"Five Sun workers arrested in Britain’s hacking scandal; Parent company News Corp. helps police with probe" by Ravi Somaiya | New York Times, February 12, 2012
LONDON - British authorities arrested eight people yesterday, including five employees of Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid The Sun, as part of an investigation into bribery of public officials by journalists, according to Scotland Yard and the newspaper’s parent company....
Murdoch’s company, News Corp., had sought to shield The Sun, seen by many industry analysts as his crown jewel and cash cow here, from the scandal. In the face of occasional mentions in lawsuits last year, the company fiercely disputed any suggestion that the newspaper was embroiled in widespread illegality.
A former official with News International, the British newspaper arm of News Corp., who has knowledge of the investigation, said that given the overwhelming quantity of evidence, the police have relied heavily on guidance from News Corp.
Now, as part of an effort to draw a line under the scandal that has included the settlement of dozens of lawsuits, and under the guidance of a team put in place by the company to investigate wrongdoing, the Management and Standards Committee, the newspaper has been firmly implicated....
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"Tony Blair’s wife sues News Corp." by Erik Larson | Bloomberg News, February 23, 2012
LONDON - Cherie Blair, the wife of Britain’s former prime minister, is suing News Corp. and a former private investigator who hacked into celebrities’ voice mail messages to get stories for the now-defunct News of the World tabloid.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, comes as News Corp. prepares for the start on Monday of the first civil trial related to the scandal. The company has already settled phone-hacking claims by Tony Blair’s former press chief, Alastair Campbell, and former deputy prime minister John Prescott.
News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch shuttered the News of the World in July in a bid to contain public anger after it was revealed the tabloid hacked into the voice mail messages of a slain schoolgirl. While most of the current lawsuits have been settled, the company still faces possible claims by more than 800 likely victims identified by police.
Tony Blair’s representatives referred calls to Cherie Blair’s lawyers, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Campbell told an inquiry into British media ethics in November that, in light of the number of stories published about Cherie Blair, he accused her assistant Carole Caplin of leaking stories. Caplin has since been told her phone was also hacked, he said.
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When is Bliar being sent to the Hague?
Also see: British Newspapers Publish Bulls***
So does mine.
"London to test alcohol monitors for offenders" Associated Press, February 11, 2012
LONDON - London will be the first city in England to test electronic monitoring to force persistent alcohol offenders to stop drinking, Mayor Boris Johnson said yesterday.
Johnson said the program would use electronic bracelets to detect alcohol in perspiration of people convicted of serious alcohol-related offenses. The trial program is expected to start later this year.
Aren't the cameras on every street corner enough?
One police force in Scotland has previously expressed interest in the device.
And you guys are a aflutter about terrorists?
Electronic devices that continuously monitor alcohol are used in several US states. Offenders who break their no-drinking order can be sent to jail.
In South Dakota, 77 percent of offenders who chose the option of wearing the monitor stayed off alcohol, according to a report in the Argus Leader in December.
“The success of South Dakota proves that removing alcohol really reduces violent crime,’’ said Kit Malthouse, London’s deputy mayor for policing.
Actually, that sounds right to me for some reason. Kinda funny that it's all legal and a going concern.
“Although criminals may protest, this may be the short, sharp shock they need,’’ he added. “Offenders will have to ask themselves if a drink is really worth a night in jail?’’
If your homeless, yeah.
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Related: Moody's warns UK on credit rating
That's cause for a drink, too.
Aren't they the same $elf-$erving shits that signed off an all that mortgage securities crap as AAA-grade investments?
