Rupert Murdoch Will Not Go Out in a Blaze of Glory

Rupert Murdoch, the man who has done so much to poison politics, is now trying to defend his "honour", after a scandal with one of his tabloids.

News of the World routinely hacked phone lines and even bribed cops to allow them to track 9/11 calls. And it was not the first time that the publication was in trouble.

Murdoch, 80, has been widely criticized for refusing to fire [Rebekah] Brooks who was editor of News of the World in 2002 when its reporters deleted phone messages left for a missing murdered schoolgirl, leading her family to believe she was still alive.

Just how low will they go?

We're quickly learning that in Canada, where Fox News North vilifies Muslims and refers to the Caledonia land claim protests as a struggle between "Indians and white people".

The scandal is also threatening the government of David Cameron, who was promised a daily television spot if Murdoch was able to take over British Sky Broadcasting, 'the biggest deal of his storied career'.

When it was discovered that the Harper government had spent almost a quarter million dollars to advertise their 'Canada Action Plan', I spent a few days researching, emailing and calling others who had initiated stimulus programs, and not one saw the need to bilk taxpayers for self-promotion ads. Some were quite surprised that Harper was being allowed to get away with it.

But in Britain, using tax dollars in such a manner is actually illegal, so Cameron took a lot of flak for his deal with the aging media mogul.

And to better understand the modus operandi, of Murdoch, let's compare:

Stephen Harper had lunch with him and his team, after which Harper's communications director, Kory Teneycke, was named to head up the project, now dubbed Fox News North (Sun TV).

David Cameron arranged a meal with Murdoch and his press spokesman, Andy Coulson, was plucked from News of the World. We'll call it 'The Eat, Bleat and Cheat club'.

Teneycke was fired for his involvement in the hacking of AVAAZ (now back). Coulson was arrested for his role in the hacking scandal.

This appears to be an issue that is not going away anytime soon, and many speculate that it could affect the Murdoch empire.

Poor Stephen Harper. If he loses his Fox News, where will he spread his poison?