http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/crew_calls_on_congress_to_investigate_news_corp_in.php

Quote :

"The watchdog group Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is calling on Congress to investigate Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for evidence that the company's sprawling phone hacking scandal reached the United States. CREW's letter to Congress follows allegations that the company's now defunct News Of The World tabloid hacked into the phones of murder victims and terrorism victims, and even several prominent British politicians like former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. CREW sent a letter Monday to Sens. John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Henry Waxman (D-CA), who are all ranking members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, respectively. The group asked that Congress investigate allegations whether in addition to its actions in the U.K., News Of The World hacked the voicemails of 9/11 victims. "

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/courttv-founder-steve-brill-predicts-rupert-murdochs-fcc-licenses-will-be-challenged/

Quote :

"CourtTV Founder Steve Brill Predicts Rupert Murdoch’s FCC Licenses Will Be Challenged by Matt Schneider | 12:36 pm, July 10th, 2011 With Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper News Of The World printing its last edition today, Christiane Amanpour assembled a panel on This Week to discuss what implications the phone hacking scandal might have on the News Corp. media empire. CourtTV founder Steve Brill suggested that even if it turns out that knowledge of the criminal activity only existed at the editorial level, he still thinks it is likely that Murdoch’s FCC licenses to operate television stations in this country will be challenged. "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/11/anonymous-police-phone-hacking-julian-assange

Quote :

"Rumours on Friday suggested that one Anonymous member had broken into the News International servers and taken copies of some internal emails which were being offered for sale or even ransom. However this could not be confirmed, and the Guardian has not seen any evidence that the claimed email stash is legitimate, although News International's site is understood to have been "probed" by members of Anonymous at the end of last week."

7/12/2011 2:45:35 AM

There's no such thing as bad publicity.

7/12/2011 4:44:34 AM

You're singlehandedly trying to finish off what is left of The Soap Box. Congratulations, you're succeeding.

7/12/2011 7:00:29 AM

So based on nothing factual to prove your point you still made this thread.

7/12/2011 7:43:55 AM

Quote :

"You're singlehandedly trying to finish off what is left of The Soap Box. Congratulations, you're succeeding."

speak for yourself mayne, at least he's not off derailing other threads with temper tantrums about his inadequacy

7/12/2011 8:07:22 AM

nah, instead he just cries about anything remotely right wing conservative. And usually to the sound of crickets.

7/12/2011 8:47:49 AM

Murdoch has too many vassals in congress. He'll die of old age before his shady dealings are exposed. Hopefully that isn't too far in the future.

You guys are way to sensitive to pryderi's posts. You don't want to be complaining about partisanship in a thread about fucking Rupert Murdoch.

7/12/2011 9:16:04 AM

Quote :

"Rupert Murdoch: Could his US empire be affected? The phone-hacking story has brought down a newspaper that few in the US had heard of. But the implications could yet be felt across the Atlantic. The closure of the UK's News of the World newspaper made headlines in the US, despite the paper being little-known. There was outrage at the methods used by British journalists to get a story - the hacking of phones and payments to police officers. And there have been questions about how much this could hurt Rupert Murdoch's huge media empire, News Corporation, which suffered a 7% drop in its share price on Monday in New York. "

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14111966

7/12/2011 10:00:28 AM

Quote :

"Rupert Murdoch: Could his US empire be affected? The phone-hacking story has brought down a newspaper that few in the US had heard of. But the implications could yet be felt across the Atlantic. The closure of the UK's News of the World newspaper made headlines in the US, despite the paper being little-known. There was outrage at the methods used by British journalists to get a story - the hacking of phones and payments to police officers. And there have been questions about how much this could hurt Rupert Murdoch's huge media empire, News Corporation, which suffered a 7% drop in its share price on Monday in New York. "

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14111966

7/12/2011 10:00:28 AM

Quote :

"There was outrage at the methods used by British journalists to get a story - the hacking of phones and payments to police officers."

Outrage, among police officers you mean. I can't say I mind journalists breaking the law while investigating agents of the government.

7/12/2011 10:07:06 AM

I still can't believe anyone thinks Fox News is a legitimate media outlet. Obviously what is going on in the UK shows how Murdoch's empire truly operates. Aside from that anyone who can't see the political agenda of Fox needs to be hit in the head with a tack hammer.

7/12/2011 11:53:20 AM

Quote :

"Outrage, among police officers you mean. I can't say I mind journalists breaking the law while investigating agents of the government."

How about hacking murdered 13 year old girls and 911 victims? Does that outrage you?

What if the hacked phones of politicians lead to blackmail?

Quote :

"News of the World journalists, who have been accused of horrifically intrusive phone-hacking tactics in the U.K., may also have illegally accessed the cell phones of those who perished in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. That's what a source tells one of Britain's other notoriously lurid tabloids, the Daily Mirror. The Mirror reports that an unnamed private investigator and former New York City police officer alleges that News of the World journalists offered to pay him for 9/11 victims' phone numbers and call log details. The 9/11 allegation comes on the heels of last week's revelations that News of the World had tapped into the voicemails of people whose loved ones were killed in the subway bombings that rocked Britain on July 7, 2005. Thanks to that report, along with similarly damaging scoops that the phone-hacking victims included a murdered 13-year-old girl and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 168-year-old paper shuttered its operations following Sunday's issue "

7/12/2011 11:57:53 AM

To be honest, I'd actually hate to see Fox go. Throw off the balance.

7/12/2011 12:09:40 PM

no it wouldn't

Fox News isn't a counterweight

it's a fucking propaganda machine

7/12/2011 12:18:20 PM

My counterargument for that is.. I am equally disgusted from MSNBC. Both sides are pandering mudslingers.

7/12/2011 12:21:59 PM

it is too a fucking counterweight.

MSNBC and FOX make me equally sick, just in different ways.

its like food poisoning- youre in the bathroom sitting there not knowing if you want to throw up or take a shit.

the point is, on this forum, maybe because its college themed, liberals OBVIOUSLY outweigh the conservatives. thats fine, who cares?

but you also throw in the fact the most vocal "conservatives" here are functionally retarded and then it becomes "hip" to claim FOX is the only sideshow. i mean its the only way to explain why people like aaronburro have problems right?

all cable networks are turds that cannot be polished. please get your news somewhere else (not the daily show) and assemble your own conclusions from a variety of sources?

7/12/2011 12:44:38 PM

Nobody watches MSNBC. MSNBC reaches about as many people as a hippie nut with a sign on the sidewalk. Fox isn't balancing anything.

Also, do I really need to point out that two wrongs don't make a right and everybody's doing it does not make it OK?

7/12/2011 1:14:16 PM

MSNBC doesn't hack the cellphones of victims.

Rupert Murdoch's news organizations do.

I'm looking forward to Fox News being investigated.

7/12/2011 1:25:35 PM

Am I the only one that keeps thinking of this when I read about News Corp?

7/12/2011 1:26:46 PM

*sigh*

why bother

[Edited on July 12, 2011 at 1:53 PM. Reason : i never said it was okay- two wrongs make a wrong.]

7/12/2011 1:43:41 PM

News Corp Received 4.6 billion back from IRS

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/12/column-dcjohnston-murdoch-idUSN1E76A1NH20110712

This for all of you people that think the income tax is effective. News flash: it isn't and we need a better way of generating revenue. The current system effectively extracts wealth from the middle class while allowing the upper class to easily evade paying their fair share. It's going to take more than raising rates. We need to abolish the income tax (which is inherently unfair due to tax write offs) and switch over to VAT or something like that.



[Edited on July 12, 2011 at 3:40 PM. Reason : ]

7/12/2011 3:39:59 PM

Quote :

"the point is, on this forum, maybe because its college themed, liberals OBVIOUSLY outweigh the conservatives. thats fine, who cares?"

ummm....what? No, that's not true, at all. In fact, for a 4 year university, the NC State student body is not nearly as liberal as that of its peers. I'm not just talking about UNC, either. Compare NC State to west coast schools or schools in the North East, then come back here and whine about the big bad liberal bias that permeates your university message board.

7/12/2011 4:03:04 PM

<insert crack about Agriculture and Life Sciences students not being able to use computers here>

7/12/2011 4:05:30 PM

uh or i could just read a ramdom sampling of threads and note the general attitude?

[Edited on July 12, 2011 at 6:40 PM. Reason : ...]

7/12/2011 6:40:12 PM

please. TWW can only be considered "liberal" if your frame of reference is an upbringing from Buttfuck County, North Carolina.

7/12/2011 7:25:29 PM

north carolina is mostly a collection of buttfuck counties.

and i know state isnt a liberal school, but what does that have to do with the makeup of the soapbox?

also, ramdom.

7/12/2011 7:41:45 PM

7/12/2011 7:56:32 PM

I would bet Ga Tech is more liberal than NCSU.

7/12/2011 9:44:53 PM

I'm from Hogwaller County, NC and I'm pretty sick of being the only representative of the Coon Position on this board. and below this board as a matter of fact.



City-slickin' foreigners really scruff my snuff.

7/12/2011 10:54:22 PM

7/13/2011 1:50:29 AM

Quote :

"This for all of you people that think the income tax is effective. News flash: it isn't and we need a better way of generating revenue."

the problem is that our laws allow multinational corporations to assign losses to amurrikkka and gains to tax havens like the cayman islands, not that we tax income at all

7/13/2011 8:13:27 AM

Quote :

"We need to abolish the income tax (which is inherently unfair due to tax write offs) and switch over to VAT or something like that."

This is actually the position of a number of economists who are worried about our export power. My only concern would be the impact on the lower brackets that don't pay taxes now and will only have taxes increased should things be shifted to that.

7/13/2011 9:26:26 AM

Even Bill O'Reilly believes Rupert Murdoch and the owners of Newscorp should go to jail for hacking:

Quote :

"When Sarah Palin's email account was hacked during the 2008 presidential campaign, Fox host Bill O'Reilly was outraged that anyone could publish such material. On September 17, 2008, O'Reilly said: Now, it is a felony, a federal crime, also a state crime in Alaska to hack into people's private correspondence. And what I want to know--and I'm not going to mention the website that posted this, but it's one of those despicable, slimy, scummy websites that in a free society we have to tolerate, but I'd like to see the website prosecuted, arrested, put in cuffs, all the people who run it. He added: Look, we know, everybody knows, the Feds know, the state authorities in Alaska know, everybody knows where the stuff is, OK? And they know the people who run the website. So why can't they go there tonight, to the guy's house who runs it, put him in cuffs, and take him down and book him? The following night (9/18/08), O'Reilly interviewed Fox legal pundit Megyn Kelly, and expressed outrage at the idea that a news outlet could evade prosecution. O'REILLY: Well, that surprises me, because they're trafficking in stolen merchandise. KELLY: They are. O'REILLY: This information was stolen. It's just like anything else. You steal somebody's car, and you give it to a fence to sell or a chop shop to chop it up. They've got stolen merchandise. They get charged. KELLY: You would think that, but it's different here, Bill, because it's the First Amendment, Bill. It is the freedom of the press. O'REILLY: No. KELLY: Yes, yes, yes, yes. O'REILLY: Stolen--no, it's like mail. It's like mail. It's email. KELLY: It's not, it's not. O'REILLY: But it is. KELLY: Let me tell you, the Supreme Court has said that when a news organization -- and like it or not, this website qualifies -- obtains information that is newsworthy, even if.... O'REILLY: Not if you steal the letter... KELLY: Let me finish. O'REILLY: See, I know what the Supreme Court says. I'm trying to get it across to you that this is wrong. KELLY: If it's newsworthy and you get it, even if you know it's stolen, you can publish it, as long as you didn't have dirty hands in actually obtaining information. You didn't help hack. O'REILLY: But that is ridiculous, because if you go to somebody's mailbox, and you take out their mail, and it has something newsworthy, and you give it to somebody, you're charged with tampering with the U.S. mail. It's a crime. There's no difference between taking a person's letter out of their mailbox and taking somebody's e-mail off their Internet sites. "

7/13/2011 3:08:02 PM

Quote :

"the point is, on this forum, maybe because its college themed, liberals OBVIOUSLY outweigh the conservatives. thats fine, who cares? but you also throw in the fact the most vocal "conservatives" here are functionally retarded and then it becomes "hip" to claim FOX is the only sideshow. i mean its the only way to explain why people like aaronburro have problems right?"

I don't think this message board has a strong bias towards conservatives or liberals, so much as a bit of a lean towards a more libertarian notions. Not by what party you're registered with, but just in that this place doesn't feel socially conservative, rather the differences that do exist are more on the spectrum of economic issues/the proper role of the government (although even that is still oversimplifying it).

While this isn't real data, I did plot everyone's score on a political test a while back for about 50 tdubbers who participated in that soap box thread:

7/13/2011 5:04:06 PM

Quote :

"This is actually the position of a number of economists who are worried about our export power. My only concern would be the impact on the lower brackets that don't pay taxes now and will only have taxes increased should things be shifted to that."

I think a progressive VAT with higher rates on "luxury" items combined with better forms of direct assistance would get rid of any potential regressive taxation.

^The last time we did myers-briggs it came out mostly technical types so its not surprising social issues arent a big deal here. Social problems are fake problems created when one idiot doesnt like the way another idiot lives. Technical people dont like fake problems because they always have the same simple solution (stop making a problem out of nothing) and take focus away from real problems (ex: energy).

7/13/2011 7:05:14 PM

Quote :

"Congressmen call for News Corp. hacking investigation A handful of lawmakers today joined calls for investigations into whether Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corporation violated U.S. law by allegedly obtaining phone records illegally. Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Jay Rockefeller sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, asking them to investigate News Corp., which is incorporated in the U.S. Sen. Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg sent a separate letter to Holder and Schapiro with the same request. Republican Rep. Peter King, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller demanding an investigation. "The reported allegations against News Corporation are very serious, indicate a pattern of illegal activity, and involve thousands of potential victims," Boxer and Rockefeller wrote. "It is important to ensure that no United States laws were broken and no United States citizens were victimized." Reports allege that News Corp. employees may have illegally accessed the phone records of 9/11 victims. Police in the U.K. are already investigating allegations that employees at News of the World -- the now-closed newspaper that belonged to a News Corp. subsidiary -- bribed London police officers for information, including private telephone information. The U.K. charges, the senators said, may violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corrupt payments intended to influence any act or decision of a foreign official. "

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20079266-503544.html

7/13/2011 7:11:33 PM

oh no the liberal left is persecuting Fox News! Who will defend this large multinational company?!?! /sarcasm

I laugh at the constant playing victim of Fox News.

7/13/2011 10:15:47 PM

Quote :

"Congressman calls for Hill investigation of Murdoch hacking charges By the CNN Wire Staff Rupert's News Corp. -- the parent company of Fox News -- may have engaged in "political espionage or personal espionage," Braley said. The congressman dismissed concerns that a congressional investigation of News Corp. -- often accused of favoring conservative political causes -- would be tainted by partisanship. This is a matter "of serious concern to all Americans without regard to political party," he said. This is a "bipartisan concern and not a partisan witch hunt." Braley noted that New York Rep. Peter T. King, a Republican, has asked FBI Director Robert Mueller to investigate the possibility that journalists working for Murdoch may have tapped into the phones of the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/07/14/us.hacking.fcpa/

7/14/2011 10:54:26 AM

So? They're dead.

7/14/2011 12:27:56 PM

^^ your logic does not apply to my (sarcastic) post or Fox News, I would not doubt that Fox News would overlook that (R) next to the name just to make the story work.

[Edited on July 14, 2011 at 1:43 PM. Reason : .]

7/14/2011 1:42:05 PM

Quote :

"^^ your logic does not apply to my (sarcastic) post or Fox News, I would not doubt that Fox News would overlook that (R) next to the name just to make the story work. "

Just pointing out to others that this is not a partisan issue, it's a legal one.

Quote :

"There were also claims that reporters may have bribed police officers. The potential liability flows from journalists at News of the World to its parent, News International, to its parent, News Corporation, which is a publicly held company in the United States. The police bribes could be a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits companies and its employees from giving money or anything of value to a foreign official in order to obtain or retain business, said Mike Koehler, a professor of business law at Butler University in Indianapolis. "So, there does seem to be a basis for a U.S. investigation at this point," he said. If anyone at News Corporation participated in payments to police officers or authorized such payments or even knew about them and failed to stop them, the case could wind up at the U.S. Department of Justice. But while the jurisdiction exists, it's not likely that the United States will prosecute News Corporation, said lawyer Richard Cassin, who helps clients comply with the FCPA. "The chances are very slim unless the payments we know about turn out to be the tip of the iceberg," he said. "

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-12/justice/us.hacking.fcpa_1_news-corporation-police-officers-hacking-scandal?_s=PM:CRIME

7/14/2011 4:34:07 PM

Reporters have always bribed police officers. Every journalist depends on police for scoops. If a journalist ever writes something bad about a cop, you can bet they've weighed the cost/benefit analysis of being cut off from breaking news in exchange for a corruption story that has to be good enough to sell papers. Heck, sometimes reporters don't even bother rephrasing or vetting police press releases, and just print them verbatim.

7/14/2011 5:59:40 PM

^We're talking about bribing foreign officials. Here's a similar instance of bribery:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/armor-holdings-charged-in-un-bribery-scheme/2011/07/13/gIQAN5hADI_print.html

Quote :

"Armor Holdings charged in U.N. bribery scheme By David S. Hilzenrath, Published: July 13 The e-mail read like something out of a spy novel — “PLEASE DESTROY AFTER READING” — and it contained confidential information from the United Nations. It was allegedly part of a plot to win U.N. contracts by bribing a U.N. official. The government charged Armor Holdings on Wednesday with participating in a bribery scheme that helped it supply $7.1 million in body armor for use by U.N. forces. The company agreed to pay $16 million in parallel settlements with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was another in a series of federal cases suggesting that international corporations often jockey for advantage by paying bribes — and that the strategy can be successful. At least until they get caught. Robert Khuzami, the SEC’s enforcement director, issued a statement deploring the practice. “The important process of selecting body armor for peacekeepers should not be affected by which company pays the best bribes,” he said. According to the government, from 2001 to 2006, an Armor Holdings subsidiary and people acting on its behalf made corrupt payments to a U.N. procurement official. More than $200,000 went to a middleman, and part of that was to be forwarded to the U.N. insider, the government said. In return, the unnamed U.N. official provided the prices included in closed bids submitted by other competitors, the government said. The Armor subsidiary provided a signed but otherwise blank bidding document so that an intermediary could fill in the prices after learning the competing bids. The Armor subsidiary was also accused of cooking its books to disguise the corrupt payments. "

7/14/2011 6:17:54 PM

Les Hinton resigned.

7/16/2011 8:43:59 AM

Quote :

"FBI eyes Murdoch company It will probe whether News Corp. sought to hack 9/11 victims' phones. July 15, 2011|By Tom Hays, Associated Press NEW YORK - The FBI has begun a preliminary inquiry based on concerns in Congress over a report that media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. sought to hack into the phones of Sept. 11 victims, a law enforcement official said Thursday. The decision to step in was made after Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) and several other members of Congress wrote to FBI Director Robert Mueller demanding an investigation, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly. "

http://articles.philly.com/2011-07-15/news/29776932_1_milly-dowler-hacking-victims-investigation

7/17/2011 12:59:50 AM

Quote :

"The British police on Sunday arrested Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Rupert Murdoch’s media operations in Britain, according to a former associate at News International, the newspaper group at the heart of a phone-hacking scandal convulsing the Murdoch empire, the British political elite and the police."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/18/world/europe/18hacking.html

it begins

7/17/2011 9:46:23 AM

^THAT is huge!

7/17/2011 11:01:26 AM

Quote :

"Mrs Brooks' spokesman said Mrs Brooks is "assisting police with their enquiries". "Rebekah was informed about a pre-arranged interview with the police on Friday. She was arrested upon arrival at the police station today. "

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Rebekah-Brooks-Has-Been-Arrested-By-Police-Officers-Investigating-Phone-Hacking/Article/201107316032015?lpos=UK_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_16032015_Rebekah_Brooks_Has_Been_Arrested_By_Police_Officers_I

7/17/2011 11:03:08 AM

Now the whistle-blowers are being murdered:

Quote :

" News of the World phone-hacking whistleblower found dead Death of Sean Hoare – who was first named journalist to allege Andy Coulson knew of hacking – not being treated as suspicious Hoare first made his claims in a New York Times investigation into the phone-hacking allegations at the News of the World. Photograph: Hazel Thompson/Eyevine Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbusiness reporter who was the first named journalist to allege that Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking by his staff, has been found dead . Hoare, who worked on the Sun and the News of the World with Coulson before being dismissed for drink and drugs problems, was said to have been found at his Watford home. Hertfordshire police would not confirm his identity, but said in a statement: "At 10.40am today [Monday 18 July] police were called to Langley Road, Watford, following the concerns for the welfare of a man who lives at an address on the street. Upon police and ambulance arrival at a property, the body of a man was found. The man was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after. "The death is currently being treated as unexplained but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing." "

Yeah, the same cops that got bribed by Murdoch's Newscorp will really investigate thoroughly.

7/19/2011 1:57:43 AM

haha somebody just came in his face during the hearing.

7/19/2011 12:15:11 PM