What a shockingly bad lede from A.P. this is:

The U.N. nuclear has found traces of uranium enriched at an Iranian site to a level that is slightly closer to the threshold needed to arm nuclear missiles.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says in a report that its experts have found particles enriched up to 27 percent. That is higher than the 20 percent declared by Iran and closer to the weapons-grade material used in the fissile core of such missiles.

Argh, Iran has stepped over the line! Panic! Start the bombing right now!

Oh wait:

The restricted report says Iran explains the find as a technical glitch. The agency says it is assessing that explanation and has asked for more details, while analysts and diplomats say Iran’s version sounds plausible.

Even David Albright, no stranger to concocting scary Iran stories himself, admits that the trace amounts found are almost certainly a quality control issue and are "embarrassing but not nefarious". Cancel the bombers!

George Jahn, who leads reporting on Iran for the A.P. and wrote this piece, has a long history of banging war drums at every opportunity and a track record of revealing spanner-in-the-works scoops sourced to "an official of a country tracking Iran's nuclear program" which is a "member of the International Atomic Energy Agency" - that is, Israel. Others like the team of man-Judys at the NYT, Broad and Sanger, or Reueters' Deihl, are hardly any better. They usually force themselves to get the truth in there somewhere, but they'll spin it as negatively as possible.

When reading Western media on Iran, it's best to remember the Spanish-American War and that Pullitzer was one of the pioneers of yellow journalism.

But...we should definitely fear Iran's Oompa-Loompa engineers.

By Michael Collins

"Cameron continues to insist that the inquiry is the best forum to evaluate Hunt’s actions. This signals the beginning of the end for Cameron. He’s proposing a solution for the Hunt investigation that is outside the rules of Parliament, in a forum that has rejected him. Upon closer examination, existing evidence will lead to even stronger condemnation of Hunt’s behaviour. Any new materials produced by the inquiry will bury him.

Queens Counsel Robert Jay unearthed a devastating piece of evidence that will surely create calls for the resignation of both culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister David Cameron.

In afternoon testimony at the Leveson Inquiry today (5/24), Jay confronted News Corp lobbyist Frederic Michel with an email rendition of a Hunt to Cameron memo of November 19, 2010 (see testimony/full memo at end of article). Hunt is clearly cheerleading for the News Corp acquisition of immensely profitable pay TV network BSkyB. News Corp owned 39% of the network and wanted to purchase the remaining 61%. This acquisition was absolutely critical to News Corp profitability and as a sign that Rupert and James Murdoch actually knew what they were doing.

One month after he got the biased memo, Cameron appointed Hunt as the government minister in charge of approving the bid. Hunt portrayed his role as "quasi-judicial" and claimed he was an objective judge. The bid was opposed by an alliance of news organizations.

Now we know, without any doubt and from Hunt's own words that he was biased in favor of approving the News Corp bid before he even got the authority to judge.

We also know that PM Cameron knew Hunt's bias and appointed him anyway.

Let's take the last first. Apparently the Great Pacific Plastic Patch, where ocean currents collect discarded plastic junk, has been misrepresented by use of a photo from Manila Harbor, which shows a guy paddling a boat through a layer of garbage, mostly plastic. According to Scripps Institution marine biologist Miriam Goldstein, who has actually been there, it's not like that. The plastic is there, but it's in much smaller pieces and more spread out. The danger to fish and birds, often exemplified by a cut-open stomach crammed with plastic, may be overhyped too. Read the whole thing.

That's the pretty interesting, if simplistic, question posed by The Atlantic:

Not everyone is thrilled by the prospect of radical life extension. As funding for anti-aging research has exploded, bioethicists have expressed alarm, reasoning that extreme longevity could have disastrous social effects. Some argue that longer life spans will mean stiffer competition for resources, or a wider gap between rich and poor. Others insist that the aging process is important because it gives death a kind of time release effect, which eases us into accepting it. These concerns are well founded. Life spans of several hundred years are bound to be socially disruptive in one way or another; if we're headed in that direction, it's best to start teasing out the difficulties now.

By Michael Collins

Criminal charges against Rupert Murdoch insider and favorite Rebekah Brooks may be a prelude to looming charges arising out of Brooaks' testimony before the Leveson Inquiry last week.

Crown Prosecution Services charged Brooks, her husband, and four others with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice on Tuesday May 15. The alleged conspiracy took place between July 6 and July 19, 2011.

Brooks and the co-conspirators concealed and removed materials sought by police in their investigation of phone hacking by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation subsidiary, News International, according to prosecutors. Brooks resigned as chief executive officer of the subsidiary on July 15, 2011. (Image: SnowViolent)

Brooks' current legal troubles should not obscure the significance of her testimony before the Leveson Inquiry last week. During her several hours on the witness stand, she was confronted with an explosive email that, if true, implicates Conservative Party Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a conspiracy to pervert the British regulatory process in favor of News Corporation's bid to acquire the ten-million-subscriber pay TV company BSkyB. News Corp owns 39% of the company. It sought the remaining 61%.

Alan Cowell & John F. Burns | London | May 15

NYT - Once among the most powerful figures in the British media, Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper empire and a close friend of Prime Minister David Cameron, faced charges on Tuesday that she, her husband and four others conspired to pervert the course of justice in the hacking scandal that has burrowed into public life here.

It was the first time that charges have been formulated since the police reopened inquiries into the affair in January 2011. The accusations brought the scandal to a watershed between criminal investigations, which have resulted in around 50 people being arrested and then set free on bail, and the prospect of trial before robed High Court judges.

The results of this poll sort of reflect my own feelings and experiences with Facebook:

According to a new AP-CNBC poll, 57 percent of Facebook users say they never click ads or other sponsored content when they use the site, with another 26 percent saying they hardly ever engage in such activity.

While the company makes money, in part, simply by displaying sponsored content, user clicks are a critical part of an advertiser’s calculus when gauging how effective those ads are and how much they’re willing to pay for them. In the first quarter, Facebook generated 82 percent of its $1.06 billion in revenue from advertising sales. In the company’s online IPO pitch to retail investors, CFO David Ebersman says the company is working to make ads “more relevant, more social, and more engaging” as it looks to grow.

From Australia's free thinking media voice, Independent Australia Net. They enhanced and published my latest article on Murdoch - Rupert Watch - the Kiss of Death. Several outstanding videos were added by the editors that show the dangers of dealing with Murdoch (as Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt found out today via Murdoch fav Rebekah Brooks).

The kiss of Rupert Murdoch
By Michael Collins

Posted by admin in International, Media on 10 May, 2012 12:01 am

As British Prime Minister David Cameron will soon find out, says Michael Collins, doing business with Rupert Murdoch can often be the kiss of death.

Some may think Barack Obama's hand was forced.

Some may think it was a cynical ploy to garner Gay Money campaign contributions or to pander to the youth vote.

Some may simply shoot themselves and the right wing in the foot, talking about distractions that their own party has raised in the middle of a recovery.

After reading this column, I have to scratch my head a little.

Check out Chuck Todd, NBC's chief White House correspondent, openly speculating that President Obama is going to embrace same-sex marriage because he needs money from gay people. "Gay money in this election has replaced Wall Street money," he reported. NBC's David Gregory agreed. For some reason, neither man seemed to think this theory reflects poorly on the president.

By Michael Collins

The first crack in Rupert Murdoch's political facade in Australia occurred Friday, May 4. The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) announced it was looking closely at the House of Commons committee report that declared Murdoch unfit to run an international business. ACMA licenses and regulates television broadcasting, digital communication, and radio frequency allocation.

Rupert Murdoch controls 70% of the newspaper market in Australia. He has major interests in the Foxtel pay TV network. And his political influence in Australia is even greater than in Great Britain and the United States.

The Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) is reviewing the British parliamentary committee report which described News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch as 'not fit' to lead an international company.

The explosive findings also suggested that former chief executive James Murdoch was wilfully ignorant of the extent of the practice of phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World. News Corporation released a statement on Tuesday accepting the report, while rejecting some of its "unjustified and highly partisan" commentary. Murdoch report: ACMA and US Senate enter the fray, May 4

This is the first sign of any potential challenge to Murdoch's authority in his former homeland. Despite a heavily documented expose of alleged pay TV hacking and piracy published by the Australian Financial Review, Australian competition regulators gave approval for a Foxtel (Murdoch controls it) acquisition of a competitor (AUSTAR) that it is alleged Murdoch's firm hacked.

By Michael Collins

May Day! How remarkable (even though Rupert Murdoch was denounced by a committee of the House of Commons, not the entire body). Murdoch is "not a fit person" to run "a major international company," we were told in a report released by the Commons' committee investigating phone hacking on May 1. He may not be unbalanced, as Murdoch recently characterized former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, but he's certainly not fit. (Image)

Here's some of what this means:

1) There's no way Murdoch will survive the regulatory investigation on his ownership of media in Great Britain.. One of Ofcom's charters (the regulatory body) is to determine if Murdoch is a "fit and proper" person to own BSkyB and other British media properties.
2) When it looks like Murdoch has to divest the 39% News Corp interest in the highly profitable BSkyB pay TV network, institutional shareholders will Kirk out! The Sky enterprise amounted to 20% plus of News Corp's 2011 profits. Oops!
3) Murdoch won't go gentle into the dark night. He will become increasingly irrational as seen in his sting operation against his once loyal servant David Cameron. It is fair to assume that he's got more dirt on public officials than J. Edgar ever had … and he'll start using it.
4) Murdoch will retain the continued loyalty of the News Corp board (see members listed below). After the release of the condemnation by the Commons committee, Murdoch's board released a statement expressing "full confidence in Rupert Murdoch's fitness and support for his continuing to lead News Corporation into the future as its Chairman and CEO."
5) Murdoch may get the bums rush out of News Corp as a result of an institutional investor like the Christian Brothers Investment Services which has said it would ask the SEC to change the voting rights of shareholders (Murdoch has outsized representation in voting shares).

By Michael Collins

When things don't work out, doing business with Murdoch can be the kiss of death.

No matter how hard you try, how loyal you are, if something goes wrong, you can be sure it will be your fault.

Reporting has failed to lay the proper foundation for understanding Rupert Murdoch's remarkable testimony before the Leveson Inquiry in London and his behavior of late.

Rupert Murdoch is a nihilist.

Murdoch’s television outlets in the United States stoked the fires for the 2003 invasion of Iraq based on outrageous misrepresentations like the idea that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. The war cost tens of thousands of dead and seriously injured U.S. soldiers, several hundred thousand dead Iraqi civilians, and $3 trillion. (Image: acb)

Last summer, Murdoch went full throttle to support Republicans in the U.S. Congress as they fabricated a debt ceiling crisis that seriously damaged the credit rating of the United States of America.

Murdoch’s support of the Tea Party created an utterly irrational voice in U.S. politics that prevents even the most modest necessary reforms. Created by right wing lobbyists, this pseudo party blocks every vital project, from reviving the economy to an effective, coordinated response to the crisis created by climate change.

In the nations occupied by his multinational media empire Murdoch takes the path of maximum damage to the public and governance.

Jane Merrick, Matt Chorley , Brian Brady | London | April 29

The Independent -
Culture Secretary faces immediate resignation if found guilty over dealings with Murdoch
Jeremy Hunt today stands accused of misleading Parliament over his dealings with the Murdoch empire, an offence which would trigger the Culture Secretary's immediate resignation.

As the Prime Minister battled to save his minister, an Independent on Sunday investigation has established that Mr Hunt appears to have misled the Commons on three occasions in his handling of News Corp's takeover bid of BSkyB.

Dominic Rushe and Jill Treanor | New York and London | April 26

The Guardian -
Advisers to News Corporation shareholders say they are "deeply troubled" by the performances of Rupert and James Murdoch at the Leveson inquiry into media ethics.

US shareholders are said to be worried that the Murdochs' testimony this week has raised new questions about the management of the company and posed potential threats to other areas of its media empire.

Michael Pryce-Jones, senior policy analyst with Change To Win (CtW), a US advisory group that works with pension funds with over $200bn in assets, said the Murdochs' testimony raised two immediate concerns for shareholders: the future of the firm's control of broadcaster BSkyB and the ethics of top management.

"The big question is what does this mean for BSkyB," he said. "Sky is one of their best assets."
===============
Also see: Murdoch watch - apocalypse when? and Murdoch watch - signaling the end

(How gratifying! An independent Australian web site republished my story on Murdoch and BSkyB. The original was published on the 22nd but this was perfect tming given the revelations today at the Leveson hearings about Murdoch influence over the Cameron government actions on BSkyB.)

The Sky falling on the fox
independentaustralia.net, April 24

Rupert Murdoch’s grip on News Corporation hinges on whether British regulators decide he is a fit and proper person to own cable giant BSkyB. Michael Collins reports.

Rupert Murdoch’s reign over the $33 billion News Corporation hinges on events surrounding the company’s ownership share of Britain’s dominant pay TV network, BSkyB (Sky). As Business Insider said, “it’s the only asset that really matters” in the News Corp collection of media properties.

Link: http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/business/media-2/the-sky-falling-on-the-fox/

By Michael Collins

Rupert Murdoch's reign over the $33 billion News Corporation hinges on events surrounding the company's ownership share of Britain's dominant pay TV network, BSkyB (Sky). As Business Insider said, "it's the only asset that really matters" in the News Corp collection of media properties.

As a result of Murdoch scandals, News Corp lost the chance to buy 100% of Sky's shares. More troubling for the media monarch, the company may lose the 39% interest it already holds if British regulators determine that Murdoch is not a fit and proper owner. This would fuel the major News Corp shareholder suits in Delaware and New York that seek to remove Murdoch as board chairman and vastly diminish his power and that of his family and cronies.

Sky reaches 25 million viewers in 10 million homes. Revenues are growing at 10% a year with adjusted operating profit growth averaging around 16% of revenues (see 2009 through 2011). Revenues from 2012 through 2016 should top $70 billion total with adjusted operating profits around $11 billion. What happens with Sky really matters.

By Michael Collins

Is Murdoch getting ready to trade his kingdom for a horse? Supposedly, News Corp did a compliance review on the voting rights of foreign shareholders. The company discovered that it was way out of line for the amount of foreign shareholder voting rights, thus imperiling its bid to renew the licenses for it's domestic television properties (based on the Communications Act of 1934).

"News Corp, which has spent most of the last year battling the fallout from the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, inadvertently allowed foreign investors to hold 36pc of Class B voting stock – well past the 25pc limit enshrined in American 1934 Communications Act.

"In order to fix the problem, on Wednesday it suspended 50pc of the Class B voting rights of its investors outside the US, effectively halving the power of certain foreign investors." The Telegraph, April 18 & Financial Times, April 18

This includes Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Saudi investor, who will have his 7% share cut in half for voting. Talal is a big Murdoch supporter.

Two points. This is a sign of weakness. They knew or should have known this was the case but now they're acting. News Corp probably got a tip from some "friendly" in government and preemptively corrected the problem. One commentator asked, When was the last time they reviewed voting rights, 1936?

The prompts the second point, which consists of questions? Was News Corp out of compliance on foreign voting shares when it last renewed it's domestic broadcasting license? Will anyone in authority investigate? If they determine that the licenses were renewed with News Corp violating the 1934 Communications Act, will anything be done about it?

Neil Chenowath | Melourne | April 15

Australian Financial Review -
British lawyer Mark Lewis is investigating claims by a client that News Corporation’s controversial security company, NDS Limited, was involved in a dirty tricks campaign in Britain to undermine a competitor’s technology.

“The allegations made against them are uncannily similar to what’s been alleged in Australia,” Mr Lewis said in an interview with ABC Lateline host Emma Alberici.

“The practice seems very, very similar.”

Mr Lewis has been the leading British lawyer pursuing cases against News International for telephone hacking by its News of the World newspaper.

Tom Friedman seems set to prove he's worthy of Atrios' honor. His latest column advocates a third party run for president by Mike Bloomberg, a man who doesn't want to run and one with no chance of winning. Why? Because Tom believes in the tyranny of that same Buffet-Rule-hating fictional moderate middle that Bill Keller does. What a wanker.

And Tom, didn't you or your editor catch yourselves at this line?

We need to weatherproof our American house — and fast — in order to ensure that America remains a rock of stability for the world.

Can you weatherproof a rock, more than it already is I mean? Can someone please drop a house, or even a rock, on this mixed metaphor?

By Michael Collins

Rupert Murdoch is in big trouble. It is not a perfect storm but we're getting there.

British attorney Mark Lewis is in New York to take legal action in behalf of clients who may have had their phones hacked in the United States.

More significantly, News Corp withdrew its bid to buy the remaining 61% of BSkyB, the highly profitable British cable TV franchise (£1.1 billion 2011, News Corp owns 39% now). (Murdoch images: left, right)

Last week, James Murdoch stepped down as chairman of BSkyB after surviving a challenge to his position just weeks ago. (Thanks for the heads up Tina)

I'm struck by the diversity of comments here with regards to an interview given by the new Miami Marlins manager, Ozzie Guillen.

Guillen committed the nearly unpardonable sin of having kind words to say about Fidel Castro and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

A little background. The Miami Marlins baseball team opened a new stadium this season, right smack in the heart of Little Havana, la communidad el Norte for Cuban refugees. This casts an intriguing light on what Guillen said, for it's the older Cuban-Americans who have a problem with it, while later generations are more "Who's Castro?"

In the course of my infamous college career, I held many majors. One of the fun ones, one I wish I had stuck with, was journalism.

I went to college in the glory days of journalism: Reporters had just brought down a war machine, reporters were just about to take down a President.

Reporters were doing their jobs. Gathering facts, not repeating talking points. Investigating to see if there was a "there" there, and then writing stories that fit the facts, not just parroted position papers.

Think of the world-altering stories that came out in that time frame: the Pentagon Papers, the scandals at Willowbrook and other homes for the developmentally disabled (it was still ok to call them "retarded" back then), and of course, Watergate.

By Michael Collins

There was something tawdry and disgusting about the phone hacking by Rupert Murdoch's News of the World. The News Corporation owned tabloid hacked the phone mails of several thousand citizens of Great Britain. Victims included celebrities, politicians, and even a murdered eleven year old kidnap victim.

But that wasn't enough to generate type of criminal investigation of News Corporation that would topple Rupert Murdoch and his clan from the throne of the $30 billion News Corporation.

The current revelations of cable television hacking, laid out in detail by Australia's Financial Review and the BBC, provide a more concrete connection between outright criminality and the Murdoch run media giant. This alleged criminal behavior involves hackers on the payroll of a former Murdoch controlled Israel based company, NDS, and the demise of cable television competitors in Great Britain, the United States, and Australia due to that activity.

These allegations are reinvigorating the institutional shareholders revolt that may be the end of the Murdoch clan's control of News Corporation.

Ross Kerber and Aruna Viswanatha | Boston | April 2

Reuters -
News Corp faces a call to appoint an independent board chairman on concerns Rupert Murdoch's media company needs to pursue more reforms to deal with its phone-hacking scandal and other issues.

The proxy proposal, filed by Christian Brothers Investment Services, is likely to fan an ongoing controversy over governance at the company.

Although unlikely to get a majority of votes, the nonbinding resolution filed last month could put pressure on the board to remove Murdoch, currently News Corp's chief executive, from his other role as chairman of the company, the sponsor said.

With current arrangements, the company is "stepping into the scandal with a flawed corporate governance structure," Julie Tanner, who oversees socially responsible investing at Christian Brothers in New York, said in a telephone interview.

Murdoch, Sons Draw Substantial Negative Vote, ABC News, October 25, 2011