Bill Gates Donates $3 Billion to Charity

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Just because he is poor, he is not entitled to use a computer? That’s ignorance at its best.

Ignorance at its best is you putting words into my mouth. I never said that. My whole arguement is that Bill Gates is helping himself more than he is helping other people. Are others being helped. Yes. Who is ultimately beneffiting the most? Mr. Gates. That is my point.

I’m sure you have a ton of links for that aslo

Your ridicule is infuriating, but im sure that is its purpose…

By the way, did you read that last link, or was the title enough for you to make up your mind? Or hey, i posted it, so it must be flawed, right??

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I only respond to what you wrote. I’m not sure how else one can interpret what you wrote above? How is it going to benefit him - I answered it in my previous post. Would it be better if he did not know how to access a computer? Or if he did not get vaccinated? Or if he does not have books in a library?

I briefed through your article…I unfortunately read all the ones that get posted. Bill Gates donated money. Rockefeller donated money. Therefore, Bill Gates = Rockefeller. Rockefeller = evil. Bill Gates = evil.

I don’t follow such logic for it is flawed at its core :stuck_out_tongue:

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“How the hell is a kid that comes from a family that has an income of less than a dollar per day going to benefit from having access to a computer??”

does not equate to:

“Poor people have no rights to access computers…”

Speaking of flawed logic, you summed up that article with this equation: Bill Gates donated money. Rockefeller donated money. Therefore, Bill Gates = Rockefeller. Rockefeller = evil. Bill Gates = evil.

Please read and comprehend. It was a comparison that illustrated the authors point. His point wasn’t the comparison alone. His point was that, Bill Gates, like Rockefeller, uses PR campaigns to convince the masses that he is a good guy. It apparently works on some people…

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hehe - getting various world issues confused now, aren’t we?

It’s PR to you for you have never witnessed any of things first hand besides an online article. Again, I am only writing what you mention.

I have witnessed first hand what happens. What you see as “PR”, I see it as an inner-city library in Birmingham that received computer access, a poor child in India that got vaccinated against polio, and a school in rural AL that got computers.

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That inner-city library in Birmingham that received computer access, while arguably beneficial to the local kids, also helped to line the pockets of the company that sold those computers, and services. That poor child in India that got vaccinated against polio helped to make an American pharmaceutical company richer, and cheated the local, more affordable generic drug company out of what would have been a big contract for such an underadvantaged company.

As far as that school in rural AL that got computers - I didn’t know Alabama even had electricty. Good for them… :stuck_out_tongue:

seeing as how we will never see eye to eye on this, i wish to re-iterate my final point, which tended to get lost in my irate blatherings on about the international elite, and their plans to remain at the pinnacle of the worldwide class system through the use of propoganda techniques, and PR compaigns that masquerade as news, in order to dominate those on the lower rungs of society: I am disgusted by the fact that the love of money (greed) trumps humanitarian values every time.

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hehe - reality majeye is different than what you read from those sources you claim as real journalists. You should see reality sometime. She is a cool person :slight_smile:

  1. The vaccines from what I saw were from an Indian pharma company - Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories to be more specific that actually make cheaper generic versions of US drugs. They even trade in the US stock market, but I’m sure you knew that. The doctors were rural doctors who got the training to treat such cases in the future. I guess your “real journalists” never bothered to mention this in their tirade.

EDIT: Bill Gates’s organization provided the funding for the vaccines and the training. Not sure why the local pharma. company wouldn’t do this out of their own charity without relying on outside help. Bad company. Bad!

  1. A school/library that did not have a computer previously now has it due to the generosity of a few organizations including the Gates Foundation. The computers were heavily subsidized by Dell. Believe it or not, Dell donated the hardware, MS donated the software, and the Gates foundation helped provide the training for the people to help run it. I am not sure how a company that sells something for zero economic profit would make a lot of money or line these mysterious pockets :stuck_out_tongue:

  2. Sweet Home Alabama!

These are only a few of the examples that probably go on daily by charitable organization such as the Bill Gates foundation. I have no doubt that if such things happened in AL and India, that it does not happen elsewhere.

:gm:

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well the article i read was regarding the pharmaceutical methods in africa, not india, which neither of us are in a position to comment on, without quoting outside sources.

i made an assumption that the pharmaceuticals you were referring to, were coming from an American company, however, my assumption was wrong. (well, not technically, if you say they trade in the US stock market…)

You obviously know more about the great things the Bill Gates Foundation does than i ever will, as i have never seen firsthand their charity work, save for the PR releases that get passed off as news. Honestly, i do not believe that BG is or will ever be a decent person. A cunning and brilliant cut-throat business man that is at the top of his game? Yes. A good hearted person who generally cares? Sorry, no. That is my belief, and sometimes i base my arguements on my beliefs, and they (the arguements) can turn out to be wrong. It does not make my beliefs wrong (or right), but it does make me feel stupid for stepping out on a limb, and making an assumption when i do not know the facts.

EDIT: “Bill Gates’s organization provided the funding for the vaccines and the training.”

[COLOR=Red]Well look at it this way… When Bill Gates donates money to his own charity, and that charity uses that money to buy a bunch of MS software, for donation to a local school, where does that money end up?? Back in Bill Gates hands… [/COLOR]

can you feel my outrage?? :scream:

Regarding sources:

The sources that i read often portray the opposite side of the story that is trumpeted by every mainline media source, and therefore, i put more stock into what they say, simply because more often than not, they are not allowed to say it. Such is the case with Palast’s reporting - an American Investigative Journalist, reduced to writing for British papers, as American publishments are too tightly controlled by mega-corporations to print his work.

Crap on michael moore all you want (hell, i’ll even help you), but i really do think that Greg Palast has got his stuff together. Of course, anyone with a right-leaning political bias will not be able to admit this, just as someone with a left-leaning political bias will never admit that sometimes Bill O’Reilly can make some good points…

41

It’s all good :slight_smile:

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  1. A school/library that did not have a computer previously now has it due to the generosity of a few organizations including the Gates Foundation. The computers were heavily subsidized by Dell. Believe it or not, Dell donated the hardware, MS donated the software, and the Gates foundation helped provide the training for the people to help run it. I am not sure how a company that sells something for zero economic profit would make a lot of money or line these mysterious pockets

Well…when this person, who used a computer in a library, goes out and gets him/herself a job and buys themself a new computer of there very own. Chances are they are going to buy M$ because that is what they know. So he’s not getting cash for it now, but he’s planting seeds to ensure he gets it later.

But I don’t know what all the hubbub about this $3 billion donation to his own endowment is all about. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was worth $20+ billion before this…so the foundation has been planting seeds as stated above for quite some time.

and regarding that whole “eat or be eaten/business is business” thing…there are plenty of businesses in the world that are successful without having to resort to cheap predatory tactics such as M$ does. Yes the business world is cruel and unforgiving. but that is no excuse for a business owner to be unethical in there practices and dealings.

43

This really is great to see.

I like Bill Gates - just dont like Windows.

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Can you name one tech company that is like that? :stuck_out_tongue:

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Umm…all flavors of Linux from Gentoo to Debian to SuSe to even Redhat

And apple as far as I know.

If you have a decent product with a good business ethic behind it there is no reason or need to use cheap tactics to get ahead.

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Those aren’t even companies. The number of people using them is extremely low. They still have a ways to go before any of the companies that make Linux are successful. The technology is good though.

Apple has a monopoly on their hardware. You can’t use their software on other non-Apple hardware. I think a few companies tried that - the Apple clones - and they were taken down by the courts - I think. Either way, they are no more :stuck_out_tongue:

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Those aren’t even companies. The number of people using them is extremely low. They still have a ways to go before any of the companies that make Linux are successful. The technology is good though.

You contradicted yourself :stuck_out_tongue:

but anyway, what constitutes a company?

Redhat Linux is a very lucrative and profitable company that puts out a very good product. Its the M$ of the linux world.

All I was trying to say was, business is business…is not, and should not, be the normal modus operundi…but it unfortunatly is. The big companies are big because of there dirty tactics. Do whatever it takes to get ahead has become an acceptable business practice. I think this is why alot of people have beef with M$ and Bill Gates.

48

I should have clarified. I forgot to mention Red Hat and even SuSE as a company in the second sentence where I said that they have yet to be as successful as some of their competitors such as IBM or Sun :stuck_out_tongue:

Of course. All companies will do whatever it takes to ensure that they are the ones at the top. Once you get to the top such as an Intel or MS, you will try to defend your territory.

I think the difference is that I don’t see anything wrong with that. I have no problem with Apple making their hardware and software only operate on their systems. If I were them, I would to the same thing. I have no problem with IBM strongly urging companies they consult to use only their systems even if cheaper systems exist. If (alphabetically) Apple/IBM/Intel/MS/Sun/etc. did not do what many consider as predatory practices, another company would come right in and pull the rug under them and take their business away.

Capitalism will always be like that, and part of that quick reflex mentality is what makes it thrive and innovate newer better things.

49

Hehe this might be mean but I just found it on bash.org:

<gofer-chan> What’s the difference between Bill Gate’s wife and a computer?
<gofer-chan> A computer doesn’t mind taking a 3 1/2 floppy.

50

I would do the same thing if I had 1.1 billion shares in microsoft ;).

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:stuck_out_tongue: - Kirupa i find this a bit off putting. It seems to take away the seriousness of what you are posting and turns it into a bit of a joke.

Am i being picky?

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Which post :stuck_out_tongue: At least half of the posts in this thread here are off-topic hehe.

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I guess i just have a problem with that smiley. It should die.