Re: Bill, Melinda Gates to review AIDS initiative in India

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

It is obvious from the article (Bill, Melinda Gates to review AIDS initiative in

India. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1565217,00020020.htm) that the

Gates Foundation's work on HIV/AIDS in India is now being overtly tied in with

Microsoft's business activities here.

Given the variety of questions regarding the investments of the Gates in the

pharmaceutical industry (particularly in companies trying to stop cheap generic

ARTs), the Gates Foundation had hastened to issue a clarification saying that

those investments had nothing to do with the work of the Foundation on HIV/AIDS.

There should be a similar separation (at least ostensibly) between the

activities of Microsoft and the HIV/AIDS work of the Gates Foundation.

Microsoft has extremely questionable business practices, and, through

its model of proprietary software, has been trying to stifle the growth of Free

and Open Source Software, which is a far better solution for developing

countries than Microsoft's proprietary, high-cost software solutions. I am not

getting into this further, because this forum is not meant for this issue. Have

mentioned as much as I have only because this posting cast the first stone as it

were, by dragging in Microsoft into a HIV/AIDS forum.

" Mariette Correa "

E-mail: <mariette@...>