Posted on 06/29/2012 5:56:31 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Gunmen driving a van packed with gas canisters firebombed the Athens headquarters of Microsoft on Wednesday.
Fire gutted the ground floor of the blue four-story HQ of the U.S. software giant, blackening its walls with flames, on the eve of yet another European summit seeking a solution to a regional debt crisis first unleashed by Greece.
At least two attackers were involved in the sophisticated assault at 4.45 a.m. in Maroussi, a northern suburb of the sprawling Greek capital, police said.
Brandishing pistols and an automatic rifle, they kept security guards at bay and set fire to the van carrying three gas canisters and five cans of gasoline. No one was hurt in the early morning assault.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility and police said it was too early to say who was to blame. Suspicion, however, fell on left-wing militants, who have a long and violent history in Greece. Anti-terrorist units were investigating the incident.
Social tensions are rising in Greece over the harsh terms of an international bailout saving the country from bankruptcy but only at the cost of deep economic suffering.
The attacks usually take place at night and there have rarely been injuries, but three bank staff suffocated in May 2010 when protesters set their branch on fire during a protest march in central Athens.
The assault on Microsoft is a new headache for big multi-nationals in Athens already considering quitting the debt-ridden country because of unpaid bills, falling revenues and the prospect that Greece might be forced to leave the euro.
"They entered the office in a van ... in an effort to burn the whole place down," Ernst-Jan Stigter, general manager of Microsoft's Greek unit, told reporters on Wednesday. "We're grateful there were no injuries and all our crew is safe."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
And here I thought HP was angry about Surface.
Why Microsoft? I mean, besides the usual I hate Bill Gates stuff.
Were they shouting “Mac! Mac!” or “Linux! Linux!” ???
ROFLMAO!!!!
Awesome, more unemployed Greeks
Why didn’t they just break in and install Vista on their PCs?
Hahahahah! I just KNEW this thread would write its own posts...:)
Even the Greeks are pissed at Windows 7.
Beware Greeks bearing un-shrinkwrapped Windows 7.
Does that explain why people who bugger goats and sheep love their Apple products?
Clippy
Because Microsoft is against Trojan horses.
Apple Fanboyz!
HAHAHaHaHA!!!!! I laughed so hard the wife came in!
You’re bad... very very very bad!!!
The problem isn’t that they were an American company. The problem was that folks were actually working instead of milking the Germans.
“No one was hurt in the early morning assault.”
Thank God they had Windows Firewall enabled!
What’s this all about...just flew in from Greece and plopped down in front of my non-name brand computer with Ubuntu on it....MS got bombed??????
That’s just not right.
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