....And Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." [Matthew 19:16, 19:21-22]
Philanthropy and Flim-Flammery
In 2009, it was reported that Warren Buffet, Bill & Melinda Gates, Oprah Winfrey and other well-known billionaires met in New York to see "how they could help."
Allow me to point out the obvious.
It is well known that Oprah Winfrey did a great deal to bring Barack Obama to the attention of America during the presidential campaign by interviewing him on her show. It's also pretty well known that Warren Buffet and George Soros were in contact with the Obama transition team offering economic and financial advise about the rapidly deteriorating banking situation. All of these people and others are very generous in their charitable giving.
They should be commended.
But how did these people create so much wealth for themselves? And what might they do in changing their own business and personal practices that could really change the World, to the extent that charitable giving could actually help in situations that are not simultaneously being maintained by the very wealth creation practiced by 'philanthropists'? For instance, bill Gate's Microsoft Corporation has donated computers to various school districts but has fought ferociously to expand the protections of copyright laws and break down the protections of privacy laws to the extent that personal and private information of all their customers, clients and partners is available to them. Such access not only gives them marketing advantages and built-in revenue streams but, more importantly, it establishes legal precedence in copyright law to prosecute anyone, children included, who download shared music that has already been purchased at retail price. It also establishes precedence in stripping away privacy protections that open the door for others - credit card companies, banking institutions, and others - to intrude into a person's personal life beyond anything ever imagined by J. Edgar Hoover.
And if a corporation can reach into your back pocket and pull out your underwear while looking for your wallet, what do you suppose various government police agencies are capable of?
Warren Buffet has invested in industries that promise to reshape the energy use in this country in positive directions. His company, MidAmerican Energy, has invested in renewable electricity production in Iowa and lithium car battery production in China. Yet Buffet's MidAmerican Energy ranks 8th in the nation's biggest polluters of CO2. Why? Because a majority of their power plants still burn coal, probably the most dangerous fossil fuel in the world. The extraction and use of coal pollutes the Earth all along its production stream. When mined (or blown out from the top of mountains), it pollutes nearby streams from the coal ash that is stored nearby; it pollutes the air from the great amount of pollutants the burning produces, and it produces mercury as a byproduct that pollutes ocean fish and may even be a cause of autism in children.
And what about George Soros and his philanthropic efforts in Kosovo after the war? Soros' reconstruction foundation, the Open Societies Institute, which dots Eastern Europe with projects and offices, no doubt does a great deal of humanitarian work in raising the educational levels of poorer countries and promoting democracy throughout the region. But Eastern Europe has had a long history of regional conflicts. Now, these power struggles repeat themselves between NATO and Russia in various "Color Revolutions". Underneath the seemingly ideological battles lies Oil. Oil in the Caspian Basin, and beyond, that is bound for Western markets. Oil that also, and inconveniently, resides within the old Soviet borders and in Russia's present sphere of influence.
After the Kosovo war the Caspian and Baku pipelines were built through Georgia, right under Russia's nose and without their cooperation. People tend to forget that George Soros was one of the principle backers of Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili, he of the recently stupid move to intrude into South Ossetia, thus inviting Russia to counter-attack, re-establish their influence over their old satellite, and make a point to the West in the process: "We control access to this oil and can shut it down any time we want!"
All this begs the question: How do these people really help?
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:23
Allow me to point out the obvious.
It is well known that Oprah Winfrey did a great deal to bring Barack Obama to the attention of America during the presidential campaign by interviewing him on her show. It's also pretty well known that Warren Buffet and George Soros were in contact with the Obama transition team offering economic and financial advise about the rapidly deteriorating banking situation. All of these people and others are very generous in their charitable giving.
They should be commended.
But how did these people create so much wealth for themselves? And what might they do in changing their own business and personal practices that could really change the World, to the extent that charitable giving could actually help in situations that are not simultaneously being maintained by the very wealth creation practiced by 'philanthropists'? For instance, bill Gate's Microsoft Corporation has donated computers to various school districts but has fought ferociously to expand the protections of copyright laws and break down the protections of privacy laws to the extent that personal and private information of all their customers, clients and partners is available to them. Such access not only gives them marketing advantages and built-in revenue streams but, more importantly, it establishes legal precedence in copyright law to prosecute anyone, children included, who download shared music that has already been purchased at retail price. It also establishes precedence in stripping away privacy protections that open the door for others - credit card companies, banking institutions, and others - to intrude into a person's personal life beyond anything ever imagined by J. Edgar Hoover.
And if a corporation can reach into your back pocket and pull out your underwear while looking for your wallet, what do you suppose various government police agencies are capable of?
Warren Buffet has invested in industries that promise to reshape the energy use in this country in positive directions. His company, MidAmerican Energy, has invested in renewable electricity production in Iowa and lithium car battery production in China. Yet Buffet's MidAmerican Energy ranks 8th in the nation's biggest polluters of CO2. Why? Because a majority of their power plants still burn coal, probably the most dangerous fossil fuel in the world. The extraction and use of coal pollutes the Earth all along its production stream. When mined (or blown out from the top of mountains), it pollutes nearby streams from the coal ash that is stored nearby; it pollutes the air from the great amount of pollutants the burning produces, and it produces mercury as a byproduct that pollutes ocean fish and may even be a cause of autism in children.
And what about George Soros and his philanthropic efforts in Kosovo after the war? Soros' reconstruction foundation, the Open Societies Institute, which dots Eastern Europe with projects and offices, no doubt does a great deal of humanitarian work in raising the educational levels of poorer countries and promoting democracy throughout the region. But Eastern Europe has had a long history of regional conflicts. Now, these power struggles repeat themselves between NATO and Russia in various "Color Revolutions". Underneath the seemingly ideological battles lies Oil. Oil in the Caspian Basin, and beyond, that is bound for Western markets. Oil that also, and inconveniently, resides within the old Soviet borders and in Russia's present sphere of influence.
After the Kosovo war the Caspian and Baku pipelines were built through Georgia, right under Russia's nose and without their cooperation. People tend to forget that George Soros was one of the principle backers of Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili, he of the recently stupid move to intrude into South Ossetia, thus inviting Russia to counter-attack, re-establish their influence over their old satellite, and make a point to the West in the process: "We control access to this oil and can shut it down any time we want!"
All this begs the question: How do these people really help?
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:23