Do you want biotechnology in YOUR city? (Seattle does.)

[JailBush]

Microsoft co-founder and gazillionaire Paul Allen never tires of dreaming up ways to screw Washington State residents. Now he's developing South Lake Union, which he wants to transform into a biotechnology center. Even aside from his more obvious related stunts - like bribing politicians to help steer a new transportation route through his property - this is very worrisome.

Do we really want to give King Paul MORE power? And more important, do we want to turn Seattle into a biotechnology capital? What are America's corporate thugs going to manufacture in their laboratories? How might biotechnology be used in terrorism? Wouldn't it better for America to have biotechnology headquarterd in a city that isn't as frightening corrupt as Seattle?

And will this be another tax-subsidized industry that mostly enriches the rich before it goes bust, similar to Boeing and Microsoft?

One of Seattle's biggest corporate crooks is Don Nielsen, a right-wing lunatic who made his millions as head of a biotechnology company on the East Coat. He's probably up to his neck in Paul Allen's germ world.

The Seattle Times - the de facto right-wing paper that endorsed George W. Bush - has another editorial promoting Paul Allen's latest business venture: "Stop grumbling, move ahead on S. Lake Union" http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2001808913_bioed07.html
Sunday, December 07, 2003 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

It says, "The populist grumbles about the city of Seattle's support of Paul Allen are unwarranted. . . .

"South Lake Union would attract some 20,000 jobs over the next two decades, many for Ph.D.s. Retailers, service companies and other providers will benefit, as will landowners (including The Seattle Times Company) and taxing authorities. But the beneficiaries will far exceed the boundaries of the lake."

Yes, of course. It's no secret that Paul Allen and the Seattle Times have a good thing going - at everyone else's expense.

[Sufi Marmot]

1. Seattle already is a biotech capital...

...at least academically. I'm not sure what the private/industrial scene is like, but between the University of Washington, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and the Institute for Systems Biology, there is no shortage of cutting edge biological research going on there. I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting or unaware of...


-SM

[JailBush]

4. True, but I still worry about a larger biotech venture effectively owned

by Paul Allen. That goon has done enough damage as it is.

[Myra]

2. Oo, maybe if we're lucky he'll use the same architect he did for EMP...

The Experience Music Project.
It looks like something my cat arfed up.

[JailBush]

3. Ha! I call it Paul's "Experience Me Jamming" museum. What an arrogant jerk

Yes, Seattle could use a biotech laboratory shaped like an amoeba.

[RamseyClark22]

5. Sounds good

not sure if you know but microsoft employs tens of thousands of people here in washington and has made more millionaires than any other company, they carry our economy on their back after boeing has slipped over the past two decades. And seattle is VERY liberal. Before you go making assumptions about my state maybe you should research a little bit more.

[Myra]

7. Before you go making assumptions about where people live RamseyClark22

You might want to ask.
I live in Seattle.

And don't count on Microsoft carrying *our state* much
longer, 'cause they're shipping jobs to India by the
thousands.

[RamseyClark22]

8. i think its good they are going to india

people here are too greedy and demand too much, these new jobs in india are doing wonders for that country, sorry i dont look down on them like you, i think they deserve to live as good as we do.

[JailBush]

10. First you credit Microsoft with employing Seattleites, then you praise it

for employing Indians. Moreover, you respect Indians, but you dismiss U.S. workers as "too greedy."

Hmmmmm... do you consider overpaid corporate whores like Bill Gates and Phil Condit greedy?

[Myra]

12. My aren't you presumptious?

First you assume you're the only one on DU living in Seattle.
Then you assume I look down on Indians when I said nothing like
that. I merely stated a fact; MS is sending thousands of jobs
to India.

Chill out, or you'll pop a blood vessel before you reach
the magic 10 post milestone.

And I'm done sparring with you over total BS "RamseyClark22,"
or as I prefer to think of you "options/ignore."

[JailBush]

9. Excuse me?

I LIVE in Seattle, pal. I've been politically active for several years.

I know all about the Microsoft millionaires, who have driven up costs for the majority of Seattleites. Bill Gates Senior sent me a computer virus when I first ran for public office. I lost my job after Bill Gates Junior took over the Seattle School District.

I'm well aware that Seattle is VERY liberal. You could substitute "apathetic and stupid" for "liberal."

As for Microsoft carrying Washington on its back, surely you jest. Paul Allen alone is a one-man whorehouse. Bill Gates has also contributed to the corruption in this state - bit time.

And it gets worse. Microsoft is a ticking time bomb. Having already been failed by Boeing (twice), by the burst dot.com bubble, then by King County Democrats who followed George Bush's lead in exploiting terrorism, we're now dependent on a corpration that excels at making crappy software and blackmail.

I can't predict what the future holds in store for Microshaft. It may grow even more powerful. But it's equally possible that MS could crash and burn. God knows its made millions of enemies around the world, and it's now facing stiff competition from Linux.

Frankly, I welcome Microshaft's demise. It would obviously be a tremendous jolt for Seattle, but rather one big jolt then another generation of Microsoft corruption.

[RamseyClark22]

11. I'm sorry

you wish for so many people around the world to lose their jobs and starve to death when microsoft goes under, jailbush, you sound like a repub. Gates is pretty evil for that 25billion him and his wife have donated during their life so far. How much have you donated?

[JailBush]

14. I want many people around the world to starve to death when Microsoft

goes under? How incredibly arrogant. Do you honestly believe that nothing could take Microsoft's place??? Sheez, Microsoft might already be extinct if it wasn't kept on artificial life support by George Bush, Inc.

Your comment about the $25 billion Gates has "donated" is another joke. Recycling money stolen from consumers as a tax write-off and public relations is hardly an example of philanthropy.

It's also interesting that all the billions Gates gives away is so utterly effective. Seriously, what does he have to show for it? Public education continues to deteriorate, while Gates recruits derelict school officials and teachers union whores. Seattle in general is wallowing in corporate corruption and unemployment.

Gates dumped a ton of money on Indian and even sent them thousands of jobs, and they're STILL rejecting Microsoft in favor of Linux!

And digressing to Bill Gates' "donations," don't forget one of his favorite charities - the Republican Party.

[RamseyClark22]

15. Yea

Thats why their stock has been doin so bad compared to when clinton was in office, because you know GWB is his great saviour. Perhaps that should be the evidence you need to see that dumping money into schools isn't a solution. Their money buys computers for the schools around here, not sure what you do for the schools. You're prolly unemployed.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RamseyClark22]

20. Just as much motive

as apple selling all schools apples during the 80s and early 90s at a very reduced cost. Hey welcome to capitalism! Welcome aboard.

And thank you for agreeing with me, dumping money into schools does them no good, thats why i vote no on every levy and bond.

[JailBush]

23. The big difference is that Apple didn't BLACKMAIL the schools.

Nor did Apple create the bizarre K-12 "Leadership Institute" and recruit the infamous Rudy Crew to head it.

I vote NO on school levies, too. But I also work hard to get rid of the corrupt elements so I can one day vote YES.

And I'm certainly not a Microsoft whore; I support CHILDREN, not the corporate croooks who exploit them.

[Myra]

17. Hi JailBush, you probably know Bill Gates co-hosted a fund raiser for Bush

In the oh so exclusive wealthy enclave of Hunt's Point
a couple of months back, along with the McCaws and Jennifer
(hell bitch) Dunn. And shortly before that gala event,
MS sent email to its employees drumming up support for Bush,
i.e., pressuring its employees politically.

He and Paul Allen are as unscrupulous as hell.

[JailBush]

21. I knew about the Hunt's Point gala, but I didn't know Bill Gates

was so prominently involved.

Craig McCaw is another billionaire sleazo. He was helping to groom the late Seattle Schools Superintendent John Stanford for a position as U.S. Secretary of State. I know someone who used to work for him, and he said his wife was a penny-pinching B-I-T-C-H.

I forget her name, but she got an enormous settlement when they divorced, bought a newspaper in Calfornia, then shafted all the employees big time. I think James Bush wrote about it.

Paul Allen bankrolled Washington State's last charter school initiative, and we all know how much HE cares about kids. He has a fabulous record of kicking them out of parks and streams used to water his golf course.

[RamseyClark22]

22. Not really

If you work for the public school system in washington state you are forced to be a member of the union(or pay a fine), which donates its money to the democratic party.

[JailBush]

24. True, but the Democrats the National Education Association support

are hard to distinguish from Republicans. Moreover, I've discovered some tantalizing evidence that suggests the Washington Education Association may be working with Republicans nowadays. I'll try to get my information online soon.

[Myra]

6. Yes, it's a monument to Paul Allen's arrogance and disdain...

For the surrounding buildings.
But he's Richie Rich, so he can do whatever he wants.

[DrWeird]

13. Hey, c'mon.

At least it's not the kingdom.

[JailBush]

16. They should use Seattle's "toe truck" to haul Paul Allen's Experience

Me Jamming Museum to Paul Allen's Experience Me Owning My Own Tax-Subsidized Football Stadium, then blow everything up. We could call it Experience Seattle Saying Good Riddance Paul Allen.

[Myra]

19. Heh, I like that image JailBush!

Ah yes, the stadium that the tax payers voted against,
but they built anyway. Gawd bless 'Merka.

[JailBush]

25. Think about this:

The Seattle establishment bitched endlessly about the WTO protest, which allegedly cost Seattle something like... what - $10 mlllion?

Well, compare that to the mone we lost on the Nordstroms Parking Garage ($40 million?), Ron Sims' computer scandal ($40 million?), Paul Allen's football stadium (several hundred million dollars), SAFECO Field (half a billion dollars), God-knows-how-many-millions embezzled by the Seattle School Board and on and on.

It's utterly unbelievable. If Bill Gates REALLY cared about Seattle or its public schools, wouldn't he be speaking out against this rather obvious corruption?

[Myra]

28. Yeah, I'm thinking about that...not that there's anything to dispute.

You know what's weird though?
Gates' father actually seems like a decent human.
A decent outspoken human.
At least on the few occasions I've read interviews
with him. Wonder how he feels about his son's antics.

[JailBush]

29. Gates' Father

I've never read about how he feels about his son's antics. Is he critical of Bill Junior?

Overall, I think the guy's a slick propagandist. He recently appeared on the cover of the Seattle Weekly dressed like a medieval Italian under the heading, "Can the Rich be Good?" The absurdity of his costume wasn't at first apparent. But I looked at the picture and thought, "Sheez, what an elaborate and bizarre costume for the father of the world's richest snot!"

I think they were trying to forge a connection with the Leonardo da Vinci memorabilia Bill Gates purchased. I suspect there may have also been subtle religious overtones - perhaps connecting Bill Gates Senior to the Pope.

Many people have praised Bill Gates Senior for speaking out against the Estate Tax. But I know many teachers union goons who are on record as opposing or supporting this or that - but all I have to go on are media CLAIMS that they support or oppose something. Every now and then I read that they traveled to Olympia and spoke to the legislature. Yet there efforts seem very insignificant. Why can't they create websites that broadcast their cause 24/7?

The first time I ran for public office, I received my first computer virus ever. It was delivered in an e-mail from a really creepy right-winger who has written for both the Seattle Times and Seattle Weekly. He and his wife both work for Microsoft now. He said he was relaying the e-mail (with virus attached) courtesy of Bill Gates Senior.

It was delivered on the day of the general election and came with this veiled threat: "It just goes to show, you can never be too careful."

I was blown away, especially because I wasn't criticizing Microsoft at that time. I was targeting corporate corruption in general, but not Microsoft specificially. I was also amazed that Gates would commit such a brazen act, actually linking his name to a computer virus!

Anyway, that was an incredibly stupid thing for Gates to do. For me it was gloves off.

[Lexingtonian]

26. think: quacks and snake oils

The industry has so far been famously fly-by-night and litigation intensive. No great job security there in the least. It's in its gold digging stages. Enjoy the ride.

There's a kind of economy-wide thinking that health care associated stuff is where the big money is going to be flowing in the next twenty or thirty years. Record numbers of Boomers are going to be aging, and biology has been the premier field of scientific advances of the past twenty years. But health care is going to have to and the political pull will finally be there to get it 'socialized' in about fifteen.

All the computer moguls are throwing money into it- there's a hint there for you computer techies about what they think about the silicon-based future. Gates wants to go down as the Rockefeller wannabe who redeemed himself by curing the world of malaria- pretty conservative technologywise but his prior big gamble, the genomics project with Lee Hood and UW, went down the toilet. Ellison is maybe the most imaginative but utterly unrealistic, throwing a lot of money into "aging" research in a SF company that is based on a completely wrong theory of the phenomenon. Allen IMHO simply seems to want a biotech equivalent to Asymmetrix and the Trail Blazers- second or third tier organizations in their business, but they allow him to sit at the table with the Big Boys he has a need to sit with.

[JailBush]

27. I love your reference to the Rockefellers.

Think about the enduring legacy the Rockefellers left, then compare it to Bill Gate's legacy _____________. (Fill in the blank)

What IS Bill Gates' legacy? Sure, he's the richest man in the world, and he's thrown billions of dollars at various causes, but what are the results of his "philanthropy"?

It's really astounding if you think about it. Gates comes across as a sort of reverse Chauncy Gardner (ever see the movie starring Peter Sellers), stumbling through life throwing billions of dollars at everything that moves, with utterly nothing to show for it other than some buildings named after him and his wife.

America's Gazillionaire Idiot.

[Myra]

30. I'm guessing Gates (Jr) is accomplishing what he wants.

To gain a public image as a charitable soul, while
being as ruthless as an exec can be in his private
business dealings. He wouldn't have preserved a virtual
monopoly if he wasn't so ruthless. And if, lucky him,
Bush hadn't seized the White House his monopoly would
have been broken up.

Regarding Gates Sr., I really don't know much about
him other than he talks a good game in interviews.
Sounds like it may be all talk, and talk is cheap, eh?

[JailBush]

31. Yes.

Remember, we're talking about the world's largest personal fortune AND one of the most powerful corporations. There's a lot at stake, and their propaganda has to be first class. It seems to consist largely of Bill Gates endless (but phony) philanthropy and his father's crusade against the Estate Tax.

But look at what's going on behind the scenes. Bill Gates recruited Trevor Neilson from the Washington Education Association - arguably America's most corrupt teachers union - to serve as his personal spokesman. He recruited Rudy Crew - one of America's most discgraced public school superintendents - to serve as head of his K-12 Education Leaderhship Institute. It doesn't make sense.

When someone told me about an article that accused Microsoft of blackmailing over 500 schools, I didn't believe it - until I tracked down the article. After Gates took over the Seattle School District, I began hearing weird rumors through the grapevine bout Gates' intentions of laying off masses of teachers. I lost my job in the first wave.

When Bill Gates got his butt kicked in court, he appeared on "60 Minutes" almost immediately - in a fast food joint owned by a member of the right-wing Discovery Institute (http://www.discovery.org) just a few blocks from my place! I wish I had a videotape of the interview, which was absolutely bizarre. (Gates told the world that he had rediscovered how much he loved his wife - the day after he got his butt kicked in court. Go figure.)

And even though Bill Gates is often equated with the Muppets, look at some of the company he keeps. I can't think of his name offhand, but there's some Seattle-area Republican who's often characterized as a Nazi who's a big Gates ally.