Welcome To Zelo Street!

This is a blog of liberal stance and independent mind

Thursday, 18 January 2018

Murdoch - The New Maxwell

When the Murdoch mafiosi moved to sell a major part of their empire to the Disney organisation - with no job guaranteed for either of Rupe’s sons - the questions were asked as to why the sale, and why now. What would happen to the Sky bid, and the constant appetite of the family for being able to bend Governments around the world to their will? And what would happen to the businesses left behind?
With Murdoch’s UK newspaper operation under continued fire over allegations of phone hacking, blagging, and even evidence tampering, and papers like the Sun now losing money hand over fist, there now has to be added the potential for Rupe’s slavish support for Combover Crybaby Donald Trump rebounding badly on him, and the thought that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller might come after the Murdochs as well.

All of this has now come sharply into focus with the belated news that Rupert Murdoch is now recuperating at one of his many homes after suffering a “serious back injury” on board son Lachlan’s yacht. Reports are sketchy at best: as the Guardian has told readers, “Rupert Murdoch reportedly suffered a back injury in a recent sailing accident, according to an internal note from the media mogul, which was provided to the Associated Press”.

Murdoch “would be working from home for weeks because of the injury, according to a person with knowledge of the email who was not authorized to share the note”. We should take the Murdoch mafiosi on trust. So what happened? “Murdoch, 86, was reportedly in the Caribbean on his son Lachlan’s yacht around the beginning of the year when the injury occurred, and taken from the boat to a hospital by helicopter”.

So it was bad enough for him to have to be airlifted to hospital, yet it appears to have taken weeks to let the world know. And it’s bad enough for him to be away from work for several more weeks. Worse, the exact nature of Murdoch’s injury is not being disclosed - deliberately, it seems. All of which brings back memories of another troubled media mogul and a most unfortunate incident involving a yacht.
Robert Maxwell, aka Captain Bob, aka The Bouncing Czech

In 1991, Robert Maxwell, one of the most vile and litigious newspaper owners ever to walk the earth, managed to fall off his luxury yacht the Lady Ghislaine into the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands. His naked body was recovered some time later. It was only after his demise that the discovery was made that Maxwell had been raiding the Mirror Group’s pension fund to prop up his empire - to the tune of hundreds of millions of Pounds.

Of course, Rupert Murdoch, once a great business rival of Maxwell’s, is not in such acute financial straits. But what connects the two is that it is only when Rupe shuffles off this mortal coil that we will finally discover the extent of his bad behaviour - not just the indulgence of his papers in “The Dark Arts”, but more importantly the abuse of power on his behalf at a Governmental level in a whole series of countries.

Meanwhile, it’s only a coincidence that Murdoch’s businesses are in turmoil, he’s in the firing line for Mueller, and he goes and has a mystery yachting accident which takes weeks to be confessed to the world’s media. And if you believe that, you’ll believe anything.

9 comments:

D Abbott said...

How many is a Carillon?

Does anybody know?

Anonymous said...

Tim,

I think you make the same mistake as many others: You allocate Murdoch power he simply doesn't have.

Oh sure, he and his gutless employees can launch political attacks and try to ruin individuals and organisations. But he would be swatted like a fly the moment he stepped away from the establishment far right agenda. Finance would be turned off like a tap and he would be ruined overnight. After which, someone else would be bribed to step into his corrupt shoes. The only question is: Who?

In short, Murdoch and his goons are contract agency technicians, not architects. Even his position as a hate figure is useful if it deflects attacks on the real centres of power.

It would be too ironic for words if the establishment decided he and his empty headed untalented brats also had to "fall off a yacht". But there are precedents.

Meanwhile, buying and selling companies is only shuffling deck chairs on a doomed Titanic.

Anonymous said...

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile......


We are saiiiliiing, we are saaailiiing
Hit disaster the sail went slack.
Murdoch's working from his home now.
Cause he hurt his bloody back.


Rod

SteveB said...

I think Anonymous @12:34 may have missed the point.

Being away from the office, miles away in the Caribbean and vaguely injured would be a good initial excuse to avoid speaking to Mueller - who wouldn't have enough detail to prove it untrue.

In the meantime he could do all sorts of things. Like lose evidence, try to influence events with rigged editorials and hope Trump does something even madder (or possibly stops Mueller) before having to show his face again.

Assuming that none of that works, should we start a sweep on what might happen next? Put me down for died of unexpected complications and cremated on a private island.

Anonymous said...

SteveB,

I accept all of that. You are quite right.

Mine was a related general point of political power, not of Murdoch's medical condition or sailing abilities.

Anonymous said...

@Steve B
Do you think he might be dead?
Interesting.

Street party time?

SteveB said...

Anon @1737

no, just the opposite. First they leak a story saying he's injured, can't travel etc. Then give it a few weeks and say he's suddenly deteriorated. Then announce sudden complications and he's dead. Followed by news of a quick cremation in a place the USA can't check with a conveniently leaked fuzzy "unofficial" photo of the mourners. Meanwhile he's still alive and well on a private island where Mueller can't touch him.

I've no doubt the sons could work with this, it just depends on Jerry Hall playing her part.

It would be much easier if he just turned up in New York in a few weeks time with a scar on his head and serious memory loss but there's always a risk that once in USA the investigators might insist on their own examinations.

Anonymous said...

Only one thing missing there SteveB.

Evidence.

Anonymous said...

I'm not going to tell you that you are wrong because stranger things have happened.

They'll protect him. They need to but they'll all pay for it.

One man is not worth the destruction of a whole continent.