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US Gov't Lobbied EU To Approve Oracle-Sun Merger

Posted by timothy on from the how-could-george-bush-do-such-a-thing dept.

littlekorea writes "Cables leaked by Wikileaks have revealed that the U.S. Government actively pressured the EU Competition Commissioner to approve Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems. The cable reveals that the U.S. went to great lengths to discover how the competition commissioner felt about the 'pro-competitive' nature of open source software and whether this would represent a threat to the US$7.4 billion deal."

2 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. It's only right! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why should the EU decide this on their own? It's better that the Worlds Remaining Superpower (tm) be there to ensure they make the right decision. And it's Oracle. What could possibly go wrong?

    1. Re:It's only right! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why shouldn't the US Government have an interest in a third parties decision affecting two large US companies?

      The problem is not that the US Government has an interest. The problem is they are encouraging the wrong side of the argument.

      The fact that anti-trust laws are being ignored at this level is the best example that our government has been completely co-opted by corporate interests. We are no longer a country for the people. Now we are a country for the corporations.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.