05.19.08

Eggs Thrown at Steve Ballmer (New Video)

Posted in Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, Videos at 7:42 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

New from ~~Romania~~ Hungary where this incident occurred.

Egg Vorbis [sic] (Theora) version below.

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13 Comments

khai said,

May 19, 2008 at 9:52 pm

Budapest=Hungary, not Romania my friend.
Also subtitles are hungarian…
Roy Schestowitz said,

May 19, 2008 at 10:11 pm

Oops. I looked at this so quickly (a friend sent it) and thought it was in Bucharest. I’ll fix this.
OO said,

May 20, 2008 at 1:00 am

This video made me so happy.

Of course, rather than repent, Ballmer monkey turns to humor, like the mafia don he is. Ballmer is a soulless piece of shit.
AlexH said,

May 20, 2008 at 2:16 am

Gandhi would be proud.
snoopy said,

May 20, 2008 at 3:08 am

“Gandhi would be proud.”

RMS is as close to Gandhi as the world of FOSS has at the moment, but because he’s rather eccentric like a lot of people with high IQs, and because he doesn’t conform by shaving his beard and hair, he’s mocked by a lot of mentally crippled individuals who can’t see past parroting memes and jokes from shows like The Simpsons.

No, in today’s world, Gandhi would’ve been silenced one way or another, before he could make any progress, especially if he lived in the Soviet U.S.A.
Roy Schestowitz said,

May 20, 2008 at 5:42 am

AlexH,

As I said earlier, I don’t endorse this at all. In fact, I think it’ll be used as a weapon for discrediting Microsoft critics (MBAs that read nothing but NYT would drink it like lemon juice).

To redact — to to speak — some E-mails I’ve received (to hide identities):

“Having not seen the video nor being likely to, my first thought was that a combination: that it was a PR stunt to 1) try to help *Bill’s* imagery keeping monkey boy the scapegoat for MS’ ongoing failure to deliver 2) smear FOSS at the same time.

“The most interesting of all possible options is if it is a genuine public outburst.

“Bill’s political movement causes and has caused many billions of dollars (or equiv) in each country it has a presence in. Just the malware alone, not counting spam from M$ botnets, runs up a tab of double digit billions nowadays at least in the US. You have personnel files and business plans leaking out of every network-connected Windows box and Windows server.

“Then you have so much lost productivity that many functions are probably better off without a computer than on MS. And just shoving these defective and ineffective systems down everybody’s throats, and shoehorning them in to air traffic control (5 hrs of no landings or take off in Calif), train and airline ticketing and scheduling (late or missed trains, flights etc.) makes the damage worse. These could be the brick added that sinks the US economy for good.

“Anyway, if Joe Sixpack and his buds figure out all that, it could easily end up more than eggs. I am not for vigilante ‘justice’ there is too much wrong with it, and there are important (error checking) reasons why we have trials juries and judges and long delays. However, the way MS execs are heading, especially if they get the blame for bringing down the US, they may encounter others who have less of a problem with throwing a few ropes over some lamp post and dealing with the source.”

From another person:

“I had really mixed feelings in seeing this video. At first, I was incredulous that somehow this was really happening, as was the camera person.

“Then, I was actually afraid that Ballmer might have been hurt!! Can you imagine that! As much as I dislike Ballmer, which is a lot, I was actually concerned that he would be hurt. After all, there is a level on which one sees Ballmer as a human being, which he technically is, and I just have a gut reaction that I don’t like to see human beings hurt.

“Then, I started laughing, at seeing Ballmer duck.

“Then, I was worried that the egg-thrower would have been beaten up by the cops, which is what would happen it the good ole USA.

“Then, I was worried that he would be arrested. But even that didn’t happen.

“Then, I was horrified at the thought that the average person might see this happen, and pin it on the FOSS community. As much as I dislike Ballmer, there is nothing worse than having sympathy for the devil increase because the devil is being abused.

“Then, I thought, well, maybe the best way to increase sympathy for Ballmer is to have him publicly abused. Maybe the guy who did this was paid by M$ to do it to increase sympathy. [REDACTED] I do hate M$ because of all the evil things that they have done that we all know so well stretching back decades. Cutting of Netscape’s air supply. Forced upgrades. Insecure software. Bloat. Overpricing. Forced OEM deals. Cheating on the ISO vote. Fracturing the FOSS community with the Novell – Linspire – etc deals. Fracturing the OLPC community with its vaporware XP on XO announcement.

“All of it. And yet, it is our very hatred of M$ that makes us weak, because it blinds us with rage. We start fighting amongst ourselves to see who has betrayed us and who has not. We have to outsmart the devil, and IMHO that means managing our anger. I am sure that on some level, it would be really satisfying for me to humiliate Ballmer publicly, and yet, the satisfaction would probably be short-lived, because you know the media has been fooled by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) into believing that Gates is good, when the BMGF itself is one of the most potent weapons in Gates possession for fighting FOSS.

[REDCATED]

“So in short, while I personally experienced a momentary thrill at seeing eggs thrown at Ballmer, I hope to heaven that this video doesn’t get out. IMHO, it could be really bad for us.“
AlexH said,

May 20, 2008 at 7:02 am

Roy –

I suspect you’re probably right, although I think it was sufficiently tame that it’s not really ammunition.

If people wanted to protest properly, they ought to take a leaf out of Anon’s book: protest loudly, in public, but not doing any wrong. Threats and/or acts of violence are really going too far.

RMS has carried out a number of such protests, from sign-holding in nVidia meetings to covering up RFID badges. Whatever else you think of him, his protests are always appropriate.
Roy Schestowitz said,

May 20, 2008 at 7:14 am

Yes, I agree.

I’ve also just seen some photos. The guy was apparently wearing a shirt with something that includes the word “corruption” on it. It brought to mind this story which isn’t too old (2007):

http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/262007109641.htm

Microsoft Office raid in Hungary

“Such behavior could lead to the exclusion of competitive products from the market and violate European Union rules, according to the authority known as the GVH.”

I have some other such examples. It’s a shame that this ‘protest’ seems more lame or embarrassing than even the one from China last year (the guy wore a suit and just carried a banner).
UI said,

May 20, 2008 at 4:15 pm

“Threats and/or acts of violence are really going too far.”

I would offer that Microsoft has done more damage than any protestor, whether it be by pie or egg, has done.
Roy Bixler said,

May 20, 2008 at 5:14 pm

Here’s the companion video, where Gates gets hit by “entartreur”:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=c9aviyxYu6I

In that case, the pie thrower was already well-known for throwing pies at anyone who he thought takes himself too seriously.

I wonder who is the guy in Hungary. Either that thing wasn’t staged or both Ballmer and the egg thrower are excellent actors. Ballmer seemed genuinely stunned and the egg thrower seemed angry. In any case, the egg thrower effectively wrote himself off as a crank and gave himself no chance of being taken seriously. This is unfortunate.
Roy Schestowitz said,

May 20, 2008 at 8:47 pm

In any case, the egg thrower effectively wrote himself off as a crank and gave himself no chance of being taken seriously.

It probably depends on the viewer. He did show that people are angry at Microsoft. He also put the “corruption” tag on them.
wit knee hew stone said,

May 20, 2008 at 10:05 pm

“I am not for vigilante ‘justice’ there is too much wrong with it, and there are important (error checking) reasons why we have trials juries and judges and long delays. However, the way MS execs are heading, especially if they get the blame for bringing down the US, they may encounter others who have less of a problem with throwing a few ropes over some lamp post and dealing with the source.””

What happens when you have a corrupt justice system which takes bribes on many levels and won’t properly punish a mafia like Microsoft since Microsoft obviously contributes to a corrupt [and it can be argued, fake] economy? The whole system is corrupt from the top down if you investigate it enough.

“In my opinion, the only way well ever see Microsoft come clean is if the DOJ ever gets some real balls and decides to go after it with a real punishment for its monopoly, which continues today on desktops, and seeking to start on the web again with Silverblight (Silverlight), just google for LOC and the deal with Microsoft which happened within the past few months. IMO its the same as Microsoft Windows in libraries and classrooms, once you get the people hooked with something they feel that they need, in this case more Microsoft shitware, people perpetuate the lock-in cycle. Look at how you feel you *need* DirectX? This is another artificially created need by Microsoft.

It should be argued, at least for PC gaming, they have a monopoly on the desktop with gaming, as most people need to use DirectX properly in order for the games to work. Sure Wine, Cedega, and other projects are making some progress and some games may work, and believe me I try every few weeks to see how it is coming along, but again Microsoft still continues its dirty deeds. They lie about Linux and Windows interoperability, They said it couldnt be done! Novell agreement bullshit just like the Corel agreement in 2000 or 2001, where Corel Linux was promptly spun off and money/support from Corel to Wine apparantly dried up. Time and time again they come in and either buy out or pollute the environment with thier proprietary crap, and we read another dismal Microsoft article after article every few weeks or more.

If Microsoft is so devoted to bringing Linux and Windows together, I dont see anything on their vast labrynth of shit at Microsoft.com indicating this. Where is the repository of interoperability Linux and Windows software on Microsoft.com? Oh, but you can still get their bullshit Facts on Windows and Linux, and thats about it. At least Google has a repository you can add to your Linux install for software from them. In my opinion, dont think Moonlight (Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? I ask that of all my friends) will last much longer or work well for Linux users should Silverblight (Silverlight) suddenly become popular through payoffs and slight of hand corporate tricks.

If you ever want to have Microsoft come clean, no, I dont believe it would ever happen unless the DOJ finally came down hard and raided their offices, took their hardware and software and forced them to release the code and all of the various undiscovered backdoors waiting to be found, it just wont happen. IMO, Microsoft has demonstrated time and time again it will fight tooth and nail against any punishment against them.

…x…. …x…. …x…. …x…. …x…. …x…. ….x… ….x… …x…. …x…. ….x…

Remember: Microsoft Office raid in Hungary http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/262007109641.htm
You like that, monkey boy? : http://boycottnovell.com/2008/05/19/steve-ballmer-eggs/

The rich sissy boy runs for cover while the company continues to rape countries with the “Microsoft tax” and proprietary lock in. This criminal organization needs to be seen for what it is, before it continues to buy up other companies and
stifle innovation and crush competition. Already it has injected its vermin semen into the OLPC project. This is not a normal company competing, this is a criminal organization no different than a mafia and it needs to be stopped.

…x…. …x…. …x…. …x…. …x…. …x…. ….x… ….x… …x…. …x…. ….x…

We will all be cleansed if true justice were ever to prevail, but in the United States of Advertising, most of the people in power are paid off, with big pharma and other corporate overlords always padding the handshakes and votes. It is a lost cause, you know it, I know it, but youll still piss away your vote to one of the two parties who bend over for big pharma to slide in the money and the overpriced medications pop out the other end as we all struggle under the yoke of this dismal fucking world.

Come clean? Microsoft? The whole system is mired in filth.

Good luck.

We now return you to your normal life, ostrich head in the sand, millions of tokers/beer drinkers who raise their fist while watching Fight Club and return to their soap opera pitiful lives of slavery as the credits roll.

Vote for Wesley Snipes for President in 2008, neither one of the big parties will get anything done, they are a part of the problem.”
Roy Schestowitz said,

May 20, 2008 at 11:37 pm

Already it has injected its vermin semen into the OLPC project. This is not a normal company competing, this is a criminal organization no different than a mafia and it needs to be stopped.

Initially, Microsoft sabotaged OLPC using FUD and other tactics (it even bribed Nigerian officials to retract a done Linux deal while Intel sold laptops at a considerable loss). I have it all documented. Once they weakened the project they started sucking up to Nick and offered him a life vest. He hesitantly took it. What can we learn from this? Watch out, Mono developers.