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

Professor Eben Moglen on How Social Control Media Metabolises Humans and Constrains Freedom of Thought
Nothing of value would be lost if all these data-harvesting giants (profiling people) vanished overnight
Debian Left Twitter (MElon "X"), We Think the Free Software Foundation (FSF) Should Do the Same
What would the FSF really lose if it stopped posting there?
Tons of Anti-Linux 'Articles' Published by Bots (LLMs), Maybe Microsoft's
Upon closer inspection, all this FUD turned out to be LLM garbage
Ubuntu Desktop Director of Engineering Has Only One Blog Post. It Promotes Microsoft Windows.
Remember that even 15 years ago (more or less, maybe 16 years ago) Canonical appointed a a 'former' Microsoft manager (Spencer) to lead Ubuntu on the desktop
 
Links 07/02/2025: US 'Demolition Crew', e-ID Loopholes, and Sanctions
Links for the day
Social Control Media is Narcissism
Nowadays there's a lot more literature and even press coverage explaining the harms of Social Control Media
statCounter Sees GNU/Linux Share Doubling in China Over the Past Year
It'll be interesting to see what data in the coming months shows
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, February 06, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, February 06, 2025
Richard Stallman (RMS) Confirms Next Week's Talk in Europe
He gave at least 2 talks in Europe last month
Nationalism As A Service (NaaS) by Microsoft Azure, Gutting the US Government for Profit
Will Microsoft be receiving bailouts as a reward for all this?
Rumours of IBM Layoffs Apparently Confirmed Yesterday, IBM Canada Consulting Impacted (as Rumoured)
when IBM has layoffs we must also read it as Red Hat layoffs
Gemini Links 06/02/2025: Voicemail Sucks and Night of Lights
Links for the day
Links 06/02/2025: YouTube Takedowns Out of Control, 'DOGE' Breaking Laws
Links for the day
IBM Red Hat on "era of cloud computing", pushing "hey hi" (AI) hype in Microsoft Azure
LLM slop might actually be more benign than Microsoft promotion
Corruption and Rule-Breaking Prevail at the European Patent Office (EPO), Europe's Second-Largest Institution
The law does not really exist at the EPO; it can be perceived as merely a "recommendation"
statCounter: More Countries Where Windows is Around 1% "Market Share" (People Have Moved to Android/Linux)
in some nations Windows is already 1% or less
404 Media Says "Workers at NASA Told to Drop Everything to Scrub Mentions of Indigenous People, Women from Its Websites" But There's Also Accessibility in the Firing Line
In the case of abandoning accessibility, everyone stands to be hurt and proprietary software can be brought in to replace standards
When BetaNews Writes Real Articles About "Linux" They Promote Windows
The Web is in a bad state. We need to at least try to correct this.
Gemini Links 06/02/2025: Cynicism and "Real Magic on the C64"
Links for the day
Links 06/02/2025: New Sanctions, Layoffs, and Executive Orders
Links for the day
Distros and Desktop Environments, Devices
GNU/Linux focused
New Rumours of IBM Layoffs in 2025, IBM Consulting Still Struggles, Based on Management
"Hey hi" (AI) has been a common excuse for business failure
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, February 05, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, February 05, 2025
Links 05/02/2025: Kessler Syndrome and News Online
Links for the day
statCounter: Monaco Now 7% GNU/Linux ("Proper")
GNU/Linux, not counting Chromebooks, is on the rise
Many Parts of Google Lose Money
It's quite apparent that many parts of Google - even some that rely on ad revenue or push ads - aren't profiting
European Internet Forum (EIF) is Dominated by American Corporations and Microsoft Lobbyists, Staff Take the Lead
Should the officials over here or the European Parliament pay attention to these people?
Links 05/02/2025: Connection without Connectivity and Unionised Grocery Workers
Links for the day
Just Because People on Top of the Microsoft Pyramid Made a Lot of Money Doesn't Mean Microsoft is Wealthy
The bigger they are the harder they fall
Gemini Links 05/02/2025: Learning, Madman Ruling a Mad Country, Back in Geminispace
Links for the day
statCounter Shows "WIntel" Chasing a Dying Market
Microsoft acts as if it's running out of money
Free Software Foundation, Inc. (FSF) Still Raising Money, Richard Stallman Contributes
total exceeding $430k
A Lot of Stuff About "Linux" in Google News is LLM Slop, Fake 'Articles'
It seems to be getting worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, February 04, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, February 04, 2025