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Gates Foundation Vs. Openness In Research
An anonymous reader writes "There have been complaints within the World Health Organization of some oddly familiar-sounding tactics and attitudes by the Gates Foundation. Scientists who were once open with their research are now 'locked up in a cartel' and are financially motivated to support other scientists backed by the Foundation. Diversity of views is 'stifled,' dominance is bought, and Foundation views are pushed with 'intense and aggressive opposition.'" The article tries hard for balance. It notes that the WHO official who raised the alarm on the Gates Foundation's unintended consequences on world health research is "an openly undiplomatic official who won admiration for reorganizing the world fight against tuberculosis but was ousted from that job partly because he offended donors like the Rockefeller Foundation."
Gates really is a complete and utter tosser. Perhaps they will make him King of Zimbabwe or something and then shoot him in the palace courtyard. We can but hope.
decli8ed in markect
You obviously don't understand non-profit tax laws. There is no such thing as a "tax exempt" charity. Non-profit organizations may be tax-exempt, but this is really a misnomer, since many of them still have to pay taxes if certain requirements are not met. This is the reason the foundation has to dump 5% of its money each year to avoid paying taxes. The fact is they are not a true "non-profit" organization, since the organization is making large sums of money, as is noted in the article he linked.
Large funds like the B&MGF are truly nothing more then tax shelters. If you read about the investments made and then about the work done, you will see it is largely conflicting. While trying to give out drugs for AIDS with one hand, they will support organizations that have tried hard to do nothing but keep their drugs priced too high for most people to afford, especially in developing countries. They are also heavily invested in some of the worst polluting companies in the world. So, they have helped create a whole new range of diseases in some areas.
Seriously, look long and hard at any "non-profit" or "charity" organization you ever want to support or donate money too. I firmly advocate being very selective before you wind up wasting your money funding either a tax-shelter (like the B&MGF) or funding terrorists (I'm looking at you PETA.).