I said Decline & Fall because Rome thrived as both a republic and as a dictatorship; it was only corrupt business practices that brought it down...

According to Mark Shuttleworth:

Microsoft is asking people to pay them for patents, but they won’t say which ones. If a guy walks into a shop and says: “It’s an unsafe neighbourhood, why don’t you pay me 20 bucks and I’ll make sure you’re okay,” that’s illegal. It’s racketeering. What Microsoft is doing with intellectual property is exactly the same.

more interesting language at:

http://mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=6672

also referred to at distrowatch:

http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20070618