By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Hacking murdered children's phones, paying off police, destroying evidence of crimes, threatening politicians; that is what the Murdoch new corporation has been doing. British MPs are now saying the Murdoch empire has “entered the criminal underworld” and this is more than true. The fact is that it has been part of the criminal underworld for a long time. But Murdoch is still calling the shots and could still get the BSkyB prize.
On Monday, September 12, 2011, he pulled a cunning manoeuvre at the last hurdle, meaning regulators will review the deal solely on plurality, not the outrageous immorality of his company's practices. But British law says media owners must be “fit and proper (persons)” to be trusted with broadcast licenses. The fact is that Murdoch and his outfit are not a “fit an proper person” and we must kill that deal for BSkyB once and for all.
Not only should he be stopped from taking over BSkyB but he must have his media empire taken from him and sent back whence he came.
Rupert Murdoch and his family have never been conducive to the good of this country and his media control and influence must be destroyed in the same way as Italy is looking at curbing Berlusconi's media power.
People power has brought this deal to its knees and the more that 160,000 letters sent alone via the Avaaz network were critical in getting the deal referred to the Competition Commission. But we cannot stop now: the hacking scandal is our best chance in a generation to end Murdoch's reign of fear and smear over our democracy. We must put pressure on the government and our members of parliament to take action against the Murdoch empire in the UK. Other countries we cannot touch from here though there his influence also needs dealing with.
Fox News in America is a joke beyond joke and people on that network, such as Glenn Beck, are more than a problem to the world.
Let's make sure Cameron and Hunt immediately ensure the BSkyB deal is assessed on whether Murdoch is “fit and proper” to be given half our country's commercial media. Click to sign the urgent petition of Avaaz, we have just 24 hours until the Parliamentary debate:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_murdoch_mafia_2/?vl
Murdoch's media, from the News of the World to the Sun to the Sunday Times, has corrupted our society, our politics and our police. His staff have listened in to grieving widows of soldiers who died in Iraq, a war that Murdoch's global media empire promoted. They stole a sitting Prime Minister's bank information and his family's medical records, and hacked into the phones, computers and homes of thousands of people. They paid the police for information, and got the first hacking investigation stopped after meeting senior officers. And James Murdoch approved cheques to hush up victims who threatened action, which is a criminal obstruction of justice.
As the Murdoch empire's vile dealings have been uncovered, he has fought back to try to save his lucrative BSkyB TV deal. First, he pulled the News of the World. Then he surprised Jeremy Hunt at the last minute by withdrawing his proposed undertakings for Sky News, forcing Hunt to refer the deal to the Competition Commission and buying time for the political temperature to cool to ensure the deal he so badly wants is judged only on market share, not his company's criminality.
So far the Murdochs have been protected by fear. They run smear campaigns against their enemies, threatening the career of any politician who challenges them. But the fear is melting away, and for the first time our politicians could take steps to stop him, by ruling Murdoch unfit to own our media and forcing him to give up control of his empire in the UK.
The government has now agreed wot vote with the Labor opposition – obviously realizing that if they would not they might lose their jobs rather soon – to tell Murdoch to drop the BSkyB bid.
Murdoch must be told that he cannot have BSkyB, period and then the government must take a very close and deep look at how to break up that media mafia empire that is News International and News Corporation.
Tell the British government what you think – regardless whether you are a British voter or not – and add you name to the list by using the link given above.
The Murdoch empire must be defeated.
© 2011
