July 2, 2006
-
SUNDAY GOOD NEWS
You can tell by the photo that the two guys on the left (some Anonymous Guy on the right) were buddies years ago. What do they have in common besides being the two richest dudes on the planet? Well, they both believe in using their money now to make a damn difference in the quality of life for the rest of us instead of giving it all to their families after they die. So the Old Guy just gave the Young Guy on the left $31 billion to double the money the Young Guy already put in his foundation he formed with his wife. What are they going to do with all this money? Let’s see: malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, world hunger and inner-city education initiatives for starters. Curing the world’s 20 deadliest diseases for long-term. The foundation has already
had a profound impact on world health by creating a vaccine fund of $1.5 billion, making it economically feasible for drug companies to produce vaccines for Third World countries. The Old Guy even said when he announced his gift that he was encouraging his “secret” billionaire partners to do likewise. I don’t know if this Other Young Guy with the big check is one of the Old Guy’s secret partners, but Thursday he up and announced he was inspired to leave half his fortune to charity (and he has a tidy little nest egg too). Who could be next? The Vice-President? OK, that was reaching too far.
Deep Thought: “It’s probably not a good idea to be chewing on a toothpick if you’re talking to the president, because what if he tells a funny joke and you laugh so hard you spit the toothpick out and it hits him in the face or something.” Today I am grateful for: Lovely July mornings
Guess the Movie: “Their fingers polish the inside of shell metal casings. How else am I to polish the inside of a 45 millimeter shell casing? You tell me. You tell me!” Answer: Schindler’s List, 1993.
Winner: Twiggy03.
Supreme Court Ruling May Ripple Through Other Bush Policies
by Jonathan S. Landay, Marisa Taylor and Margaret Talev
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday that the Bush administration can’t use ad hoc military commissions to try suspected terrorists may have sweeping implications for other aspects of President Bush’s war on terror. (Rest of article here.)
Comments (27)
I am a huge fan of Mr. Buffet’s (the old guy who just game $31 mil to Mr. Gates.) Mr. Gates’ foundations does incredible work even if a lot of people thinks he’s the devil!!!! (LOL)
RYC: Glad you enjoyed my story. Thank you. Today I am grateful for: My two children. Deep Thought: It’s not easy understanding the emptiness in everything. I think the movie is Schindler’s List….am I right???(I both love and hate that movie…for the ovbious reasons!)
wowiezowie – you got the movie already! Yes, Schindler’s List.
wonderful! I’m glad they are inspiring others.
That is so wonderful of them. I hope that it generates a “chain reaction” all over…..
It is encouraging to see a good example of modern philanthropy.
I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been by this news lately…I’ve often thought that someone just needed to step up to the plate like this, and I knew it wasn’t going to be anyone or anything to do with our government. I hope it causes a chain reaction too….
What they are doing IS great…May God bless them…
I hope too, that others will follow their example…
Have a great weekend…
A hug,
lucy
I bet they will attract top scientific talent too since it is so much nicer to work for the good of all and not the good of a company.
LOL! I was reading your post through my subscriptions and I clicked on the picture and took a quick glance and I thought I saw a woman with short hair and glasses, an old guy and an Asian guy. Look again and you’ll see what I mean.
I have a lot I don’t like about Bill Gates although I suppose his business practices aren’t any worse than any other rich businessman. I do admire the work that he and his wife are doing. Glad to see Warren Buffet joining in. Because really once you get to a certain point, what else can you really do with all of that money?
Amen to philanthropy!
Like a lot of other things….you can’t take it with you when you go??? At least someone will benefit from the gift/s
yeah, you can forget about dick (“big time”) cheney. hope you are enjoying the holidays.
I just want to point out that the “Asian guy” in the picture on the right (the one writing the large check) is Jackie Chan, the international movie and martial arts star (“Rush Hour”) – and he is not the same “Asian guy” in the photo on the left (standing next to Gates and Buffet).
Meanwhile, philanthropy is awesome. I just wish that problems in Africa, for example, could be “solved” instead of having band-aids being placed on them. There are people being killed and kidnapped to become slaves, by their own nation’s people. Feeding and housing refugees does not stop these crimes from happening. I wish someone would discuss possible solutions.
Part of what’s so great about the whole thing is the hope it brings and the giving it may inspire.
I really liked what buffet said when he was asked how much money he was going to leave his family…
He replied…enough so that they can do anything but not enough so they can do nothing.
You’d be surprised at the number of people who will criticize Gates and Buffet for their choices. One friend was pissed that they didn’t focus on her son’s disease. Another letter to the LA Times griped that it was a tax scam. I guessed the movie, but I was a little late…
I got tears in my eyes when I heard that on the news and I have tears in my eyes now…reading it again. They are tears of hope for this world and for the people that need the most help. It’s wonderful!!!
I saw someone on FoxNews ripping these guys apart trying to make them out to be bad guys all their life and now they are trying to give back. It surely didn’t make sense to me. I’m glad these guys are doing something positive with their money. I think it is important to give back. I wish there were more in the world like this.
I heard the other day that Jackie Chan was for his salary one of the top charitable contributers. I was astounded.
Have a great Fourth of July. Hope you have lots of good food, fun, friends, and fireworks.
Tricia
I wonder what is coming over all these rich people. Whatever it is, seems to be wonderful.
ryc – Thank you! There were 18 people here over the course of the party. Everyone seemed to have a good time. I was a little stressed at the beginning, but I always am.
Have a great 4th!
Ahh, a post filled with good news. Generous millionaires and the Supreme Court doing good by us.
Seems to be given with good will and happy aims.
May more of that ilk decide to follow suit.
Thursday was a good day…a long time coming. Let’s hope to see some ripples.
“Today I am grateful for: Lovely July mornings” Yes…I agree.
And I am glad that these guys are doing what they are doing for the world.
It’s nice to see, isn’t it?
John
My goal is to live long enough to learn how history judges some of the folks referred to in this blog — the Old Guy and the Young Guy and especially that dude in the White House.
Nice! I like all my mac stuff better than the [possibly pirated (?)] version of windows I run on my PC, but it is inspiring to see the difference that the Gates Foundation has made…and more so by this awesome donation.