Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft and the Gates Foundation Inherit More Roles of the US Department of Education

US Department of Education seal



Summary: A look at the latest evidence we have of a silent takeover of US education, courtesy of Gates' newer monopolistic venture

LAST week we showed how US education was being hijacked by Bill Gates. This was just the latest among many posts on the subjects -- posts that quote respectable people who made identical allegations against the Gates Foundation. Today we wish to present more evidence that we have gathered over the past week. As always, readers are encouraged to follow the links and reach their own conclusions based on the many reputable sources that we cite.



We wish to begin with this news report:

D.C. agency to probe Rhee critic's complaint over ethics of school funds clause



The District's Office of Campaign Finance will investigate a complaint, filed by an outspoken critic of Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, alleging that Rhee violated the law by soliciting donations from private foundations that reserved the right to pull their funding if there was a change in the school system's leadership.


Fortunately for us, Gates Keepers (dedicated observer of the Gates Foundation) summarised this by saying that "Foundations bought leadership" (we will show more examples in a moment). To quote the interpretation of the article above:

Whether Michelle Rhee went too far or not, philanthropic donations involved vested interests. She should resign and see if the money stays put. The Gates Foundation appears to have dodged this bullet by not being directly involved.

Is a leadership clause really a "standard feature of private funding agreements" in education. It is not in field of health.


It is not unusual for the Gates Foundation to use funds for PR in education, or even in order to fund self-serving 'studies', change leadership, and to change curricula. We saw more examples like this last week (people move from top academic jobs to help the educational push of Gates) and here is another, newer example:

Harvard Trader Zuzic Quits, Said to Join Gates’s Fund Manager



Stan Zuzic, one of Harvard University’s top-paid endowment managers, quit and joined the firm that oversees investments for Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.


This was also covered here. Stan Zuzic has a lot of influence and Gates has a lot of money that it can offer Stan in exchange for this power. It's not the first such story.

According to Murdoch's press, this whole intervention in education is a success. But it's probably just PR intended to give the impression that they are beneficial. It's a Washington article, so the bias should be expected. Gates' foundation assesses its own performance, so he is giving himself high scores.

According to another new report, Gates is entering the university business. The University of Indiana is apparently not enough, so another one gets adopted by the Gates dynasty. From the press release:

WGU Indiana is being established with support from the Lumina Foundation for Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.


Here is some local press coverage:

The university will not receive state tax dollars. The nonprofit institution is receiving startup funding for its Indiana operations from the Lumina Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and will operate on tuition dollars after that.


It's called "startup funding", it's not a donation. Here is some more coverage; they will probably just teach Microsoft, as expected.

Speaking of "startup funding", here is a very new example from last week. It involves Microsoft:

Harris: 'Launch' event gives startups a boost



[...]

Launch, co-presented by Microsoft and Garage Technology Ventures, has been casting a wider net since.


Watch what Gates is doing in Memphis:

Memphis City Schools has won a highly competitive $90 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation by submitting a brilliant proposal based on a commitment to obtain and train highly qualified teachers like Miss Buchanan. I cannot imagine an effort more important to the future of our city.


What Gates has been doing in Memphis is a subject that we've already covered in the posts below (it's where Microsoft changes the education agenda using carrot-and-stick tactics, i.e. money).



Recent Techrights' Posts

Amid Online Reports of XBox Sales Collapsing, Mass Layoffs in More Teams, and Windows Making Things Worse (Admission of Losses, Rumours About XBox Canceled as a Hardware Unit)...
Windows has loads of issues, also as a gaming platform
 
Consent & Debian's illegitimate constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The Time Our Server Host Died in a Car Accident
If Debian has internal problems, then they need to be illuminated and then tackled, at the very least in order to ensure we do not end up with "Deadian"
China's New 'IT' Rules Are a Massive Headache for Microsoft
On the issue of China we're neutral except when it comes to human rights issues
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 27, 2024
WeMakeFedora.org: harassment decision, victory for volunteers and Fedora Foundations
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 27/03/2024: Terrorism Grows in Africa, Unemployment in Finland Rose Sharply in a Year, Chinese Aggression Escalates
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2024: Ericsson and Tencent Layoffs
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2024: BBC Resorts to CG Cruft, Akamai Blocking Blunders in Piracy Shield
Links for the day
Android Approaches 90% of the Operating Systems Market in Chad (Windows Down From 99.5% 15 Years Ago to Just 2.5% Right Now)
Windows is down to about 2% on the Web-connected client side as measured by statCounter
Sainsbury's: Let Them Eat Yoghurts (and Microsoft Downtimes When They Need Proper Food)
a social control media 'scandal' this week
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Windows/Client at Microsoft Falling Sharply (Well Over 10% Decline Every Quarter), So For His Next Trick the Ponzi in Chief Merges Units, Spices Everything Up With "AI"
Hiding the steep decline of Windows/Client at Microsoft?
Free technology in housing and construction
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
We Need Open Standards With Free Software Implementations, Not "Interoperability" Alone
Sadly we're confronting misguided managers and a bunch of clowns trying to herd us all - sometimes without consent - into "clown computing"
Microsoft's Collapse in the Web Server Space Continued This Month
Microsoft is the "2%", just like Windows in some countries
Links 26/03/2024: Inflation Problems, Strikes in Finland
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Losing Children, Carbon Tax Discussed
Links for the day
Mark Shuttleworth resigns from Debian: volunteer suicide and Albania questions unanswered, mass resignations continue
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 26/03/2024: 6,000 Layoffs at Dell, Microsoft “XBox is in Real Trouble as a Hardware Manufacturer”
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Microsofters Still Trying to 'Extend' Gemini Protocol
Links for the day
Look What IBM's Red Hat is Turning CentOS Into
For 17 years our site ran on CentOS. Thankfully we're done with that...
The Julian Paul Assange Verdict: The High Court Has Granted Assange Leave to Appeal Extradition to the United States, Decision Adjourned to May 20th Pending Assurances
The decision is out
The Microsoft and Apple Antitrust Issues Have Some But Not Many Commonalities
gist of the comparison to Microsoft
ZDNet, Sponsored by Microsoft for Paid-for Propaganda (in 'Article' Clothing), Has Added Pop-Up or Overlay to All Pages, Saying "813 Partners Will Store and Access Information on Your Device"
Avoiding ZDNet may become imperative given what it has turned into
Julian Assange Verdict 3 Hours Away
Their decision is due to be published at 1030 GMT
People Who Cover Suicide Aren't Suicidal
Assange didn't just "deteriorate". This deterioration was involuntary and very much imposed upon him.
Overworking Kills
The body usually (but not always) knows best
Former Red Hat Chief (CEO), Who Decided to Leave the Company Earlier This Month, Talks About "Cloud Company Red Hat" to CNBC
shows a lack of foresight and dependence on buzzwords
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 25, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 25, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Discord Does Not Make Money, It's Spying on People and Selling Data/Control (38% is Allegedly Controlled by the Communist Party of China)
a considerable share exists
In At Least Two Nations Windows is Now Measured at 2% "Market Share" (Microsoft Really Does Not Want People to Notice That)
Ignore the mindless "AI"-washing
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Still Has Hundreds of Thousands of Simultaneously-Online Unique Users
The scale of IRC