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Cry Me a River, Murdoch

by Steven D
Thu Feb 5th, 2009 at 05:53:33 PM EST

This is what you get for backing an Oil Man as your boy in the White House for the last eight years, Rubert, old man. Record profits for Exxon, record losses for -- gasp -- News Corp.!

The News Corporation, the media empire controlled by Rupert Murdoch, said Thursday that it lost $6.4 billion in the second quarter as profit fell sharply at its television and movie units and it took a write-down on its newspaper assets.
Mr. Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive, said the economy deteriorated faster than anticipated in the last three months.
“Our results for the quarter are a direct reflection of the grim economic climate,” he said. “While we anticipated a weakening, the downturn is more severe and likely longer lasting than previously thought.”

The downturn is more severe and likely longer lasting than previously thought? A true master of understatement is our Rupert. One might suspect evidence of a very droll wit if we didn't know who was making these statements: the individual most responsible for putting radical conservatives in power thus setting the stage for almost every massive problem we now face: wars, security fraud on an unbelievable scale, the meltdown of our financial institutions, the degradation of our environment and the failure to act on global warming, nuclear proliferation, rising unemployment, a disastrously expensive and unequal health care system, etc., etc. etc. I could go on and on, but the point has been made. Murdoch is simply getting a small taste of the snake oil medicine he's been cramming down our throat ever since his media/right wing propaganda conglomerate was assembled. If the rest of us weren't doing a whole lot worse as a result of the economic nightmare that Bushco and the Republicans spawned, I might be having a moment of schadenfreude. But I'm fighting with our health insurance company to keep our coverage right now, so I don't have time for such luxuries, and I bet most of you don't either. Still, maybe a few seconds of unmitigated joy might be in order.

Cry Me a River, Murdoch | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Cry Me a River, Murdoch (none / 0)

I live in a very small world now focusing on trapsing after medical professionals and insurance folk who act like a box of rocks, but thanks for the laugh about Murdoch, it's nice to know that when he crawled out from under his rock that the rock turned over and hit him on the head.

by mainsailset on Thu Feb 5th, 2009 at 05:59:06 PM EST

Re: Cry Me a River, Murdoch (none / 0)

I think you are missing the point Steven. The so-called loss in value doesn't hurt Murdoch in the least. The point of the rape and pillage economy he shamelessly hyped with all his media resources was never about a sustained increase in real value. Rather is was about enabling the already rich to leverage their wealth to the most ridiculous and unsustainable degree - so that they could buy up real assets with fake money.

The inevitable collapse of the pyramid may mean that Murdoch is "worth less" (or more to the point, his business are worth less), but he owns and controls more.

Since most of these bastards know there is an expiry date on the bubble, you can bet he's was busy converting his personal assets into "disaster capitol" (like gold) well before the bubble burst.

Oh, and now that the economy has collapsed, he'll be picking up "bargans."

These people knew exactly what they were/are doing, and no harm will ever come to them from the chaos they wrought.

by keres on Thu Feb 5th, 2009 at 07:11:28 PM EST

Re: Cry Me a River, Murdoch (none / 0)

The thing about Murdoch is - he's actually kind of stupid. He's a shark at business, but his political acumen amounts to "find the most powerful person in the room and suck up to them." In the UK, he sucked up to Tony Blair. In the US, he saw Republican ascendancy and sucked up to them. But he's not an ideologue - he's the kid in the gang who hopes that if he does enough sucking up to the guys at the top of the gang he'll get their scraps. It's worked out for him for the most part - at least monetarily - but then it usually does until the gang leader does something stupid and screws over the whole gang. I think that's what just happened to Murdoch.

Funny thing about Murdoch - apparently he married a younger, more liberal woman recently and he's been having a change of heart about the whole "conservative" thing. He catches hell from all of her friends for his part in the rise of the conservative noise machine and he's not used to being considered a social pariah. Or so the rumor mill has been saying. Personally, I think it's become obvious that the Republican ascendancy is deader than the dodo and Murdoch is going to be reforming his image to suck up to the new powers that be - once he figures out who they are.

by nonynony on Thu Feb 5th, 2009 at 08:14:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cry Me a River, Murdoch (none / 0)

I agree that Murdoch is more of cool-aide drinker than a truly bright-bulb, but like most of his ilk he has a great deal of "rat cunning". It's the kind of cunning that never "talks" to the the fore-brain but is always furiously figuring out the best way to game the system in one's own favor.

Which is why he will no doubt follow the winds of change (as the NY Times and the WaPo seem to be doing) towards a less vitriolic form of screwing the poor.

And as an Australian, I'd like to personally apologize to the rest of the world for Murdoch's mere existence.

by keres on Thu Feb 5th, 2009 at 08:27:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Cry Me a River, Murdoch | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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