 |
| Rupert Murdoch |
Outfoxed and cornered... Delaware Superior Court has dropped a bombshell on Fox Corp., rejecting its bid to kill the $1.6B libel suit lodged against it by Dominion voting machine maker.
It ruled that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch may have acted with “actual malice” by allowing voter fraud claims that they knew were false to be aired on Fox News.
The Court cited reports that Rupert privately said that he knew Donald Trump lost the electron.
His Wall Street Journal and New York Post properties criticized Trump and called for him to accept defeat.
Dominion claimed that Rupert Murdoch “decided to promote former President Trump’s narrative after Trump’s condemnation of Fox damaged its stock and viewership.”
Judge Eric Davis wrote: "These allegations support a reasonable inference that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch either knew Dominion had not manipulated the election or at least recklessly disregarded the truth when they allegedly caused Fox News to propagate its claims about Dominion.”
Fox has called Dominion’s claims baseless and lacking even a shred of merit. It also is “proud of” its election coverage.
The $64K question: will Fox change its tune and now seek to settle the suit in the aftermath of the Delaware court ruling?
Or do Rupert and Lachlan go down fighting?
Journalism’s finest moment. Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov raised $103.5M on June 20 by auctioning off his Nobel Peace Prize medal.
He is donating the proceeds to UNICEF to help children displaced by the invasion of Ukraine.
Muratov has already given his $500K cash prize for winning the Nobel to UNICEF.
He is the founder of independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and was editor-in-chief when it shut down after the Kremlin cracked down on remaining press freedoms following the invasion of Ukraine.
Muratov’s medal went to an anonymous bidder.
Loving Biden over there but not here. Favorable views of the US and of America’s democracy are on the upswing overseas, according to the Eurasia Group Foundation.
Fifty-five percent of those polled in nine nations hold a favorable view of the US. That was the highest score in the four years of the ESG polling.
Brazil, Nigeria, Poland and India are most bullish on the US. Germany, Egypt, Mexico, Japan, China are less so.
More than half (52 percent) give the Biden administration high marks for its management of the Ukraine crisis. Only 19 percent believe Biden screwed up the response to the invasion.
Fifty-two percent say the US managed the COVID-19 response better than other nations. Forty-one percent say the US lagged other national responses.
More than twice as many respondents (49 percent to 20 percent) support Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.
If Biden decides not to serve another term in DC, there’s a big job in the United Nations awaiting him.
Attorney general Merrick Garland wants snitches… The Justice Dept, which has stepped up enforcement of the Foreign Agency Registration Act, has issued a handy online brochure to help spot unregistered foreign agents.
It sets out four scenarios, one of which tells of a former big city Congressman who arranges a meeting to discuss agricultural tariffs.
He shows up at the meeting and ditches the ag tariff talk for a pitch about “a foreign country’s high-profile and longstanding request to release a prominent dissident, mirroring talking points used by the foreign country’s leaders or spokespeople.”
If that happens to you, the Justice Dept wants you to contact the local FBI office or the FARA unit.
Garland and his crew will follow-up with the Congressman.
Republican tough guys Josh Hawley and Tom Cotton want Biden to send the National Guard to Columbia University to put an end to student protests... Bernie blasts Bibi for insulting America's intelligence by equating criticism of Israel's government with antisemitism... German court convicts former financial PR exec who claims he wasn't aware that trading on tips is illegal. 
Southern governors claim they know what's best for their working class, and it's not pay raises... A Ukrainian human rights group played a key role in convincing House Speaker Mike Johnson to hold a vote to send arms to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan... Trump Media & Technology Group blames short-selling and not lousy outlook for its stock slump.
The techniques deployed by OJ Simpson's defense team in the 'trial of the century' served as a harbinger for those used by Donald Trump... People worry about the politicization of medical science just as much as they fret about another pandemic, according to Edelman Trust Barometer... Book bans aren't restricted to red states as deep blue Illinois, Connecticut and Maryland challenged at least 100 titles in 2023.
The NBA, which promotes legalized gambling 24/7, seems more than hypocritical for banning player for placing bets... Diocese of Brooklyn promises to issue press release the next time one of its priests is charged with sexual abuse... Truth Social aspires to be one of Donald Trump's iconic American brands, just like Trump University or Trump Steaks or Trump Ice Cubes.
Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun puts competition on notice... Macy's throws in the towel as it appoints two directors nominated by its unwanted suitor... The Profile in Wimpery Award goes to the Ford Presidential Foundation for stiffing American hero and former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
Have a comment? Send it to 
Jun. 22, 2022, by Joe Honick
Don't worry about Rupert as long as he had Vladimir Carlson doing his well financed work on FOX. As to the lawsuit and with so many like it, not until it is close to settlement or some other conclusion will it grab much in the way of public passion.
The bigger issue and concern is whether the J6 hearings are effective enough to insure some Democratic wins in November. If the Trump Deplorable Base wins enough seats, this nation will be facing the death of any sense of decency and democracy. Anyone seeing that claim as excessive is not paying attention.
Of course, Joe Biden has popularity problems here; he's been too busy galvanizing Nato countries to carry out his commitments to Ukraine, negotiating the huge infrastructure programs for all 50 states and other efforts while fighting the right wing declared war against him.
At the same time, there is no reason he could not muster some better PR efforts the same as the right wing is paying so well to do. We need more online daily newsletters that sell some positives for Biden to combat the massive numbers of crap well produced by the right. Sadly, even the sworn testimony of the vile Trump efforts against American voters might not have even dented the Trump deplorable base who love the Mafia type actions to bring down the Republic.