Is Microsoft an American Company? Or Is It Too Compromised?
What the FTC and Activision fight reveals about the software giant.
“Microsoft’s Steve Balmer has called Microsoft ‘an Israeli company as much as an American company’ because of the size and centrality of its Israeli teams.” — Dan Senor and Saul Singer, Start Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.
For those who have followed this Substack you won’t be the least bit surprised that the U.K. competition authority blocked the $69 billion Activision Blizzard-Microsoft deal.
We called this one and we got it right. We’ve been right a lot lately. Huh. Sometimes you really hit your stride. Let’s keep it going! I wrote this in January 2022: “Just Say No To the "Spiritual Opium" Pushers: End The Metaverse. Stop the Activision Blizzard-Microsoft Merger. Or Just Totally Regulate It.”
I’ve written at length about how Activision, which has its ties to the Chinese-Israeli mob and Steve Wynn especially, wasn’t going to be allowed to go much further.
Just as the British turned Facebook with Nick Clegg, so, too, will they turn Microsoft. I hope they ultimately turn Clearview, too, and would be happy to work with them to help advance AUKUS.
President and Vice Chairman of Microsoft Brad Smith attempted to morally blackmail the UK over the decision, implausibly claiming that the United Kingdom wasn’t open for business.
It’s not surprising, honestly. Close observers of Smith have known he’s anti-woman and very imperious in his management style.
It’s time for Microsoft to rethink its future.
Some years ago I pitched Microsoft’s venture arm on a genetics company — only to have them tell a friend that I wasn’t sufficiently pro-Israel and that there was concern that Microsoft’s engineers wouldn’t work with me. It was an extremely weird experience and I felt as if I was being mind raped.
There are a lot of problems at Microsoft that can’t really be solved without reimagining its future.
I think heads should roll — starting with Smith’s and maybe even Satya Nadella’s.
Maybe it’s time for an entirely new leadership? Let’s have a woman do it.
It’s time.
Let’s have the women run all the major tech companies.
Sheryl Sandberg would be pleased in her retirement. That is, when she isn’t working for foreign intelligence services or dating Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.