Today feels like a good day for "Why this is bullshit" day.
First news item today is from the New York Times, a piece called "Philanthropy Google's Way: Not the Usual." Smells like bullshit! Let's read it!
The ambitious founders of Google [blah blah blah] philanthropy [blah] seed money of about $1 billion [blah blah] tackle poverty, disease and global warming. But unlike most charities, this one will be for-profit [blah blah blah] reflects the philanthropy's nontraditional approach [blah blah] Google.org plans to develop an ultra-fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid car engine that runs on ethanol, electricity and gasoline.
Yeah, Google's gonna save the world with just a billion bucks. Sure, that's just the initial seed money, whatever. But this is a lot of hype for a foundation that hasn't actually done much since it was launched last year. Meanwhile, Bill Gates, demonized by the press for decades, spent $1.5 billion with his $30-billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. So in the realm of competitive philanthropy, Google is a scrawny baller trash-talking before the game starts. Until Google makes a jump shot, it's all bullshit.
