Sir Bill Gates...a Knighthood ?

[Egaladeist]

Simo,

bleaming one man for everyone's woes

Nobody is blaming BG for anything...he's just as much a product of his society and upbring as anyone else.

he earned it.

That's debateable.

whatever it takes(in a honest way) to win.

That's debateable too.

I don't see people crying and whining about Michael Jordan because he always wants to win.

That's a whole different issue...Jordan, as a player, negotiated contracts with owners for fair market value of his services...a better comparison would have been the Rothchilds or the Kennedy's.

computer technology on his shoulders.

Do you really think he is that involved in the business ? You ought to read about the history of Microsoft...he made his money getting other people to do the work for him...he's a shrewd businessman and entrepreneur like Walmart but a technological genius he's not.

Whether you like it or not, or agree with it or not, we live in a contradiction...democracy is, in theory, the rule of the majority...yet our financial livability is in the hands of the minority...what Plato terms an aristocracy...in theory, pyramid schemes are against the law because they only benefit the top few...yet that is how our business structure is applied...as an aristocracy...and the list goes on...it wasn't too long ago that women and african-americans fought the system for equal rights under the law and for economic equality...this is the basis of a democracy...to change for the better...
without such change we would still have children working in mines, african-americans would still be in servitude, and women would still be second-class citizens ... and you would still think there's nothing wrong with that...the ignorance of the status-quo...
if you think we've achieved democracy...you're wrong...democracy is ever-changing...it's a work in progress

[IcSilk]

Gates is far more deserving of a knighthood than Elton john, Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger.
A mockery has been made over the 'knighting system' in the UK by giving some of them the title of 'Sir' because of their social status.

Gates' extremely generous contributions to charity over the years definately mark him as a deserving candidate; much more so than some of the Pop and Rock stars that he is catagorized with.

[|3lack|ce]

Not sure on Mick and Paul IC, but Elton is quite charitable with his money and regularly provides his services gratis in addition to monetary contributions. I believe he was quite deserving of his knighthood.

[IcSilk]

My fault then about Elton ............ If he's reading this - Hay El, I apologize .........lol

[!mitationRust]

There will always be the sight and sound of jealous envy surrounding peoples success.
I'd like to add that Bill Gates three children would not inherit all his riches only .3% including the company Microsoft. The rest is pledged to almsgiving. The Bill Gates foundation like America I believe is the world leader in philanthropic giving.

[Egaladeist]

Imitation,

You're right...the U.S. is the world leader in individual donations based upon pre-tax income...Canada is second.
As far as jealousy goes...my argument has nothing to do with jealousy...our economc stucture is still based upon antiquated monarchist and aristocratic systems of lords and land barons and not upon the much touted democracy that everyone seems to shout about without taking into account we're not there yet...there are still many things that need to be shed before we are.
If our purpose was to maintain the status-quo and keep an aristocratic-democracy as our final goal...then we would not be having this argument...but since the goal is a democracy then we are.
As for the BGF...sorry...it doesn't impress me.

Democracy is not something we have obtained...it is something we are trying to achieve...every advance is met with resistance...by people who want to keep the status-quo.

Eg

[|3lack|ce]

Rust, just for you I'm jumping ship for a second from my 'support Bill' stance :

.3 percent of 50 billion.

/me whips out his handy IT calculator

$150 MILLION DOLLARS. A nice petty sum for his kids to live on...and more money than they, their kids, their kids' kids, etc could ever spend in their collective lifetimes. The interest alone from such a sum would ensure a wealthy lifestyle.

It's a good thing he's giving the rest away though - and fitting. Maybe if the US would stop the antitrust bullshit against him, he'd leave it to obliterate a chunk of the National Debt instead...

[nihil]

Hah!

The Greaeco/German bitch will get to hold a sharp instrument close to the junkie's neck?



Yes.............Billy Windows got done for drugs

[schmit]

I'd just like to take a minute to say that I think that the human species lives just like any other species in nature. It's called "survival of the fittest".

The great thing about the country (America) that I live in is that I have the same opportunity to make a difference as everyone else does. What I do with that is my own decision...and I really have to ask myself can I be happy with what I've done? If not, then it's up to me to change my current situation and my future.

I also believe that depending on what I do or how I contribute (being work or charity) to society will ultimately depict on what I get out of society. Bill Gates, some would think, has contributed limitlessly to society in both his charity and his productions. Lets face it...the guy that digs ditches for a living is doing a service for man...but his service is no where near the greatness of what others (Einstein, Gates, Edison)...have done for man.

This is just my opinion on the matter...I'm new...and thought it was a good thread to get my feet wet on....

[RoadClosed]

Oh, don't forget the ass-raping Billy and MS get by Uncle Sam in form of the Internal Revenue Service.