[LINK] Microsoft gets away with one

[Rachel Polanskis]

On Sat, 14 Sep 2002, Viveka wrote:

> I believe that Microsoft stock is still strong because they're
> fighting the open movement very effectively. They've realised that
> Free Software has several market advantages in the current
> environment, so they're working on changing the environment. In the
> name of "levelling the playing field", they're lobbying governments,
> putting together various astroturf campaigns, and associating
> themselves with Democracy, Freedom and Security in order to make it
> seem like anything that damages MS would damage the US, and must
> therefore not be allowed to happen. They've always been a friend of
> the copyright extension lobby, and they're unquestionably providing
> useful back doors to the three-letter agencies, so they have powerful
> friends. Microsoft is not going anywhere in a hurry, so I'm not
> surprised that their stock is holding up.

(some paraphrasing from a private post I sent to someone off-list...):

Rergardless of my supposed "error" regarding the stock prices,  I believe
there is still something quite wrong somewhere.
The prices are being artifically pumped by MS somehow and
should by rights be worth far less than what they currently are.

Microsoft employees in the US have a good percentage of their salaries
paid as stock options.  A lot of US super and pension plans are reliant
on investments in MS stocks.  Stock options are not included in taxable
revenues in parts of the US, which MS is taking advatage of.  They have
paid very little to no tax in the last few years.  Anytime MS wants
to pass out more options, they just print more stock.  Anytime they
want to up the price they do a "split".   These are not my observations
but those of Bill Parrish and others.  It is quite a very shakey
way of doing business - it's bound to come undone sooner or later.
I am just surprised that the mainstream media hasn't investigated this
further.

I am not at all an expert on stocks & shares but I do watch MS very closely..
When the corrupt scheme that is holding them up is exposed, it's going to be bigger
than Enron, Worldcom, AOL and Xerox combined, which is probably why it is
such a dead dog in the mainstream media.   I don't subscribe to conspiracy
theories, but there is something very wrong here......


rachel

-- 
Rachel Polanskis                 Kingswood, Greater Western Sydney, Australia
grove@zeta.org.au                http://www.zeta.org.au/~grove/grove.html
      "People don't say sorry in this country" - Max Connors (Seachange)

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