[Chapter 740: The Trapped Rabbit]
[T/N: The gist of the removed part: Australia won the Olympics host for 2000 by a very close margin, without Kenya and Uganda, they would have lost. Because of the help from the U.S. democratic party for Australia, China started hating the U.S.]
...
"Sir, Tom's here."
"Uh-huh, let him in and bring me a latte with extra milk."
"Cough, okay, sir, just a moment."
Hearing this request, the assistant couldn't help but roll her eyes. He might as well just say he wanted a coffee made with milk.
"Tom, do you have any good news for me?"
"Sir, I finalized the deal with IBM. Sound cards, 3D accelerator cards -- we're entering into a full partnership."
"That's great! Damn it, they finally came around." William felt ecstatic; the Big Blue and Compaq were two entirely different entities, and they weren't as price-sensitive.
As for Dell, William really didn't know what to say. Without engaging in a price war, what would anchor their survival?
"Sir, it seems they won't be giving up on PCs after all. By the way, their laptop sales are doing quite well. They've also made new requests regarding LCD panels."
"Falling behind in speed, huh?"
"Yeah, brightness is an issue too. From what I hear, they're also looking into plasma display technology, which supposedly has a response time at least five times that of LEDs."
"No way; they were dreaming. Not to mention the energy consumption -- the laptops simply couldn't handle it. But do get the lab to step it up."
"Sure, sir. The laptop panels are quite a bit larger than the PSPs. Speaking of which, shouldn't we start developing the next generation of PSP?"
"We can. Let me give you a standard. Take what's on the PS3 and get it onto the PSP. And Tom, if you don't solve the power consumption problem, there's no point in even thinking about it."
Tom was taken aback; he never expected this step to be so enormous.
"Sir, that's not possible right now. The lab is researching it, but it won't be fast."
"Sigh, Tom, it's not that my stride is too big; it's that it can't be small anymore. Sony's game console is about to launch, and from what we gathered, they're working on something quite impressive."
"Wow, these guys are something else. With all those patent barriers, it's unbelievable that we still can't stop them."
"Ugh, the idiots over at the Justice Department must be thrilled. When that game console hits the market, let's send a floral arrangement on Sony's behalf to thank them. And remember, work quietly; no shooting."
Tom just didn't know what to say about the boss's morbid sense of humor. But if they promoted that, it would ironically feel quite satisfying.
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[Chapter 741: Being a Good Person Was Just Too Hard]
One moment, MJ was a respected philanthropist and famous singer, and the next, he had become a target of those he cared for.
Human nature couldn't withstand temptation. Forget about the poor; even William White couldn't rein in his greed if the lure was big enough. Well, it's not that he couldn't resist it, but the possibility was slim.
Marx had spoken plenty about this idea. Capital entered the world dripping with blood and filth from head to toe. It feared a lack of profit as much as nature feared a vacuum. Once there was enough profit, capital grew bolder. A profit margin of 10% would ensure it was used everywhere; 20% had it lively; 50% made it take risks. For 100% profit, it trampled on every human law; and if it promised a 300% profit, it had the audacity to commit any crime, even at the risk of the gallows. If chaos and strife could bring in profit, it encouraged such destruction. Smuggling and slave trading were proof of that.
People a century ago could articulate these principles clearly. If folks today didn't get it, they surely weren't cut out to be successful merchants.
"Hey boss, the MJ case has wrapped up. Should we continue? His music videos still had plenty of requests," Jason asked.
"Wrapped up? How could that be? There's no way they ruled that fast. If they delayed it, it would have taken at least two years," William replied.
"Boss, they settled out of court. Rumor has it MJ forked over at least twenty million."
"The lawyer Chandler brought in isn't a saint either. After raking in a big commission, he's running wild. He really doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut while showing off around those ladies," Jason added.
"Man, how could you handle it that way? MJ's lost his mind! This should have dragged on until the Chandlers went bankrupt. If they couldn't publicly apologize, they shouldn't have seen a penny."
William White's outlook differed sharply from Jason. He thought even if the money was a bit excessive, they could chalk it up to bad luck.
"Still, boss, he has a tour lined up, and if he canceled, the losses would be massive," Jason objected.
"Idiot, that couple is only after the money. If we push them to bankruptcy, they'll make the right choice," White asserted.
"Okay, what about us?"
"Well, what could we do? MJ was going to have it rough. This time was sensitive, so it wasn't the best idea to keep airing his stuff. Best to lay low for a while," he advised.
"Got it. I'll keep ignoring it."
"Of course, if no one paid up, many wouldn't believe it. At least half the people would believe otherwise. If you hadn't done anything, you wouldn't stump up twenty million."
With that, Jason's heart sank. He loved MJ's music and owned all his albums. William's words shattered his heart. When Jason heard about the twenty million, he himself had sensed something was off. With White being so straight about it, he couldn't argue with it any longer.
In truth, he searched his own conscience and began to doubt. Aside from the rabid fans, most Americans were probably thinking along the same lines.
"Geez, this couple planned to ruin MJ for twenty million," he murmured.
"Jason, it wasn't just them. There were all those lawyers, including MJ's own. This guy didn't think at all while pursuing an out-of-court settlement. He's dealing with a minor here -- what judge would ever agree to a settlement if there were real issues? The judge clearly didn't believe the Chandlers."
"Boss, dragging out this case would be in MJ's favor."
"Alright, it settled like this. MJ got played. If his people hadn't gotten involved, it wouldn't have turned out this way. Listen, if you're going to play, don't mess it up at the office. It's just too gross. Consider this a warning. If you have to get involved, at least sign a confidentiality agreement in advance."
"Understood, boss. Don't worry; these jerks really aren't playing nice."
William White wanted to tell Jason that as long as the outcome was satisfactory, nobody cared about the methods. MJ didn't have a happy childhood, and he wanted to ensure those kids had joy. From this perspective, White's ethics were painfully out of touch.
There was an old saying, good guys don't live long. Just look at it -- doing kind deeds while crying only displayed the peculiarities of the world.
So, White preferred to help animals. At least as long as he didn't head to Africa, they wouldn't bite him.
As for helping others, he figured it was best to steer clear of that. The risks were just too great.
When faced with such situations, the best move was to delay. Sure, your losses would be substantial, but the other party would suffer too. When both sides weren't making any progress to gain, the odds of them compromising leaped over ninety percent.
If you actually stuck with this, couldn't you just run? Didn't Roman Polanski do just that? The old guy's issues were already in the spotlight. Decades later, who would even remember what happened back then? Just look, it had all been hashed out, and no one broached the subject of making arrests.
In regards to MJ, he never claimed anything happened; he merely faced allegations of ill intent. If a lawyer couldn't handle a case like this, he might as well switch careers to become a mechanic.
...
William White estimated correctly; although the case was announced as resolved, the American public wasn't about to let MJ off that easily.
Amidst fabrications from those unscrupulous media outlets, MJ's reputation began to crumble. Stirring up that idiot lawyer at this stage wouldn't make any difference.
Crisis management? Yeah, that department needed some serious attention. The internet was still young enough that addressing these issues remained feasible. If they waited just a few years, though, it could become a real challenge.
Folks in America were definitely curious; by then, White Media was still silent.
Well, encountering an unconventional owner left one with no option. They had settled; who were they to criticize? Of course, they could go ahead and speculate all they wanted. As professional media, they wouldn't mistake guesses for facts.
It was all about dealing with William White. If another company dared to pull a stunt like this, other media outlets would line up to criticize.
As for White Media, their specialty lay in manipulating conflicts to create narratives. If they weren't careful, they could easily find themselves in hot water. The truth of the matter? Didn't they know what an out-of-court settlement meant? If serious crimes were involved, the judge would never sign off on a settlement.
*****
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