05.12.12
Charles Manson, the Unabomber, and Microsoft
Comparing one’s opposition to Unabomber
Summary: Microsoft funds an AstroTurf which compares particular people to mass murderers
THOSE who challenge Microsoft in response to its many crimes probably know too darn well how far the company goes to daemonise and intimidate the lone messengers. One of the company’s employees, working without disclosure in a so-called “TE” role (AstroTurf), was once harassing me in this Web site. See older posts such as:
- Paid Microsoft AstroTurfer Strikes Boycott Novell
- Boycott Novell Has New Subscriber
- Microsoft Reported to the FTC for AstroTurf Marketing
- Are Microsoft Employees (Technical Evangelists) Using Spammers in Twitter?
Microsoft’s Wong decided to compare me to Unabomber and publicly insult me until I filed a complaint to the FTC. In a new E-mail titled “Charles Manson, the Unabomber…and you?” (dated 5/11/12 7:38 PM) Mike Palamuso from the League of Conservation Voters wrote:
Tell Microsoft, Comcast and other corporate donors to stop funding the Heartland Institute's offensive, climate-denier propaganda: http://action.lcv.org/site/R?i=kkLMsFUXoSE0Z-yr8zOZ9A . [snip], Have you heard what they're calling us? Serial killers and terrorists. I know it seems like a joke, but this was actually put up on a billboard last week in Chicago. The Heartland Institute, a leading anti-science think tank, launched a campaign with images like this - implying that if you believe global warming is happening, then you are no different than the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, or mass murderer Charles Manson. If you find this as outrageous as I do, sign our petition urging the Heartland Institute's corporate donors, including Microsoft and Comcast, to end their funding today: http://action.lcv.org/site/R?i=G8Fr2S5UeLFQHO3-Vrm4YQ . For years, the Heartland Institute has been producing climate-denying propaganda to benefit Big Oil and Dirty Coal. But this goes too far. In their press release, they actually said that "people who still believe in man-made global warming are mostly on the radical fringe of society... they are murderers, tyrants, and madmen." This kind of inflammatory, hateful rhetoric is offensive to the millions of Americans who support common-sense solutions to the climate crisis. Luckily, public outcry forced the Heartland Institute to take these billboards down after just 24 hours. Yet, they are still not apologizing for this deceitful campaign and will keep feeding the same rhetoric to the media, members of Congress, and even our schools unless we take action now. Our partners at Forecast the Facts have been busy organizing a rapid response from activists, which has already convinced some major corporations like State Farm to pull their funding from the Heartland Institute this week. Now they've asked for our help in adding thousands more voices of activists like you to the call on other corporations to end their funding to the Heartland Institute. Will you sign our petition to Microsoft, Comcast, and the other corporate funders of the Heartland Institute today? http://action.lcv.org/site/R?i=eMaVmZ25VA6-XVKdtcDGvA It's time for any corporation that cares about its reputation to stop funding climate-denying groups like the Heartland Institute. With enough people behind us, we can make that happen. So please take action, and then share it via email, Facebook and Twitter. Only together can we set the record straight on climate change and ensure a clean energy future. We'll get back to you soon with updates on the campaign as it progresses. Thanks, Mike Palamuso Vice President, Communications League of Conservation Voters
Here we have merely one more example where Microsoft funds predatory bodies that do this type of things. We mentioned more in the past. The AstroTurfing must stop and the anti-social element at Microsoft should be brought to justice. █
