Thursday, 28 July 2011
Rupert Murdoch and the battle of Wapping: 25 years on
Protests outside Murdoch's News International in Wapping Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian
The police were plainly on his side. Lawyers helped, too, with a letter he used to justify his strategy. And of course the government of the day bent over backwards to ensure nothing would stand in the way of the media baron's ambitions.All three of those statements might apply to the scandal that this month engulfed Rupert Murdoch's News International, as the scale of illegal phone hacking at News of the World – and of police inaction, and government complacency – became clear.
But they could equally describe an earlier, very different scandal. Twenty-five years ago, one of the most bitter and violent disputes in British industrial history was in full swing. For those with an eye for historical parallels, the battle of Wapping offers several.
"It was a war, and we lost it," says Ron Garner, who worked in the Sun warehouse, in packaging and distribution. "We were led into a trap, and we played into his hands. I always say in my life there was a before and an after Wapping. It was a huge milestone, whatever way you look at it."
The war broke out on 24 January 1986, when nearly 6,000 newspaper workers went on strike following the collapse of talks on News International's plans to move its editorial and printing operations to a new plant in east London. Immediately, all were served with notices of dismissal.
Overnight, Murdoch then moved the Times, Sunday Times, Sun and News of the World to the new site, dubbed "fortress Wapping", and hired members of the rogue Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to man it. He did this, he explained in a speech a few years later, because Britain's powerful print unions "had a noose round the neck of the industry, and they pulled it very tight".
In the mid-80s, most British newspapers were still produced using hot metal, despite the widespread use elsewhere of modern offset litho technology. Whereas Murdoch's papers in Australia and America could be produced with four or five men to a printing press, he said, in London it took 18. Most were paid "full-time wages for part-time jobs", and many held down second jobs on the side: cabbies, mechanics, even morticians.
As part of the move to Wapping, Murdoch demanded the unions accept flexible working, agree to a no-strike clause, adopt new technology and abandon their closed shop. They refused. Mass demonstrations outside the new plant were met by large numbers of police, whose methods – aimed at ensuring strike-breaking workers could get into the plant, and newspapers could leave it – were widely criticised as excessively heavy-handed.
"That's my recollection," says Garner. "I'd been involved in quite a few disputes, strikes and pickets. I'd always got on quite well with the police. And I'd seen the miners the previous year, and I'd thought, they're over the top, overreacting. But then I saw the way the police treated us at Wapping, the women too, secretaries and the like, and I saw something had changed. The police were using violence to discourage people from demonstrating."
Just over a year later, the strikers were exhausted and demoralised, and the unions were facing bankruptcy and court action. Some 1,262 people had been arrested and 410 police injured. News International had not lost one day of production, and the balance in British industrial relations had shifted.
"Whatever you think of the print unions, whether they did have too much power – and lots of people thought they did – you look at the situation now, and you can only say: there's no worker protection at all. None," says Garner.
For some, Wapping planted a decisive nail in the coffin of what Andrew Neil, a former Murdoch editor, has described as "all that was wrong with British industry: pusillanimous management, pig-headed unions, crazy restrictive practices, endless strikes and industrial disruption, and archaic technology". This dispute, Neil says, "changed all that".
Many in the newspaper business – including some who criticised Murdoch at the time – now concede that the end of Fleet Street's Spanish practices probably helped prolong the life of the British press by a good few decades. (Others, including the many "refuseniks" who declined to move to Wapping, argue the dispute shattered journalistic self-respect for ever, subjugating journalists once and for all to the will of the bean-counters.)
Those who lost their jobs in 1986, who included support workers as well as printers, and the trade unionists who are recalling Wapping with an exhibition of photos, documents and personal accounts, still smart. They point out that Murdoch could not have acted as he did without the benefit of Margaret Thatcher's legislation to curb the power of the unions, nor the police's zeal to enforce it with batons and shields and horseback charges.
They note the letter – featured in the exhibition – from the company's lawyers, advising News International on how to provoke a dispute, and then how to fire more than 5,000 people without risk of legal repercussion. An early instance, says the TUC, of the kind of unholy alliance between lawyers, police, government and News International that exemplifies the "malign and corrosive" influence of Rupert Murdoch on the British establishment.
Wapping, says TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, "is a story of betrayal, connivence and the use of force used against working people . . . but also of solidarity, determination and ingenuity in the face of massive odds. Most importantly, it's a reminder of the lengths to which Murdoch and News International have gone to get their way to extend their empire and influence, brooking no opposition from either workers or politicians."
Wapping, the 25th anniversary exhibition, runs at TUC Congress House, London until 12 August
Jon Henley @'The Guardian'
But they could equally describe an earlier, very different scandal. Twenty-five years ago, one of the most bitter and violent disputes in British industrial history was in full swing. For those with an eye for historical parallels, the battle of Wapping offers several.
"It was a war, and we lost it," says Ron Garner, who worked in the Sun warehouse, in packaging and distribution. "We were led into a trap, and we played into his hands. I always say in my life there was a before and an after Wapping. It was a huge milestone, whatever way you look at it."
The war broke out on 24 January 1986, when nearly 6,000 newspaper workers went on strike following the collapse of talks on News International's plans to move its editorial and printing operations to a new plant in east London. Immediately, all were served with notices of dismissal.
Overnight, Murdoch then moved the Times, Sunday Times, Sun and News of the World to the new site, dubbed "fortress Wapping", and hired members of the rogue Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to man it. He did this, he explained in a speech a few years later, because Britain's powerful print unions "had a noose round the neck of the industry, and they pulled it very tight".
In the mid-80s, most British newspapers were still produced using hot metal, despite the widespread use elsewhere of modern offset litho technology. Whereas Murdoch's papers in Australia and America could be produced with four or five men to a printing press, he said, in London it took 18. Most were paid "full-time wages for part-time jobs", and many held down second jobs on the side: cabbies, mechanics, even morticians.
As part of the move to Wapping, Murdoch demanded the unions accept flexible working, agree to a no-strike clause, adopt new technology and abandon their closed shop. They refused. Mass demonstrations outside the new plant were met by large numbers of police, whose methods – aimed at ensuring strike-breaking workers could get into the plant, and newspapers could leave it – were widely criticised as excessively heavy-handed.
"That's my recollection," says Garner. "I'd been involved in quite a few disputes, strikes and pickets. I'd always got on quite well with the police. And I'd seen the miners the previous year, and I'd thought, they're over the top, overreacting. But then I saw the way the police treated us at Wapping, the women too, secretaries and the like, and I saw something had changed. The police were using violence to discourage people from demonstrating."
Just over a year later, the strikers were exhausted and demoralised, and the unions were facing bankruptcy and court action. Some 1,262 people had been arrested and 410 police injured. News International had not lost one day of production, and the balance in British industrial relations had shifted.
"Whatever you think of the print unions, whether they did have too much power – and lots of people thought they did – you look at the situation now, and you can only say: there's no worker protection at all. None," says Garner.
For some, Wapping planted a decisive nail in the coffin of what Andrew Neil, a former Murdoch editor, has described as "all that was wrong with British industry: pusillanimous management, pig-headed unions, crazy restrictive practices, endless strikes and industrial disruption, and archaic technology". This dispute, Neil says, "changed all that".
Many in the newspaper business – including some who criticised Murdoch at the time – now concede that the end of Fleet Street's Spanish practices probably helped prolong the life of the British press by a good few decades. (Others, including the many "refuseniks" who declined to move to Wapping, argue the dispute shattered journalistic self-respect for ever, subjugating journalists once and for all to the will of the bean-counters.)
Those who lost their jobs in 1986, who included support workers as well as printers, and the trade unionists who are recalling Wapping with an exhibition of photos, documents and personal accounts, still smart. They point out that Murdoch could not have acted as he did without the benefit of Margaret Thatcher's legislation to curb the power of the unions, nor the police's zeal to enforce it with batons and shields and horseback charges.
They note the letter – featured in the exhibition – from the company's lawyers, advising News International on how to provoke a dispute, and then how to fire more than 5,000 people without risk of legal repercussion. An early instance, says the TUC, of the kind of unholy alliance between lawyers, police, government and News International that exemplifies the "malign and corrosive" influence of Rupert Murdoch on the British establishment.
Wapping, says TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, "is a story of betrayal, connivence and the use of force used against working people . . . but also of solidarity, determination and ingenuity in the face of massive odds. Most importantly, it's a reminder of the lengths to which Murdoch and News International have gone to get their way to extend their empire and influence, brooking no opposition from either workers or politicians."
Wapping, the 25th anniversary exhibition, runs at TUC Congress House, London until 12 August
Jon Henley @'The Guardian'
The Daily Show segment that caused the UK ban
It's against the law to show clips from Parliament in a comedy setting in the UK. The same rule applies here in Australia too...
'Topiary' arrested
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) arrested a 19-year-old man in an intelligence-led operation today.
The announcement was made on the Metropolitan Police Website, and the arrest has been made as part of an “ongoing international investigation into the criminal activity of the so-called “hacktivist” groups Anonymous and LulzSec”. The statement also confirms that they believe the man they have is “Topiary”.
The suspect was arrested at a residential address in the Shetland Islands, off the north east coast of Scotland, and he is being transported to a police station in central London. His address is currently being searched.
Police are also searching another address in Lincolnshire, and a 17-year-old male is being interviewed under caution in connection with the inquiry, though he has not been arrested.
It’s thought that ‘Topiary’ is second-in-command at LulzSec, and the ‘public’ face of the hacktivist group. Topiary was notable for his eloquent writing, and it may surprise some to learn that the man suspected of being Topiary is still a teenager.
Topiary is thought to manage the main LulzSec Twitter account, which was last updated 5 hours ago, though he likely had a hand in most of the group’s announcements. He’s also thought to be well-known among hackers with links to more senior Anonymous members.
Up until now, very little has been known about his identity, though he has been referred to as ‘Daniel’ in some leaked transcripts in the past. And it seems that Topiary had wiped his Twitter feed too, leaving a single, solitary message, perhaps in anticipation of the net closing in on him:
We’ve written extensively about both LulzSec and Anonymous in recent months. LulzSec announced in June that it was to cease activities after 50 days, but the group was soon back in the fold. And just last week, we reported on LulzSec and Anonymous’ joint statement, which was directed at the FBI.
And today’s arrest has happened on the same day LulzSec and Anonymous issued another joint statement calling on people to boycott PayPal. “PayPal’s willingness to fold to legislation should be proof enough that they don’t deserve the customers they get. They do not deserve your business, and they do not deserve your respect.”
Its statement continued:
“In recent weeks, we’ve found ourselves outraged at the FBI’s willingness to arrest and threaten those who are involved in ethical, modern cyber operations. Law enforcement continues to push its ridiculous rules upon us – Anonymous “suspects” may face a fine of up to 500,000 USD with the addition of 15 years’ jail time, all for taking part in a historical activist movement. Many of the already-apprehended Anons are being charged with taking part in DDoS attacks against corrupt and greedy organizations, such as PayPal.”The LulzSec and Anonymous hacktivist groups seem to be spread far and wide. Last week we reported that the FBI had raided three people’s homes in New York, thought to be members of Anonymous. Shortly after, it was revealed that a 16-year old leading member of LulzSec, known as TFlow, had been taken into custody in London.
And at the time of writing, the Lulzsecurity website has been taken offline too: http://lulzsecurity.com/.
We’re sure there will be further statements from both LulzSec and Anonymous in due course, but it seems that the net is certainly closing in, and it will be interesting to see where the hacktivists go from here.
Paul Sawers @'TNW'
LulzSec hacking suspect 'Topiary' arrested
'Nevermind' – Deluxe Edition Tracklist
CD One
Original Album
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'In Bloom'
'Come As You Are’
'Breed'
'Lithium'
'Polly'
'Territorial Pissings'
'Drain You'
'Lounge Act'
'Stay Away'
'On A Plain'
'Something In The Way'
The B-Sides
'Even In His Youth'
'Aneurysm'
'Curmudgeon'
'D-7' live At The BBC
'Been A Son' live
'School' live
'Drain You' live
'Sliver' live
'Polly' live
CD Two
The Smart Studio Sessions
'In Bloom' previously unreleased
'Immodium' (Breed) previously unreleased
'Lithium' previously unreleased
'Polly Previously' unreleased mix
'Pay To Play'
'Here She Comes Now'
'Dive' previously unreleased
'Sappy' previously unreleased
The Boombox Rehearsals
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'Verse Chorus Verse' previously unreleased
'Territorial Pissings' previously unreleased
'Lounge Act' previously unreleased
'Come As You Are'
'Old Age' previously unreleased
'Something In The Way' previously unreleased
'On A Plain' previously unreleased
BBC Sessions
'Drain You' previously unreleased
'Something In The Way' previously unreleased
CD Three
The Devonshire Mixes
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'In Bloom'
'Come As You Are'
'Breed'
'Lithium'
'Territorial Pissings'
'Drain You'
'Lounge Act'
'Stay Away'
'On A Plain'
'Something In The Way'
CD Four
Live At The Paramount Theatre
'Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam'
'Aneurysm'
'Drain You'
'School'
'Floyd The Barber'
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'About A Girl'
'Polly'
'Breed'
'Sliver'
'Love Buzz'
'Lithium'
'Been A Son'
'Negative Creep'
'On A Plain'
'Blew'
'Rape Me'
'Territorial Pissings'
'Endless, Nameless'
DVD
Live At The Paramount Theatre
'Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam'
'Aneurysm'
'Drain You'
'School'
'Floyd The Barber'
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'About A Girl'
'Polly'
'Breed'
'Sliver'
'Love Buzz'
'Lithium'
'Been A Son'
'Negative Creep'
'On A Plain'
'Blew'
'Rape Me'
'Territorial Pissings'
'Endless, Nameless'
Music Videos
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'Come As You Are Music'
'Lithium'
'In Bloom'
Original Album
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'In Bloom'
'Come As You Are’
'Breed'
'Lithium'
'Polly'
'Territorial Pissings'
'Drain You'
'Lounge Act'
'Stay Away'
'On A Plain'
'Something In The Way'
The B-Sides
'Even In His Youth'
'Aneurysm'
'Curmudgeon'
'D-7' live At The BBC
'Been A Son' live
'School' live
'Drain You' live
'Sliver' live
'Polly' live
CD Two
The Smart Studio Sessions
'In Bloom' previously unreleased
'Immodium' (Breed) previously unreleased
'Lithium' previously unreleased
'Polly Previously' unreleased mix
'Pay To Play'
'Here She Comes Now'
'Dive' previously unreleased
'Sappy' previously unreleased
The Boombox Rehearsals
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'Verse Chorus Verse' previously unreleased
'Territorial Pissings' previously unreleased
'Lounge Act' previously unreleased
'Come As You Are'
'Old Age' previously unreleased
'Something In The Way' previously unreleased
'On A Plain' previously unreleased
BBC Sessions
'Drain You' previously unreleased
'Something In The Way' previously unreleased
CD Three
The Devonshire Mixes
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'In Bloom'
'Come As You Are'
'Breed'
'Lithium'
'Territorial Pissings'
'Drain You'
'Lounge Act'
'Stay Away'
'On A Plain'
'Something In The Way'
CD Four
Live At The Paramount Theatre
'Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam'
'Aneurysm'
'Drain You'
'School'
'Floyd The Barber'
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'About A Girl'
'Polly'
'Breed'
'Sliver'
'Love Buzz'
'Lithium'
'Been A Son'
'Negative Creep'
'On A Plain'
'Blew'
'Rape Me'
'Territorial Pissings'
'Endless, Nameless'
DVD
Live At The Paramount Theatre
'Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam'
'Aneurysm'
'Drain You'
'School'
'Floyd The Barber'
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'About A Girl'
'Polly'
'Breed'
'Sliver'
'Love Buzz'
'Lithium'
'Been A Son'
'Negative Creep'
'On A Plain'
'Blew'
'Rape Me'
'Territorial Pissings'
'Endless, Nameless'
Music Videos
'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
'Come As You Are Music'
'Lithium'
'In Bloom'
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
NY Mummy Smugglers Reveal Vast Antiquities Black Market
Amazingly, however, mummy smuggling not only still happens today, it was once so common that enough mummies were available to be ground up and sold as powder, archaeologists reveal.
"Mummy powder was something you could buy in pharmacies up to 1920, because people thought it was a type of medication," said Egyptologist Regine Schulz, curator of ancient art at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.
Today's black market for mummy and other antiquities is in the billions of dollars, though exact numbers aren't known. Besides not having a clear bead on the breadth of trafficking in Egyptian artifacts, scientists and officials say it's often difficult to protect the precious artifacts as the Egyptian desert is so vast...
Continue reading
Charles Q. Choi @'Live Science'
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