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You will comply!
3/2/2007
By Simbey

Who can forget the scene from "Robocop" where a demonstration of the Ed 209 is presented in a board room, and some guy named "Kinney" gets the fateful task of pointing a gun at Ed 209?  Even though Kinney drops the gun, Ed 209 continues the count down for compliance because Kinney has yet to "comply," and so at the end of the count down Kinney is shot.

After reading a recent article about the anti-trust case against Microsoft in Europe, it occurred to me that in this screwed up world of ours, there is a real Ed 209.  Her name is Neelie Kroes.

In this world, the real OCP is actually the European Commission, and its law enforcer, the Ed 209, is Neelie Kroes.

Neelie Kroes is Ed 209

Basically, the European Commission ordered Microsoft to release all of this "compliance" documentation.  Not wanting to be fined, Microsoft complied by releasing 1,500 pages of documentation.  Most children's books at this point would end with something happy like, "The Commission gratefully accepted the 1,500 pages of documentation, and everyone lived happily ever after!"

But this is not a children's book.  This is a world patterned after a really violent movie, in this case "Robocop."  After receiving the documentation, Ed 209 (Neelie Kroes) then commanded, "I am therefore again obliged to take formal measures to ensure that Microsoft complies with its obligations."  It's a little wordy, so I'll summarize:  "YOU NOW HAVE 15 SECONDS TO COMPLY."

The situation really is rather hopeless.  In the end, Microsoft will be fined.  It's not because Microsoft didn't comply; it's because Neelie Kroes doesn't actually care.  Just like Ed 209, she is a cold, emotionless robot, misprogrammed by the European Commission.
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