Hacking - I haven't got the foggiest

Within the last 24 hrs...

Andy Coulson arrested and then bailed .. telling the baying reporters..'I could tell you a lot but I can't'

Rebekah Brooks... telling her soon to be unemployed staff..'it'll all become clear in a year's time..and even more shocking things will come out in the interim'

Rupert Murdoch will be flying out to the UK to sort News Corps worries out - chap's 80 years of age and has a legacy to worry about - a legacy he clearly does not trust his oily and brain-free son to deal with

Cameron mummifies in front of our eyes..wishing he never had gone horse riding with Brooks et al, I bet

Is Chipping Norton the new Armaggedon ?

If it was a fillum..it would be Mulholland Drive

Except it isn't a fillum..it's real life and it has virtually all UK citizens riled

I admit..I'm stumped..maybe someone else can shed a light or two

answers on a postcard please

I am not sure whether Rebekah Brooks is using the excuse "it will all become clear in a year's time" in the hope that by then no one will have the desire to dredge it all up again as it will have all been "smothered" by Murdoch's power and political influence. Bit like the McCanns have done - allowed time to deliver them support for their thesis.

I don't think it's going to go away. After all, these hackings that have come to light (Milly Dowler, specifically) seem to date back 4 or 5 years.

What I don't understand about this hacking.

If you hack someone it stands to reason you are hacking them to get information, maybe damaging info especially on the likes of celebs and politicians - that I get!

What I don't get is the hacking into a murdered girls phone, for what purpose. Dead soldiers families, again for what purpose? I don't believe we've had an explanation for this, or have we? Or is it obvious and I'm missing something?

My thoughts exactly, princess-leia. People would only risk hacking into someone's phone if they thought they could get a bit of scandalous information that they could sell. I could understand them thinking the prime minister or the Queen might provide this, but what could there possibly be in bereaved families of soldiers?

My brother was killed while serving in NI in 1977. If they had had mobile phones in those days, and somebody had hacked mine, there would have been murder committed, let me assure you!!!

princess_leia wrote:What I don't understand about this hacking.

If you hack someone it stands to reason you are hacking them to get information, maybe damaging info especially on the likes of celebs and politicians - that I get!

What I don't get is the hacking into a murdered girls phone, for what purpose. Dead soldiers families, again for what purpose? I don't believe we've had an explanation for this, or have we? Or is it obvious and I'm missing something?

To get a story and sell a paper. When Milly's phone was hacked she wasn't known to be dead. As it has transpired the hacker's activity gave the family false hope.

There was an interesting exchange on Newsnight with a former NotW hack and Steve Coogan - well worth a watch to see the mentality of some of those trying to sell us "news".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b012f51p/Newsnight_08_07_2011/

The exchange is about 26 minutes in.

The self serving explanation of why the previous government did bugger all by Harriet Harman earlier on is also worth a watch.

Chris wrote:

princess_leia wrote:What I don't understand about this hacking.

If you hack someone it stands to reason you are hacking them to get information, maybe damaging info especially on the likes of celebs and politicians - that I get!

What I don't get is the hacking into a murdered girls phone, for what purpose. Dead soldiers families, again for what purpose? I don't believe we've had an explanation for this, or have we? Or is it obvious and I'm missing something?

To get a story and sell a paper. When Milly's phone was hacked she wasn't known to be dead. As it has transpired the hacker's activity gave the family false hope.

There was an interesting exchange on Newsnight with a former NotW hack and Steve Coogan - well worth a watch to see the mentality of some of those trying to sell us "news".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b012f51p/Newsnight_08_07_2011/

The exchange is about 26 minutes in.

The self serving explanation of why the previous government did bugger all by Harriet Harman earlier on is also worth a watch.

That is on a par with that fake tape that somebody sent to South Yorkshire police during the Ripper enquiry, IMO. Utterly despicable.

I can only think that the papers want reactions to a case eg an inane interviewer asks "How do you feel?" .

Chris wrote:

princess_leia wrote:What I don't understand about this hacking.

If you hack someone it stands to reason you are hacking them to get information, maybe damaging info especially on the likes of celebs and politicians - that I get!

What I don't get is the hacking into a murdered girls phone, for what purpose. Dead soldiers families, again for what purpose? I don't believe we've had an explanation for this, or have we? Or is it obvious and I'm missing something?

To get a story and sell a paper. When Milly's phone was hacked she wasn't known to be dead. As it has transpired the hacker's activity gave the family false hope.

There was an interesting exchange on Newsnight with a former NotW hack and Steve Coogan - well worth a watch to see the mentality of some of those trying to sell us "news".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b012f51p/Newsnight_08_07_2011/

The exchange is about 26 minutes in.

The self serving explanation of why the previous government did bugger all by Harriet Harman earlier on is also worth a watch.

That is so disgusting. I didn't realise this is what happened. How awful! What kind of story would they hope for though! ANd what kind of story would they expect from hacking into dead soldiers families?

I will take a look at the link, thanks.

Iris wrote:

Chris wrote:

princess_leia wrote:What I don't understand about this hacking.

If you hack someone it stands to reason you are hacking them to get information, maybe damaging info especially on the likes of celebs and politicians - that I get!

What I don't get is the hacking into a murdered girls phone, for what purpose. Dead soldiers families, again for what purpose? I don't believe we've had an explanation for this, or have we? Or is it obvious and I'm missing something?

To get a story and sell a paper. When Milly's phone was hacked she wasn't known to be dead. As it has transpired the hacker's activity gave the family false hope.

There was an interesting exchange on Newsnight with a former NotW hack and Steve Coogan - well worth a watch to see the mentality of some of those trying to sell us "news".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b012f51p/Newsnight_08_07_2011/

The exchange is about 26 minutes in.

The self serving explanation of why the previous government did bugger all by Harriet Harman earlier on is also worth a watch.

That is on a par with that fake tape that somebody sent to South Yorkshire police during the Ripper enquiry, IMO. Utterly despicable.

Indeed it was. On the plus side her legacy will be that the despicable act has finally galvanised public opinion to say enough is enough - having said that they will still go out and buy the Sun, Heat etc to get their fix of gossip and tittle tattle.

courtesy of the Guardian

Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein says the phone hacking scandal should only come as a surprise to those who have turned a blind eye to Murdoch's "pernicious influence on journalism".

Writing for Newsweek, the veteran journalist says the events of the past week mark "a watershed for Britain, for the United States, and for Rupert Murdoch".


The hacking scandal currently shaking Rupert Murdoch's empire will surprise only those who have willfully blinded themselves to that empire's pernicious influence on journalism in the English-speaking world. Too many of us have winked in amusement at the salaciousness without considering the larger corruption of journalism and politics promulgated by Murdoch Culture on both sides of the Atlantic.

As one of his former top executives—once a close aide—told me, "This scandal and all its implications could not have happened anywhere else. Only in Murdoch's orbit. The hacking at News of the World was done on an industrial scale. More than anyone, Murdoch invented and established this culture in the newsroom, where you do whatever it takes to get the story, take no prisoners, destroy the competition, and the end will justify the means."

"In the end, what you sow is what you reap," said this same executive. "Now Murdoch is a victim of the culture that he created. It is a logical conclusion, and it is his people at the top who encouraged lawbreaking and hacking phones and condoned it."

The hacking has been known about within the political circle for years......the hypocrasy show by both major parties is sickening. The families of murder victims, terrorist attacks have had to relive their horror, they are simply being used as pawns in all this. When the Giggs affair failed to gain public sympathy, they pulled out the big guns....Milly Dowler's family have been through enough, but in order for the story to reach the heights intended they made the decision to drag the family through further misery to make their point. It worked.......all this to stop Murdoch gaining control. So as shocking and disgusting the hacking is to us the general public, make no mistake, this has been common knowledge within closed doors for years. So we all really need to be questioning the morality, of not only the journalists who carried this out, but the people in control of this country......who are trampling on innocent people for a different agenda entirely

David Cameron , in fact the whole Government were quite happy to ignore this because they know they are hardly innocent, but the Milly Dowler case
has caused such public outrage that they have been forced to make a statement. Cameron has blotted his copybook and will be remembered for his
acceptance of the help Rupert Murdoch gave to make him Prime Minister. Then to employ Coulson was a huge mistake, he has no credibility as PM now.

Panda I agree, but what is even as sickening is the Labour party using this as a tool to gain public support.
I have no doubt that the hacking of phones is not just saved for celebrities, royalty or victims of crime. I would think this method of gaining information is something widely used in the political arena, under instruction from the political arena! They are so busy covering their arses, they have no care for the trauma it is causing the real victims of this.

princess_leia wrote:What I don't understand about this hacking.

If you hack someone it stands to reason you are hacking them to get information, maybe damaging info especially on the likes of celebs and politicians - that I get!

What I don't get is the hacking into a murdered girls phone, for what purpose. Dead soldiers families, again for what purpose? I don't believe we've had an explanation for this, or have we? Or is it obvious and I'm missing something?

From what I've read, Milly Dowler's phone was hacked because at the time it wasn't known what had happened, and they were probably hoping to get something sent through that was incriminating to somebody. Also, they were able to delete messages on this poor girl's phone, in order to free up space for more messages to come through. I think this deleting of messages was what led to false hopes that she was still alive, and using her phone.

Panda wrote:David Cameron , in fact the whole Government were quite happy to ignore this because they know they are hardly innocent, but the Milly Dowler case
has caused such public outrage that they have been forced to make a statement. Cameron has blotted his copybook and will be remembered for his
acceptance of the help Rupert Murdoch gave to make him Prime Minister. Then to employ Coulson was a huge mistake, he has no credibility as PM now.

Yep..whatever moral highground Cameron thought he was on

has disappeared underneath his feet - fast

Uncle Rupert will sort all this out - tomorrow