Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Latest EPO Victim Card (Played by Željko Topić) Should be Treated as Seriously as Those Bogus Claims of Violence by a Judge (Updatedx3)

Sports equipment is charactered as a "weapon" when the narrative of "victim" is sought by the thugs

EPO cricket club



Summary: In its desperate pursuit of a narrative wherein the staff of the EPO is violent and aggressive the management of the EPO, renowned for institutional aggression, finds (or claims to have found) a little tampering with a bicycle

THERE are bad liars, good (skilled) liars, pathological liars, and chronic liars. For some it's a career path.



"Incident," as a source put it to us, was allegedly reported "yesterday on EPO premises and today's official announcement by Željko Topić" can be seen below:

Home→Organisation→DG 4→The Vice-President→Announcements→2016

Incident yesterday on EPO premises






25.05.2016

Deliberate damage to personal property of the President

Dear colleagues,

I would like to draw your attention to an incident which happened at some time yesterday in the non-public underground parking area of the Isar Building.

The bicycle belonging to President Battistelli was damaged to an extent that even the brakes were tampered with. This was without doubt a deliberate act of vandalism.

I strongly deplore this utterly unacceptable act and trust that you, the staff of the European Patent Office, join me in condemning the behaviour of the person or persons who committed this offence.

I remind staff of their duty to behave at all times in the manner expected of an international civil servant.

Željko Topić

Vice-President DG 4

25.05.16 | Author: Željko Topić - Vice-President DG 4



Now let's critically assess this bizarre message, which looks almost like it belongs in the April 1st spam folder/filter. This is Željko Topić we're talking about here; it's the person who faces many criminal charges for a variety of alleged abuses. This is the man whom Zagreb Police Department may be after right now (he has been avoiding judges and courts as of late, including on April 1st itself). Topić is just about the least reliable source at the EPO right now. He is probably a lot worse than Battistelli.

“I am expecting something more deep and stronger against Mr. Topić in [the] next weeks from State prosecutor or attorneys office in Zagreb...”
      --Anonymous
Someone wrote to us only yesterday about Topić (same day as the above 'incident'). "I am expecting something more deep and stronger against Mr. Topić in [the] next weeks from State prosecutor or attorneys office in Zagreb," told us this person, who is from Croatia.

What a convenient way for Topić to distract everyone and portray Team Battistelli as the victim. There is a lot coming from Zagreb these days (regarding Topić) and we shall give details/contacts/documents in the coming weeks/months.

"There is a lot coming from Zagreb these days (regarding Topić) and we shall give details/contacts/documents in the coming weeks/months."Unsurprisingly, EPO staff (like examiners) aren't startled by the words of Topić. "It sounds funny or like a joke," one person told us, "however the opposite is true it's deadly serious according to Željko Topić and his thugs!"

"Enjoy the lecture," the person added.

It would be mean and unprofessional to treat is as merely a prank or a joke, but obviously some people cannot help the temptation and say things like this:

EPO Staff obviously condemns without any reservation such act of appalling violence. EPO staff is also relieved to learn that the anarchist group who tried to kill Mr Battistelli has not stolen the saddle of the presidential bike since this could have caused him serious and painful injuries.

Considering the severity of the events EPO staff suggests:

1 - that the EPO offers a bounty to anyone denouncing the culprits (plural is needed as it is obvious that such an action can only have been executed by a group of very well organised individuals presumably with the help of structured international networks)

2 - that the EPO via its investigative unit immediately takes DNA samples from all EPO staff + all external providers + all neighbours of the Isar building within a radius of 500 m.

3 - that the EPO hires without further delay additional bodyguards (if possible ex Navy Seals) in charge of securing the presidential bicycle 24/7 plus some in charge of the presidential cars, presidential lift and presidential toilets (since no place will ever be secured after this sabotage).


Our position on all this is that it's not severe, we don't know if it's true (or to what degree it's true), and given the messenger, Mr. Topić, we strongly urge/call for scepticism. Remember that what was called a "weapon" by these thugs later turned out to be sporting equipment, or a club used for leisurely activities.

Some people who spoke to us wouldn't necessarily suspect that it's a "false flag" but might suggest that the timing for the above is perfect. To quote: "Of course all this has absolutely NOTHING TO DO with the fact that...IPkat published the costs of his bodyguards (550,000 for six months which means they are more expensive than examiners) AND that in Munich yesterday and today a meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee is being held..."

Update: Some comments have just appeared about this at IP Kat. An anonymous person writes: "Well, it appears that someone has deliberately damaged Battistelli's bicycle in the office's Isar building car park (announced by VP4 internally to all staff, deploring the action which appears to have been an inside job). The brakes were tampered with too. And all this so soon after Merpel's visit... Now I may be adding 2 and 2 and making 9 lives, but until we get a katagorical denial..."

Even Merpel replies humorously with: "Merpel can kategorically deny any involvement in such activity, which naturally she completely deplores. Not only does she lack the opposable digits that would be necessary for such tampering (scratch marks would be much more her thing) but also she understands that this action took place in a non-public part of the office, into which she would of course not scamper uninvited. She reckons she still has several lives left yet."

It doesn't look like anyone takes the above very seriously. But it sure contributes to the atmosphere of fear and helps defend Battistelli's notorious paranoia.

Update #2 (the day after): Comments continue as follows: "The president never comes at the EPO by bicycle. This story looks very strange (probably a new propaganda). The purpose is to show that the president really needs bodyguards and an investigation unit. Also, it will be a pretext to cut some additional staff (representative) heads."

This is actually a sentiment shared among other people we spoke to.

Other people treat this mostly as a joke. One wrote: "Ever bike? Now that's something that makes life worth living! ...Oh, to just grip your handlebars and lay down to it, and you ripping and tearing through the Munich streets and road, over railroad tracks and bridges, threading crowds, avoiding collisions, at 40 kilometres or more an hour, and wondering all the time when you're going to smash up. Well, now, that's something! And then you arrive at the office after an hour of it... and then to think I can do it this evening all over again!.... sh..t somebody ruined my bbbbbbike!"

Another joke (about the notorious surveillance of EPO staff and even visitors using hidden cameras): "Obviously they forgot to set up security cameras this time."

The connection to the budget (for expensive bodyguards) is then mentioned as follows: "It was reported (on Wednesday) that it happened on Tuesday - the day that both the B28 and the Budget and Finance committees of the AC met in Munich, presumably in the Isar building? The list of suspects grows."

Lastly there is this: "Mr. Topić tells us that someone tampered with the brakes on the presidential bike yesterday. The clear message is that there has been an attempt to harm the President. That's quite serious, isn't it?

"Topić goes on to condemn the damage to the bike (but not the attack on the President, strangely) and reminds staff to behave like international civil servants.

"This is a ridiculously inadequate response. The person who is ultimately responsible for the president's security should be dismissed. He or she has clearly failed in their duty."

This is especially funny (like black comedy) coming from Topić, who preaches about behaviour of international civil servants while he himself faces many criminal charges and refuses to even attend the courts upon demand. Like his colleagues at the EPO's management, professionalism means not obeying the law and ignoring court rulings, apparently.

Update #3 (later on the same day): More noteworthy observations are made, as it's no longer just about a bicycle but increasingly a question of integrity, i.e. whether the EPO's management is simply lying (or hyping). As one person put it: "The President now uses a Bike? Really? Someone who does not go around without his bodyguards, who has personal lift that cannot be used by anybody else at the main building would take the time to ride a bike to go to work? To stroll around on Sunday and mingle with the commoners in such a trivial activity?

"By the way, did they also damage the bikes of his bodyguards? Or do they run behind him when e [sic] bikes around?"

"They're just recycling old Sarko-stuff," one person wrote, linking to "Sarkozy misused French ministry to find scooter, critics say" (remember that Sarkozy and Battistelli are connected politically). "That being said, when cars are keyed in the Examiner€´s/Formalities' buildings (which are quite distant from the Isar building), it does not make it to the intranet... Sorry for the bike though."

Another person wrote: "I wouldn't be surprised that the bodyguards run around him, like the gardes suisses around the papamobile. (The thought of a presidential bicyclette shielded by Panzerglas in the Munich traffic just rushed through my head).

"But seriously, do you honestly believe that Mr. B would ever mingle with the riff raff and risk the possibility of an encounter with one of them?

"My own bike was damaged on EPO premises years and years ago, under the Shell building, as it was still called. (The parking facility was rather shoddy, you could get around the door easily by pulling the fence towards you). I don't remember this making it in the pages of the Gazette or the nascent intranet...

"I suspect a sinister motive behind Topic's announcement, i.e., creating some pretext for a form of collective punishment, or inventing a new chicanery for harassing staff, or even launching a new witch hunt."

There might also be the timing (budget fodder). One commenter agrees with the above and adds: "Indeed, it is in the script of every respectable Dictatorship: use an attempt to the life of the Great Leader to request special powers from the Central Committee - ahem, Administrative Council, to further reduce Civil Liberties and get rid of the last Members of the Opposition.

"(I also heard that in addition the Presidential Bike, the Tricycle of VP5 Raimund Lutz and the Bobby-Car of VP4 Guillaume Minnoye were also damaged ... I'm shocked to think that an International Civil Servant could act like this ...)"

The last comment for now also agrees with the above: "This only looks like a pretext for more and harsher security measures. Just wait. I suppose that in less than four weeks there will be a notice on the Intranet announcing new kinds of (ridiculous) controls etc., maybe even more hidden cameras."

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Annual Southern California Linux Expo (SCALE 22x) 'Bought' by Microsoft and Microsoft Exceeded Sponsorship Limits by Giving Double the Maximum Permitted Amount
When people get bribed they tend to forget how to utter a simple word: "No."
EPO Examiners Point Out to the Heads of Delegations in the Administrative Council of the EPO That the "AI Policy" of the Office is Illegal
"the Central Staff Committee (CSC) asks the Administrative Council to exert its supervisory role and instruct EPO management to enter into genuine dialogue with the staff representation on the AI Policy, to revise the “Leverage AI” target of 90% AI-automated classification in the SP2028 and to put in place the measures supported by staff in the resolution."
French Cities Dumping Microsoft Because They Recognise Software Freedom, Open Standards, GNU/Linux Autonomy
We hope that more French cities - maybe Paris - will follow Lyon.
LWN is a Voice of GAFAM (Through Linux Foundation, Their Front Group or Occupying Force Inside Linux)
remember who the chief editor works for and who sponsors many of the articles
The 'Case' of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft is a Lot of Copypasta (Maybe Also LLM Slop) From the Matthew Garrett 'Case'
5RB deserves to know and the matter shall be properly reported in due course (when the time is right)
EPO Squeezing the Staff - Part II - Office Breaks Rules, Ignores Courts, Defies Justice
False promises everywhere
IBM - Like Microsoft - is a Dying Company and Perishing Brand ("AI" is a Lie and Decoy)
"Arvind is cutting costs (layoffs, PIPs, forced RTO, etc...) like crazy. IBM offices are closing all over the place in the US."
"Code of Conduct" Invoked When Fedora and Red Hat Users (Since the 1990s) Don't Want to Use Wayland
That is IBM "DEI"
 
Microsoft Will Shut Down More Studios This Week, Its Media Operatives Will Tell Lies About the Magnitude of the Shutdowns and Layoffs (They Always Do)
Many people who get counted as "workforce" are "temps" or similar
Not Much Better Than LLM Slop: Linux Foundation-Funded 'News' Site Writes Linux Foundation 'News', Composed by Linux Foundation Operative, Quoting Linux Foundation Staff
...they get paid (sponsored) to produce this spam. Then they call it "journalism".
What Linux Foundation 'Research' is: Paid Marketing
What is Linux Foundation 'Research'?
No, IBM Does Not Care About People With Disabilities
"Aktion T4" did not seem to bother Watson
Microsoft's Financial Problems Mean Shutdowns, Not Just Mass Layoffs
If the original rumour is true, then expect almost 30,000 Microsoft workers to be let go this year
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 26, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 26, 2025
The Netherlands: GNU/Linux Measured at All-Time High
Are any Dutch cities going to announce dumping Microsoft?
Gemini Links 27/06/2025: "Interstitial Existence" and Autocorrect
Links for the day
Keeping Things Accessible
Gemini Protocol seems to be growing
Technical People Need Technical Lawyers
Technical Litigants in Person (LIPs) have many real and concrete advantages
10,000+ Articles in About 20 Months (and How We Got Here)
More bloat does not beget efficiency and "bells and whistles" tend to have a hidden cost
Links 26/06/2025: Illegal Kangaroo Court (UPC) Failing Scandinavia, K-Pop Agencies Abuse People
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/06/2025: AuraGem Twitch Proxy is Back and UI Sluggishness
Links for the day
Links 26/06/2025: Noise Pollution Considered High in Europe, Mass Layoffs Next Week in Microsoft Confirmed, Very Large in Scale and Scope
Links for the day
No, I Don't Want Your Latest XYZ, ThankYouVeryMuch...
Wayland is finally ready?
China Keeps Breaking Into Microsoft Systems, So for True Sovereignty, Nations Wary of China Need to Dump Microsoft
Looking at data from Taiwan (not China) and Maharlika (not Philippines, the king is dead and Spain is out), there are encouraging signs
Linux Journal Wants Ads on Its LLM Slop or Ads as 'Articles'
it's basically another BetaNews
How to Kill a Monopoly
in 10 simple steps
Mozambique: GNU/Linux Rose From 0.5% Last Year to 3% This Year
what (or how) statCounter is measuring
Microsoft Layoffs Next Week: About 10% to be Laid Off in Microsoft Gaming (2 Days Before Independence Day), About 20%+ of XBox Staff
Microsoft is rapidly collapsing
Next Month Marks 11 Years Since Our In-Depth EPO Coverage
The same is happening to Microsoft right now
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Campaigns Against Vista 11, Adds 4 New Associate Members Per Day
If more people understood the underlying principles, more of them would flock to Free software overnight
Canonical Seems to Have Culled Some Sources of LLM Slop From Planet Ubuntu
It's like "junk food", it's not information
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 25, 2025
On "Weak Claims"
For the record, they sent me unjustified threats, repeatedly tried injunctions (censorship)
EPO Squeezing the Staff - Part I - Burnout and Family Health
more exceptional circumstances
This Month's Mail (MX) Server Survey Shows Microsoft at 0.20% "Market Share"
We need to remind people that desktops and laptops decline (in proportion to other client devices) and at the "back end" GNU/Linux is already dominant and has long been dominant
Links 26/06/2025: Filespooler Guide and Learning to Code
Links for the day
Why Techrights Cannot be Vilified (and Instead It Gets SLAPPed Repeatedly by Microsoft People)
Attack dogs are all "bark"; because they have no actual "bite"
Austrian GNU/Linux Usage Up to About 5% as More of Europe Abandons Microsoft
Since inauguration day the Austrian people have adopted more and more of GNU/Linux
Why the "Wayland People" and "Rust People" Will Lose Hearts and Minds (Same Reasons)
Wayland pushers are fast becoming like "Rust People"
5,600 Pages/Articles Per Year
So far this year we've kept all the promises
BetaNews Beginning to Show What Its True Goals Are
The 'new' BetaNews won't be about journalism. It's trying to sell things.
Microsoft Has Lost "The War"
We'll soon see the 9th or 10th wave of Microsoft layoffs in 2025 alone
Slopwatch: A Wreck and a Dreck, "Flooding the Zone With Dreck" or Flooding the Web With Junk
"Slopwatch" continues today because we have many new examples
Links 25/06/2025: Thwarting More Software Patents, Overlap Grows Between EPO Corruption and Illegal Kangaroo Patent Courts in EU
Links for the day
Links 25/06/2025: Elon Musk’s Lawyers Caught Lying, WhatsApp Faces More Bans
Links for the day
Wayland Pushers Lose the Argument, Use LLM Slop and Chatbots to Make Up Arguments for IBM
Another new low and low blow
Brian Fagioli Created Another Slopfarm Targeting "Linux" After BetaNews Became a Slopfarm of Phantom Accounts and Pseudonyms
Mr. Fagioli even had slop about a dead Torvalds (hypothetical) as clickbait
Wayland is Perfect, Nobody Can Escape Its Perfection! (Or Not)
Do not form on opinion on Wayland based on politics
What is "MATA"?
Think of it as GAFAM or "Meta"
Moral Duty for "Linux Sites" to Speak Out Against LLM Slop
My wife has long complained about "Linux bloggers" keeping quiet and thus passive about a growing problem: slop
In Recent Hours Google News Promoted at Least 3 Slopfarms That Relayed Linux Foundation Propaganda Made by Bots or LLM "Bullshit Generators" (as Dr. Stallman Dubbed Them)
Google is circling down the drain and Google News too is hopeless
Linux Journal is a Slopfarm, It's Experimenting With LLM 'Authors'
Is Slashdot next?
WebProNews is a Slopfarm
Please avoid linking to WebProNews
Microsoft LinkedIn is Dying and Many More Layoffs Are on the Way
LinkedIn is just a failed acquisition of Microsoft. It causes losses and debt.
Gemini Links 25/06/2025: Combinatorial Music and Self Hosting
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Coming Back to Europe This Autumn to Give More Talks
His last talk in Europe attracted about 400-450 people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Social Control Media, Technology & Catholicism: Synod on Synodality review and feedback
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How Many More Women Will Managers at Microsoft Strangle and Tell to Kill Themselves (or Try to Kill)?
The world needs to know what happened
The New BetaNews: 7 New 'Articles', All of Them LLM Slop
BetaNews is basically defunct. Nobody writes there anymore.
Another "Told You So!": XBox Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Many Recent Reports Were Chaff and Spin), Many Other Divisions Affected
With mass layoffs at Microsoft the world would be much better