4-24-20 US House of Representatives Democrats accused the Trump administration of trying to “scapegoat” the World Health Organisation to distract from its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, and urged an immediate restoration of funding to the UN health body, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The letter to Republican President Donald Trump was dated Wednesday, the same day Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News the United States might never restore funding to the WHO.
Trump suspended US contributions to the WHO on April 14, accusing it of being “China-centric” and promoting China’s “disinformation” about the outbreak. WHO officials have denied this https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3081323/coronavirus-us-democrats-back-scapegoat-who-trump
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Like most philanthropies, the Gates Foundation gives away at least 5% of its worth every year, to avoid paying most taxes. https://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-gatesx07jan07-story.html
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April 2012 In 2006, his friend Warren Buffet (the business magnate currently ranked the world’s third richest person) pledged $31 billion in company stock to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Combined with Gates’ committed assets of over $30 billion, this made it arguably the biggest philanthropic venture ever. That year, its Global Development Programme extended its activities to agriculture and economic development and, with projects multiplying, Gates began working full-time on philanthropy in 2008.
In 2010, the Foundation gave $2.5 billion in grants – 80 per cent to international projects. In total it has disbursed over $26 billion, most of it to global health. To put these figures into perspective: since 1914 the Rockefeller Foundation has given $14 billion (adjusted to today’s values)….
Microsoft lobbied vociferously for the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS agreement (the agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property), which obliges member countries to defend patents for a minimum of 20 years after the filing date. As recently as 2007, Microsoft was lobbying the G8 to tighten global intellectual property (IP) protection, a move that would, Oxfam said, ‘worsen the health crisis in developing countries’….
With the rise of health partnerships, the proportion of global health funding channelled through the UN fell from 32 to 14 per cent between 1990 and 2008, placing major limits on the possibility for poorer nations to influence international health policy. Although the Gates Foundation provides considerable support to the WHO, the money is, as with much of the WHO’s funding nowadays, earmarked for preconceived projects…
Carlos Slim, the Mexican multi-billionaire who replaced Gates at the top the world’s richlist (due to Gates’ charity), likened philanthropy to owning an orchard: ‘You have to give away the fruit, but not the trees.’ He and Gates are products of an economic system that has produced monopolies and redistributed wealth upwards for 30 years. https://digital.newint.com.au/issues/3/articles/17
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as WHO prepares to elect one of three finalists to lead the organization— “All of the candidates are going to have to ally with him in some way,” said Sophie Harman, associate professor of international politics at Queen Mary University of London. “You can’t ignore him.” Evidence of Gates’ unprecedented influence abounds in ways subtle and showy….
Gates is treated liked a head of state, not only at the WHO, but also at the G20,” a Geneva-based NGO representative said, calling Gates one of the most influential men in global health….Some health advocates fear that because the Gates Foundation’s money comes from investments in big business, it could serve as a Trojan horse for corporate interests to undermine WHO’s role in setting standards and shaping health policies….The Gates Foundation has pumped more than $2.4 billion into the WHO since 2000. Dues paid by member states now account for less than a quarter of WHO’s $4.5 billion biennial budget. The rest comes from what governments, Gates, other foundations and companies volunteer to chip in….But the Gates Foundation’s focus on delivering vaccines and medicines, rather than on building resilient health systems, has drawn criticism. And some NGOs worry it may be too close to industry.
In January, 30 health advocacy groups penned an open letter to WHO’s executive board protesting against making the Gates Foundation an official partner of the agency because its revenue comes from investments in companies that are at odds with public health goals, such as Coca-Cola. https://www.politico.eu/article/bill-gates-who-most-powerful-doctor/
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2-28-20 Billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said the coronavirus that has killed at least 2,859 people and infected more than 83,700 globally may be the “once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about.” (Aussie PM used same line; but 2009 H1N1 pandemic has costed moe lives so far. Both Gates and Trump/taxpayer donated $100 million each to China to fight Wuhan virus.
-r) https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/28/bill-gates-says-coronavirus-may-be-once-in-a-century-pathogen.html
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The federal government’s $349 billion aid program for small businesses devastated by the coronavirus pandemic was advertised as first-come, first-served. As many business owners found out, it was anything but.
That’s because some of the nation’s biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and U.S. Bank, prioritized the applications of their wealthiest clients before turning to other loan seekers, according to half a dozen bank employees and financial industry executives who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the banks’ operations. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/business/sba-loans-ppp-coronavirus.html
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4-23 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has leveled more charges at the World Health Organization, saying it needs to be held 'accountable' for failures tracking the coronavirus.
Pompeo's attack, delivered on conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham's show, follows President Donald Trump's own blasts at the organization, and the president's announcement he would withhold all U.S. funds for the group pending a review.
Pompeo even said the U.S. may never return to the funding the group, for which it has been the greatest contributor. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8249675/Mike-Pompeo-launches-fresh-attack-coronavirus.html
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4-23 Doctors have warned that the coronavirus looks to be causing strokes among adults in their 30s and 40s who otherwise are not particularly unwell, or even not showing any symptoms of the virus at all. Strokes occur when a blood clot reaches the brain, blocking an artery that supplies blood to the vital organ. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8248395/Coronavirus-causing-blood-clots-sudden-strokes-healthy-younger-patients.html
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4-23 “But you're now responsible for my life. You have a responsibility to me. It's not just about you." -Gov. Cuomo https://www.wnd.com/2020/04/gov-cuomo-people-stuck-abusive-households-domestic-violence-bad-shutdown-isnt-just/
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