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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (21514)	11/6/2001 11:40:25 AM
From: David Lawrence	Respond to of 22053

Where's Rodney King when you need him? Can't we all just get along? I'm on the record as being critical of Microsoft's predatory business practices when conducted in a manner to be in violation of the law. However, this will be the third occurrence if the DOJ letting them off with a mild slap on the wrist after findings of blatant illegal practices on the part of Microsoft. I don't profess to know the fair and equitable solution, but consent decrees wherein Microsoft promises to change their illegal behavior obviously won't get the job done. Kudos to Gates and company for their success. Though I am critical of their methods, I can't really blame them for violating the law to achieve their agenda, since the benefits they have reaped for their shareholders far exceed any penalty imposed upon them thus far. Fool me once, same on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me a third time.........?

To: DMaA who wrote (21514)	11/6/2001 3:36:11 PM
From: Bill Ulrich	Respond to of 22053

Ah well, those offers are the "consumer" side of it, rather than my initial thought of Gates/Gotti handling of competitors. Nonetheless, those offers are somewhat oversimplified. The Gambino's (like any other LCN family) intention is to make as much money as possible. LCN income is generally derived from bid-rigging, skirting union regs (like running crews without union foremen and pocketing the difference), contract coalitions (unscrupulous adding of higher-priced drywall contracts, for example, to lowball concrete bids). Basic economic coercion very much in the manner of "Buy product A or I won't sell you product B." Corpses (or, more accurately, too many of them) are bad for business. Gotti's second-in-command, Sammy Gravano went into a great amount of detail about this in his FBI debriefs (the actual debrief forms, "FD-303s" are available at the Smoking Gun). thesmokinggun.com Seen specifically in this "business" light, Gotti's operation wasn't a lot different from Gates & Co. (the legality and ethics of methods like bid-rigging, etc...). Sure, some people got whacked, which is where their styles differed. Wholesale murder, however, brings about too much attention. It's usually reserved for people who snitch, or people who endanger the operation. An example would be one of Gravano's partners who wasn't keeping up with taxes, thus bringing a fair amount of IRS scrutiny on the partnership. So yeah, he's gone.