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Gates Foundation Revokes Pledge to Review Portfolio

NewsCloud writes "After the LA Times reported that the Gates Foundation often invests in companies hurting the very communities Bill and Melinda want to help, the Seattle Times reported the foundation planned 'a systematic review of its investments to determine whether it should pull its money out of companies that are doing harm to society'. Shortly after that interview, the Gates Foundation took down their public statement on this and replaced it with a significantly altered version which seems to say that investing responsibly would just be too complex for them and that they need to focus on their core mission: 'There are dozens of factors that could be considered, almost all of which are outside the foundation's areas of expertise. The issues involved are quite complex...Which social and political issues should be on the list? ... Many of the companies mentioned in the Los Angeles Times articles, such as Ford, Kraft, Fannie Mae, Nestle, and General Electric, do a lot of work that some people like, as well as work that some people do not like. Some activities might even be viewed positively by some people and negatively by others.'"

2 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. The best thing Gates could do would be by Coeurderoy · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Burn the cash, all of it.

    Currently the Gates fondation is a bully pushing governments toward "Intelectual Property" US style, ensuring that the countries that do recieve it do not dare to protest, and are indeed using Microsoft software (that they have to pay even if it is at "discounted rate", without competition any discount is a sham), and are using only patented medication, etc..
    It also ensure that they will never be able to develop their own "Intelectual property" (they will always have to deal with the advance the US have, and anything they invent will be only a small cog in the current complex systems).

    So the fundation is just a way to finance Microsoft marketing with tax exempt money.

    If the fundation would just "burn" the cash, since there would be overall "less money" to buy "all the goods that have to be sold", it would imply that your share of the "remaining money" would be actually worth more than before (probably not very much, but then it would still be something).

    There is nothing good in this fundation, yes they will save some people and for these people it will be lucky, but overall the world is worse of with than without.

  2. The real reason the fundation rewoked the pledge by Coeurderoy · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Do not forget that the fundation is the marketing arm of Microsoft.
    They probably got their inspiration from the e-inclusion scam of HP.

    And all thouse "evil" corporations are before all "CLIENTS".

    You can tell a client: sorry I didn't invest in your stock because my stock brocker found that schmoll inc. has a better ROI, but not because I do not like your business practice.