Leveson: Could The Guardian Close Before Hackgate Scandal Is Resolved?

by Nicky Woolf

The Guardian's media desk heard about the death of the News Of The World at about 4.15pm, but, reeling in disbelief, didn't run the story immediately. They were still trying to verify it a little less than 20 minutes later, when News International chairman James Murdoch's statement was released to the press. That was Thursday 7 July 2011. The previous Monday, after nearly two years of painstaking digging and a slow drip-drip of stories that failed to gain much widespread traction, the Guardian published the story that private investigators in the pay of the News Of The World had hacked the voice mail of a murdered schoolgirl: Milly Dowler. The public was appalled.


The trail the Guardian had been following stretched from Fleet Street to Downing Street and Scotland Yard. It had implications of corruption, bribery and influence, yet had failed to gain widespread attention. But this was the breakthrough the Guardian had been working towards. With one thunderous headline, editor Alan Rusbridger had destroyed one of the jewels in Rupert Murdoch's crown....read more


http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2012-07/03/interview-with-the-guardian-newspaper-editor-alan-rusbridger-on-hacking

Leveson : Operation Elveden The Corruption Continues - Public officials still offered thousands of pounds for scoops

Ex-police surveillance officer who had access to No 10 exposed in ‘bribes offer’

By David Hencke | 4 July 2012 | 2 Related pieces

Access: Matt Sprake in prime minister’s chair

Police and other public officials are still being offered thousands of pounds for information about the private lives of prominent people, Exaro can reveal.

The offer comes from an agency run by a former forensics and surveillance officer for Scotland Yard who carried out anti-terrorism duties during his 10-year police career.

As the picture taken from his Facebook page shows, Matt Sprake also had access to the cabinet room in Downing Street in the 1990’s. He is photographed posing in the prime minister’s chair.

http://www.exaronews.com/articles/4468/public-officials-still-offered-thousands-of-pounds-for-scoops

H/T Mark Watts on Twitter

https://twitter.com/#!/MarkWatts_1

#Leveson: #Murdoch Takes On Tom Cruise And His Creepy Evil Scientology.

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch took a swipe at Tom Cruise on Sunday in a series of tweets that labelled the Hollywood star a No 2 or No 3 person in the hierarchy of Scientologists, a group the media mogul called “creepy”.
 
Cruise, a star of the Mission: Impossible movies, has long been a prominent member of the Church of Scientology, which some have described as a cult. The actor made headlines on Friday when it was revealed his wife, actress Katie Holmes, had filed for divorce and is seeking sole custody of their daughter, Suri.
 
“Scientology back in news. Very weird cult, but big, big money involved with Tom Cruise either number two or three in hiearchy [sic],” Murdoch posted on Sunday on his official Twitter feed.
Later in the day, he tweeted: “Watch Katie Holmes and Scientology story develop. Something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people.”

http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/celebrity/rupert-murdoch-takes-on-tom-cruise-creepy-scientology-1.1043354

#Leveson: #Murdoch On Creepy #Scientology. If Murdoch Suggests Cruise Is Gay he Will Sue His Pants Off!

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch took to Twitter today urging people to ‘watch’ Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s divorce, even labelling Scientologists as 'creepy and evil’.
The outspoken octogenarian tweeted: ‘Watch Katie Holmes and Scientology story develop. Something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people.’
His warning comes as Ms Holmes claimed that her every move has been tracked by a team of mystery men - who she believes have been sent to spy on her by the cult
Murdoch also posted that Cruise was ‘number two or three’ in the ‘very weird cult’.

 

Evil Creeps: Rupert Murdoch, left, took to Twitter on Sunday telling people to 'watch' the divorce between Scientologists Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes saying there was 'something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people'

The News Corporation chief executive sparked an immediate backlash with his controversial tweets.
He first tweeted this morning: 'Scientology back in news. Very weird cult, but big, big money involved with Tom Cruise either number two or three in [hierarchy].'
Murdoch was quickly attacked for his comments with one user throwing the ‘creepy and evil’ insult right back at the 81-year-old tycoon.

More...

• Who are the men who have been following Katie Holmes? Actress 'has been stalked by for weeks' as marriage to Tom Cruise disintegrated
• Their last show of unity: Tom Cruise and Katie walk hand-in-hand together two weeks before Holmes files for divorce

However, Murdoch refused to back down tweeting later: 'Since Scientology tweet hundreds of attacks. Expect they will increase and get worse and maybe threatening. Still stick to my story.
After one user asked Murdoch for his views on Mormonism, he replied: ‘Mormonism a mystery to me, but Mormons certainly not evil.'
Katie Holmes, 33, filed for divorce from 49-year-old Tom Cruise, her husband of five years, in New York on Thursday.
Meanwhile, unknown people in two cars have been seen tailing Ms Holmes since before she filed for divorce, prompting speculation they are rogue Scientologists, it was claimed yesterday.

Controversial: The outspoken octogenarian first tweeted this about the Top Gun's position within Scientology

Backlash: Murdoch faced online attacks after posting this tweet but later refused to back down saying that he was 'sticking to his story'

TOM CRUISE AND THE THETANS: THE TEACHINGS OF SCIENTOLOGY

• The Church of Scientology was established in 1954 by science-fiction writer L Ron Hubbard
• It numbers up to 15million members worldwide and likes to cultivate celebrity followers
• Among its more famed acolytes are the actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta
• Hubbard claimed that each human being has hidden secret powers required for the lifelong journey towards spiritual freedom and happiness
• The Church holds that humans are descended from an exiled race of aliens called Thetans
• Once a worshipper reaches a higher state of awareness called 'the Clear', he becomes an Operating Thetan who can address deeper psychological dilemmas of his own existence

The church insists the men have nothing to do with it, with the lawyer for the Church Gary Soter told TMZ that the Scientology movement is 'not following Katie or conducting surveillance on her in the wake of her divorce with Tom Cruise'.
But it has been claimed this tracking has been going on for weeks - even before Friday's shock announcement the pair will divorce.
According to TMZ, 'there have been several 'mysterious' men and vehicles around Katie's New York apartment and following her when she's out.
'Specifically ... a white Cadillac Escalade and black Mercedes SUV have been seen near Katie's NYC apartment for the past week.'
The site claims sources believe these cars' occupants are not journalists, but their identity has never been established.
The Dawson’s Creek star is seeking for sole custody of Suri, the couple’s 6-year-old daughter. This would enable her to remove her daughter from the Church of Scientology, which she is alleged to dislike and distrust.
With a financial pre-nuptial already in place, it is thought that Holmes purposefully filed for divorce in New York state and not California because New York dislikes giving warring parents joint custody.
However, the divorce will not be recognised by Scientology, according to the church's doctrines.
The religion offers little advice to those for whom divorce has become the only option, preferring to focus on providing couple's therapy to fix relationships.

Sticking to his guns: The media mogul refused to back down when he was attacked on Twitter about his controversial remarks

There is a belief in the church of Scientology that marital problems come from 'withholds' or 'overts' - undiscussed issues or problems.
According to the official website, marriage is considered essential to family life along with the  belief that the religion will strengthen bonds between partners.
Scientologists also claim that people who follow the religion are more likely to stay married.
If a couple runs into a problem, they can take courses on how to improve their marriage or speak to counselors.
However Stephen Kent, a religion professor at the University of Alberta, told ABC: 'There's no real annulment in the church. Many members have been divorced, even founder L. Ron Hubbard was married three times.'
Murdoch also used Twitter today to criticise Mitt Romney’s campaign.
'Met Romney last week. Tough O [Obama] Chicago pros will be hard to beat unless he drops old friends from team and hires some real pros. Doubtful.'

'Weird cult': Murdoch alleged that Top Gun actor Tom Cruise was number two or three within Scientology's hierarchy

He followed it up with a second tweet: ‘US election is referendum on Obama, all else is pretty minor.
If members of the church are tracking Ms Holmes, it would not be the first time that Scientologists have turned on those who have left the cult.
The church refers to people who leave the group but practice independently as 'squirrels.
Last year, bizarre footage emerged of a group of 'squirrel busters' who fitted cameras to their heads to 'stalk' one of its defectors.
Marty Rathbun, once one of its highest-ranking members, left the church a few years ago but continued to practise independently.
He was reported to be in on the secrets of the church and 'audited' some of its high-profile members - including Tom Cruise.
And last April a group of four men wearing skyblue T-shirts and black caps with the words 'Squirrel busters productions' turned up at his door and said they were there to look at his 'PC meters' - a piece of scientology equipment -  and check his 'tack'.
The T-shirts bore the image of a squirrel with Mr Rathbun's head superimposed onto it.
During the standoff, which lasts a couple of minutes and a video of which was on YouTube, Mr Rathbun asks the men if they are going to 'stick around' at his house and Mr Allender answers: 'Yeah, Marty, we are here for weeks. Weeks and weeks.'
Another added: 'As long as it takes.'
Mr Rathbun apparently called the police, and a deal was struck where he agreed not to bring harassment charges against the 'SquirrelSquad' and they would not peruse assault charges for grabbing a microphone.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2167406/Katie-Holmes-Tom-Cruises-divorce-develop-says-Rupert-Murdoch-brands-Scientologists-evil.html#ixzz1zSBBpz3H

#Leveson: #BBC - Who Pulls The Strings ?

BIAS AND THE BBC

The BBC should be an important voice, not least because we, the people own it- and its users, ( so that’s us again) – fund it. We would hope to be able to trust it to provide quality educational material and to keep us informed about what is happening in the world, and honest and accurate reporting.

Today, rather than report on Ed Miliband’s letter to the House of Lords about the Health Bill, the BBC bombards us with articles about the Falklands, Syria and disgruntled Christians.
So what is happening at the BBC? We are kept well informed about the goings-on in the Falkland Islands. Is that a co-incidence in that as I remember it was the flag-waving and cheering of the departing ships, which led to a recovery for Margaret Thatcher in 1982 when the public-service cuts were hitting hard?

The BBC inform us of the coming-and-goings of managers of football clubs, and then about complaints from Christians about being marginalised. I am unsure as to why the BBC should be a voice for religious groups – isn’t that what churches are for?

While all this is going on, the most unpopular policies in recent years go unreported by the BBC, and by much of the Press.....read more


http://think-left.org/2012/02/11/who-pulls-the-strings-at-the-bbc/

#Leveson : #Greece - #BBC Deliberate Media Manipulation To Sway Public Opinion.

Please read link on how the BBC operate.

http://yanisvaroufakis.eu/2012/06/20/a-technical-failure-foretold-my-interrupted-bbc-tv-interview-on-the-bbcs-bias/

 

#Leveson's Unfinished Business - Module 3.

By: John Charles Dyer, UK Correspondent 

27 June 2012.  Testimony in “Module 3” of the Leveson Inquiry is due to end this week.    
In July the Inquiry will move on from its Module 3 focus on the relationship between the press and politicians. The focus of Module 4 will be how to fix the mess.  
Module 3 surfaced some of the most disturbing revelations yet. But, inevitably, leaving behind the relationship of the press and politicians also leaves loose ends. ...read more

http://whirledview.typepad.com/whirledview/2012/06/levesons-unfinished-business.html