Summary: The man whom the Huff'n'Puff Post labeled “the most dangerous man in America” is building a pyramid of servitude around him, which leads to strong accusations from the American public

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BLOG post which was published last month went under the "news" radar (Google News syndicates mostly mainstream sources), but a reader brought it to our attention yesterday. "Marketing as charity" is what he called the Gates Foundation. Is this foundation rogue when it comes to education? Ravitch, a respected author, sure seems to think so [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

"If you don't already have this one, it's worth noting," wrote a reader to us, quoting this very recent blog post titled, "Is The Gates Foundation Involved In Bribery?"

“If he loses money buying control or sabotaging the established market, then it's just charity rather than anti-competitive or predatory business.”
      --AnonymousIt says that "Gates has opened the door to an manifestly corrupt approach to government where a handful of well funded groups and individuals override the democratic legislative process by the prospect of funding or the threat of losing it. If you can't go to jail now for doing this, there should be laws that make it clear that you do from here on out."

That is a very concise summary of what has been happening.

"It's actually more corrupt than that," explained our reader, "because as a "charity" he can also evade the oversight and scrutiny a company would. If he loses money buying control or sabotaging the established market, then it's just charity rather than anti-competitive or predatory business."

To name some previous posts on the subject of education (in chronological order):

• More Dubious Practices from the Gates Foundation
• Microsoft Builds Coalitions of NGOs, Makes Political and Educational Changes
• Beyond the 'Public Relations'
• Gates Roundup: Monsanto, Colonisation, Clinton Ties, and Control of Education
• Gates Foundation Roundup: (Mis)Education With Spin; GAVI, Pfizer, Merck, and the African Ventures
• Gates Foundation Roundup: Schools, Vaccines Monopoly, and “Fatally Flawed” Studies
• The World According to Gates: Constructing a System of Profitable Philanthropy
• How the Gates Foundation Blocks GNU/Linux and Free Software in National Libraries, Then Inherits Education
• Gates Foundation Accused of “Steer[ing] State and National Policy in Education” (Monopolising Schools)
• Author Calls for Action to Stop Bill Gates' Abduction of US Education
• Bill Gates and Microsoft Guard Their Interest in Schoolchildren and Colleges
• Boston Globe Writes About Gates' Dangerous Influence on US Education, Memphis Provides New Example
• “Both Sen. Williams and Mr. Gates Do a Great Disservice to the Hundreds of Thousands of Students and Teachers”
• US Education Steps Aside for Bill
• Microsoft and the Gates Foundation Inherit More Roles of the US Department of Education
• Bill Gates and Microsoft Use Government Support to Turn Public Schools Into Private Business
• The Gates Foundation May Be Turning School Teachers Into State-funded PR Agents
• Gates Foundation Still Sponsors Blogs That Praise Its Work, Lobbies Governments, Takes Over School Districts

These fairly recent posts (from the past year) contain many links to a lot of articles where people do complain about the Gates Foundation and its intervention in education. But with a massive legion or PR people, it's almost untouchable to critics. It built a moral shield.

As FurnaceBoy shrewdly put it, "how can the law pierce the Foundation veil? You'd have to hate starving Africans"

As a general remark, pedagogues tend to believe that children and adolescents are there in the school system to be indoctrinated, or be prepared to get "skilled" for the "real world" (as in carrying out a particular task in a business). They are often teaching them that ultra-rich people is what they should strive to become, but education is supposed to shape one's personality to become a good member of society, too. Here is a good new article on the subject:

The Big Lie (Thoughts on Why School Is Not Only About Workforce Development)

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Teaching kids that hard work in school will mean more money is a shortcut and an example of the shoddy logic that doesn't ring true to many kids. Teaching kids that hard work in school will help them develop skills that will help them be a more fully realized citizen and person is a harder argument to make, but it stands a much better chance of being true.

For people like Gates -- those wanting to see their own agenda implemented at the expense of taxpayers -- there are barriers such as people with a clue. More people should rise and protest against this threat to democracy, known as "Gates Foundation". It does far more than advertised.

Bill Gates is a school occupier, not an army occupier like the other Gates who knows him and honours Microsoft (that would be Secretary Robert Gates). It means that the burden of casualties is very different in nature. Gates is also subverting employment policy along with Intel and criminally-charged lobbyists like Abramoff. How much damage need Gates cause to the United States before citizens realise he is “the most dangerous man in America,” to quote a recent headline from the Huff'n'Puff Post? He is not just the richest among them and his professional history does reveal misconduct and megalomania. Aren't these warning signs sufficient to those who haven't yet researched the subject? ⬆

"Behind every great fortune there is a crime."

--Honor de Balzac