LX'er: Following Bill Gates' Linux Attack Money(Contains: Abramoff)

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

In a letter to the Department of Justice addressing Microsoft's Proposed Final Judgment in their anti-trust case, a well-known consumer advocate wrote:


"The agreement should require that this information (interoperability) be as freely available as possible, with a high burden on Microsoft to justify secrecy. Indeed, there is ample evidence that Microsoft is focused on strategies to cripple the free software movement, which it publicly considers an important competitive threat. This is particularly true for software developed under the GNU Public License (GPL), which is used in GNU/Linux, the most important rival to Microsoft in the server market."(1)


In the same letter he writes, "One of Microsoft's high-level executives says (published) that freely distributed software code such as Linux could stifle innovation and that legislators need to understand the threat."


Little doubt exists that Microsoft has reached legislators. In Monday's article we discussed how a dispute in the House Ethics Committee has kept the members from meeting and considering House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's activities that could have ramifications for Microsoft. In making legislators aware of many issues, the Redmond company's financial reach may be part of why the committee has delayed their investigation. Perhaps everyone involved hopes that a delay will allow the heat to pass on this and other issues.


What we did not discuss on Monday, however, was the possibility that the committee could remain deadlocked for other reasons. Such reasons could involve additional payments which Preston Gates may have some difficulty explaining. Should the ethics committee meet, some democrats could face similar problems for Tom DeLay. According to the the Washington Post, other names are beginning to surface, including both House and Senate members. Names discussed in the article include Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) and Harry M. Reid (Nev.), Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.), Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.), Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) and Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.).


While you might find the Washington Post's work admirable, there are some subtle changes in their reporting that grabbed my attention. For example, a switch has occurred in naming Jack Abramoff's employer. In our previous discussion, we referenced a washington Post story that said that Abramoff worked for Preston Gates. Even the Seattle Times wrote an article focused on Preston Gates' potential problems. For example, in a discussion of one of the firm's clients the article states:

More: http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/38971/index.html

Yet more: http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/38800/index.html

[kineneb]

1. they have already said that Linux is "un-american"

So, like dude, the guy who came up with it is from Finland...duh! Billy Bob can go stuff it. I will continue to use Linux because it works better...again, duh!

Happy Penguin Friend.