“In the United States, for example, about one sixth of the gross national product, over a trillion dollars per year, is devoted to marketing. Marketing is manipulation and deceit. It tries to turn people into something they aren't -- individuals focused solely on themselves, maximising their consumption of goods that they don't need.”

--Noam Chomsky

Summary: Propaganda for Bill Gates is being used to turn children into captives of the Microsoft monopoly; other distasteful deeds of Gates are publicly discussed

USING a business disguised as a charity, the control freak who co-established Microsoft continues to make Microsoft stronger, by ensuring that young people never get to choose what software to use; the schools simply force them to use products from Microsoft. Along the lines of reasoning from Richard Dawkins, this is akin to child abuse. Toddlers too are being labelled "Windows users" before they even know what an operating system is, let alone get exposed to any other than Windows. For other reasons, Dr. Diane Ravitch recently warned in her book that what Gates does to schools is to be treated as menacing [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Ballmer Youth anyone?

“Microsoft continue to push their business interests in education systems”
      --SatiperaFor his adventures in mis-educating the United States' Generation Y, an article recently labelled Gates "the most dangerous man in America" (this was the headline of the article). Gates is now involved in the making or promotion of propaganda films (films to help Bill Gates' lobby), as we mentioned in [1, 2, 3] (Guggenheim should be ashamed).

To the education system which Gates wants to privatise under his control, it's all about Microsoft. And guess what? Microsoft Nick is helping him with this shallow new article, posted in the Seattle P-I's Microsoft Blog. Satipera gave us the pointer and added that "Microsoft continue to push their business interests in education systems":

One, he said, was Geoffrey Canada, president of a charter school network in Harlem. The other was Bill Gates.

[...]

That's the goal of "Waiting for 'Superman,'" which opened today in theaters nationwide: fixing what Guggenheim says is a broken system of training teachers and helping students. Guggenheim hopes this film, like his last ("An Inconvenient Truth"), spurs change -- or, at least, deep thought -- about how we prepare children for college and real life.

[...]

Like Microsoft's recruiting of engineers, schools should search for the very best teachers, he said. Like any corporation, school principals should be effective leaders instead of, say, teachers who were just promoted through the ranks. And, of course, companies like Microsoft -- and their well-off employees -- could contribute monetarily.

"It's always exciting when I go to these things," Guggenheim said of screenings, "and I learn something."

For more about Microsoft's education initiatives, go here. The Gates Foundation outlines its education work here.

Despite it being a Microsoft blog, the comments are overwhelming hostile towards Microsoft and Gates, as they ought to be in a sober society. See comments like: "Only if they give the money with no strings attached and absolutely no advertising."

“Whoa. If we're waiting for Microsoft employees to step up and fix our education system, this country is REALLY in trouble.”
      --Microsoft Blog commenterHow about: "Obviously, the answer is to outsource our entire education system to India. At the very least, we should import low-paid immigrant workers to teach our children because there's such a shortage of qualified teachers in this country. That's the Microsoft way of doing things, right?"

And there's this one too: "Whoa. If we're waiting for Microsoft employees to step up and fix our education system, this country is REALLY in trouble."

Also: "Whoa. If we're waiting for Microsoft employees to step up and fix our education system, this country is REALLY in trouble.Microsoft competency wheels? Can't...breath. Laughing...too...hard."

Another longer one:

.....ever notice when Bill Gates is invited to a "technology summit" where you hope to get digested insight into the true profile of current and future cutting edge technologies, it always becomes centered on what Microsoft is developing--whether or not they are a leader in that particular venue.

I agree with the above, any assistance will come from a Microsoft angle, i.e., notice they have recently announced free on-line training for all their software, as a service to the public/unemployment.

What is really needed is emphasis on digital basics like circuitry and A+ fundamentals; not just for our youth but for the masses of unemployed in their 30's, 40's and 50's.

Word, Excel, and Powerpoint will not put many back to work.

One more comment: "The saddest thing is, while Bill Gates may be the richest man around, he's also a college drop-out - who is HE to say what is wrong with education? Aside from the fact they prefer Apple tech over Microsoft?"

“[P]rivate school vouchers can't fix our problem. they're making the problem worse. money that would normally go towards public schools and teachers is instead funneled to for-profit private schools.”
      --Microsoft Blog commenterJust as Gates wants to fire under-performing engineers (maybe they got older), some think that it's okay to let Gates decide to fire weak/older teachers (recall the "death panel" remark he made in reference to it last month [1, 2, 3]).

To quote one last comment: "private school vouchers can't fix our problem. they're making the problem worse. money that would normally go towards public schools and teachers is instead funneled to for-profit private schools." Someone is going to earn a lot of money here. Does Gates know that someone (or some ones)?

Gates was called "the most dangerous man in America" and he deserves this titles not just because of Microsoft and what he is doing to children (everyone is a child at one point). The man is also promoting highly monopolistic (and arguably very dangerous) crops on behalf of multinational corporations like Monsanto (Gates is investing in their patents, for profit). He also invests heavily in companies like Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, BP, Exxon, and more recently Goldman Sachs. The threat of Microsoft is further personified by the arrival of the world's largest patent troll Nathan Myhrvold and the other Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, who also turned into a patent troll. ⬆