Murdoch's minions reach a new low

[Cain]

BBC just confirmed Murdoch has formally abandoned his bid to take over bSkyb.

VICTORY!

But srsly, next stop is boycotting the Sun.  And getting Rebekah Brooks arrested.

[Triple Zero]

But srsly, next stop is boycotting the Sun.

(sorry it keeps cracking me up)

[Doktor Howl]

Looks like Parliament is going to unite and vote for a motion for Murdoch to drop his bid for bSkyb.

Not legally binding, of course, but still very damaging, if he continues on with it, and the government lets it pass.

The US Senate, meanwhile, is going to look into whether News International employees in the US have been hacking phones as well, and Murdoch's campaign contributions in Australia are being scrutinized.

All in all, this has been an excellent week.

Um, latest update I just saw said the deal is dead.

[bds]

Yep, News Corp dropped the bid, presumably just to avoid any MORE parliamentary confrontation.

[Cain]

Thing is...they can reapply in 6 months.

Speculation is Murdoch may sell the Sun and London Times to show his goodwill.  On the one hand, I would very much like to see the Times restored to its former glory, on the other hand I'm not sure handing over control of all non-digital channels to Murdoch for it is necessarily a fair payoff.

[Luna]

There are people trying to push for an investigation, here:

http://thinkprogress.org/murdoch-petition

Rumors are starting that the phones of 911 families were hacked.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Rumors are starting that the phones of 911 families were hacked.

The hyenas are circling 

[Doktor Howl]

FBI has just announced that it has probable cause to warrant a full investigation on the 911 hacked calls.

That was fast.

[Kai]

[Luna]

FBI has just announced that it has probable cause to warrant a full investigation on the 911 hacked calls.

That was fast.

This should be good.

[Cain]

FBI has just announced that it has probable cause to warrant a full investigation on the 911 hacked calls.

That was fast.

Jay Rockerfeller is apparently the political pressure behind this.  So, what did Murdoch do to piss in Jay's wheaties?

[P3nT4gR4m]

FBI has just announced that it has probable cause to warrant a full investigation on the 911 hacked calls.

That was fast.

Jay Rockerfeller is apparently the political pressure behind this.  So, what did Murdoch do to piss in Jay's wheaties?

Makes me wonder if News International might be using hacked phone shit for other reasons, over and above front page news. There's scope for blackmail scenarios. Maybe not out and out "gimme cash or I'll run the story" stuff but if you have the dirt on high ranking officials and they know you do, that's powerful leverage right there. Maybe JR has some friends in this position?

[Cain]

FBI has just announced that it has probable cause to warrant a full investigation on the 911 hacked calls.

That was fast.

Jay Rockerfeller is apparently the political pressure behind this.  So, what did Murdoch do to piss in Jay's wheaties?

Makes me wonder if News International might be using hacked phone shit for other reasons, over and above front page news. There's scope for blackmail scenarios. Maybe not out and out "gimme cash or I'll run the story" stuff but if you have the dirt on high ranking officials and they know you do, that's powerful leverage right there. Maybe JR has some friends in this position?

Very possible.  I wondered about that, with the UK election.  Murdoch threw his hat in with the Tories - did Coulson and Brooks act to gather political intelligence on Cameron's behalf?  No-one has mentioned even the possibility of this so far, which makes me think there could be something to it.

I know Rockerfeller tends to be business friendly, so I wonder if maybe some of his backers are worried that valuable industrial secrets or similar fell into the hands of News International?  Ironically, he also tends to be a vocal backer of the expansion of the US surveillance state, so perhaps he is just annoyed at having competition?  I think blackmail and industrial secrets could be closer to the mark, though.

[Cain]

Rebekah Brooks, odious little shit that she is, resigned from her post as Chief Executive of News International yesterday.  Also, it was revealed the PM met with News International executives 26 times in the last 15 months.  He is coming under fire for it and, predictably, is trying to arrange cover by having other members of the Cabinet less tainted by the Murdoch brand sing his praises (unfortunately, William Hague is a poor singer).

[MMIX]

BBC just confirmed Murdoch has formally abandoned his bid to take over bSkyb.

VICTORY!

But srsly, next stop is boycotting the Sun.  And getting Rebekah Brooks arrested.

and yet again Cain calls it
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/17/rebekah-brooks-arrested-phone-hacking-allegations