Tabloid phone hacking scandal involving kidnapped girl roils Britain

[mongers]

Does smoking gun mean something different in the UK than it does in the US?

We don't have guns over here, I think more of a euphemism for oral sex.   

So your question was "So in amongst the vague, uncertain and detacted testimony of this frail of man ( I presume an act), was there an oral sex moment ?"

And your answer is yes?

Who was the suckee in your fantasy; Cameron or Murdock?

What error message is the above, anyone help ?

I think it's a sense of humour failure, but iirc that module was stripped when they upgrade the power supply to steam.

Yes, it is a failure of your sense of humor.

You said a silly thing, and when I noted how silly it was, you still didn't get it.

Don't worry about it.  Just avoid using the term "smoking gun" in the future.  It has nothing to do with oral sex.

Epic woosh on your part.

But do carry on, you're probably amusing others.

[grumbler]

Epic woosh on your part.

But do carry on, you're probably amusing others.

Oh, this is amusing others, and that fact that you don't get it amuses me.

So, every one here wins.  Except you, of course, but we cannot have everything. 

[mongers]

Epic woosh on your part.

But do carry on, you're probably amusing others.

Oh, this is amusing others, and that fact that you don't get it amuses me.

So, every one here wins.  Except you, of course, but we cannot have everything. 

Grumbler continues to plough is lonely furrow. 

[mongers]

One Torygraph columnist says Cameron is in danger:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/maryriddell/100097802/wallis-and-cameron-is-this-the-smoking-gun/

[Martinus]

Someone on CNN has called it "UK Watergate". Not sure if this is not an exaggeration but will see. For now it is pretty to watch.

[jimmy olsen]

Someone on CNN has called it "UK Watergate".

This watergate fetishism is getting ridiculous, next time there's a big scandal I'm going to name it the ________dome scandal. That'll make just as much sense. 

[Martinus]

Oops. It's bad when your lawyers turn on you:

The law firm hired by News International in 2007 to review allegations of phone hacking says it is being prevented from responding to "inaccurate" comments made by James Murdoch. Mr Murdoch said a letter written by the law firm made executives at News International believe that hacking was a "matter of the past". Harbottle and Lewis says it is not being allowed to breach client confidentiality.

[Martinus]

And Australia now joins the fray:

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the Australian arm of News Corp will have to answer "hard questions"

[The Minsky Moment]

I thought we were talking about principles, not specifics of the US federal law (which, in addition to the fact that many participants in the discussion are not familiar with it, is not really an object of this thread at all since the whole thing happened in the UK).

We are talking about legal gray areas.  That by nature involves specific laws, not principles. 

Ifyou want to talk about UK law, go ahead and talk about UK law.  The invasion of privacy laws are stricter there than in the US - a fact that came out during the Mosely thread.  But again, it is by no means clear to me there are significant gray areas there - other than the potential ambiguity that may result from the possibility of appealing to Strasbourg

[The Minsky Moment]

"Newsworthy" is something else than "in public interest", especially in the scandal/celebrity culture we live in. I'm rather glad the simple fact that something is "newsworthy" is not enough in most EU countries.

Many people are hostile to the concept of freedom of speech, and to a certain extent, the legal frameworks in many European countries (UK notably among them) reflect that hostility.  What is interesting, and yet also predictable, is that stricter regulation of what the press can say has tended to make the press less responsible, not more.  When you allow the State to define what is news ("in the public interest") and what is not, you not only make a mockery of freedom of the press and speech, you relieve that particular buck from stopping at the doors of the editors.  As horrible and obnoxious as the US media often gets, it rarely reaches the depth of the Brit tabloids, or the likes of Bild.  No accident that, IMO

[Neil]

Someone on CNN has called it "UK Watergate". Not sure if this is not an exaggeration but will see. For now it is pretty to watch.

Which only goes to show the low intelligence of UK journalists.

Present company excepted, of course.

[Martinus]

Someone on CNN has called it "UK Watergate". Not sure if this is not an exaggeration but will see. For now it is pretty to watch.

Which only goes to show the low intelligence of UK journalists.

Present company excepted, of course.

Is CNN run by UK journalists?

[Admiral Yi]

I didn't realize Rupert's chinaman girl wife had such high principles.

She befriends an American couple in China, who teach her English and sponsor her for a student visa.  She bangs the husband and marries him after he gets a divorce.  She stays married long enough to get a green card, then bangs another dude and divorces the first sap.  Gets an MBA at Yale, starts working at News Corp., and ditches the second sap to marry Rupert.

[Ed Anger]

I didn't realize Rupert's chinaman girl wife had such high principles.

She befriends an American couple in China, who teach her English and sponsor her for a student visa.  She bangs the husband and marries him after he gets a divorce.  She stays married long enough to get a green card, then bangs another dude and divorces the first sap.  Gets an MBA at Yale, starts working at News Corp., and ditches the second sap to marry Rupert.

That is the American way.

[Admiral Yi]

I just hope that our own little Yakie doesn't get hurt.