1661 – The first banknotes in Europe are issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco.
1948 – The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, (Cathay Pacific), marks the first aircraft hijacking of a commercial plane.
COINCIDENCE? I think NOT!
"That I was ignorant of what apparently happened is irrelevant and in the circumstances I feel it is proper for me to resign from News Corp, and apologize to those hurt by the actions of the News of the World."
With those words, Les Hinton, a 50 year compadre, enforcer, editor, executive and Rupert Murdock's right hand man, resigned from the top of Dow Jones, the company that operates the Wall Street Urinal.
For those who used to enjoy the older paper, with its quaint drawn images, solid reporting and strange editorial section, the Murdock based makeover and Fox-like changes to the newspaper have been trying, at best.
Although a true person of character would have quit because of the damage he caused to the WSJ, what really caused his demise was his history as top dog of News International, (1995-2007). While there, his News Of The World underlings hacked into the voice mails, phone records, (including murder victims), terrorism victims, actors, and politicians.
While there is only one public witness so far, chances are good that the illegal means used by Hinton's top staffers in the UK were also applied here in the Colonies.
One reason that both Rebekah's and Les' claims of ignorance ring so hollow is because of the people who have already been arrested:
* Neil Wallis, 60, deputy editor of News of the World when Andy Coulson was editor, was arrested on July 14 on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications. Wallis, who was previously a deputy editor of the Sun and editor of The People, became executive editor of the News of the World in 2007.
* Andy Coulson, 43, editor of News of the World from 2003 to 2007, then Prime Minister David Cameron's communications chief until his recent resignation, was arrested on July 8 on suspicion of corruption and attempting to intercept communications.
* Clive Goodman, 53, former News of the World royal editor, was arrested at his home on July 8 because of allegations that he bribed police for stories. Goodman had previously been jailed for four months in 2007 for writing stories that used information gleaned from phone hacking by private detective Glen Mulcaire.
Guess who hired these criminals?
Hinton's testimony before Parliament, in 2007 and 2009, was probably the final straw. He claimed that all lawbreaking was done by one man. I cannot imagine how be forgot about Neil Wallis, since he hired him. Or Andy Coulson, since Coulson directly reported to him. Or Clive Goodman, who met everyday with him to update him on the next breaking story about the crown.
According to some unconfirmed reports, there is an escape clause in the contract selling Dow Jones to Rupert Murdock. If illegal activities took place, the contract may be cancelled.
While initially appealing, the chances of that happening are slim. First of all, would the sellers have to repay their -ill- misbegotten gains back to the Rat? Several family members went through their new fortune faster than a lottery winner blew his load.
What is more likely is that Rupert may start selling assets just to stay afloat. And that may include his US papers.
That's a strange concept. Selling assets in a worldwide depression, when you have 11 BILLION British Sterling banked for an upcoming business move. On the surface, it seems strange. But if you dig, it makes sense.
For years, the complaints go, Rupert has financed his company (ies) with a sleight of hand. He waves large bills in front of your face, while stripping the assets from elsewhere behind his back. Some people have accused him of running a complex pyramid scheme, which was bound to collapse. One recent series of events that support the pyramid scheme is known to the sane and modern world as GLENN BECK.
One of the hallmark attributes of Rupert and his companies was how he played hardball, cutthroat, take no prisoners, I Win, regardless of the issue, the location and the people involved. He justifiably maintained his powerful, even evil, reputation by not just beating his opponent of choice with unfair tactics, but by following up by kicking in the nuts when he was down, forcing him to dig his own grave with his teeth, pissing on him in the grave, then pouring hot asphalt to insure the piss remained in close contact for all eternity.
His closest aides, including Rebekah and Hinton, learned to be just as ruthless, and just as sadistic in their efforts to keep Rupert happy.
Now, given that history, we could have, as many did, expected Rupert to tell his critics to piss off, and to keep Glenn on the air simply out of spite. He could have (and probably did) hired teams of spies to dig into the backgrounds of Beck's critics. He may have even bugged the critics and tried to blackmail them, all par for the course for Murdoch.
But surprise, surprise. Instead of standing up and attacking, he backed down, and fired the most popular demented, sick, ineffable moron on the air.
WHY?
What if Fox News numbers were gamed? Rupert spent time, bribes, and years of effort to bring on board those who "count" viewers and create the schemes which drive advertising revenue. I have no doubts that Rupert-affected counts and audience share figures were actually Diaboldical, if not flat out Creationist.
What if, instead of being the most watched news station
(I am sorry. I needed to puke after writing that last sentence)
Fox' share was lower than what anyone would have expected? What if Beck was turning out to be a liability, not only because the advertising $$ was seriously affected, but any reasonable research into actual viewership numbers would have caused the disrobing of Fox News?
True, this is all idle speculation, but something caused Rupert to drop Glenn rather than to piss on his attackers. Money, a possible unveiling of how his finances are crazier than Michelle's eyes, or both? Possible.
The upshot of this is simple. The Atlantic is actually a small pond. What happens there is coming over here. When there is proof of the illegal activities, or even of the faux financing that many have suspected of Murdock, his empire will crumble. Despite Faux and Fiends' best efforts to make FOX a hacking victim, just like the NSA, CIA, DOD and Belgium, they realize that their little Tea Party is coming to an end.
About time, too.