Nurse who took the call from that australian radio station found dead

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20645838

Duchess of Cambridge hospital nurse found dead
A nurse at the London hospital where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge was treated has been found dead in central London, the BBC understands.

The King Edward VII hospital is expected to make a statement later.

Scotland Yard says officers responded at 09:35 GMT on Friday to reports of a woman found unconscious at an address in Weymouth Street, central London.

It is understood the dead woman took a hoax call from an Australian radio station earlier this week.

... waht

http://www.dvdactive.com/images/reviews/screenshot/2005/11/ring_8.jpg

There's supposed to be a statement from the hospital at 15:30 ..

oh man

Fucking hell, what a mess. It's possible the hospital went down on her extremely heavily.

Oh definitely, you can lose your job for breaching patient confidentiality. She's probably had the press camped out on her doorstep too.

The little I heard from the 'report' only went as far as saying she had been discharged, and she was pregnant.

I daresay there'll be some shredding of documents, some place somewhere...

(Thanks for the title fix, was hoping it was a hoax when I first found it)

She only put the callers through to the ward, afaict she didn't 'give out' any info.
Following tweet seems relevant: "I'd direct all of Twitter to points 2, 8 and 11 from the Samaritans' advice on reporting suicide" http://www.samaritans.org/media-centre/media-guidelines/reporting-suicide-tips-journalists

"morning zoo"-type djs are the worst

Whoever tweeted that Samaritans guide OTM.

Seems to be some confusion as to what her 'role' was in what happened. Receptionist wo put the call through, or Nurse who gave out the information...

"morning zoo"-type djs are the worst

They are the lowest common denominator entertainment.

Mrs Saldanha, a duty nurse, answered the telephone because it was 05:30 GMT in the morning and there was no receptionist on duty.

It's the middle of the night in Sydney, it's possible the DJs in question don't even know about this yet.

their twitters are still bragging about the prank

Possible, but.

oh nm one of them just canceled their account

Does that remove all their twitter posts ?

were there "she was murderd" lol conspiracy theories already?

Probably, aye. I've got fuckers on facebook (not my friends, but friends of friends) calling for the DJs to be charged with manslaughter.

BREAKING NEWS:The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge say they are 'deeply saddened' by the death of nurse who took hoax phone call

Controversial opinion: It was not their fault.

controversial theory: she is not dead - it's her revenge prank.

Who, the DJs or those royal cunts? (xp) This is sick.

http://a3.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/profile01/122/6be27d62429d4d098a287244fbcec714/p.jpg

The (Future) Queen('s) (Nurse) Is Dead

nothing to do with the royals ffs

BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said he understood Mrs Saldanha was the person at the King Edward VII hospital who answered the call from the Australian DJs and was not the nurse who discussed the duchess's medical condition.

what the fuck deems

last night a dj ended my life

when was the last time this happened in france or russia

or in pretty much any country where the head of state and progeny aren't afforded the sort of ludicrous deference that considers the enabling of this insipid bantz to be a cause for mortification

weak

next u will be apologizing for the black and tans

I thought you said "black man" for a second

It's like this, even if you aren't to blame, Kate + Wills, fuck off anyway

^

pretty sure shit like this has happened in russia

I'ts not just royals who are afforded this kind of deference, but given certain well-publicised invasions of privacy earlier in the year the chances of the royals or whoever works for them having just laughed this prank off are pretty slim. Depends what went on behind the scenes at the hospital really.

In 1895 (xp)

I'ts not just royals who are afforded this kind of deference

Some people deserve it though

I called Stalin while pretending to be Lenin and he agreed this was a stupid line of conversation.

it's like this: wah wah wah royals everywhere. Rise or stfu.

or in pretty much any country where the head of state and progeny aren't afforded the sort of ludicrous deference that considers the enabling of this insipid bantz to be a cause for mortification

In the US she probably would have been fired or disciplined if a call like that went on the air -- it doesn't matter if it was royalty. It would be a hippaa violation. UK laws wrt medical information are probably somewhat different, but could still possibly be grounds for termination.

... of life

nicole otm.

She didn't give out any personal information, she transferred a call from the switchboard to the ward.

xxp

onimotm

I can confirm it would be grounds for a very stern warning at least.

However:

The BBC understands Mrs Saldanha had not been suspended or disciplined by the hospital.

The state of her 'being spoken to' has not been confirmed, but

The hospital said in a statement: "We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital.

"The hospital had been supporting her throughout this difficult time."

pretty sure ppl who get fired for privacy violations don't habitually kill themselves

Scotland Yard said officers were called at 09:35 GMT on Friday after reports of a woman found unconscious at an address in central London.

They said the death is not being treated as suspicious.

.. which is code for...

deems is a habitual apologist for tyranny and deference, we should expect nothing less from this absurd lapdog of the moderatocracy

is the Royal Family really "tyrannical"? from my perspective, I feel like the UK treats them like prized show dogs.

pretty sure ppl who get fired for privacy violations don't habitually kill themselves

She wouldn't have been the first person to have experienced a massive psychological or emotional reaction to something at their expense going viral through no fault of their own. And we don't know what sort of emotional state she was in in the first place.

I find it difficult to believe that someone high up at the hospital didn't get their arses handed to them by the Palace as a result of this prank though.

Well if they're dogs and we're their subjects, what does that make us? (xp)

insane dog owners?

No, they own us

http://cdn03.cdnwp.thefrisky.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/10/morrissey_101012-m-400x300.jpg

insane crown posse

has anyone considered the illuminati

btw, Eddy Shah gets the benefit of 'larger news story' today...

http://roccosrevolution.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/ostrich1.jpg

What exactly does the Royal Family do besides "be the Royal Family"? Do they actively participate in government?

they own everything

that's doing something, right?

there is no blame to be afforded to the showdogs -- they merely behave out of rational self interest to get the best for themselves, even if this suggests they ought to find vets with better discretion next time they fancy a deworming

rather it is the fault of the british peasantry who nourish this regressive cult of animistic dog worship

Has Alan Moore spoken yet

xp to DJP no, formal head of state only, though with some constitutional powers e.g. right to dissolve parliament. Actual influence difficult to gauge though- Prince Charles has cranky views about all sorts of things and is not scared of sharing them, with thoroughly undemocratic results.

the coailtion are trying to pass legislation to conceal the 'advice' given by prince charles to ministers so freedom of information requests are ignored

lol democracy... (xpost)

that's certainly Charles' view, yes.

I don't know, this is probably my very American self-regard coming through but, regardless of how much someone owns, it's very hard for me to take symbolic heads of anything seriously, as the word "symbolic" is a gigantic flashing neon sign that says to me "you never actually have to pay attention to this person"

the situation is more complicated if you're closer to it, I guess; I've never really understood royal-watching aside from the love of obscene spectacle, even going to back to the wedding of Charles and Diana

The DJs, from Sydney radio station 2Day FM - which says it is preparing a statement - posed as the Queen and Prince Charles.

Radio station 2Day FM has previously been in trouble with Acma for incidents including one when a 14-year-old girl revealed on air that she had been raped.

you never actually have to pay attention to this person

Well, I suppose peasants don't necessairly have much to do with the master of the hosue

xxp problem is, IMO, that they distort a lot of aspects of public life in the UK- e.g. the BBC is supposed to be neutral (and of course journalistic neutrality is a debatable subject) but it turns into a brown-nosing propaganda machine whenever the Royals hove into view, which is often.

Put it this way:

The army is tasked with "defence of the realm"

Etcet.

There's actually a piece in Private Eye (satirical mag) called Order of the Brown Nose, which is awarded fortnightly to the best example of royal toadying submitted. There are no shortage of candidates, generally.

the relationship to the Royal Family is probably the part of British culture I feel least capable of understanding

Yeah clearly this woman's problem was that she was showing too much deference...

not saying that at all, but sorry for derailing the thread.

There's actually a piece in Private Eye (satirical mag) called Order of the Brown Nose, which is awarded fortnightly to the best example of royal toadying submitted. There are no shortage of candidates, generally.

― Neil S, Friday, 7 December 2012 16:45 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's for any kind of brown-nosing. Usually towards newspaper proprieters...

ah okay, I stand corrected.

I thought the UK just kept the royals around as quaint symbols. I mean, let's be real, the fact they own stuff and have any sort of economic standing /should/ be at the whims of the electorate, which I thought was kind of the deal.

The way the upper classes/royals are looked at in the UK is more of an entrenched, popular interest in class distinction/warfare, I thought. In the US we have to create our own royalty and class myths (everyone can change classes with effort, the rich deserve their wealth/power) whereas there's this historical group of royals and lords in the UK to pretend are better.

also feel really bad that this woman's personal life is now linked to this royal family horseshit when in fact she was a complex human being with her own life outside of this

otm, generalisations about politics and class aside, it's a horrible situation.

What exactly does the Royal Family do besides "be the Royal Family"? Do they actively participate in government?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/31/secret-royal-veto-powers-exposed

In the past two parliamentary sessions Charles has been asked to consent to at least 12 draft bills on everything from wreck removals to co-operative societies. Between 2007 and 2009 he was consulted on bills relating to coroners, economic development and construction, marine and coastal access, housing and regeneration, energy and planning. In Charles's case, the little-known power stems from his role as the head of the £700m Duchy of Cornwall estate, which provides his £17m-a-year private income.

The government battled to keep the manual secret, claiming publication would breach legal professional privilege, and a spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office said it was still deciding whether to challenge the ruling at the information tribunal.

Lord Berkeley, a Labour peer who was told to seek Charles's consent on a marine navigation bill, said the commissioner's decision was "absolutely right". He said publication could shed light on a little-known procedure that allows the prince and the Queen "to fiddle around with bills to make sure they don't affect their private interests".

The monarchy was pretty unpopular throughout the 90s and early 00s really, it's pretty much exclusively William and Kate that turned popular perception round. Of course a big proportion of the country WANTED to like the monarchy but just found Charles's generation too dislikeable.

Actually I think the Queen has mostly been pretty popular, she at least knows to stfu though.

In other words, the royals are special rich people, the parliament buys into the idea that they must remain special, so they're allowed to fiddle with legislation that could make them less rich or special?

We do that in the US as well, although it's less deference to particular individuals than it is cowtowing to the rich, and they have lobbyists and not royal titles.

trouble is that stuff goes on over here as well

Would like to go on record as Saying I disagree with pretty much everything Nilmar Honorato has said on this thread

( xpost shouldn't that be I Loves you, CORGI?) Yes, they own everything, and (ready for gratuitous analysis?) a call, out of the blue, from what may be Queen E and Prince, received by low-ranking nurse, who, with that last name, may be further conditioned by colonial/commonwealth traditions), so nurse found herself answering readily, though concisely, even though she might have had some inkling that it might be a hoax--but the way the real royals talk isn't that far from self-parody (not too uncommon: Nixon on the White House tapes, etc). And she might've thought she'd catch it if she cut them off and they *did* turn out to be the royals, so could seem like a no-win situation, especially in hindsight. But no we shouldn't oversimplify suicide, but yes this might've tipped the scales in her depression, and fuck prank callers.

( xpost shouldn't that be I Loves you, CORGI?)

NRO's The Corner: what if an accident of birth had placed Obama in Cuba?

BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said he understood Mrs Saldanha - who was married with two children - was the person who answered the call from the Australian DJs and was not the nurse who discussed the duchess's medical condition.

So these DJs: by all means have a laugh at the expense of people in power who deserve to be satirized or taken down a peg or two, but why play pranks on people on basically shit wages who are just trying to do their unglamorous jobs? fuck off forever you unfunny fuckwits

blame australia, imo

This is Horrible and people need to focus on the poor woman that died rather than trying to shoehorn forced weak narratives about Royal Guilt into it. This isn't Speech Class

xxpost NickB you are 100% correct.

Morning zoo djs do this sort of thing all of the time -- I think most of the time their prank calls are directed at regular people rather than anyone famous or powerful.

one of our local stations has an entire segment built around listeners giving them the number of a friend/loved one and a touchy scenario on which to prank call them; this is often terrible but sometimes yields amazing results, like the call to a woman who submitted pictures of her baby to a casting agency where the DJ pretended to be a representative offering "helpful hints" on how she could make her baby less ugly

Oh yeah, bet that was amazing, in one sense or another. Whether she or they got punished by bosses or not, a shitstorm of media (incl social network) attention would no doubt be the minimum--ugh, talk about tipping the scales.

I am not bothered by pranks of the innocent Variety; the type that merely make you feel a little bit silly, and don't put your job or daily life in any kind of distress or jeopardy. My main issue with Morning Zoo DJs (excluding this example) is that they JUST AREN'T FUNNY.

Then they'll find examples of people that find them merely annoying and then insist that "we're too extreme and Offensive for the average person" when really it's more 'ehh your sense of humor is shite'.

Full disclosure I am however a fan of TruTv show Impractical Jokers since theirs are more pranks on each other, usually good natured, and often hilarious.

the fact they own stuff and have any sort of economic standing /should/ be at the whims of the electorate, which I thought was kind of the deal.

....!

all of Austereo should be burned to the ground basically, except that they employ lots of talented and good ppl in roles that don't serve their talents :(

people need to focus on the poor woman that died

why? do we really need a thread talking about some woman we know nothing about other than she forwarded a phone call at one time? I mean, I am sad about any loss of human life like this, but bitching about the royals and questioning whether such pranks are ok -- while realizing it can be negative, without necessarily implying that they are to blame for this woman's actions -- are really all we can do.

anything else is just talking about some woman who, most likely, wouldn't have really wanted people talking about her.

one of the Chicago stations used to have this thing where a person would call in and give the name and number of their spouse/significant other and have the DJ's call to them and say they'd won free flowers to send to anyone they'd want. so they'd keep the original caller on the line while their partner decided whom to send flowers to.

yeeah, that was horrible. I think that one was syndicated to my radio market and I heard it once

The BBC understands Mrs Saldanha had not been suspended or disciplined by the hospital.

The BBC's Nicholas Witchell said it had been suggested to him that she had felt "very lonely and confused" as a result of what had happened.

this is really, really sad.

it really is. this is too upsetting to think about.

I don't know, this is probably my very American self-regard coming through but, regardless of how much someone owns, it's very hard for me to take symbolic heads of anything seriously, as the word "symbolic" is a gigantic flashing neon sign that says to me "you never actually have to pay attention to this person"

the situation is more complicated if you're closer to it, I guess; I've never really understood royal-watching aside from the love of obscene spectacle, even going to back to the wedding of Charles and Diana

― I loves you, PORGI (DJP), Friday, December 7, 2012 8:40 AM (52 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

read about yukio mishima for a good time with 'symbolic' heads of state

Fighting back tears, she said: 'What a terrible tragedy - just before Christmas as well. Oh those two young boys - they'll be heartbroken. Her and Ben were a lovely couple.

'They didn't live here very long, but they were such nice neighbours - they invited us in for a curry when they moved in.

'They lived here seven or eight years ago, if not more. They kept themselves to themselves mostly.

'They bought their own house and moved on - they were just renting here I think.

'I can't believe what happened. It's so sad, so tragic. They always spoke to us - she was such a nice lady.

'It's devastating to hear she's gone - and in such circumstances that could be so easily avoided.

'Those Australians that called the hospital want stringing up.'

"We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well." Persumably this was early on---but that "if" was already the classic non-apology apology
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57557452/austrailian-radio-hosts-apologize-for-crank-call-to-kates-hospital/

And the station is allegedly still trying to promote the whole thing. Can't get this to come up, so far
http://www.2dayfm.com.au/the-dirt/tv/kate-middletons-pregnancy-prank/

Yeah clearly this woman's problem was that she was showing too much deference...

― Matt DC, Friday, 7 December 2012 16:46 (1 hour ago)

uhm she could be a member of the red army fraction for all we know, she is still subject to the intense public demand for deference ('discretion') etc

compare it to when the former prime minister's family suffered a genuinely serious, possibly criminal breach of medical confidentiality and there was no such hieratic nonsense

it's difficult to tell from your rhetoric whether you actually care that this woman is dead

( xpost shouldn't that be I Loves you, CORGI?) Yes, they own everything, and (ready for gratuitous analysis?) a call, out of the blue, from what may be Queen E and Prince, received by low-ranking nurse, who, with that last name, may be further conditioned by colonial/commonwealth traditions), so nurse found herself answering readily, though concisely, even though she might have had some inkling that it might be a hoax--but the way the real royals talk isn't that far from self-parody (not too uncommon: Nixon on the White House tapes, etc). And she might've thought she'd catch it if she cut them off and they *did* turn out to be the royals, so could seem like a no-win situation, especially in hindsight. But no we shouldn't oversimplify suicide, but yes this might've tipped the scales in her depression, and fuck prank callers.

― dow, Friday, 7 December 2012 16:59 (1 hour ago)

this is quite percipient

there is no clear causation that can be discerned now, there likely never will be, and there should be no ~fault~ for such a dreadful and unexpected death -- though it can be said that this happened in a climate of unusual sensitivity which ensured a shitty but fairly harmless prank call was treated as a grave indignity

to pretend that the exagerrated

lol quality stuff DJP, straight out the 'how can we be sure that the muslims cared about 9/11' school of fatuous guilting

like I said

although now I'm definitely leaning towards "nope, just needed an excuse to bitch about royalty"

god you are dense sometimes

just getting a notary here so i can formally affirm that i am not happy that this person is dead

why can't they just have a babby in a big palace? leave normal people out of it. seems like a big security risk in general. for the people working there.

one of the Chicago stations used to have this thing where a person would call in and give the name and number of their spouse/significant other and have the DJ's call to them and say they'd won free flowers to send to anyone they'd want. so they'd keep the original caller on the line while their partner decided whom to send flowers to.

A Detroit station still does this exact same prank, it's vile.

this is so ridiculously horrible and sad but there are contexts beyond the death itself

i can imagine these australian dj cunts are now going to be pursued relentlessly until they end up under significant duress themselves (i guess they might be sociopaths, but more likely they are just idiots who are going to be feeling guilty as hell, and then fired etc)

so now we have the daily mail getting the deceased woman's neighbours to issue calls for their execution hours after her death

lol nakh you've been itchin for this

this is nothin to do with royalty and everything to do with celebrity, if the uk hadn't ever had wills and kate it'd be some other mean-nothing ok magazine fodder these dj's would have been chasing after because lol celebrity's lives. that in itself is here nor there much of the time cos ok magazine fodder exists for it, but the thoughtless and careless involvement of yr average wageslave in a compromised professional or personal capacity such as is the case here is cuntishness in extremis and yeah i hope they kill those djs

nah i mean admittedly my facetiousness about tyranny upthread was probably not the right time for bantz with deems, but i am really sickened by this, and by the whole culture of finding fault with individuals rather than structures

the royal family, insofar as it is just tourist revenue-generating kitsch nonsense, is harmless enough, but there are a lot of people in the uk who really seem to adulate them and for whom the pageantry is quite serious

quite apart from the political monarchy, i don't think that level of personality cult is healthy in the abstract

in this instance all of the coverage when the pregnancy was revealed was about the level of 'discretion' that the royal family required, the treading-on-eggshells piety was different to the levity surrounding the usual 'showbiz royalty' baby mania

all fair, ps always open for pure bantz

the thoughtless and careless involvement of yr average wageslave in a compromised professional or personal capacity such as is the case here is cuntishness in extremis and yeah i hope they kill those djs

― first u get the flower, then u get the honey, then u get the stamen (darraghmac), Friday, 7 December 2012 19:21 (15 minutes ago)

there should be some mitigation in that as australians they have the whole 'irreverent' anglo celebrity culture while not sharing the special recognition that the british media give to the royal family, the need for reserve and sobriety which then affects all of the people who come into contact within them in the line of their work

this is really not the same as pranking the hospital of lady gaga or whoever, but it's possible these evidently pretty thick people did not see it

comparison might seem a little strange but if this woman was somehow made to feel as though she'd done 'wrong' and suffered psychologically and crumbled under the pressure, it's a bit like when steve bartman tried to catch that foul ball and what made him a pariah was not the incident itself but the OTT reaction of the cubs outfielder and the immediate shaming he took from the television cameras (which seemed to last for hours.) dude still remains in hiding and is perhaps even (or even quite likely) suffering from depression over it.

i'm assuming of course that the media uproar in Britain over this prank was way OTT>

Looks like this station is just topping itself, career of evil-wise
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/07/2dayfm-australia-shock-jock-station?intcmp=239

i'm assuming of course that the media uproar in Britain over this prank was way OTT>

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Friday, 7 December 2012 20:03 (1 minute ago)

yeah as you would imagine, but it was the royal family rather than the nurse who were treated as the victims, even though the medical disclosure was extremely limited and merely confirmed the official briefings

She’s sleeping at the moment. And she had an uneventful night. And sleep is good for her. As we speak, she’s been getting some fluids to rehydrate her. She was quite dehydrated when she came in. But she’s stable at the moment.

this is so ridiculously horrible and sad but there are contexts beyond the death itself

literally true of every sad event ever to have happened in history - one need not necessarily view them all as occasions to mount one's hobby horse, however

'hobby horse' sounds like just the type of whineyism that befits this thread

Been away, but I thought:

there is no clear causation that can be discerned now, there likely never will be, and there should be no ~fault~ for such a dreadful and unexpected death -- though it can be said that this happened in a climate of unusual sensitivity which ensured a shitty but fairly harmless prank call was treated as a grave indignity

― Nilmar Honorato da Silva, Friday, 7 December 2012 18:43 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

.. is clearly OTM.

Also,

i'm assuming of course that the media uproar in Britain over this prank was way OTT>

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Friday, 7 December 2012 20:03 (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

.. the reaction was mostly "LOL, That Hospital! What is their security policy?"

Would like to see some legal charges adhere to the DJs and their employers ("enablers" at least; see the link I posted above). Like the charges brought by Tyler Clementi's family.

Could potentially happen if Middleton filed a complaint, otherwise i'm not sure it is likely. Would be her privacy at issue, not the nurse's.

@ mark g : at 5am i doubt anyone is thinking re security policies when a random phone rings

having worked night shifts, i would suggest that at that time no matter what you have done to prepare, your body and mind is messed up and not functioning properly.

i.e. an extended session of night shifts + daytime kid kaos routine = a living hell that breaks down all normal thought processes.

Of course, but that's when those policies (not just common sense) needs to be applied.

In both senses, of course.

Was going to say, the message in these cases should be "live and learn" but that seems horribly inappropriate and too late..

Seems like something along the lines of "reckless endangerment" might apply. And the prank was "oh-h-h, let's see how far we can go-o-o, tee-hee!", straight ahead to the first barrier: whomever took the call.

Of course, but that's when those policies (not just common sense) needs to be applied.

easier said than done.

having experienced the 4:30am body sweats when the brain is in full on meltdown for a power nap, i sympathise with this all too well.

thankfully, my nightshifts just involved changing paper on a muthafuggin' printer for prospective customers, as opposed to dealing with someone of supposed national importance.

My wife has had to deal with these sort of issues on occasion.

i can imagine these australian dj cunts are now going to be pursued relentlessly until they end up under significant duress themselves

it's Austereo

@ mark g :

so, whats her take on all this then ?

( seriously, not a snark .. genuine question sir .. )

I believe you, but I can't answer that question.

'reckless endangerment' is never going to stick, nor should it.

The only consequences they could feasibly face relate to data protecton or broadcasting rules

Hopefully there's at least a rule that can be interpreted along the lines of "Thou Shalt Not Screw With People In Other Countries." It might be one thing to brave the Australian ratings backlash, if any, but going abroad is going beyond good ol' fairplay capitalistic accountability, or so they may have assumed, on some level: " Hit 'n' run, aren't we naughty kiddies!"

i can imagine these australian dj cunts are now going to be pursued relentlessly until they end up under significant duress themselves

it's Austereo

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°) (sic), Saturday, 8 December 2012 11:02 (2 hours ago)

Haha sadly, sic OTM. I suggest you all google "Kyle Sandilands" and learn that this incident is kind of small fry compared to some shit the station's landed in thanks to their cockheaded DJs before.

nilmar otm all the way through this thread

I suggest you all google "Kyle Sandilands" and learn that this incident is kind of small fry compared to some shit the station's landed in thanks to their cockheaded DJs before.

jesus fucking christ how is this man still in a job

absolutely infuriating that anyone could even think of doing that

And get away with it, basically.

not even nilmar thinks nilmar is otm itt

The Prime Minister thing was different, it didn't go public, it didn't go viral, there was no recording, it couldn't have been perceived as *humiliating* in the same way.

FWIW if this had been an NHS hospital it would right now be painted as a huge systemic failure, but the hospital clearly fucked up both before and after the prank.

Like the absurd cult and hysteria surrounding the royals probably didn't help matters but I would imagine the level of mortification and loneliness that would arise from being the unwitting subject of a mass media prank that then went viral could happen in contexts with zero royal connection whatosever. Most people don't think of the mental wellbeing of the hapless people they're laughing at on Youtube.

Also you'd think that for a presumably massively expensive private hospital caring for the future Queen and unborn heir to the throne they'd have had some sort of basic system in place, at whatever hour of the night, to ensure that no innocent/hassled/overtired nurse was put in this position on the first place. It's a massive fuckup on the hospital's part even if they didn't lean on her after the prank. But blaming the DJs is easier.

100% agree, except that blaming the dj's is also mostly correct too.

prank-calling breakfast djs are the scum of the earth and should be eradicated regardless of whether they were to blame in this instance

Matt OTM. I have a massive overreaction to any pranks played on me - some may not consider it an overreaction at all, but I react terribly to having been taken in at any level, and can't imagine how much this level of scrutiny of a good faith error would take its toll on my fragile state of mind.

Blaming the djs isn't for me, they're just doing what was expected of them and presumably what goes down well with their audience - much as most of us hate what they do, others love it. Pre- the nurse's death, even Prince Charles was laughing at it.

What I mean is, they're symptomatic of a wider culture of mockery and almost of gladiatorial combat against the 'little people' and the easily-mocked. That's what I'd like to see stopped.

it is weird that the hospital didn't have a better system for dealing with enquiries considering the profile of some of their patients. my wife has done nursing shiftwork on wards and in hospices and it is not unusual in those situations to have nursing staff deal with incoming calls during the quiet hours, but this particular hospital must have calls made to them by the press etc all the damn time

ailsa, amen to that

i can't fathom the idea of listening to a radio show that does that kind of thing.

prank-calling breakfast djs are the scum of the earth and should be eradicated regardless of whether they were to blame in this instance

http://stonegirl.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/facebook-like-button-300x201.jpg?w=500

If this is a breakfast show it couldn't have been live then, right? Cos 5.30 am here would be, what, afternoon in Australia?

this is nothin to do with royalty and everything to do with celebrity,

You can't honestly believe the reaction would have been the same had it been Brangelina or Jude Law + whoever. I know you live in Ireland but you're not that out of touch with what's going on over here, are you?

But I suppose I don't know much about Irish society and how it works

Nick Witchell might have put on his serious face for the news reports but the tone of most of the coverage, particularly online, was less 'shocking breach of protocol' and more 'lol look at this stupid nurse'. It's not so much direct deference as a kind of ultra-celebrity nobody else can touch.

I think, had it happened three weeks down the line, it would have received a fraction of the coverage. The news of her pregnancy was still fresh and the media needed an angle to keep it as its lead story of the day.

getting a call from the head of state is definitely a bigger deal than simon cowell or w/e. the royals defintiely have a unique & peculiar status & relationship to their subjects, being embodiments of one of the country's oldest institutions (&for a lot of ppl embodiments of the country itself) but also these idle existers who don't have any function to perform on which they cld be judged (the queen's attainment of polite blankness is hailed as her major achievement). it makes them inhuman & hard to deal w/ beyond cherishing them in a slightly abstract way or loathing them (which seems meanspirited). the idea of having to deal w/ them on a night shift is hell.

also, who the fuck prank calls a hospital.

some people do worse:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia9EwG0HjA0

getting a call from the head of state is definitely a bigger deal than simon cowell or w/e.

Yes, I've heard today some people saying the media should lay off Kate + Wills through the course of the pregnancy as if it's just some celebrity pregnancy and the little bastard isn't going to be one day head of state and we aren't all going to his/her's subjects

for real though there's reason enough for pessimism now with the population's serf-like behaviour in 2012, but i'd fucking hope that before it's this spawn's time to ascend to the throne we've found it within ourselves as a nation to guillotine the fucking family already

along with prank-calling breakfast djs

all of them

behead them

Serfs aside, there are good reasons most women don't sound the pregnancy klaxon until they're 12 weeks gone. I do feel sorry for the couple-as-couple, mainly because the only reason we know about someone eight weeks gone is because of their status and the questions that would be asked if the D of C turned up at this hospital with 'possible food poisoning' or whatever.

Calling hospitals for LOLs is never OK and as for violating doctor-patient confidentiality for LOLs... well, I'd elbow that person in the face if they'd done it to me.

"if the D of C turned up at this hospital with 'possible food poisoning" what does this mean?

it's a hypothetical cover story for severe morning sickness

Calling hospitals for LOLs is never OK and as for violating doctor-patient confidentiality for LOLs... well, I'd elbow that person in the face if they'd done it to me.

agreed, and if those DJs had done this to actual human beings it wd be terrible

They have - hence the problem.

lol serfs, the rest of the world is free, oh the tragedy, wills is comin to behead us on a whim

serf-bored dudes wiped out totalitarianism

Oh nose, we can't keep up w saucy Aussies

Good round-up here:

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/2day-fm-suspends-all-advertising-amid-royal-prank-backlash-20121208-2b1zy.html#ixzz2ER7Gwi9Q

Also, speaking of legal matters, apparently no answer so far re nurse giving release for broadcast of her voice (recording played way after death announced)

Yes of course

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/dec/12/morrissey-royal-family-nurse-death

i kind of wish brit media had another go-to vector for anti-royalism than him

yeah in general it's not a great selection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:British_republicans

idk what john milton is up to these days tho

"Does she have a health condition?" the singer asked. "Is it anorexia or is it pregnancy? … I mean morning sickness already? So much hoo haw and then suddenly as bright as a button as soon as this poor woman dies she's out of hospital? It doesn't ring true."

a real expert on women's bodies speaking there

lmao the turkish wiki for british republicans lists stan collymore

cockroach collymore

exterminator collymore surely?

the strange pathos of etc

Wikipedia is telling me the British Whigs eventually turned into the LibDems... good job, British republicanism!

i don't think the Whigs were ever Republican, they just wanted Parliament - well, them and their friends tbh - to decide who got to be monarch and what the monarch ought to think

oic, I thought they were anti-royalist to a much stronger degree. If not, I guess it makes sense that being a wuss-pants half-measure party in the first place led to... well, another one.

i think even amongst the guys who'd fought against Charles I there wasn't much appetite for a republic by 1660, the hardline republicans were mostly shifty working class religious zealots with horrible ideas about communism and democracy who were executed or imprisoned or sidelined. the political sect that coalesced into Whigs in the 18th century was the party that favoured the appointment of William III as co-monarch in 1688. the division between proto-Whigs and proto-Tories was essentially that the former thought Parliament could depose a bad monarch and the latter thought it never had that right. class politics factored into it a lot too but both sides were broadly in agreement about the necessity of a "constitutional" monarchy. republicanism was a good way to get yourself executed or gaoled a good way into the 1800s.

It's odd in a way, that the phone call from the australian radio show has been described fairly universal as a 'hoax' call.

Whereas it was a 'fake' call, 'hoax' is more 'a building is on fire' sort of thing..

universally

Geez obsessed much? What a stupid opinion. Of course it's sad the nurse died. Being in the public eye like that can be unbearable when you're just a little nurse. It's easy to forget that and be callous about it, but when you're caught in some situation with the royal family and pressured by the media - that's an experience most of us don't go through.

I'd blame her employer first for putting someone unable to handle the pressure in that situation. It's not good for the royal family and not good for her.

Princess pregnancy is so boring, why does anyone pay attention at all, that is so sleazy.

Whose opinion is stupid?

POLL

idk

ijdk

nother self-rejected thread idea

(Just throwing in my bit on c17th republicanism, this will not have anything to do with the poor nurse.)

the Whigs aren't at all uniform by 1688 - and their most radical wing would still be called Whigs, but they're in touch with Republican theorists on the continent (Holland, that is, really), and are pressing for a radical limitation of monarchy, at least, during the Convention Parliament of 1689.

There is an aristocratic element to this republican tradition - Algernon Sidney is the main figure in it in the later c17th , Robert Molesworth, I think the Russells, you can sort of tie 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury into it, but it shades into mainstream Whiggism there. Intellectually, it goes from trolly deist sorts like John Toland, through to Locke, who either knows or has seriously read everyone mentioned, and spent time in exile in Amsterdam. Basically, Classical republicanism rather than Leveller democracy, but it has ties to the scruffy artisanal radicals.

i think even amongst the guys who'd fought against Charles I there wasn't much appetite for a republic by 1660

Yeah. The 50s government is broadly hated, and the whole thing has been army-enforced, basically.

Milton is more or less the only one brave/stupid enough to call for another go at a republic (or 'commonwealth') in 1660 - think everyone else knows which way wind blowing.

(Milton calls for a commonwealth ruled by a council of 12 aristocrats who have their positions for life fwiw.)

tbh Oliver Cromwell was actually asked by parliament to become king in like 1655 or something.

1657, after the rule of the major generals.

Whose opinion is stupid?

― Mark G, Thursday, December 13, 2012 6:41 AM (1 hour ago)

Good question, hope it doesn't fall through the cracks.

Probably not much to say on this...only heard about it at the weekend.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tuc-leader-frances-ogrady-speech-on-class-system-cut-off-by-royal-baby-newsflash-9719503.html

First I've heard of this baby, go me.