*As ever, following the example of John D. Rockefeller.*
How the Gates Foundation Is Killing Open License Pandemic Remedies > INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC ACCURACY, October 6, 2020 > > JAMIE LOVE > http://accuracy.org/release/how-the-gates-foundation-is-killing-open-license-pandemic-remedies/ > > *A just published in-depth report by Tim Schwab in The Nation > <https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/bill-gates-investments-covid/> > focusing > on the Gates Foundation states: * > *“James Love, director of the NGO Knowledge Ecology International > <http://keionline.org/>, says the foundation’s decades of* > *work on vaccines, along with its sprawling financial ties, allowed it to > assert influence early in the pandemic.* > > *“’He had enough money and enough presence in the area for a long enough > period of time to be positioned* > *as the first mover and the most influential mover. So people just relied > upon his people and his institutions,’* > *says Love, ‘In a pandemic, when there is a vacuum of leadership, people > that move fast and seem to know* > *what they’re doing, they just acquire a lot of power. And he did that in > this case.’* > > *“Gates’s leadership in the pandemic has been widely, almost universally, > praised, with The New York Times * > *calling him a ‘vocal counterweight to President Trump,’ and Madonna making > a million-dollar donation to* > *support the foundation’s work. But because Gates is not an elected > representative or public official, the* > *details of his far-reaching influence — and finances — have largely eluded > public scrutiny.* > > *“’You have an enormous amount of power that affects everyone around the > globe, and there should be some* > *accountability, some transparency,’ says Love. … ‘It’s a charity. … [We’re > asking], “Can you explain what* > *you’re doing, for example? Can you show us what these contracts look > like?” Particularly since they’re* > *using their money to influence policies that involve our money.’* > > *“The Gates Foundation declined requests for interviews and did not > respond to detailed questions sent* > *by e-mail, including about its investments in pharmaceutical companies > working on Covid.* > > *“Love and other critics say a key role Gates has played in the pandemic > has been elevating the pharmaceutical* > *industry — for example, pushing the University of Oxford to deliver its > leading Covid-19 vaccine platform into* > *the hands of Big Pharma. The resulting partnership with AstraZeneca had > another effect, as Bloomberg and* > *Kaiser Health News recently reported, changing the university’s > distribution model from an open-license* > *platform,* *designed to make its vaccine freely available for any > manufacturer, to an exclusive license controlled* > *by AstraZeneca.”* > > *See Love’s blog <https://www.keionline.org/author/james-love> — recent > posts include: “DARPA [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] letter to > KEI* > *confirming investigation of Moderna for failure to report government > funding in patent applications.” In another* > *post, Love writes: “Trump’s Executive Order on international reference > pricing is a lot less than promised.”* > *Another posting is about “Senator Durbin’s letters to vaccine > manufacturers.”* > > *Schwab, who wrote the recent Nation piece, in August wrote the piece > “Journalism’s Gates Keepers > <https://www.cjr.org/criticism/gates-foundation-journalism-funding.php>” > for Columbia* > *Journalism Review about Gates’ influence over a host of media > organizations. Earlier this year, Schwab wrote the* > *piece “Bill Gates’s Charity Paradox > <https://www.thenation.com/article/society/bill-gates-foundation-philanthropy/>” > for The Nation which documents how the Gates Foundation has given hundreds* > > *of millions of dollars to companies it is invested in, including Merck, > Unilever and Novartis. It also documents how* > *the Gates family and Foundation’s assets continue to grow, “raising > questions about the long-term influence of* > *billionaire philanthropy” in politics.* > --- Support News from Underground: http://bit.ly/NFUSupport Visit News from Underground: https://markcrispinmiller.com You received this email because you are subscribed to News from Underground. To unsubscribe from this email list, please go to: http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=pIdjNUgiG2h8yxbhC54SSy4SEskAoEMs For archives, please go to: http://archives.simplelists.com/nfu
