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04/19/2007


UK Parliamentary Panel: Rupert Murdoch 'Unfit' to Lead News Corp

A UK Parliamentary committee investigating News Corp's phone hacking has concluded that Rupert Murdoch "is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company," the AP reports.

Rupert-MurdochParliament's cross-party Culture, Media and Sport committee said News International, the British newspaper division of Murdoch's News Corp., had deliberately ignored evidence of malpractice, covered up evidence and frustrated efforts to expose wrongdoing...

...The judgment on Murdoch implies that News Corp., which he heads, is also not a fit to control British Sky Broadcasting, in which News Corp. holds a controlling stake of 39 percent.

The BBC adds:

Its report has concluded that Mr Murdoch exhibited "wilful blindness" to what was going on in News Corporation.

But the committee was split six to four with Tory members refusing to endorse the report and branding it "partisan".

Conservative Louise Mensch called it "a real great shame" that the report's credibility had potentially been "damaged" as a result, with the report carried by Labour and Lib Dem members backing it.

News Corp said in a statement it was "carefully reviewing" the report and would "respond shortly", adding: "The company fully acknowledges significant wrongdoing at News of the World and apologises to everyone whose privacy was invaded."


News: Eating Elephant, More Fluke Insults, Budget, Thinking

TopGun 6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Erich Bishop, the openly gay son of a former KKK member, is running for state house in Kansas.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi "To a man?" That's how Fox News anchor Monica Crowley reacted to news that Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown student Rush Limbaugh called a "slut" for wanting access to contraceptives, is engaged. Adam Peck writes, "Crowley’s fake surprise that Fluke is not, in fact, a lesbian is especially ironic given the attacks that her network leveled against Fluke in February."

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Rupert Murdoch admitted that News Corp. executives tried to "cover up" a culture of hacking.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Jen Tyrrell, the mother booted from her son's Boy Scouts troop for being a lesbian, appeared on MSNBC today and had this to say about the incident: "We were like a family, so in essence … we lost our scouting family, but they also lost two members of their scouting family."

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi The thankfully short life of the "I Kill Gays for Fun" Facebook page.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi The Victory Fund says that for the first time ever all 50 states have an LGBT elected official. From the Washington Blade: "[VF] has listed the names of openly LGBT officials in 49, saying that it has also identified a local official in Alaska whose name will be made public soon."

TheThinker6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi In related news, 2012 is turning out to be quite the year for LGBT candidates: "[Victory Fund] has already backed more than 100 national, state and local LGBT candidates, and expects that number to double before November."

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi John Paulk, an "ex-gay" activist photographed in a gay bar in 2000, now lists himself as "interested in men and women" on Facebook. Has another charlatan seen the light?

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Perhaps hoping that he hasn't completely eradicated his political career, failed presidential candidate now claims he can be an influential surrogate for Mitt Romney: "I'm going to look at how I can be helpful, because I suspect people will still show up to hear me."

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Oakland A's pitcher Brandon McCarthy won't stand for homophobic business on the kiss cam. "They put two guys on the 'Kiss Cam' tonight. What hilarity!! (by hilarity I mean offensive homophobia). Enough with this stupid trend," he tweeted.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Reality star and White House party crasher Tareq Salahi is claims young people will help his campaign for governor in Virginia: "The social media, those people that have associated me with television or reality TV, opens up a whole new audience, and frankly the younger audience is going to be very important in winning this governor's race."

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Racism among the contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Top Gun sequel?

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Progressive Catholics are coming out against Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan. "We would be remiss in our duty to you and our students if we did not challenge your continuing misuse of Catholic teaching to defend a budget plan that decimates food programs for struggling families, radically weakens protections for the elderly and sick, and gives more tax breaks to the wealthiest few," wrote dozens of faculty and students at Georgetown, where Ryan spoke today.

BrandonMcCarthy6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Lindsay Lohan smoked a stoge while hanging around the set of Glee.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Not sure if you heard or not, but Ricky Martin will be hosting an LGBT Obama fundraiser.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Lambda Legal is fighting to overturn the 2010 aggravated assault conviction for a man who was accused of using a "dangerous instrument" when he bit someone because the judge claimed his HIV-positive status turned his saliva into a weapon, even though HIV is not transmitted through saliva. 

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Singer Kris Allen strikes striking poses during a photo shoot for his forthcoming album, Thank You Camellia.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi A little taste of elephant.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Chew on this: "Thinking analytically dims supernatural beliefs [such as religion], apparently by opposing the intuitive thought processes that underpin them."

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi The Senate renewed the Violence Against Women Act, which now includes LGBT people. The House now has to pass its own version.

6a00d8341c730253ef01676542c07b970b-800wi Meryl Streep tries to get her groove back in the Hope Springs trailer.


Rupert Murdoch Hearts Rick Santorum

Murdoch_santorum

Rupert Murdoch finally joined Twitter and is using the social networking site to do a little cheerleading for Rick Santorum.

As Joe.My.God points out, the Fox News overlord this weekend tweeted, "Good to see Santorum surging in Iowa. Regardless of policies, all debates showed the principles, consistency and humility like no other."

It's a soft, non-committal message but indicates Murdoch prefers a social conservative like Santorum to the more business-oriented GOP frontrunner, Mitt Romney. Though it's unclear whether Murdoch will influence voters, he obviously wants to play a role in this upcoming election. Or maybe he just wants to hire Santorum for Fox News, as he has other Republican political hopefuls.

Having Santorum on Fox News of course is preferable to having him in the White House, something that seemed like an impossibility just a few weeks ago. Now that he's more popular in Iowa, Santorum could - in theory - have a shot at the presidency. I still doubt he has staying power, but stranger things have happened.


Tabloid Eyes Justin Bieber's Gay Club Visit

BieberAccording to News Corp UK tabloid The Sun, Justin Bieber is using gay clubs to find refuge from paternity claims.

What's the best way to knock back rumours you've fathered a love child? Go for a night out on the shandy at "Europe's hottest gay venue". Justin Bieber knocked back allegations he's the father of a lovechild from a 30-second knee trembler with the camp night out in Belfast. After winning two gongs at the MTV EMAs on Sunday, he did some more high-profile work on his defence, by choosing to spend the early hours of Monday morning in gay club Kremlin.

Bieber also entered through a back door, and The Sun couldn't resist:

No jokes about the tradesman's entrance, please.

And don't you know, those gay clubs are dangerous places for young men:

Not exactly the best place for some peace and quiet for an angelic looking young 'un in a city far from home.

Justin Bieber hides Out in a Gay Club [the sun]


Fred Karger Files FEC Complaint Against Fox, Rupert Murdoch

KargerNewsCorp Fox News blatantly broke its 'fair and balanced' promise when it excluded openly gay presidential candidate Fred Karger from its debate last week. Now Karger is fighting back.

The Republican yesterday filed a 158-page complaint against Fox News and its corporate overlord, Rupert Murdoch, for their exclusionary politics.

"I am the first openly gay major party candidate to ever run for President of the United States," Karger wrote in his letter to the FEC. "I have experienced many doors slammed in my face by individuals and outside political organizations during the past eighteen months, but this blatant affront by Fox News executives smacks of discrimination and I hope the Commission will investigate post-haste.”

Though Karger is by far the longest of the long shots in this race, he told me that he will "fight like hell" to have his voice heard.

"When I am denied a place on the debate stage after qualifying, I will  take action against the party responsible. Rupert Murdoch and his Fox News should have allowed me on that stage in Ames Iowa last week. Now I am asking the Federal Election Commission to investigate Fox changed it's rules to keep me out," said Karger.

You know what? Good for him. The average American should be included in the presidential process. That is what makes this country great.

Photo credit: Andrew Werner.


News: NPH's New Role, European "Ex-Gays," Verizon

NPHSnowWhite  road New dad Neil Patrick Harris clearly has an itch for kid-friendly productions: first he appears in Smurfs, and now the actor will played the magic mirror in an upcoming stage production of Disney's Snow White.

 road Ed Kilgore discusses conservatives and convenient states' rights: "The history of cultural conservatives on [abortion and gay marriage] is very clear: They favor the maximum legal heft the political market can bear in support of their views. From their point of view, a federal constitutional ban is ideal; federal statutes would be less effective but better than state action; and state action (via either state constitutional amendments or statutes) is a useful fallback position if national bans aren’t practical."

 road David Beckham shows off the new tattoo he got for daughter Harper.

 road The Glee stars turned out for the premiere of their 3D concert movie.

 road New York City Council gave The Ali Forney Center, a space for homeless LGBT youth, $620,000 to help the service expand its woe-fully underfunded reach. "We are grateful to have the additional shelter beds. It is a terrible thing to see so many LGBT youth forced to survive out in the streets while they wait for beds. We hope to have the new site opened by October so fewer kids will have to suffer in the cold this winter," said the Center's executive director, Carl Siciliano.

 road Teens for Testing, an STD and HIV/AIDS awareness group for high school students, could use some support, too.

Glacier road Members of the Scottish Nationalist Party double-down in effort to "protect" conservatives from gay marriage.

 road Unhygienic NYC food vendor blames his woes on Jewish people, gay people and anti-Islamic racism.

 road Scary crusade: "Conversion therapy, as it is called, has been causing controversy for years in the United States, where a so-called "ex-gay movement" continues to thrive. Now there is increasing concern among LGBT rights organizations that these groups are strengthening their foothold in Europe."

 road Howard Dean blames the Tea Party for the nation's economic turmoil, and wonders what they've been "smoking:" "I think they've been smoking some of that tea, not just drinking it."

ExGayProtest  road New ABC drama Pan Am takes place in the 1960s, but network executives put the kibosh on of-the-era smoking in the period series, which stars Christina Ricci.

 road Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which owns Fox News and the New York Post, will print a gay wedding magazine. The company's publications and outlets may not support same-sex equality, but they'll happily accept LGBT dough.

 road 45,000 Verizon employees strike over labor contract impasse.

 road Melting glaciers increase planet's waist size.







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