[lbo-talk] Conrad Black resigns

[npchilds at shaw.ca]

>Conrad Black has resigned as head of Hollinger, Inc. -- apparently, he's =
>entangled in some sort of scandal. He was my former boss (for about 6 =
>months) before he sold the National Post. I have to say, I was sad to =
>see him leave the Post and am equally saddened by his fall (although if =
>he committed any crimes, he should of course be punished). His politics =
>are incredibly retrograde, but he is also a genuinely literate man who =
>appreciated good writing and good journalism. He was pretty hands on in =
>setting up the Post, and made sure the paper paid its staff well, and =
>would send along complimentary notes when they wrote something he liked =
>or took a nice photo. Sorry for sentimentalizing him, but I do think he's =
>a notch better than your run of the mill right-wing press lord.

I'm glad you had a more pleasant experience with Lord Black than his public persona would appear to warrant. Maybe he's one of these guys that may be pleasant enough to know one on one, but you don't want him running things. But I doubt it.

Personally I was glad to see him leave, renounce his Canadian citizenship and take his scary bitch wife to London. Yes he was literate; his series on the CBC (!) over 20 years ago on Duplessis was one of the best political biographies I have ever seen. But........he was contemptuous and demeaning of anyone who disagreed with him, calling for instance for Linda McQuaig to be 'horsewhipped', I didn't have any use for the National Putz under him or the Asper clan with that bunch of right wing dingbats passed off as journalists and columnists, and the swanning about in a Gilbert and Sullivan inspired uniform was just pathetic.

As I understand it the scandal in question involves payments from Hollinger to him (to buy FDR's papers collection for instance, said purchase he insists had nothing to do with the research for the biography of FDR he just published) and other board members (low/no interest loans I think), apparently El Presidente is resigning effective immediately while Lord Tubby will be around for some time yet. This looks to me to be one of those 'barely legal but will really piss off the shareholders' scandals that will disappear after a some minor heads role and the OSC toothless dogs are called off.

PC

P.S. The sight of THH22M Mary Walsh begging him for money because 'he has so much of it' and Tubby not following at all was priceless.

N P Childs

'I'm Mister Bad Example, the stranger in the dirt,
I like to have a good time and I don't care who gets hurt'.

-Mr. Bad Example, W Zevon