I would like to see his TED talk that you linked. He said we haven't invested in preparedness, but yet what about biodefense? Is that a truthful statement he made in the article you linked? "we’ve actually invested very little in a system to stop an epidemic" Does he mean internationally? It's easy to interpret that as the US, maybe he is talking from the global perspective.

@Flowerwall @Flowerwall I just don't see a good reason to question his billionaire philanthropy experience because he was a programmer. How many billions did Warren Buffet give to the B & L G Foundation ?

@FearlessFly Was that a typo for Gates Foundation above? I think I did hear something about that. Yes, I did. I don't want to knock anybody, not Bill Gates and the philanthropic work he has done. On the contrary, his work is commendable. I may not understand. Vital pieces of info I myself am lacking, let's clarify it then. I want to know. Superficially it looks strange to me.

Additionally I have heard major US computer corporations, or I don't know exactly who, helped authoritarian regimes set up aspects of their own computer systems. So yeah, I think computer people can be highly suspect. I don't know details on that. Second hand information.

I think I was overthinking things and not seeing it clearly. I googled something on YouTube trying to find something I had watched previously and found a man from Africa talking about how they, the Gates are having terrible things said about them and stoking fear in the people there. Like in other words the Gates want to harm the people instead of helping. It's horrible. I think people are afraid.

This is the video where the false claims are addressed. I think the presenter does a good job of refuting the falseideas. A Nigerian politician makes the claim against the Gates. Reminds me of things said recently about Gates by Roger Stone, spreading conspiracy theory.

Edit: I read up a little on the man behind this video, Dr. Sunday Adelaja. He currently resides in Ukraine and was part of a movement there to help fight election fraud about 15 years ago.

Edit 2: But then he did a political about face 5 years later? I don't know too much about Ukrainian politics. So, he may not be the person to take opinion from. Still I am interested to hear opinion of os the Gatses from Africans. So far I hear vaccines are good, but the using GMOS which have good and bad side.

Could be. But if he were to look at the money spent by the federal government over the years and he's not on the House Intelligence committee, where is he basing his info on? When do outsiders (outside of federal government) KNOW we are not prepared. What gives it away? I would think pandemic preparedness is LINKED to national security. Is that NOT a reasonable assumption to make? Are the two issues NOT intrinsically intertwined, or have I been hit in the head by a COCONUT?

@Flowerwall
There could be a few things at play here:

1. We all know that the governments selectively feeds information to people that is convenient to them
2. News media's investigative arms take a very long time to find the truth but it takes years. Never soon enough. In most cases, the truth is known when it is irrelevant. It makes a good material for books but for for people's lives today
3. Between the two there are lots of nuances, guesses, misinformation and gossip.

To conclude:

1. The government is not the source of the truth. To expect it is a mistake
2. Bill Gates is unique. It is not his money, power or even the advisers he can hire that give him the ability to reach good conclusions. It is his brain and how he operates. I believe Microsoft continued to be successful for 30 years because he saw things to come. He is a visionary more than a manager. He opens his mouth only when he must. You will see he will go down in history much better than the recent U.S. Presidents would.

@Flowerwall When there are idiots like Trump disregarding the counsel and experience of Fauci and his colleagues it’s all going to turn to shit, preparedness or not!

@St-Sinner "We all know that the governments selectively feeds information to people that is convenient to them" WHAT? So Bill Gates IS on the House Intelligence Committee, or well versed in national security interests unrelated to computer programming. That is bombshell. Is that what you are saying? So are we to believe that after all this massive spending by the billions over the years on biodefense somebody is whispering "Bill, really we are NOT READY. Please somehow make sure we are ready." We have probably spent somewhere near his net worth. Why appeal to him?

I don't attempt to negate the intelligence of Bill Gates. I once encountered his reading list online and was absolutely stunned by the breadth of knowledge he must have. I can't understand how a government outsider of his clear, superior intelligence continously bets AGAINST the capability of "the world's greatest super power" in issues related to national security. Or he's NOT a government outsider? That's what we should assume, or is it?

@St-Sinner On second thought, suspicion of Gates probably doesn't make sense here. He has done a lot of good. I think I was viewing this all in terms of the U.S. OUR national interests and defense whereas Gates is probably seeing this from the perspective of poorer countries who DO INDEED lack the needed funding. There is strong need there and he is advocating for that, and very rightly so. I don't want to be part of a group that is very critical of the most effective human beings at solving world problems. You could be right in what you said about him, about Gates. I guess as just an average person who generally doen't see what is happening out in the bigger world up close, it's easy to be mistrustful.

I have seen atleast two instances where the Gates' are discussed with suspicion or bad intentions with regard to their role in the pandemic. It does make a person wonder.

"They should quit talking to and funding experts on the subject and just google shit, right?" Where did you get THAT idea?

Magicians can also perform magic tricks, fun to watch if you are into that sort of thing.

@Flowerwall Where did you get THAT idea?

The same place you got the idea that Bill couldn't know jack about how infectious diseases spread because he's a retired computer programmer - I pulled it out of my ass.

@1of5 Thanks for your very helpful response. You are a member of this "community" as some people like to call the sham, but yet seem to lack basic precepts in human civility in your interaction with my post. Must let the other person know (we were having a discussion on this very topic recently). Point for me!