Talk:The Independent Institute
Later I will dig a little more in the The Independent Institute's 990 forms at Guidestar (EIN: 94-3008370)
Some more info about Microsoft payment to TII in relation the full-page ads on June 2, 1999 in the New York Times and the Washington Post that can later be used in the article about TII.
From an article in the Washington Post:
ORACLE ADMITS TO PROBE; COMPANY PAID FOR DIRT ON MICROSOFT
ROBERT O'HARROW JR.
WASHINGTON POST STAFF WRITER
Thursday, June 29, 2000 ; Page E01
....
IGI said in a statement that it "abides by a rigorous code of professional ethics and conducts all of its investigations in a lawful manner."Oracle hired the investigators a year ago to examine the activities of the Independent Institute, a California think tank that opposes government regulation of market activity. The group had bought advertisements in The Washington Post and the New York Times that purported to show the breadth of support Microsoft enjoyed among academic figures.
The agency went through the group's trash and found documents showing that Microsoft had donated more than $200,000 to the group, an Oracle spokesman said yesterday. The investigators also found a letter from the group to Microsoft describing the costs of the ads, he added.
Microsoft's support "has not altered any aspect of the substance or conclusions of our consistent and indeed independent work," said the group's president, David Theroux.
The private investigators also went through the trash of the National Taxpayers Union, a group that said the government's antitrust case caused state pension funds to lose value, according to an Oracle spokesman. Microsoft has given the National Taxpayers Union $215,000 in software over the past two years. [1]
From an article in TechTV
Alex Tabarrok, research director for the Independent Institute, told TechTV in June of 1999 that his group placed the ads supporting Microsoft's position in the antitrust case because, "it's ludicrous for the government to apply antitrust actions to the high tech industries, which we know everyone can see are being extremely successful and for the government to do this, threatens our dominant position in the world."
At the time, [Tabarrok] denied Microsoft was affiliated with the group. [2]
Bonzai 19:51, 24 Jun 2004 (EDT)
