“Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was egged by a protester during a speech he gave at a Hungarian University,” Matt Asay reports for CNET.
“As this video shows, the protester rose to his feet to challenge Microsoft for stealing billions in Hungarian taxpayer money, then started hurling eggs at Ballmer, who was forced to take cover behind a desk,” Asay reports.
Steve Balmer egged (angle 1):
Direct link to video via YouTube here.
Steve Balmer egged (angle 2):
Direct link to video via YouTube here.
Asay’s full blog post via CNET here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Pyeman” for the heads up.]
Ahh, the memories. Hopefully, those eggs were properly aged. Too bad the protester wasn’t more closely related to Al Hrabosky.
A bit off topic:
OK, I was thinking about it the other day, and if I were a chicken, how would I feel if another species came and grabbed me, stuffed me in a cage, pumped steroids into me, and then forced me to push out some eggs? And then some asshat throws my precious eggs at a CEO? It’d be natural to hate humans.
Maybe I’m reading too much into this…
That was pretty lame.
AND… He MISSED!
Sheesh.
He could have used the whole chicken
Great idea! Time for a new tradition:
Rubber chickens all over the stage, wherever Ballmer speaks.
The idea is not to actually HIT Ballmer (even assclowns of his magnitude don’t deserve it). Just have the audience pull out rubber chickens & toss them on the stage. Think of them as ovation flowers for Ballmer.
Maybe he can dance with them or something.
@ precedent
I like that idea! No assault, just silly actions to get peoples’ attention. And rubber chickens are always funny.
I definitely don’t want to see Ballmer do the Chicken Dance, though.
Not funny.
Ballmer may be a bozo, but we DON’T need anyone hurt or killed, which easily could’ve happened. As a tech community, we’re very lucky the attacker chose a few mostly harmless eggs.
Expect tight security at addresses from now on, including WWDC. Mark my words.
[Actually, no one was hurt; the thrower came off looking stupid; and Ballmer even got to come off smelling of roses, keeping his suit clean and passing it all off with a quip. I can’t take it as a serious matter.
And while it’s not the thing to do it does tell you something about what people have taken from Microsoft and how they feel. I sympathize with the Hungarians over this one.]
What I was looking for.
To be clear, I do not condone violence. Heated debates (read: shouting matches) are better. Eventually, everyone calms the hell down. And brains enter the converstion. People get to explore in other’s P-O-V.
Anyway, I keep thinking that all THREE eggs, were SUPPOSED to miss? Could this action have been a Hungarian “I fart in your general direction”?
“Those eggs might be the only things in that room that have been laid.”
Ampar, that was classic! Real “milk-thru-the-nose” funny! Sounds, tho, like it should have been uttered by Triumph the Insult Dog.
PS- I posted what I think was the first anti-egg-thrower comment in this thread. I came back to find out badly I’d been flamed for not rejoicing in Ballmer’s victimization, only to find that the same sentiment is shared by the vast majority here. Nice to see.
Yeah, that guy is an Asshole. And the guy who throw eggs at him is too.
He would have been safer hiding under a big a$$ table (aka Surface), but he didn’t bring one of those portable beauties with him.
Which came first, the Ballmer or the egg?
Bah he missed him, better ask Noel Godin for help next time.
he lives just next door (i’m in Brussels), crazy guy, but very good at throwing pies (see Bill Gates)
Hi I’m a mac… And I’m an Omlette!
Yeah, right.
If you run out of arguments, just throw an egg or two.
Thankfully, the guy wasn’t wearing a Linux or Applet-shirt. That would have been … embarrassing.
As others have said, this seems to be one of the few Balmer videos where he doesn’t come out like a complete ass-clown at the end.
Just think how absurd this is.
He really handled the situation very well.
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Maybe they have a training room for high-level execs somewhere in Redmond where they are standing in front of a tennis volley-training machine and getting softballs thrown at them?
That was a pretty stupid stunt, and I’m sure had very little effect on Ballmer or Microsoft’s policies. He would have had more respect had he stood up and asked intelligent questions challenging Microsoft’s Hungarian sales policies.
However, just asking intelligent questions wouldn’t have gotten him on YouTube or MDN.
What the eggers argument?
Why does he think MicroSoft has stolen billions of Hungarian tax payers dollars? I didn’t notice any links to back his statement.
not a taser in sight…just mosey on out…scuse me…this way please…
egg-septionally amazing
chicken bet ballmer wont forget this in a while
so did ballmer cross the road to prove he wasn’t a chicken?
Don’t make a hero out of that kid. His actions were disrespectful not only of the speaker but also of his fellow students.
His actions were disgraceful and should be condemned, not lauded.
That guy is wasting the tax payers money. Stop wasting eggs!!!!
Throw iron balls instead………………
Hay u guys, Ballmer may be is a spy from Apple.
He is now trying to dammage Micro$oftie’s image.
Once Microsoft go burst……., he will return back and work for Steve.
Ah typical behaviour. I think Hungary withdrew from the terroristic AENUS (Australia, England N United States) alliance somwhere around 2004 and what happened during that exchange sure shows the difference.
Note how the Hungarian student had the courtesy and decency to address Ballmer in English.
In typical AENUS behaviour, all I heard was Ballmer go on in English, sheesh, not even the official language of Hungary. I may have missed it but I did not see a translator there. Typical behaviour of members of that despot terrorist alliance.
Elvez
Blue Dream,
Explosives in paper boxes? In Australia we called them bungers and we used them to blow up mail boxes. Such pleasant memories in the dark ages before home computers. They banned them because some idiots forgot to throw the explosives and took off part of their hands instead. Ah salad days!
As for the egg throwing incident if there is a valid reason for that kind of protest then I don’t have a problem with it. However Ballmer didn’t deserve it and he handled it well…until he started that nervous pacing. Now that’s pretty scary.
“Reality is that it easily could have been a gun.”
wait this happened in america? change the headline!
“”Why isn’t forcing a Windows tax/lock-in on businesses … similar to … companies selling cigarettes … in the third world?”
I don’t know. Is it because Windows doesn’t actually kill you or give you lung cancer, emphysema, peripheral vascular disease, heart disease, even gangrene?”
oh, i don’t know, i am pretty sure windows has caused its fair share of help desk suicides….
I can’t imagine being that pissed off at Ballmer unless I was a MSFT shareholder.
-jcr