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A lot of dictators have either propped up a specific opposition. Sometimes the person being propped up knows they're a puppet. Sometimes they don't. I'm not ne
by aaomidi 5y ago
A lot of dictators have either propped up a specific opposition. Sometimes the person being propped up knows they're a puppet. Sometimes they don't.
I'm not necessarily saying that's what's happening here. But navanly isn't the savior that most russians would back. The really strong and unifying opposition though generally disappears.
- anonporridge 5y agoKind of like how Microsoft propped up Apple in the 90s. Gotta keep an illusion of competitiveness to avoid accumulating too many targets on your back.
- rasz 5y agoThey didnt, but they sure build great PR story around it over the years. Microsoft was involved in a lawsuit after paying one of Apple contractors to steal QuickTime code. "investing" in Apple was part of the settlement. https://www.theregister.com/1998/10/29/microsoft_paid_apple_150m/ https://www.theregister.com/1998/10/29/microsoft_paid_apple_... "David Boies, attorney for the DoJ, noted that John Warden, for Microsoft, had omitted to quote part of a handwritten note by Fred Anderson, Apple's CFO, in which Anderson wrote that "the [QuickTime] patent dispute was resolved with cross-licence and significant payment to Apple." The payment was $150 million. " https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5TdqfNE1QU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5TdqfNE1QU