• Details have been hard to come by about what happened when Rebekah Brooks, leaderene at News International, broke bread around Christmas with James Murdoch, head honcho at News Corp, and David Cameron, head honcho from No 10.
But it all seemed very cosy.
The major players who might influence the decision about whether Rupert Murdoch is allowed his much-desired takeover of BSkyB – just hanging out.
No press, this was private.
But news will trickle out, and this week's Prospect magazine claims, among the other guests at this power soiree was another member of the west Oxfordshire set, Cameron's friend, the headhunter Dominic Loehnis.
Why is that interesting?
Because one of Loehnis's main tasks since has been to help the government find a new chair for the BBC Trust.
And one might ask questions about the whole thing, for the enmity runs deep between the BBC and the Murdochs.
But it's also the case that Chris Patten, the man ultimately expected to get the job, has been an enemy of Murdoch's and is probably the last man with whom the last tycoon would have wanted to do battle. Hope Loehnis enjoyed his time at Rebekah's. He may not be invited back.
• Revolution in Egypt, unrest in Bahrain, and citizens rise up in Libya.
People have had enough. 'Tis the spirit of our times. "If the downtrodden citizens of Egypt can rise up against an appalling dictator, why cannot we downtrodden citizens of the borough of Barnet rise up against our appalling dictator and get rid of Brian Coleman forthwith?"
writes resident and would-be revolutionary Larry Ross, in the Barnet Times. "I and thousands of others would be happy to join in any demonstration outside his house." But Larry, don't you know that Brian, the free-spending municipal Tory they all love to hate, would merely make good his escape by taxi – all the way, perhaps, to the Conservative safe haven of Hammersmith and Fulham. You, poor Larry, would foot the bill.
• And so, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let us consider the claims of our man with a past, Lord Archer, as he attempts to enter disaster-struck New Zealand to peddle his new book – despite being technically ineligible because of his criminal record.
Is he not famous? Is he not, in his own way, fragrant?
These are, quite properly, matters for review by the immigration authorities. For "all temporary entrants to New Zealand are required to declare any criminal convictions", says immigration head Nigel Bickle, interviewed by the Dominion Post. And "any such convictions are part of our consideration of whether a person meets the character requirements for the granting of a visa". Thus "when Jeffrey Archer applies for a visa, Immigration New Zealand will give consideration to the nature of his convictions relative to the purpose of his visit". And that is as it should be, isn't it, even if it is the case that each of us will be rooting for Jeffrey's attempt to gain a special waiver. For each day he spends abroad is another day he isn't here.
• The same principle surely applies to Conrad Black, who, having ditched his Canadian citizenship to accept a British peerage, is desperate to be a Canadian again, despite his earlier bad-mouthing of political types and intellectuals there. We support that bid, though naturally we will miss him. "Canada's vocation is as the world's great liberal pioneer, to be tough on crime by treating its causes, and reducing the unnecessary and hideously expensive demonisation and segregation of the nonviolent," says Conrad, still on bail from a six-and-a-half-year sentence in a US prison for fraud and obstruction of justice. Let's be tough on crime but nicer to criminals, is his message, channelled via Canada's National Post. Who on earth can he mean?
An excellent opportunity to buy approximately 4-6 strands of the King of Pop's hair.
These strands were obtained after an accident involving Michael Jackson's hair catching light during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. Item accompanied by documents relating to its provenance." Starting/reserve price: £350.Everything, everything, has its price.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/rebekahwade
