[RESOLVED] What should Bill Gates do...

[cuda1969]

I'm not inferring that the wealthy have any debt to society, but I'm sure if Bill Gates put up a $100 million reward for Osama's head, the hunt for Bin Laden would end quickly. Do you think Bill Gates should be doing more to help preserve the democratic society which helped him gain wealth and power, and if so, what should he do?

[Cobra]

I hate sticking up for Bill, but....


He & MS have already donated money, software & hardware to the clean-up efforts in NYC & DC. They are under no obligation to do so, but the fact that Gates would do ANYTHING at all to help his fellow man should be commended. $10-20 million might not seem like much, but it's a hell of a lot more than I could do. Could they do more? Probably. Should they? That's none of my business, what they have done thus far speaks volumes about Bill's character & helping the government that has been so critical of him & his company for the past 2-3 years.

With that said, I don't think Gates should finance a bin Laddin lynching. The situation is delicate enough as it is, the last thing we need is a bunch of redneck cowboy bounty hunters going over there to hunt down bin Laddin. And I include myself in that statement, because if that sort of money was at stake, I'd be trying to figure out how to get a hold of some heavy artillery & get it into Afghanistan to do the deed.

Bin Laddin should be left to the US Government and however they choose to deal with him.

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LET THE PANTIES HIT THE FLOOR!

[MacGyver]

I think society would be better off if we actually proved who was responsible before we start any more killing.

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I help others in the name of my Lord, Jesus Christ.

[Danrak]

If I remember correctly didn't Kimble offer a 10 million for him? I honestly think Ross Pero is going to plan something now if it is public or not is another thing. As for Bill Gates, he can do want he wants. Would it be nice if he help yes. I personaly think if Bin Laden is found guilty that we should take his money. He's supposed to be extremely weathly, lets use his money. Freeze all accounts and property and take it.

[godofuq]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by Cobra:
I hate sticking up for Bill, but....


He & MS have already donated money, software & hardware to the clean-up efforts in NYC & DC. They are under no obligation to do so, but the fact that Gates would do ANYTHING at all to help his fellow man should be commended. $10-20 million might not seem like much, but it's a hell of a lot more than I could do. Could they do more? Probably. Should they? That's none of my business, what they have done thus far speaks volumes about Bill's character & helping the government that has been so critical of him & his company for the past 2-3 years.

With that said, I don't think Gates should finance a bin Laddin lynching. The situation is delicate enough as it is, the last thing we need is a bunch of redneck cowboy bounty hunters going over there to hunt down bin Laddin. And I include myself in that statement, because if that sort of money was at stake, I'd be trying to figure out how to get a hold of some heavy artillery & get it into Afghanistan to do the deed.

Bin Laddin should be left to the US Government and however they choose to deal with him.

</font>

Wow, that's about exactly what I was thinking.

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[KoWind7]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by Danrak:
If I remember correctly didn't Kimble offer a 10 million for him? I honestly think Ross Pero is going to plan something now if it is public or not is another thing. As for Bill Gates, he can do want he wants. Would it be nice if he help yes. I personaly think if Bin Laden is found guilty that we should take his money. He's supposed to be extremely weathly, lets use his money. Freeze all accounts and property and take it.</font>

One problem...we can't touch his money or property. He's not a US citizen and not subject to our laws. Until he is handed over/brough in/whatever, we can't do a damn thing...And once we can, all his money and property becomes the property of the country it is in (mostly Saudi Arabia)

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[Spork]

Bill Gates shouldn't have to do anything. It's his money and therefore he's is entitled to do whatever he wants with his fortune. If he wants to be generous and give some away, then good for him. If not, then that's his decision. We shouldn't look down upon someone because of their non-charitable actions.

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"Damn the man. Save the Empire" Mark - Empire Records

[PuterGeekGirl]

I agree with Cobra and Spork....

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Mama never told me geekhood was gonna be like this...

[Sowulo]

...and I believe there was already an international bounty put on Bin Laden's head by a consortium of governments including the U.S.

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Note to self: Re-index brain cells, database corruption present.

[emr]

And why not the Queen of Great Britain while we're at it? I gather she's pretty wealthy.

Where does it stop then? Since when has a private individual in any country had the moral or legal right to use his or her wealth to hunt down and bring to justice / kill another private citizen? It doesn't matter what we believe he is guilty of, there is a small point of law I think many are forgetting here, namely innocent until proven guilty. As soon as we throw that out the window and go putting bounties on people's head we might as well all sign up for our local terrorsit group.

Using his wealth to hunt down and kill private citizens. Excuse me but isn't that exactly what Bin Laden himself is being accused of?

A concerted, well defined and professionally orchestrated international action against the culprit of this atrocious act, and any other terrorist act? I'll back you up 100 % there.

[This message has been edited by emr (edited September 21, 2001).]

[Randolph]

Hmm... i think money isnt the key to help the world problems.



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[Sowulo]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by sowulo:
...and I believe there was already an international bounty put on Bin Laden's head by a consortium of governments including the U.S.

</font>

Just a footnote for accuracy sake....Just saw on CNN, the current tally offered by the U.S. is $25 million for buying info/rewards....

...and no one owes anything more than any other concerned citizen....expecting someone else to pay simply because they have a lot is just classism and not any prettier than the religious fanatacism that empowers the terrorists to act--both have been the cause of too many wars and too many innocent deaths....

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Note to self: Re-index brain cells, database corruption present.

[GJFowler]

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/

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The platypus, proof God has a sense of humour.

[Mayet]

Bill gates shouldn't have to do anything for anyone
Its a free country
Freedom of choice
He chooses to be such a nice man and to share his wealth in situations like this

and as far as proving it was him
His trademark up to this point has been so that any bombings cannot be direcly linked to him and no one claims credit for them..
So I see no reason why he would change his Modus Operandi now


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[Blehboy]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by KoWind7:
One problem...we can't touch his money or property. He's not a US citizen and not subject to our laws. Until he is handed over/brough in/whatever, we can't do a damn thing...And once we can, all his money and property becomes the property of the country it is in (mostly Saudi Arabia)

</font>

Osama bin Ladin may not be a US citizen, but he and his terrorist followers have millions $ (maybe billions $) invested with US investment banks and brokerage firms. These companies can and have been ordered to freeze their assets. Our allies have followed suit. And there is NOTHING Osama bin Ladin can do about that.

As for Mr. Gates, I think $10 million is significant and will only be the beginning. Microsoft will be working closely with the companies impacted by these attacks to help restore their technical infrastructures. Cash is only one way companies will give to help restore NY. Time, human resources, technical resources, consulting services. All are ways that companies in the IT field can give to help out.

I think if Gates offered a bounty on bin Ladin it would be counter-productive. Please remember, bin Ladin only represents one type of terrorist threat. Our goal should be to root out all of the major terrorist groups and the governments that harbor those groups. We should make capturing bin Ladin our first priority, but we cannot stop there.

Finally, I think that if bin Ladin is found (dead or alive), all of his assets should go to the families of the police officers, fireman, emt's, military and business people who were killed in the attacks.

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