Bill Gates donating $10B for vaccines

[bik0]

Bill and Melinda Gates make $10bn vaccine pledge

Bill and Melinda Gates have already donated $4.5bn for vaccines
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have said they will donate £10bn (£6.2bn) over the next 10 years to develop and deliver new vaccines.
Mr Gates, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said the aim was to see 90% of children in developing countries immunised.
Over the past 10 years, the couple's charity has committed $4.5bn (£2.78bn) to the development of vaccines.
The World Health Organization called the commitment "unprecedented".

Mr Gates said that by increasing immunisation coverage in poorer countries to 90% it should be possible to save the lives of 7.6 million children under five between 2010 and 2019.

'Incredible impact'
"We must make this the decade of vaccines," he said in a statement.
"Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before."
He said money was needed to make the most of new vaccines now becoming available, including ones against severe diarrhoea and pneumonia.
Melinda Gates added: "Vaccines are a miracle. With just a few doses, they can prevent deadly diseases for a lifetime.
"We've made vaccines our number one priority at the Gates Foundation because we have seen first hand their incredible impact on children's lives."
Margaret Chan, head of the World Health Organization, said it was an unprecedented contribution and urged governments and private donors to add to the initiative.
"An additional two million deaths in children under five years could be prevented by 2015 through widespread use of new vaccines and a 10% increase in global vaccination coverage," she said.

http://goo.gl/hvPe

[earth mom]

1. Bet the pharma giants are happy and gleeful to hear this answer to their greedy prayers. nt

[CreekDog]

2. oh just save it

spare me the talk against vaccines.

it just advertises a single digit IQ.

[mzteris]

3. bet the people dying of diseases

that can be prevented are pretty damn happy, too. . .

[no limit]

4. Yeah, lets let the poor die because you have a problem with big pharma

Grow the fuck up.

[sharp_stick]

6. Man it sure didn't take long

to squeeze that pant load of purposefully mis-informed bullshit all over the place did it?

[SidDithers]

8. Bet unvaccinated kids in the third world are happier than the pharma companies...nt

Sid

[spanone]

10. bet folks needing the vaccines are happier

[uppityperson]

24. Yup, let all them poor kids die because you have a problem with vx makers.

good grief. Is that ALL you have to say about getting lifesaving vaccines for that many kids? Shame on you. "earth mom" perhaps but fuck the people?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

32. yes, i am sure they are thrilled esp cos vaccines are the one area where they make LEAST amount of

profit.

i am sure they are doing a gig.

[earth mom]

57. Big pharma makes the big bucks on vaccines-don't kid yourself. nt

[SimonPhoenix]

59. Let's see the evidence

Everything I've read concurs with the previous poster's assertion that vaccines offer some of the lowest profit margins for Big Pharm when compared to their brand name drugs marketed on television. The latter are the biggest money makers for pharm companies.

So show some evidence for your claim because right now you're sounding ridiculous.

Believing something is true doesn't make it true, earth mom. How's the garden coming? I hope you're not using any pesticides.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

71. i dont kid myself. i think you should start looking at numbers

instead of delving in paranoia

[uppityperson]

74. Proof of that is needed. They make money off name drugs, not vaccines.

If you truly believe otherwise, you should be able to come up with something showing that.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

40. I love it when anti-vaccers get their comeuppance.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

53. lol

:hi:

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[earth mom]

56. FYI-Calling people names is against DU rules. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

60. It's a shame anti-vaxxer shit isn't.

It's worse than just name calling. Ethically and intellectually speaking.

[SimonPhoenix]

63. AMEN

nt

[LeftishBrit]

64. Being prepared to let children in poor countries die as 'collateral damage' in the war against

pharma also ought to be banned!

[Name removed]

76. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[earth mom]

55. Where in the hell did I ever say that?! You've got a lot of fucking nerve. nt

[SimonPhoenix]

58. Do I?

One angry response to my post and twelve to yours. Even if you didn't mean it the way people thought you did (and I agreed with them that you're probably one of those "vaccines cause autism" people), your comment was still ridiculous. The topic of the article wasn't pharm company profits, it was Bill Gates being extraordinarily generous and helping save the lives of tens of millions of children in developing countries. Do you think you'll help as many with the CO2 you emit?

[earth mom]

81. I speak for those who have been harmed by vaccines because often they can't speak for themselves.

FYI-I've never said that I am against vaccines.

I believe that vaccines should NOT be given as one size fits all.

And I also believe that there is a huge profit motive in play and that is why there have been no real INDEPENDENT studies to find out why so many children turn up with Autism AFTER their vaccinations.

Further, I could give a rats ass if there are millions of people fighting me over this issue here on DU or elsewhere.

Do any of you really think that those of us who are sure that the pharma giants have screwed over our loved ones would give up just because some people on a message board are bullies and find sport in ganging up on us, calling us names and spiting their hatred at us while at the same time calling us the haters?

Nope, don't think so.

Never Give Up-I learned that the first week I joined DU.

[SimonPhoenix]

82. How do you explain the children who have autism

that were never vaccinated? You can't. So you're forced to resort to claiming that vaccines cause an increased risk of autism. Where is the evidence?

[earth mom]

83. There were children born with autism before & after the epidemic.I speak to the huge spike in autism

that has increased every year after 1989 when the vaccine schedule was increased.

Autism used to strike 1 in 10,000, now it strikes 1 in 91.


So where's the INDEPENDENT and UNBIASED evidence that autism is NOT triggered by vaccines?

[SimonPhoenix]

No, no, see, you've already LOST.

The burden of proof is on YOU, earth mom. Correlation does NOT equal causation.

The increase in the autism rate is partially the result of different diagnostic patterns, and the rest could very well have something to do with environmental factors, but NOT vaccines. It could be pollution, it could be vitamin deficiencies (not like today's American diet is balanced), it could be make-up worn by mothers (with more working and thus putting on make-up you would presumably have more infant/toddler exposure), and it could be everyday household chemicals as well. But to immediately conclude that the cause is vaccines is quite ridiculous, when study after study hasn't shown the link you claim exists.

Again, the burden of proof is on you. Take a logic class.

[eqfan592]

91. Firstly, where is the evidence that the "huge spike" occured in the first place?

You claim it to be so, but forgive me if that's not good enough by itself.

Second, if such a spike did occur and if it DID correlate with the vaccine schedule increase, one must remember that correlation does not equal causation.

Also, is there not evidence that shows that the increase in Autism diagnosis may have more to do with doctors understanding what autism is more-so now than they did in the past, and thus correctly diagnosing it more often than they once did? This would seem to me to be the far more logical and likely scenario than anything in vaccines.

[LeftishBrit]

62. So you would let millions of children die just to punish Pharma?

Vaccinations against the major preventable diseases are a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT!

[SimonPhoenix]

65. Not if the companies producing them make a tiny profit

In fact, everything earth mom has said in this thread is wrong.

See here:

http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba655

In fact, pharm profits on vaccines are so low (when analyzed by an independent think tank and compared to other pharm products) that this helps explain some of the shortages.

Yet when someone chips in $10 billion to help get vaccines to children in developing countries, earth mom's first instinct isn't to thank him for his generosity and celebrate the millions kids that will grow up without devastating illnesses, but rather to bash pharm companies.

What does that tell you?

[Hippo_Tron]

68. Casket makers are also a big industry!

They even sell them at Wal-Mart now...

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Supreme-Distinction-Steel-Casket/12568630

[SimonPhoenix]

85. Can't wait to see the reviews

"Well, Harold seemed to like the casket just fine- he looked happy lying there."

[SemiCharmedQuark]

73. Oh good. At least we got *this* out of the way early.

:eyes:

[Maru Kitteh]

78. I think you might be one of the most selfish posters on DU, and that's really saying something.

You would deny life to tens of thousands of innocent children all for your irrationally intense hatred of the pharmaceutical industry. How shallow. How ugly.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

86. Not tens of thousands - MILLIONS

An estimated 7.6 million according to the article.

[Maru Kitteh]

92. Ugh. I was trying to be grossly modest in my statement but you are correct.

making it yet more obscene.

[Raine]

79. I HATE big pharma but that's just ridiculous. nt

[MilesColtrane]

5. That's like me donating $4,000.

I applaud you, Mr. Gates, but you've got another 40 billion to go and you're 54 years old.

Clock's ticking if you really are going to divest yourself before you die.

[spanone]

12. silly...the man just gave 10 fucking BILLION dollars

[MilesColtrane]

15. 1/5 of anyone's net worth is a very generous gift.

But consider, he could, if he wished, give 98% of his wealth away to worthy causes and still be a billionaire

Of course, if he did that he'd no longer be able to call himself, "The World's Richest Man".

[rem3006]

33. And what percentage of your net worth did you give for vaccines?

And how much did you give towards the fight against malaria which he has done for years?

[lib_wit_it]

95. Precisely! I'd love to see him throw a great deal of that money toward implementing universal health

care in the US. Yes, I guess I am selfish, as there is so much his money could do, but it can't do everything.

[Rebubula]

18. Sooooo...

...did you donate that 4K????

If not, please kindly be quiet....the adults are talking.

He has already promised that 98% of his wealth will go to charity.

[MilesColtrane]

26. Sadly, no.

A much larger percentage of my income goes toward housing, food, bills, etc. than Mr. Gates'.

I give what I can...it's not enough.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

27. have you donated $4000?

[Political Heretic]

36. I understand where you are coming from at first glance, but a closer look

suggests that this guy has given away about half of his accumulated wealth over the years (though admittedly such a guesstimate is difficult seeing as how his estimated wealth has fluctuated so dramatically over time) - don't forget that he's still making money, not just spending money he's made.

I want to repeat that - the guy is sill making money, not just offloading wealth he's already made.

The Gates Foundation is worth about 25 billion dollars on top of personal commitments like these.

Believe me, I'm not trying to paint Gates as a saint or suggest that part of the problems in our society are that one man can amass such a disporportionate amount of wealth while there are children in America are too poor to be fed. But of all the people we could look at to talk about what's wrong with people - he's a lot lower on the list than many wealthy Americans we could discuss.

Unless your interest is in nothing more than just hating people with money, simply because they have it. And that's what doesn't impression. Basic, simplistic "I hate rich people" attitudes may be fine for some.

But that's not my interest.

[Maru Kitteh]

80. OMG. You didn't just imply that 56 is *old* did you?

Get back to your homework kid, the grownups are talking now.

[MilesColtrane]

87. 56 isn't young, or even middle aged.

Granted Gates will have the best health care that money can buy, but unless medical tech evolves to the point that he's able to keep his living head in a jar a la Futurama he's closer to the end than the beginning, just like me.

[Maru Kitteh]

93. Your suggestion that he would do more good by giving away the greatest portion of his worth now

far before the end of his financial life lacks even rudimentary economic sense.

[leftstreet]

7. How far would $10B go toward clean water, sanitation, malnutrition?

:shrug:

[earth mom]

9. + 10 Billion. nt

[anonymous171]

11. Or sustainable development projects?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

21. Which the foundation already donates towards...

...not that anybody here cares.

[cali]

13. not nearly as far as it will toward vaccines.

[naaman fletcher]

69. Sorry he didn't donate his ten billion exactly the way you want. piss off. /nt

[Rebubula]

14. LOLZ

The man just gave 10 FREAKING BILLION DOLLARS and you are bitching about where it is not being spent....


Some people will never be happy I guess....

[leftstreet]

17. Who's bitching? I just asked a question

:shrug:

Don't be so sensitive

:-)

[Rebubula]

19. Sorry...

...too many times on this board I see posts like that and they piss me off.

Why cannot some people simply be happy that someone with wealth is actually helping out instead of questioning the motives\amount\etc?

Perhaps 'bitching' was not the correct word....

[MilesColtrane]

22. "Why cannot some people simply be happy..."

It stems from my belief that allowing someone to amass such a staggering personal fortune and then waiting for them to have a philanthropic epiphany is not the best way to ease the ills of a society.

I'd rather tax the hell out of the rich and have the government redistribute that money to the people and programs that need it most.

[Rebubula]

25. Luckily...

...for us you are not in charge.

Gates has been giving out BILLIONS every year to a variety of causes.

Oh....so you TRUST the government to distribute money and not wastefully....LOL.

[MilesColtrane]

28. You're not one of those anti-government, anti-welfare teabaggers, are you?

[leftstreet]

31. ...

:spray:

[Rebubula]

34. OK....

...why would you go there? I am merely trying to understand the animosity towards a person that has given away more money than ANY OTHER PERSON OR COMPANY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.

How is anything that I said even remotely bad enough to get tagged with your labels?

I guess that name calling (or the Nixonian method of subtly implying) is the only recourse when you are beaten....

Again...I guess some folks will never be truly happy.

[MilesColtrane]

35. Um..you did say that we were lucky that there is not a more progressive system...

of taxation on the UberRich and that there wasn't so much government spending on the needy.

Because that is exactly what I was talking about being implemented.

Good day and good bye.

[Rebubula]

38. No.......

....I said that I am glad that YOU are not in charge. Moreover, to trust the government with the money (who has shown time and time again that it wastes money and spends it on military games instead of the needy) instead of a man that has been giving away BILLIONS every year to the neediest of our planet is sort of strange.

I do believe in a progressive tax system - just not one that takes more than 50% of anyone's income.

I do not think that we are too far apart on some beliefs - but here we will separate.

Anyway...thank you for replying a bit more civil this time.

[SimonPhoenix]

61. You're in a tiny minority and will never have any political power

If your confiscatory tax rates of 100% were imposed on certain sums then you'd be left with a big pile of nothing while other countries (England, France, Germany) steal our innovators.

[MilesColtrane]

70. Actually the guys I voted for hold the White House and both houses of Congress right now.

But, to your assertion that high tax rates quash innovation:

The top income tax rates were near or above 90% from 1945 to 1964.

During that time, Americans and American companies invented:

the radar gun
automatic sliding doors
the hard disk drive
cruise control
carbonless carbon paper
the crossed-field amplifier
the leaf blower
the artificial heart
the felt tipped pen
disposable diapers
the MASER
TV dinners
the wiffle ball
videotape
the wireless microphone
bubble wrap
carbon fiber
the transistor
the integrated circuit
spandex
the LASER
the magnetic striped card
the instant camera
the mobile phone
video games
cable TV
the credit card
the Zamboni
acrylic paint
the defibrillator
cancer chemotherapy
the Pill
the LED
the wetsuit
the golf cart
Polyoxymethylene plastic
the barcode

Just to name a few things....

[SimonPhoenix]

72. And when the top rate was 39.6%

We had the greatest period of economic growth in history and many valuable things were created as well.

Many people simply stopped working when their income hit the 90% marginal rate in the 1950s. It's my estimation that we would have had even more economic growth had the top rate been something more reasonable.

[LeftishBrit]

67. I would prefer that too; but, while waiting for it to happen, it's better if the rich give money

to good causes than just to themselves and their heirs.

[lib_wit_it]

96. I am so completely with you on this! It's gotta be a decent, progressive government, however. Natch.

[ThomWV]

16. Ask Bill Clinton, that's the sort of stuff he works on, Gates works on this stuff.

[bik0]

23. Bill Gates helped to create more wealth on this planet than anyone in history

Most of the products you buy are planned, designed, manufactured, shipped, stored, tracked, advertised, marketed, sold and delivered using computers running his operating system, productivity software and communications software. He is a flat out genius and the capitalist system has rewarded him well. He has also given more to charity than anyone on this planet. Even though I'm an atheist I feel like saying - God bless Bill Gates.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

20. Are you seriously bitching about this?

Come on.

[leftstreet]

30. I bitch about individuals allowed to amass wealth, not what they do with it

Just wondering how far $10b diverted from the Military Industrial Congressional Complex to global clean water, sanitation and malnutrition efforts might go.

[mzteris]

42. when did he donate to Military Industrial Complex?

as for "clean water, etc. . . "


Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene

Unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene are leading causes of illness and death in the developing world.
Diarrhea and other water-borne illnesses thrive where people don’t have safe water, adequate sanitation facilities, or effective handwashing routines. Every year 2.4 million people die from diarrhea and other water-related illnesses. One-quarter of all childhood deaths are caused by unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

These unhealthy conditions impose high costs on the poor, exacerbating poverty.
Poor households lose, on average, three hours every day searching for clean water or places to relieve themselves. That takes away time that could be spent at work or school. Over 9 percent of all illness in the developing world results from poor water, sanitation, and hygiene, leading to billions of days of lost work and missed school each year.

Poor women and girls suffer the greatest social consequences.
In many cultures, women and girls are responsible for traveling long distances to collect the family’s water. This leads to lost educational and income-generating opportunities. The absence of sanitation facilities at home put women at risk of attack in the open, while inadequate toilets at schools are a major deterrent to girls’ attendance, especially once they begin menstruating.

Providing access to basic services has long-term health and economic benefits for poor people in the developing world.
Ensuring reliable and affordable services can reduce illness and death from diarrhea and other water-borne illnesses, increase economic opportunities for households and communities, and improve school attendance, especially by girls.

Our goal is to help tens of millions of people in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa benefit from safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.


Our Approach: Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene
We’re working with partners to expand access to safe water and sanitation for poor people in developing countries; to develop affordable and sustainable methods to deliver services; and to promote effective approaches. We’re supporting the following strategies:

Expand the use of proven solutions and strategies.
Innovative and effective work has been done on a small scale in many places. We’re supporting efforts to replicate the best solutions on a much broader scale. We want to help adapt a variety of successful approaches for widespread use, improving millions of lives.

Help improve the effectiveness of existing large-scale efforts.
Governments and donors provide significant water, sanitation, and hygiene funding and services. We’re partnering with them to identify more affordable, effective, and sustainable ways of providing services to the poor. For example, hardware, such as toilets and wells, is much more likely to be used and maintained when paired with community outreach. We’re working to help increase and expand these approaches by clearly demonstrating their value.

Support market-based approaches for providing services to the poor.
Businesses can often deliver products and services that respond to people's needs, at prices they can afford. We’re working to help businesses increase affordable options for the poor; for example, through kiosks that sell clean drinking water in rural areas for less than a penny a day. Such approaches can help improve the quality, lower the costs, expand the availability, and increase the sustainability of water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

Invest in research and development.
We’re funding research that tackles key questions and brings new insight to the field, particularly in the neglected area of sanitation. We’re also supporting innovations on a broad range of products and services. For example, we’re helping develop a low-cost, easy-to-use test that could reduce illness and save lives by letting people know if the water they’re using is safe.

Increase awareness of the issue and support the development of effective policies.
Water, sanitation and hygiene interventions have been consistently neglected, despite their critical importance. We’re working to call attention to the need and value of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene—and to help policy—and decisionmakers deliver better results for poor people in developing countries.

Your search for Grant + Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene has returned 25 results.

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/Search.aspx?meta=MDContentType%3aGrant%3bMDTopic%3aWater%2c+Sanitation%2c+%26+Hygiene

[mzteris]

43. Agricultural grants/programs . . .

Agricultural Development Overview
Approximately 1 billion people live in chronic hunger and more than 1 billion live in extreme poverty.
Many are small farmers in the developing world. Their success or failure determines whether they have enough to eat, are able to send their children to school, and can earn any money to save.

Small farmers in the developing world face many challenges:

* Their soil is often degraded from overuse.
* They lack quality seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, and other farming supplies.
* Their crops are threatened by diseases, pests, and drought.
* When small farmers do manage to grow a good crop, they frequently lack access to markets.

Funders have sharply cut their international aid to agricultural development over the past few decades.
The majority of agricultural research and technology doesn’t reach or benefit small farmers in the developing world. In sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture employs two-thirds of the population but accounts for only 4 percent of government spending.

There is little support for women, who do the majority of the work.
In developing countries, women do up to 80 percent of the work on farms, like the planting, harvesting, and processing. They are responsible for both producing the food and preparing it for their families. Yet women farmers receive only 5 percent of extension services and are underrepresented in training programs. There are also few women in agricultural research and policy-making positions.

Improvements in agriculture help people in poverty improve their lives.
When small farmers are able to get more out of their land and labor, their families eat better, earn more money, and lead healthier lives. In Asia and Latin America, improvements in rice and wheat crops several decades ago doubled yields, saved hundreds of millions of lives, and contributed to long-term economic growth. This “Green Revolution” showed it is possible to reduce hunger and poverty on a large scale but demonstrated the importance of focusing on the environment and the needs of small farmers.

We’re working to help small farmers flourish on their farms and overcome hunger and poverty.


Our Approach: Agricultural Development
We support programs that will enable small farmers to break the cycle of hunger and poverty—to sell what they grow or raise, increase their incomes, and make their farms more productive and sustainable. We work with a wide range of partners in the following ways:

Employ a collaborative and comprehensive approach.
There’s no single, simple solution to the challenges small farmers face. We seek the input of a variety of voices, from farmers and field workers to funders and policymakers. Ultimately, we want to offer solutions that help improve agriculture at every step: planting a seed, tending the soil, selling a crop, and setting good policy.

Provide small farmers with the supplies and support they need to succeed.
Successful harvests require quality seeds, healthy soils, appropriate fertilizers, and water and crop management systems. We work to provide small farmers with better farming supplies, training, and support networks. For example, we’re helping the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) develop and distribute locally adapted seeds in 16 countries. In India, we’re funding efforts to provide affordable irrigation systems so farmers don’t have to depend on unreliable rains to water their crops.

Put women at the center of our work.
Women are essential to the success of agriculture in the developing world. Therefore, we’ve developed a strategy to address the needs of women farmers at every step of the way—through increased participation, opportunity, and training. We’re providing research fellowships to 360 African women scientists to ensure that the next generation of agricultural researchers includes women. And we seek to measure the impact of our work on women.

Help small farmers profit from their crops.
Farmers need to sell what they grow to make a profit but often lack access to markets, ways to store and transport their goods, and information about pricing. We’re working to link small farmers to new and existing markets and to the information they need to make sound business decisions. For example, we’re providing small farmers in East Africa with the equipment and training they need to grow and sell higher-quality coffee.

Use science and technology to develop crops that can thrive.
We’re exploring the development of crops that can grow successfully in different soil types and resist drought, disease, and pests. For example, we’re funding the development of drought-resistant varieties of maize, Africa’s main cereal crop. We also support the development of nutritionally enhanced crops to combat vitamin deficiencies.

Gather and analyze data to improve decision-making.
We still need to better understand the challenges and opportunities that small farmers face. To learn more, we support research, data collection, and policy analysis related to agricultural development, including the results of our own work. We’re funding several analyses of hunger, poverty, and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to inform policymaking and identify areas of opportunity.

Encourage greater investment and involvement in agricultural development.
Small farmers need more attention and resources to succeed. We’re working to increase investments in agriculture from leaders in developing countries as well as from funders and partners in the developed world. We’re also looking for ways that the private sector can make a difference—whether by doing research, developing products, or opening up new markets that benefit small farmers.



Your search for Grant + Agricultural Development has returned 187 results.

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/agriculturaldevelopment/Pages/default.aspx

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

88. Well then why don't you use your magical superpowers...

...to immediately remake the world to your liking. Until that time, people will still be amassing wealth, and I'd much rather have a serious philanthropist like Gates doing it that someone like Ken Lay. If he's using his earnings from Microsoft to prevent people in the developing world from dying of preventable diseases, I'm all for it.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

29. because vaccines are not important? polio is a good thing?

he donated $13 million last year to clean water

he donates to hiv/aids in india

he donate to antimalaria campaigns

the man donates a lot

[fujiyama]

89. Any indication the Gates foundation hasn't donated to those causes?

[mzteris]

97. see posts 41, 42, & 43 to see

what Gates IS doing about those issues . . . and many others.

[Juche]

37. Wonderful

I didn't know they had a vaccine against severe diarrhea. That kills 2 million+ kids a year.

I hope this works out.

[mrbarber]

39. Gates is a goddamn Superhero.

[Warren Stupidity]

84. No, but this is simply a good deed done with the best of intentions.

He has the means and he is using his wealth to do good in the world as best he can. There just isn't anything wrong with that.

[mzteris]

41. some other Gates Foundation contributions:

Illustrative Grant Commitments

* The GAVI Alliance, expanding childhood immunization - $1.5 billion
* United Negro College Fund, Gates Millennium Scholars Program - $1.37 billion
* Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), improving seeds and soil for African farmers - $456 million
* Rotary International, polio eradication - $355 million
* PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) - $287 million
* Save the Children, Saving Newborn Lives - $112 million
* United Way of King County - $85 million
* World Food Programme, increasing small farmer income - $66 million
* TechnoServe, helping small coffee farmers improve crops and fetch higher prices - $47 million
* Heifer International, helping small farmers grow local and regional dairy markets - $43 million
* Mexico, National Council on Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA), Global Libraries Program - $30 million
* Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), testing and promoting the use of information and communications technologies to deliver microfinance products - $24 million
* Achieve, Inc. and the American Diploma Project Network, assisting states in aligning high school standards with the expectations of college and career - $23 million
* Chicago Public Schools, curriculum support - $21 million
* Opportunity Online Program, multiple library systems - $16.4 million
* Opportunity International Inc., developing and expanding a network of commercial banks in Africa - $15.4 million
* Green Dot Public Schools, supporting the transformations of Jefferson and Locke high schools in Los Angeles, Calif., into high-performing charter high schools - $9.7 million

[Rebubula]

44. Thank you for posting this.

Some people will still say that this is not enough.....

[mzteris]

45. see posts 42 & 43, too

there's a lot more detail on where the money goes at the links.

[Rebubula]

46. Oh...

...I did see your other, wonderful posts. I even went to the links.

Bill Gates' efforts allowed me to have an amazing career (system administration etc) without having to have a college degree or wear suits\go into sales. When he got married to Melinda, he became a hero to the world because of her altruistic attitude. He would still be charitable, but Melinda helped him see the bigger picture.

[w8liftinglady]

75. plus,he donates a lot to PBS

[moondust]

47. Absolution.

For overcharging for every update to every version of everything they ever made.

Personally, I don't think any individual should ever be in a position to direct that much wealth to anything.

[Rebubula]

48. Awesome...

...a person donates BILLIONS OF FREAKING $$$$ a year to good causes and all you can do is bitch about his wealth.

Personal feelings aside...he has made all that money...what should he do with it? Or is this simply animosity towards amassing wealth?



BILLIONS A YEAR TO CHARITY!!!!!!!!!!

[moondust]

50. He's a monopolist.

He abused his monopoly power to kill off a lot of competitors and overcharge. He shouldn't have had all that money in the first place. Nobody should. But predatory capitalism is just fine with that.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

66. It's a bit of a conundrum.

I mean, yeah, he basically stole his money from other people. Like a bank robber.

But in the movies, there's the scene where the bank robber has a change of heart and leaves the bag of money at the orphanage that can't pay the mortgage. Because the orphanage deserves the money more than either the robber or the bank.

And the sick kids in Africa need the money more than Bill Gates or the people who don't just use Linux.

[Odin2005]

52. Oh sure, the first reply to this wonderful news is anti-vax crap.

:eyes:

[Number23]

77. This thread and some of the comments within are nothing short of astounding

NOTHING is ever good enough for some here. NOTHING is ever right. NOTHING is ever enough.

[fujiyama]

90. Reveals how petty (and ignorant) so many here are

No surprise.

I don't think you have to like Microsoft products or Bill Gates' business practices to be able to admit he's one of the most generous philanthropists in history - and the Gates foundation is also very transparent and he's targeted his donations to areas that really matter.

Now, I can understand those that dislike a system that allows someone to amass such wealth, but that's a different argument altogether. Regardless, our government spends a smaller % of its GDP on foreign aid (and much of that is military aid to shit hole terrorist nations like Pakistan) than Bill Gates has of his income. As a government we spend a smaller % than almost every other industrialized nation out there. Though I think that's changed to a large extent with this administration...

[Maru Kitteh]

94. +2

[mzteris]

98. Doncha know Gates is VILE???

because he !gasps! supports charter schools - therefore he is a hateful creature and NOTHING he does is ANY good. hmmph!

Some of these people will reject EVERYTHING about a person because they disagree on ONE particular issue. Talk about lack of critical thinking skills. :eyes:

Reminds me of the arguments I'm having about what Arne Duncan said about schools in New Orleans. People are posting PART of what he said so they can be incensed and whip up hatred towards him (and his policies). If they would stop reacting like hysterics, they'd understand - and agree - with what he really DID say. Instead, they're all screaming about what they THOUGHT he said (or actually WANTED him to say).