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>Amazing that the money is all gone Not really. This is what American Capitalism is known as around the world. In oil and gas you know to sell your shares and

by monochr 12y ago

>Amazing that the money is all gone Not really. This is what American Capitalism is known as around the world. In oil and gas you know to sell your shares and not work for a firm that gets an American CEO because everything the article talks about happens without fail within the first three years. The short and simple of it is that Americans businesses just plain have no morals and everyone expects to be screwed over by them. >It gives me more appreciation for Bill Gate's approach Is just as bad as everyone else. Remember that amazing mosquito zapper he demoed 4 years ago[1]? Turns out the reason you haven't heard anything more about it is because he hired his patent troll friends over at Intellectual Ventures to do it for him [2]. Since they own the patents for it no one else can develop it and they aren't cross licensing, kind of obvious for a patent troll. Since they are a patent troll they aren't doing anything but holding the intellectual property and not producing any units. So all in all, it's just another green washing bullshit fest as are most of his other investments in the region. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwyMuwNYKvI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwyMuwNYKvI [2] http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB123680870885500701?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB123680870885500701.html http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB123680870885500701?mg=...

throwaway7767 12y ago
> Remember that amazing mosquito zapper he demoed 4 years ago[1]? Turns out the reason you haven't heard anything more about it is because he hired his patent troll friends over at Intellectual Ventures to do it for him [2]. Since they own the patents for it no one else can develop it and they aren't cross licensing, kind of obvious for a patent troll. Since they are a patent troll they aren't doing anything but holding the intellectual property and not producing any units. This was, to me, the most interesting part of your comment. Do you have any references to Intellectual Ventures refusing to license this particular technology? If so, it certainly paints the whole program in a different light.
InclinedPlane 12y ago
Applying the label "capitalism" to a government run school system is outright laughable.
- monochr 12y ago
  This is capitalism in government, that was the whole point behind the "venture philanthropists". Watching plan after plan crash and burn with them blaming the poor is like a getting a time machine ride to 1860's Britain trying to deal with the massive dislocations of the industrial economy without doing the one sane thing they could have done: massive government intervention in the economy to slow down the worst effects of industrialization.
  - InclinedPlane 12y ago
    At least have the intellectual honesty to call it "crony capitalism". Implying that there is any relation to the free market or the "invisible hand" is ridiculous.
    - monochr 12y ago
      Actually existing capitalism is capitalism. There is no more point in trying to differentiate it from "ideal" capitalism than there is of trying to separate "ideal" feudalism or socialism from their real world counterparts. If a system fails every time it is tried in the exact same way what you're looking at isn't a bug but a feature.
- makomk 12y ago
  It may officially be government-run, but more and more local goverments have been letting CEOs pay to reshape the school system based on how they run their companies. It seems quite reasonable to suggest these schools are run reflects American capitalism.

by monochr 12y ago

throwaway7767 12y ago

> Remember that amazing mosquito zapper he demoed 4 years ago[1]? Turns out the reason you haven't heard anything more about it is because he hired his patent troll friends over at Intellectual Ventures to do it for him [2]. Since they own the patents for it no one else can develop it and they aren't cross licensing, kind of obvious for a patent troll. Since they are a patent troll they aren't doing anything but holding the intellectual property and not producing any units. This was, to me, the most interesting part of your comment. Do you have any references to Intellectual Ventures refusing to license this particular technology? If so, it certainly paints the whole program in a different light.

InclinedPlane 12y ago

Applying the label "capitalism" to a government run school system is outright laughable.

monochr 12y ago
This is capitalism in government, that was the whole point behind the "venture philanthropists". Watching plan after plan crash and burn with them blaming the poor is like a getting a time machine ride to 1860's Britain trying to deal with the massive dislocations of the industrial economy without doing the one sane thing they could have done: massive government intervention in the economy to slow down the worst effects of industrialization.
- InclinedPlane 12y ago
  At least have the intellectual honesty to call it "crony capitalism". Implying that there is any relation to the free market or the "invisible hand" is ridiculous.
  - monochr 12y ago
    Actually existing capitalism is capitalism. There is no more point in trying to differentiate it from "ideal" capitalism than there is of trying to separate "ideal" feudalism or socialism from their real world counterparts. If a system fails every time it is tried in the exact same way what you're looking at isn't a bug but a feature.
makomk 12y ago
It may officially be government-run, but more and more local goverments have been letting CEOs pay to reshape the school system based on how they run their companies. It seems quite reasonable to suggest these schools are run reflects American capitalism.