Bonum Certa Men Certa

US Government Advisor from Microsoft Travels to Europe and Lobbies

European flag



Summary: Microsoft plays the game of politics in Brussels while the very same people may earn key positions in the US government

Microsoft's Craig Mundie dislikes Free software and even transparency, but this did not prevent the Democrats (with Microsoft affinity [1, 2, 3]) from giving this man a prominent role in the government's overall judgment. A couple of days ago we showed how seriously Microsoft takes politics and there is another new article about it in The Inquirer.

Microsoft apparently makes you a good politician



WHEN TOP VOLES flee Redmond for greener pastures the fact that they have Microsoft on their CV means that they are eligible for a political career, apparently.

[...]

Another impatient Vole on the political circuit is Suzan DelBene, the former Windows Mobile executive now challenging Representative Dave Reichert. Reichert has a history of dealing with impatient Voles as he successfully fought off two political challenges from another former Microsoft employee, Darcy Burner.


This involvement of Microsoft in the United States government is sparse and complex, but right now we shall focus solely on Craig Mundie, who happens to be the latest example. Microsoft has a history is using the US government to fight the EU.

A reader has just sent us some information, alleging that "Mundie tries to flog 'cloud computing' under the guise of helping Europe overcome its lack of preparedness in education in science and technology." Only a couple of weeks ago, Craig Mundie had what our reader calls "European Parliament breakfast."

From page 14 of the PDF (Mundie's talk):

With respect to the question Europe versus America, when you have these very fundamental changes, opportunity is created and in my view, the way to answer that question is really to ask “Is Europe prepared for the change?” And I would have to tell you that today, it isn’t by and large...


Going a little while back, we also find Craig Mundie going to Brussels and meeting those who are supposed to punish Microsoft for its serious violations of competition law.

Ever wondered why Microsoft software needs continually to be patched and updated? Microsoft Corp.'s Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie believes it's because software development is still more an art than a science.

Mundie was speaking on one of his first foreign trips since taking over the technology strategy and policy roles from iconic company founder Bill Gates, at a press briefing in Brussels late Monday billed as a glance into the future of the technology industry.

[...]

Does Microsoft plan to do to Google what it did to Netscape? (Netscape was eclipsed when Microsoft attached its own Web browser, Internet Explorer, to Windows, sparking an antitrust battle with the U.S. department of Justice.)

"I hope so," Mundie replied.

[..]

Mundie was in Brussels to give a keynote speech at a conference on European venture capitalism, hosted by Microsoft.

During his visit to the European capital he said he met with the staff of European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, as well as civil servants in the information society department of the Commission -- not quite the top level meetings enjoyed by Gates on his occasional visits to Brussels in recent years.


Here we have yet another "schmoozing" trip. It's important to explore and to understand how much room there is for manipulation of this 'system', which is practically just a group of human beings. They are all corruptible and only if their reputation is at stake will they stay loyal to principles worth obeying.

"[A]mazing that corruption is excepted by the entire developed world. stunning that it has met with resistance only with some developing nations and maybe the european union. what should have been an overwhelming anger by all nations . the notion that developed nation are immune to corruption is bogus. microsoft did it in full view, without any hesitation. microsoft should be nailed for this."

--Ashok Pai

Recent Techrights' Posts

Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
 
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025
Links 31/03/2025: China Tensions, Bombs Falling in Myanmar After Earthquake
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: Falling Out of Love With Tech, Sunsetting openSNP
Links for the day
R.T.O. at IBM in Texas and Atlanta (State of Georgia) Expected as "Soft Layoffs" Catalyst This Coming Year
It also sounds like more IBM layoffs are in the making
Law Firms Can Also Lose Their Licence for Clearly Misusing It
The bottom line is, never made the false assumption that because you can pile up SLAPPs in a docket you will not suffer from bad reputation or even get disbarred
Link between institutional abuse, Swiss jurists, Debianism and FSFE
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
The surveillance mafia that bans dissent or key people (even co-founders) with dissenting views
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025
Links 30/03/2025: Security Breaches, Crackdowns on Dissent/Rival Politicians
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/03/2025: London Soundtrack Festival, Superbloom, gmiCAPTCHA
Links for the day
Phasing Out Vista 10 in Nations Where ~90% of Windows Users Still Rely on It
Recipe for another Microsoft disaster
The Cost of Pursuing the Much-Needed Reform/Shield Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.”
The LLM Bubble is About to Implode, Gimmicks and Financial Shell Games Cannot Prevent That, Only Delay It
To inflate the bubble MElon is now doing the classic trick of buying from oneself for a fictional value
Links 30/03/2025: Contagious Ideas, Signal Leak, and Squashing Lousy Patents
Links for the day
Links 30/03/2025: "Quantum Randomness" and "F-1 Visa Revoked" in US
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/03/2025: US as a Threat, Returning to the WWW
Links for the day
Links 30/03/2025: Judge Blocks Dismantling Of VOA, Turkey Arrested Many Journalists
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 29, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, March 29, 2025