____/ nessuno@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on Friday 17 August 2007 00:40 : \____
> <Quote>
> Microsoft Corp. hired Patton Boggs LLP to lobby the federal government
> on Google Inc.'s $3.1 billion buyout of online advertising company
> DoubleClick Inc., according to a disclosure form.
>
> Microsoft would not comment...
>
> [Microsoft has voiced objections to the deal because of...]
> "serious competition and privacy concerns" because it would give
> Google "unprecedented control in the delivery of online advertising,
> and access to a huge amount of consumer information by tracking what
> customers do online."
>
> [Ah, the irony of it all.]
>
> [Congress plans to scrutinize Google. It certainly won't hurt if they
> are bribed by Microsoft.]
>
> [Microsoft has made its own acquisitions, recently $6 billion for
> aQuantive.]
>
> The lobbying disclosure form was posted online Thursday by the
> Senate's public records office.
> </Quote>
>
>
> http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070815/microsoft_lobbying.html?.v=1
It's rather funny, isn't it (if not annoying)? Microsoft think it's the judge
and the jury. Since it virtually bribes them (political funds and all that),
it probably /does/ 'own' them. The recent case that involved desktop search
truly gave us a lesson.
Microsoft Finds Legal Defender in Justice Dept.
,----[ Quote ]
| Nearly a decade after the government began its landmark effort to break
| up Microsoft, the Bush administration has sharply changed course by
| repeatedly defending the company both in the United States and abroad
| against accusations of anticompetitive conduct, including the recent
| rejection of a complaint by Google.
|
| [...]
|
| In the most striking recent example of the policy shift, the top
| antitrust official at the Justice Department last month urged state
| prosecutors to reject a confidential antitrust complaint filed by
| Google that is tied to a consent decree that monitors Microsoft's
| behavior. Google has accused Microsoft of designing its latest
| operating system, Vista, to discourage the use of Google's desktop
| search program, lawyers involved in the case said.
`----
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/business/10microsoft.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Related:
Software rivals say Microsoft's Vista illegal in Europe
,----[ Excerpt ]
| Software manufacturers, citing 2004 European Commission finding,
| contend the operating system violates server laws in Europe.
`----
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/26/news/international/bc.vista.microsoft.eu.reut/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote
US politicians go to bat for Microsoft
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/26/microsoft_eu_political_lobbying/
Report Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff
,----[ Quote ]
| E-mails released by the committee show that Abramoff, often
| with the knowledge of the groups' leaders, exploited the tax-exempt
| status and leveraged the stature of the organizations to build
| support among conservatives for legislation or government action
| sought by clients including Microsoft Corp., mutual fund company
| DH2 Inc., Primedia Inc.'s Channel One Network, and Brown-Forman,
| maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey.
`----
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/12/AR2006101200889.html
http://tinyurl.com/y2rbpu
Politicians in Microsoft's Pocket
,----[ Quote ]
| Continuing on the theme of which politicians are receiving money from
| who. Here is a list of candidates who took money from MSFT.
`----
http://www.fonz.net/blog/archives/2007/06/04/politicians-in-microsofts-pocket/
Politics and tech companies: follow the money
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft took first place with $651,100 given out, while
| Hewlett-Packard gave only $185,550, and Gateway gave a paltry
| $2,000. Microsoft's donations certainly illustrate well the true
| size of the company and the extent of its political concerns.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061110-8194.html
Feds seek formal extension of Microsoft antitrust deal
,----[ Quote ]
| The U.S. Department of Justice and Microsoft on Wednesday filed a
| formal application for a two-year extension of portions of their
| landmark antitrust settlement, with the possibility of stretching it
| until 2012.
`---- ^^^^
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6111240.html
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | Useless fact: the buttocks is the largest muscle
http://Schestowitz.com | Open Prospects | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Tasks: 122 total, 1 running, 120 sleeping, 0 stopped, 1 zombie
http://iuron.com - knowledge engine, not a search engine
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