General Discussion

alfredo

(60,302 posts)

6. His giving grew out of the PR nightmare of the anti trust case against MS in the late 90's.

Thu Jul 5, 2012, 12:12 PM

Jul 2012

The only thing that really saved his ass was the selection of bush in 2000. In negotiations over the penalties, MS got more than they asked for. It just happened that Gates had given $5,000 to John Ashcroft's failed Senate bid, so there was little chance Ashcroft was going to bite the hand that fed him. (I think the deal he made with Apple was tied to his anti trust case. A bankrupt Apple would make the government's case stronger.)

If your school or your government wanted aid from Gates, you had to dump all Macs, and all UNIX/Linux machines and run Windows machines and the long term contracts that were bundled with them. In the end, the gift ended up costing more than you received in aid. It seems from the report, he has expanded his list of companies (Monsanto for one) taking part in the scam.

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The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is not as pure as it seems. [View all] alfredo Jul 2012 OP

"Since Gates believes sustainable health systems must be privately profitable," hedgehog Jul 2012 #1

His giving grew out of the PR nightmare of the anti trust case against MS in the late 90's. alfredo Jul 2012 #6

Why does he not put that much effort into his own country, USA? xtraxritical Jul 2012 #19

We might not be as easy to manipulate, or maybe we have a functioning court system. alfredo Jul 2012 #28

he's putting loads of money into the effort to destroy teachers' unions and privatize and computer- HiPointDem Jul 2012 #29

What an ass. alfredo Jul 2012 #31

I've seen interviews with the Gates and Buffet on this. Honeycombe8 Jul 2012 #46

yeah, right. that's why unicef and others pay *more* for vaccines, cause bill wants to help HiPointDem Jul 2012 #52

They've spent their $ saving lives. Period. No getting around that. That's a wonderful thing. Honeycombe8 Jul 2012 #53

no, they've spent *your* money. bill gates doesn't spend his money on doing good, he spends HiPointDem Jul 2012 #54

excellent handmade34 Jul 2012 #2

He Does. Mostly Into Charter Schools AndyTiedye Jul 2012 #20

Shocked. Shocked, I am. knitter4democracy Jul 2012 #3

This literally comes as no surprise. Bill Gates is an UBER-control freak, in everything and.... Raster Jul 2012 #4

Never been a fan of Gates at Microsoft or now in his effort to push the worker visa in America. progressivebydesign Jul 2012 #5

Apple does not advertise on Fox news nor support Monsanto Ichingcarpenter Jul 2012 #7

apple supports education deform & the bono scam 'project red' which is tied into the gates post- HiPointDem Jul 2012 #25

The more one digs... the scarier Gates and Co. loom. Smarmie Doofus Jul 2012 #8

Rarely does too much money NOT lead to less than honorable dabblings. so, not surprised. NRaleighLiberal Jul 2012 #9

Arundhati Roy has written at length about the way pholanthropic organizations redqueen Jul 2012 #10

I totally dislike him and his crap on his penitence for his wealth Ichingcarpenter Jul 2012 #13

Yes, he is fucking evil. redqueen Jul 2012 #14

Yep, and he's arrogant enough to think he knows how to grow crops... drokhole Jul 2012 #51

For example: Reader Rabbit Jul 2012 #17

Thanks for reminding me of "Sinfest." alfredo Jul 2012 #32

I'm constantly amazed at people's constant amazement upon discovering that this a$$hole Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #11

Please Explain erpowers Jul 2012 #16

Here's an easy start for you. Read up on Dr. DOS and Netscape. These are just two Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #21

OK, what is your version of the Dr. DOS story? I will be waiting. Logical Jul 2012 #35

"My version"? Go away microserf. n/t Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #37

LOL, in other words, you have no clue about the DOS or Dr. DOS story. Classic BS! n-t Logical Jul 2012 #38

In other words I've heard everything you have to say since they first wrote it for you in the 80's. Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #42

LOL....jealous much. Yes, spending billions to stop Malaria is horrible. n-t Logical Jul 2012 #34

And Kim Jong Il had excellent taste in wine. Is there a point to your reply? n/t Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #39

Yes, my point is Gates has done a lot of good for many people. Unlike most billionaires. Logical Jul 2012 #41

He may in fact not be the worst billionaire on earth, I can think of others off the top of my head, Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #43

It never seemed pure to anyone with any sense. Daemonaquila Jul 2012 #12

The low information citizen doesn't always look behind the curtain. alfredo Jul 2012 #30

No one is pure. I don't recall anyone saying the Gates are pure. But his foundation is saving lives. Honeycombe8 Jul 2012 #48

This message was self-deleted by its author devilgrrl Jul 2012 #15

Haven't you noticed the trend? Larry Elison, the M$Apple gang of 5, Bezos, Cuban, Zuckerberg, Son, Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #22

This message was self-deleted by its author devilgrrl Jul 2012 #23

I think the main focus here is on M$. But they are all interchangeable. n/t Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #24

steve jobs *was* an asshole, & apple's philanthropy supports the same type of thing gates' does. HiPointDem Jul 2012 #26

Gee, what ARE the odds... Guitarzan Jul 2012 #18

hopefully people are losing the blinders about things labeled 'philanthropy'. a long time coming. HiPointDem Jul 2012 #27

The Gates Foundation seems pure? Brickbat Jul 2012 #33

No doubt Gates has saved millions of people with his Malaria efforts. Jesus, are people clueless! Logical Jul 2012 #36

This is a concerted campaign to drag the Gates Foundation through the mud, I think. Honeycombe8 Jul 2012 #49

Is ANYTHING as pure as it seems? randome Jul 2012 #40

My S. O. works for the WHO. He and all the people he works with will be horrified.... DCKit Jul 2012 #44

Well, you sound like you're privy to more details than me. randome Jul 2012 #47

Fraud! Pizz Jul 2012 #45

Not a good article...poorly researched and dubious conclusions Godhumor Jul 2012 #50