Here’s Doocy and some Fox tool demanding that we deal with the real issue behind the News of the World scandal: hacking. It’s rampant. There are hackers everywhere, and somebody ought to do something. (via James Fallows, who’s getting a little ABL about the whole Fox issue.)
Meanwhile, back in the real world, London’s Metropolitan Police was infiltrated with Murdoch operatives who tried to shut down the Guardian’s phone hacking investigation, and the head of the Met shared drinks and took comps from Murdoch associates. Heads will probably also roll at the Scotland Yard, where the same kind of collusion took place, and the Yard just ignored garbage bags full of evidence for four years:
Inside was a treasure-trove of evidence: 11,000 pages of handwritten notes listing nearly 4,000 celebrities, politicians, sports stars, police officials and crime victims whose phones may have been hacked by The News of the World, a now defunct British tabloid newspaper.
That last bit is from the Times, who are racing to catch up with the Guardian. And, if you wonder how the Guardian pronounces “fuck you”, this letter from the Guardian’s editor to the Met will give you a pretty good clue.
Update: Rebekah Brooks was just arrested. I thought I’d capture this moment in time at Fox News (click to embiggen). The only story on the entire front page is Rupert’s second round of apologies:
WereBear
Wow.
And Murdoch is still alive to experience what he has wrought; only not in the way he had planned, I am sure!
arguingwithsignposts
Apparently, Brooks will get a 3-something million pound goodbye gift in exchange for her silence outside official investigations. I think she sold out too low. But then again, I’m also suspecting she’ll end up somewhere else in Murdoch’s House of Horrors before long.
Guster
That’s a beautiful fuck you.
beltane
It sounds strange to call a newspaper a hero, but The Guardian is my her right now. Then again, Nick Davies is doing what journalists are traditionally supposed to do; acting the courtier to totalitarian warlords like Murdoch is not what they are supposed to do, but is all most of them know how to do these days.
bkny
rebekah brooks has been arrested. … his children are fighting for control …. bwahahahaha…
rupert must be shitting his depends.. via the guardian:
Breaking news:
LATEST: Police investigating the phone-hacking scandal have arrested a 43-year-old woman. It is understood to be Rebekah Brooks. More details soon …
ChrisNYC
Guardian and Sky News say Brooks was arrested today.
Valdivia
just wow. I really really hope she turns state’s evidence and brings down the whole Murdoch empire. A girl can dream right?
Wazmo
Now if only Ruppert got arrested, then we’d have a real Trifecta.
ChrisNYC
I mean, really, could NI and News Corp have handled this any worse? It’s like they are intentionally making it as slow and painful and damaging as possible.
beltane
@ChrisNYC
It is because they are arrogant. They have gotten away with blackmail and bribery for so long that it is all they know. The question is: will Murdoch take David Cameron down the pipes with him?
Valdivia
@ChrisNYC I think it’s because they did have it under control for so long with the bribes and the threats that now when it’s crumbling it’s going faaaast. Like a cascade of justice ;)
I wonder like beltane @9 is Cameron will pay for this.
ETA I wonder if now that they look like the actual evil doers they are if the rest of the american media will begin talking about them in the way that reflects what they are–agitprop agents and not a sister media organization in the words of Tapper. Could there not be a better time to have these people go down than before the 2012 election? I pray to the FSM that it happens.
bkny
i’m taking extraordinary delight that this is happening just as rupert was thinking he’d had everyone installed to carry on as he rode off into a comfy retirement….
and now — infighting among his children; forced to pull out of a major business transaction re bskyb and close a 168yo newspaper; stock price falling; his favored accolyte arrested; his u.s. operation in jeopardy..
awesome.
arguingwithsignposts
Wow, Brooks arrested. Things really are gathering steam. I don’t see how Murdoch pulls out of this without giving up his UK newspaper holdings. Ahh, the schadenfreude.
geg6
I am cackling with glee over this Murdoch shit. Fucking awesome. Bravo to the Brits.
As for Fallows, he has also been doing a masterful job of smacking Eric Cantor around like the weasly little punk he is. Also awesome.
bkny
now it’s breaking on the nyt … hahaha. that’s another morsel — the hated nyt (and the nydailynews) are playing this big… (as it should be)
beltane
The Guardian’s commentariat seems to think Cameron’s days are numbered, but that could just be wishful thinking.
The knowledge that Sully’s head must be exploding is the cherry on the top of this delightful karmic sundae.
ChrisNYC
@ beltrane
Yeah, I hear you and totally agree. It seems the heat is off Cameron now, with all the pressure on the police. Gives him time to find his footing, which he clearly did not have a few days ago.
On the arrogance, it’s just astonishing. I read in the Guardian that when the Dowler thing took off, NI hired a former head of the Crown Prosecution Service to review the evidence. He said he saw evidence of extensive hacking and other “serious crime.” He told NI to go to the police pronto. That was two weeks ago! And, knowing that, Murdoch says to the WSJ, “We are fantastic — we are handling this like pros” and Brooks does her “I’ve been betrayed” speech at the NotW closing. Shareholders should be *pissed.*
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen
If wanting to do the Schadenfreude Shuffle because of this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Meanwhile at Stately Murdoch Manor:
“Well why the bloody hell can’t we just buy all of the media outlets? All right. All right. Fine. We’ll just flog any peasant who dares to mention …”
becca
I wonder if Brooks got pro tips from Nixon administration alumnus Roger Ailes?
Linda Featheringill
@Valdivia:
RE: Rebekah Brooks:
Oh my. What a thought! I wonder if Miss Becky could be instrumental in freeing this country from Murdoch’s propaganda machine?
arguingwithsignposts
Well, the arrest certainly explains her abrupt resignation on Friday. Since it was an arrest by appointment, she surely knew it was coming, and it wouldn’t do to have the *current* NI chief walking into the police station to get arrested.
PK
Someone is having fun with this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFufrqhp0eE
General Stuck
David Ignatious serves up his periodic Obama concern troll porridge .
And manages to hit every firebagger talking point, and tops it off with the coded, Obama follows and doesn’t lead bullshit.
While dutifully fluffing all the right wingnut tough guys leading weine Obama around by the nose.
These people make me sick. Pandering to whatever group they can seduce to get page clicks. That shit should be for blogs, not the WAPO
Gets Bin Laden, risking failure and disaster. Passes universal healthcare where all the great white dem hopes failed. The list goes on. Some people have different styles to engage with a combination of sticks and carrots and smarts, but fuckers like Ignarious can only weigh the quality of presidenting to George Bush in a flight suit, or pounding the lectern with “Me Decider” neanderthalism.
Blah blah blah, sounds like some of the BJ tough guy trolls.
General Stuck
linky fix
Brian R.
I love the end of that video clip. Steve Douchy and his guest try to outdo one another in insisting that the News of the World scandal is a tired old story and there’s nothing to see here, and then say “we need to focus on the important issues” as a way of seguing into a piece on the Casey Anthony trial.
They’re scared. And they should be.
MikeJ
@ChrisNYC:
Shareholders are getting a very, very small bit of what they deserve for making Rupert rich. I hope they’re all wiped out.
Corporations exist so people can escape legal responsibility for their action, but the legal fiction of corporation can’t erase the moral culpability of helping Murdoch.
SiubhanDuinne
@General Stuck #23:
What do you suppose it is about pundits named David? David Brooks, David Gregory, David Broder, that old bald guy named David whose last name I can’t remember, and of course David Ignatius. Yuch.
Having trouble doing copy-and-paste this morning so this is a bit of paraphrase, but the line in that Ignatius piece of excrescence that really pissed me off was to the effect of “Of course Teabaggers love them some Chris Christie, that’s only to be expected, but I David Ignatius personally know at least half a dozen anonymous Democrats who told me anonymously that they would vote for him too.”
So I guess we’re fucked then, huh?
General Stuck
Wish I hadn’t read that swill this morning, to start the day pissed off. It had every element of what is wrong with the MSM, and especially when it comes to evaluating and writing on Obama and his presidency. All wrapped in uber smarmy concern. There is a way for liberals, or so called liberals to criticize, but the comparison with supposed studly, white tough guys like Cristie and fucking Cantor, is not one of those ways. It makes me see red, wherever I come across that kind of chickenshit reporting, or blogging for that matter.
kth
Steve Doocy: proof that “blonde bimbo” is, or can be, a gender-neutral term.
The Snarxist Formerly Known as Kryptik
I actually agree with Doocy, hacks are the real problem. News Corp. Is full of bribing, immoral ha-
What? HackING? What the fuck are you talking about Douchy?
Donut
Redundant.
SiubhanDuinne
28:
General, I agree with every word you say. Go hang out with Charlie or take beautiful pictures of hummingbirds or something. Ignatius and his ilk aren’t worth the HBP.
And a mini-bleg: Next time an open thread comes along, would love to see some Charlie pix. Thx!
SiubhanDuinne
Apropos of not much, but it’s cool that this post is bracketed by posts about two unrelated, but both scummy, people named Brooks.
SiubhanDuinne
FYWP. If I don’t have permission to edit my own comment, whose comment do I have permission to edit?
Kathy in St. Louis
But, but, but the Murdoch Empire is trying to save us from the wicked and evil governments of the world who seek to destroy our freedoms and privacy. Isn’t that why their robots at Fox News and the Post attack the President? He’s really just out to take away freedom? What slime.
I wonder what they wanted to get on the families of the 9/11 victims? Find out and report that the survivors weren’t spending the money correctly?
When will folks finally get wise to Murdoch’s real goals, which seem to be to silence any progressives, worldwide, and turn the entire world over to his rich friends?
300baud
I had to go look at Fox News as well. They now have Rebekah Brooks on the front page — without ever mentioning that she works for Rupes. The main article does reveal that, but never mentions that she’s part of the same company as Fox.
RalfW
It’s abhorrently fascinating to see how an organ of the state operates. And I’m glad that sane folks like Fallows are going ABL and using large font bolded and !!!ened. A press that is not just supine, but that is actively sheltering a global-level criminal with tentacles inside both Labour and Tory gov’t, Scotland Yard and the Met Police, are an organ of if not the state then the people who seek to be the state.
It is inconceivable that what happened over there stopped at water’s edge. Yeah, yeah, the British press is more cut-throat, more competitive, more tabloid, blah, blah.
I thin the hacking was immoral but is only a fraction of the story. The payoffs to police, the incestuous relationship between Murdoch and top pols, the squashing of evidence and attempts to shut out the Guardian, etc, are far more damning.
Let’s go back to that Think Progress writer who was tailed and harassed by Bill-o. Fits into a pattern, now, don’t it?
How much more shit is just below the surface at Fox? No wonder they’re trying to hype a boring, last-week story about Casey. It’s all they got. Smoke and mirrors.
RalfW
Argh, moderation! Not even gonna try and figure out the offending word in my post (which may magically appear at some point above…)
JGabriel
mistermix @ Top:
That’s probably overstating the case. The Times is 100% owned by News Corp and Murdoch.
They are most likely doing either a) the minimum reporting possible so as to not look like they’re ignoring the story, or b) trying to spin the story in News Corps. favor.
.
kd bart
You know what this means? A week of stories involving ACORN, Media Matters and/or George Soros on Fox News.
PeakVT
Murdoch’s effects on British politics are enough to earn him thorough condemnation, but the fact that his organization seems to have corrupted the police is even more outrageous. I hope the guy does time somewhere.
However, I’m don’t expect that there will be much effect on FauxNooze. It has become deeply entwined with the neo-Confederacy that Dennis G. is always writing about, and that’s not going away anytime soon. So neither is Faux.
Dennis SGMM
Fox News is where the true believers go for their daily dose of affirmation. Fox will distract, deflect, and “prove” that soclalist liberals constantly do things that are ten times worse than anything done by the Murdoch empire. In the end, Fox News won’t lose a single viewer or a nickel of revenue.
HeartlandLiberal
FWIW, I just checked the fauxnoise.com main page, and the arrest of Brooks is now in the center of the three features articles just below the Casey Anthony screamer section.
Citizen_X
JGabriel:
The British Times is indeed owned by Darth Murdoch. mistermix was quoting the New York Times.
jheartney
@PeakVt
Here’s a diary at GOS outlining how this scandal could end up taking out Faux. Nut graph:
Basically it’s saying that Rupert’s empire could end up being carved to pieces by competitors, who would shut down Fox. No idea how plausible this is.
PeakVT
Dunno. If shareholders can boot Murdoch, I don’t see why they’d get rid of anything other than the UK newspapers, which may be fatally tainted. Murdoch might do that himself if it would cordon of any legal liabilities.
JGabriel
@Citizen_X: Oops. Thanks for the correction, Citizen X. I assumed it was the London Times. Should have checked the link first.
Mea culpa and my apologies for the error, mistermix!
.
JGabriel
@kth:
I love it when his voice squeaks. It’s so butch.
.
Pangloss
You mean the actual Murdoch scandal isn’t getting as much coverage on Fox News as Soros conspiracy theories? Hmmmmfff. *scratches head*
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen
That is a puzzler, isn’t it?
One of the many fun bits – VoldeMurdoch would look a lot cleaner if his remaining lackies DID leap all over it. I suspect they’re waiting to see what Brooks does. Will she be the faithful servant martyr victim and keep mum or will she try to cut a deal and be a filthy liberalislamodyke traitor b1tch?
Balloon juice with a shite sammich
It is comical that you would say that.
The little tantrums that you periodically post certainly place you in the ranks of those who appear to be just like any other number of assholes on the Internet.
Ruckus
There is so much money and arrogance here I think the question has to be asked… is there more here than phone hacking? Are we looking at the leaves and not the forest? Is Rupert cutting down trees hoping that we won’t notice the house fire 5 miles away?
I have no idea that there is anything else going on, but with this much power and money it sure seems like the possibilities are endless. And Rupert is slashing and burning pretty fast unless his fingerprints are in the mix in which case he may be leaving a trail of destruction in his retreat. To cover up/distract for anything else?
ABL
it’s the shouty all caps, innit? :)
Yutsano
@ABL: You make it sound like getting in touch with his inner ABL is a bad thing. :)
Nutella
Twitter says first police scalp taken: Scotland Yard commissioner Paul Stephenson resigning.
Nutella
@Nutella:
And his statement says “Hey, terrorism! Look over there!” desperately trying to distract attention from the Murdoch mess.
Stephenson accepted a long stay at a very expensive rehabilitation clinic “from a friend” to recover from an injury. I wonder who the very generous friend was?
Jeffery Dahmer
Someone do something about this rampant cannibalism and stop talking about it ’cause it happens all the time.
No one of Importance
Does anyone know if the Brits have laws comparable to our RICO statutes?