Microsoft Co-opts Ice Bucket Challenge Idea To Promote Coding In Latin America
theodp writes: Microsoft is aiming to offer free programming courses to over a million young Latin Americans through its Yo Puedo Programar and Eu Posso Programar initiatives ("I Can Program"). People between the ages of 12 and 25 will be able to sign up for the free online courses "One Hour Coding" and "Learning to Program," which will be offered in conjunction with Colombia's Coding Week (Oct. 6-10). The online courses will also be available in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico. "One Hour Coding" (aka Hour of Code in the U.S.) is a short introductory course in which participants will learn how the technology works and how to create applications, and it offers "a playful immersion in the computer sciences," Microsoft said in a statement. In the virtual, 12-session "Learning to Program" course, students will discover that "technical complexity in application development tools is a myth and that everyone can do it," the statement added. Taking a page from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge its execs embraced, Microsoft is encouraging students to complete the Hour of Code and challenge four other friends to do the same (Google Translate).
It's greed, right? I assume the goal isn't to help out people, but to flood the labor pool in order to benefit their company.
On Robin Williams:
Boyd said Williams was last seen alive at 10:30 p.m. Sunday when his wife, Susan Schneider, went to bed. His personal assistant became concerned about 11:45 a.m. Monday, Boyd said, after Williams failed to answer knocks at his door.
The assistant eventually managed to open the door and found Williams clothed, in a seated position and "with a belt secured around his neck, with the other end of the belt wedged between the clothes closet door and the door frame," Boyd said. "His right shoulder area was touching the door, with his body perpendicular to the door and slightly suspended."
Williams was "cold to the touch," Boyd said, and rigor mortis had set in. Forensic scientists say it takes three or four hours for rigor mortis to begin after death.
I feel he was into auto erotic asphyxiation, notice they made a point of his being clothed, Hollywood hid this to protect the "franchise" meaning if the truth came out they would expect to lose money.
But I liked him as an actor, and i don't care what his sexual preferences were.
I am concerned Hollywood gets away with so many things, as does our financial sector..
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
Screw Microsoft! There are plenty of underemployed and under skilled people right here in the good old US of A that would really like to take advantage of such a program. Heck, I would be all over it just to get out of Systems Admin and Engineering. The IT career field seems to be so hostile towards Americans. Managers seem to prefer H1B visas and labor importation. Co-workers have strong egos and are constantly trying to climb the ladder by making others look inferior. I, for one, am sick of it. This is precisely why I just gladly put 12 years of experience in IT in the trash can and became a truck driver. No PHB, no egotistical coworkers, just a nice job where I get to see the country. Sure, I only make 26K right now but it's only for 6-8 months. Once I get more experience under my belt, I'm looking at 60s to 70s. No on call work, I have a dedicated run and I'm home on weekends. I have truck that has the creature comforts of an RV. Hopefully, I'll never have to look back at the BSOD and General Failure again!
The fact is, I know tons of people who are just out college, who put in hundreds of job applications and, cannot get hired. And yet, they see these companies they apply at full of Indians. For an American just out of college it is a very bleak environment and that is no joke and it is entirely because the indians have stolen the jobs. The fact is there would be plenty of jobs for our own people if we were not helping the Indians steal our jobs. As I will explain, Gates and the elites benefit from H1B but Americans are huge losers from it, and surprise, third world countries are also losers from it. If we want to protect America and american jobs we need to kill the H1B program. If we want to stop the brain drain that harms third world countries, another reason we need to kill it. I am in favor of an end to all immigration altogether and I know hat this is the only thing that will stop the 1% from enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else and the only thing that can stop the destruction of not only the economic destruction of America but many other countries.
All gates is interested in is throwing Americans out on the street because he is a liberal who has been taught a hatred of Americans and can further expand his vast fortunes and profit margins by exploiting cheap third world labor and destroying Americans middle class in the process, effectively consolidating wealth further in the hands of elites like him. Gates doesnt give a damn about anyone but himself, its all self serving.
Nothing gates or other traitorous, evil people like Obama and the Liberals would do would help mexico or any place else. If you wanted to help mexico, why not have mexicans develop stuff for use by other Mexicans? But, the scheme of elites like Gates is to exploit Mexicans to make things then sell those things in America, undercuting and destroying American workers and preventing the fruits of the mexicans from benefiting their own country. The only people who win from that are the elites like gates who enrich themselves. Mexico stays poor because they still remain very poorly paid and much of the fruit of their labor is being exploited, plus it destroys American jobs. Why not have mexicans make things for mexicans adn Americans make things for Americans? But that wouldnt allow people like gates to enrich themselves vastly by exploiting the planet for his benefit like the psychopathic american citizen hating globalist that he is.
Likewise the only people who benefit from H1Bs are plutocrats like gates. Americans are huge losers because their jobs are stolen by indians. India loses due to the brain drain, just when India desperately needs its own college professionals to build its economy, it cannot afford to lose them if they flee elsewhere. The only thing that would protect people in all countries would be to stop immigration and kill the H1B program, this would assure that Indian professionals would remain in India to help build Indias economy and would assure that Americas jobs are exclusively available for Americas home grown talent.
these are all reasons i support protectionism of local manufactuing and an end to all immigration, especially the H1B program needs to abolited and purged from the books. Protectionism protects the common people of all countries. Globalism enriches and empowers a small elite like Gates and Obama.