Why I Foam-Pied Rupert Murdoch: "I did it for all the people who couldn't" by Jonnie Marbles

Published on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 by The Guardian/UK
Why I Foam-Pied Rupert Murdoch
Some people might think my action played into Murdoch's hands, but I did it for all the people who couldn't

by Jonnie Marbles


First things first: I don't hate octogenarians. I don't have a vendetta against anyone over 80 who likes to begrudgingly give evidence to parliamentary committees. Nor am I in the habit of attacking media moguls on international television. Yesterday was, hopefully, a one off.

If you're of sound mind, you might quite reasonably ask what possessed me to smuggle a shaving-foam pie into Portcullis House and throw it at (though, alas, not into) the face of one of the world's richest and most powerful men. I didn't do it because I wanted more Twitter followers. Simply put, I did it for all the people who couldn't.

It's not difficult to find reasons to dislike Rupert Murdoch. His reach is one of the most insidious and toxic forces in global politics today. The phone-hacking scandal, despicable though it is, barely scratches the surface of the damage done by News International. It is a media empire built on deceit and bile, that trades vitriol for debate and thinks nothing of greasing the wheels of power until they turn in its favour. What's more, no matter what the grievances he wreaks on those he has never met, his power and money keep him forever safely out of their reach.

Yes it's true that Murdoch's power is waning. But it's also true that he will never face real justice. Yesterday's select committee hearing was a farce before the foam ever left my fingers: a toothless panel confronting men too slippery to be caught between their gums.

the rest:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/20/why-i-foam-pied-rupert-murdoch
via:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/20-3

it is all about them.

A worthless act to get 15 minutes of fame.

and to attract lo-info types via "entertainment value".

Watched the news this morning and his "story" got as much time as the inquiry story. This was both local and national news.

How dare he mess with someone who has made millions messing with someones the world over.

He just doesn't know how to be a good serf. In England of all places!!

Which is a far more damning reflection on the justice systems of the UK and the USA than on anything Mr. Marbles may have done.

done this. Now it make Murdoch into a victim and his wife into a hero.

Why would he do such a thing?

**To disrupt/possibly delay the proceedings.

**To create "old man sympathy" for Murdoch.

**To show him as a "family man" with a wife willing to defend him.

**To portray him as helpless, clueless, and not-a-threat.

Of course, this guy is a "comedian," so that's plainly not the case...but what does this say about British Security in government buildings? Just anyone can strut in with a foam pie, or a tin pie plate and a can of foam, and no one says diddly? Come on!

Apparently, this comedian had some of the same thoughts I did--but, too late, after his stunt:

To be honest, I had not expected to get so far, but parliamentary security, with its machine-gun toting cops and scatter X-rays, is apparently no match for a man with some shaving-foam covered plates in his bag...As I languished predictably in a prison cell later that evening, I contemplated whether people would understand why I'd done it. I knew it was a tall order: a surreal act aimed at exposing a surreal process was never going to be an easy sell. I worried, too, that my clowning would detract from the scandal, or provide sympathy for Murdoch.

Believe it or not, I even worried about Rupert Murdoch's feelings. You see, I really don't hate 80-year-olds and, at the end of the day, Rupert Murdoch is just an old man. Maybe what I was trying to do was remind everyone of that – that he is not all powerful, he's not Sauron or Beelzebub, just a human being, like the rest of us, but one who has got far too big for his boots.

He just made Murdock look sympathetic and diverted the discussion to this. STUPID STUPID STUPID