

But THIS one in even MORE explosive.....

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8631456/Senior-detectives-investigating-hacking-had-phones-targeted.html

 

Five senior detectives connected to the News of the World phone hacking investigation had their voicemails targeted, it has been reported.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dune, are you on sensible pills today? I agree....

 

Spot on, we all knew what the NoTW was like but I didn't realise that so many policemen and women are corrupt.

As for royal protection officers selling their soul for £1000 - astonishing.

He could've asked £20K for that info, it was an odd transaction - £1k to kill your career and prove yourself morally bankrupt.

 

MPs, bankers, police and media - the UK doesn't look very clever from the outside at the mo - and the streets of Southampton are paved with rubbish bags.

 

Maybe its time for us to stop wagging fingers and lecturing the world on corruption, a free press, and how to govern.

 

It doesn't matter what your political persuasion is. If you believe in democracy then you deteste bribery and corruption.

 

We all think of countries like Italy (and the Mafia) when it comes to corruption. It's a sad sad day for Britain now that we know that we are just as bad.

 

Cameron needs to get his arse into gear and a major investigation needs to take place. But again I ask who can be trusted to investigate?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It doesn't matter what your political persuasion is. If you believe in democracy then you deteste bribery and corruption.

 

We all think of countries like Italy (and the Mafia) when it comes to corruption. It's a sad sad day for Britain now that we know that we are just as bad.

 

Cameron needs to get his arse into gear and a major investigation needs to take place. But again I ask who can be trusted to investigate?

 

Whatever happened to Woodward & Bernstein?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cameron needs to get his arse into gear and a major investigation needs to take place. But again I ask who can be trusted to investigate?

 

This is a job for the SaintsWeb Forum sleuths.... they could do worse than engage a crack team from here. I said 'crack'.

 

4.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If all the titles of NI are brought down by this scandal, who in the end does this serve best?

The politicians and celebs who are living sordid lives will be able to hide behind privacy bills.

To me if you have nothing to hide, why worry if anyone is listening in.

The problem IMo was not the tapping but who was tapped into, until it was found out that the Soham girls family etc were listenied into most couldn't give a flying f###.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem IMo was not the tapping but who was tapped into, until it was found out that the Soham girls family etc were listenied into most couldn't give a flying f###.

 

In the case of Milly Dowler her mum saw that messages had been deleted and this gave her hope that her daughter was still alive.

 

It's sick. just imagine the horror she was going through.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the case of Milly Dowler her mum saw that messages had been deleted and this gave her hope that her daughter was still alive.

 

It's sick. just imagine the horror she was going through.

I haven't followed all the revelations. Why would a hacker delete messages?

As I say the levels of decency have been crossed.

I'm sure i read that the Americans are listening out for key words and if it is used they can listen in. This is regarding terrorism etc of course.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tweets circulating that News Corp in US planning "Get out of Dodge" strategy to sell/dump News International.

 

Suggestions of a new power emerging to drive this.

 

Problems possibly for Dow Jones - current chairman was NI CEO & made what now appear to be "less than complete" statements to Parliament.

 

Contagion.

 

Yes the UK can rejoice at the idea of sending RM back with his tail between his legs, but a fire sale will affect many pension & savings plans (again)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just watched BBC interview with Gordon Brown. He's saying The Sun could only have got medical info on his child's medical records via illegal means.

 

I genuinely don't want to join in with the party politics angle on this, but it begs the question why he didn't sue The Sun at the time if he was adamant (as he is now) that they were breaking the law.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My buddies in IT Security just commented on an interesting Internet rumour...

 

Various (proper) hacking groups - inc one called Anonymous have "vowed to take down Murdoch & his family & NI execs " by accessing personal and corporate data and publishing it into media such as Wikileaks. Apparently their is no shortage of volunteers.

 

Pandora's box

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just watched BBC interview with Gordon Brown. He's saying The Sun could only have got medical info on his child's medical records via illegal means.

 

I genuinely don't want to join in with the party politics angle on this, but it begs the question why he didn't sue The Sun at the time if he was adamant (as he is now) that they were breaking the law.

 

And why did he attend the Editors wedding some 3 years AFTER this illegal act?

 

Could it be that things changed once the Murdoch press changed their support back to the Torys?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just watched BBC interview with Gordon Brown. He's saying The Sun could only have got medical info on his child's medical records via illegal means.

 

I genuinely don't want to join in with the party politics angle on this, but it begs the question why he didn't sue The Sun at the time if he was adamant (as he is now) that they were breaking the law.

 

The answer is pretty obvious. Then, unlike now, NI were a law unto themselves. Anyone who chose to go publicly against them tended to find themselves taken down by yet another one of their scams. Politicians all the way up the tree were running scared of Murdoch. Now they're not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And why did he attend the Editors wedding some 3 years AFTER this illegal act?

 

Could it be that things changed once the Murdoch press changed their support back to the Torys?

 

The Editors are a crappy band. Brown should hang his head in shame.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

to believe that only the NI were into these shady and grubby practices is a tad naive. The Guardian has put its head above the parapet and so probably is confident it is clean. Time will tell who else did these things.

As Phil is alluding to, we should be careful what we wish for

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...