2nd richest man donates to microsoft
I wonder if we could tap into this alas most of it goes to Indias earth quake relief etc. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Richest II and I make charity history Buffett billions for Bill trust K.P. NAYAR <http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060627/images/27bugate.jpg> Warren Buffett with Melinda and Bill Gates in New York on Monday. (AP) Washington, June 26: The world's second richest man has decided to donate about 85 per cent of his wealth to the world's richest man. The world's richest man, in turn, has decided to wind down his day-to-day work and concentrate more of his time and efforts on charitable work. A $37-billion gift by Warren Buffett - most of it to the charitable foundation run by Bill Gates in his name and that of his wife Melinda - has effectively doubled its capacity to spend on reducing poverty and increasing access to technology and health care for the poor in developing countries. Buffett's donation is the biggest single act of charity ever recorded in the US. Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, and Gates, the founder of Microsoft, have been good friends and bridge partners for many years. In addition, Gates is a director of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's investment firm. Buffett and Melinda together serve on the board of the Washington Post Company. In his letter to the Gates Foundation today, Buffett spoke of his admiration for the foundation, the world's largest charity with assets of $29.1 billion, and his desire to "materially extend its future capabilities". Buffett told Fortune magazine in an interview: "We agreed with Andrew Carnegie, who said that huge fortunes that flow in large part from society should in large part be returned to society." He said the philanthropy was encouraged by his wife, Susan, who died in 2004. The stake of Buffett, 75, in the company he founded is worth $44 billion. India's poor are expected to significantly benefit from Buffett's action. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is involved in India, primarily in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. The foundation has also helped strengthen health services for women and children in India and has been engaged in earthquake relief and rehabilitation. In their response to Sunday's announcement about Buffett's gift, which preceded the release of his letter, Bill and Melinda Gates said in a statement: "Warren has not only an amazing intellect but also a strong sense of justice. Warren's wisdom will help us do a better job and make it more fun at the same time." That wisdom was obvious from the conditions Buffet has attached to his donation.Buffett wants all his money to be used in the year it is donated. It cannot be accumulated to the foundation's assets for future programmes. This represents a major challenge for the foundation, which already spends about $1.36 billion a year. With Buffet's condition, it would have to double its spending as soon as the first annual donation of $1.5 billion is available. Gates announced last week he would gradually give up his day-to-day role in Microsoft and concentrate on the work of the foundation. Buffett will join the Gates Foundation board but does not intend to get involved in its operations, or the other four philanthropic groups he is funding - one of which is in the name of his wife and the other three are run by his children, Howard, Susan and Peter. Buffett is a cult figure in the investing world. About 20,000 investors go to Omaha every year for the annual meeting of Berkshire - from which he derives the sobriquet, the Oracle of Omaha. He told Fortune he had always planned to have his wife oversee his charitable giving after his death. But after she died - and because he saw an opportunity to invest in an existing, well-respected foundation run by two "ungodly bright" people - he changed plans to start giving it away this year.
attached Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Ring'em or ping'em. Make PC-to-phone calls as low as 1¢/min with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice.
ICANN TO IMPROVE AFRICA PARTICIPATION By Rebecca Wanjiku Africas participation in Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meetings is set to improve following a decision by the organizers to provide scholarships. In the 2006/2007 budget, ICANN has factored in provision for scholarships for Africas participation, said Paul Twomey, ICANN president. Twomey says there has been an increase in Africas participation but is quick to note there is need for an increase in numbers of participants. There has been intense lobbying by Africans participating in the meeting for improvement of the number of participants from Africa. It has been argued that most Africans lack the financial capacity to travel to these meetings. It is true that some of our governments have no capacity to finance their officers to these meetings, said Mouhamet Diop, a former ICANN board member. Whilst finance may be the case, the continent suffers from its obsession with bureaucracy and red tape. Most governments release their officials if the meeting is by another government and on an official letterhead. Maimouna Diagne from Senegal adds that some governments wonder what participation in the meetings is likely to yield for the governments. A government official is expected to demonstrate the importance of these meetings and at times its not easy. The invite is through email and it may not be as official as some governments want, adds Maimouna. Apart from the financial support, she says there is need for workshops and trainings to raise awareness about ICANN and its operations in Africa. She feels there is need for Africa to understand the role of the Government Advisory Committee (GAC) in ICANN and how they can participate. In GAC, governments have a chance to discuss issues affecting them and how they can work together with the private sector. According to Mohamed Tarmizi, GAC chairman, it started being active in 1999 and was seen as a process of moving ICANN to another level. Tarmizi says that in the meetings, members are encouraged to address pressing issues relating to internet and internet governance within the 110 member countries. How do we start discuss who does or does not govern the internet while a country has no broadband connection, has no undersea cable and satellite uplink is not working well. Within our informal networks, we try to encourage governments to work on their priorities, Tarmizi adds. Ends Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messengers low PC-to-Phone call rates.
am looking for information regarding AfriNIC and cost of IP addresses, anyone with experience, comparison of prices before and now that AFRINIC is there, thanks AfriNIC STILL GOING STRONG By Rebecca Wanjiku HIGHWAY AFRICA NEWS AGENCY, MARRAKESH, (June 27, 2006) When the idea of establishing a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), was floated in 1998, pessimists dismissed the idea arguing that Africa is incapable of sustaining the registry while others said that we need to take part in the digital race. A year after AfriNIC was given full recognition and backing by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization has made major strides towards allocating Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and training. We have conducted training in Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya. We are hoping to harness the human recourse so that we can have people to offer these services as new technology emerges, said Adiel Akplogan, AfriNIC chief executive. AfriNIC was recognized last April at a meeting held in Argentina. Previously, African Internet Service Providers (ISPs) had to work with other RIR in Europe and North America. But Akplogan admits that technology consumption still poses a major challenge and is not as rosy as it may suggest. For instance out of 15 million IP address, Africa has only used up 6 per cent. I believe there is still lack of aware on the availability of such services. Some network operators in the region do not know they can come to AfriNIC and get the allocations, said Akplogan. While the slow uptake of uptake of IP address has been blamed on the lack of awareness, it is also argued that the prices charged are still high for a market that is still struggling with issues of accessibility. Pierre Ouedraogo, from Burkina Faso says that the prices have been reduced to fit the African market given that before AfriNIC prices were dictated by other regions depending on the area of allocation. In 1997, I got the first IP address block from Europe; Burkina Faso has not exhausted these numbers. All Africans should believe in our movement, telecommunication agencies, governments and technology experts should engage in outreach activities to ensure as many people as possible are aware of the services, Ouedraogo said. There is debate whether Africa should proceed with allocation of IP version 6 or first exhaust the available version 4. However, Akplogan and Ouedraogo feel that if a country has the ability to roll out IPv6, then it should not be restricted. They contend that it is easier to adapt to the new strategy since some had not even taken up the IPv4. IPv4 has been in use since internet was discovered and there has been a push for a newer version that would adopt more features. IPv6 has improved functions, compared to version 4. Its the future of the networks, have to follow technology evolution, what people are doing now, there is no need to wait said Akplogan. Akplogan admits that after the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) and the ensuing debate on Internet Governance AfriNIC has been forced to be focal point on such issues in the region. We need more resources to deal with different issues without neglecting our core business which is allocation of IP addresses, Akplogan added. Ends Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail Beta.
Rebecca, Please refer to the Afrinic website i.e. http://www.afrinic.net In summary: 1) To receive IP addresses you need to become a Local Internet Registry. 2) There are various levels of LIR membership primarily based on the amount of address space being requested 3) As an LIR you have full access to all Afrinic resources i.e. address space, Autonomous system numbers, training etc... Please refer to the site and if you have further questions don't hesitate to ask or write to hostmaster@afrinic.net Warm regards, Brian Longwe Alt. Director - East Africa, AfriNIC On Jun 28, 2006, at 1:37 PM, Rebecca Wanjiku wrote:
am looking for information regarding AfriNIC and cost of IP addresses, anyone with experience, comparison of prices before and now that AFRINIC is there, thanks
AfriNIC STILL GOING STRONG By Rebecca Wanjiku HIGHWAY AFRICA NEWS AGENCY, MARRAKESH, (June 27, 2006)
When the idea of establishing a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), was floated in 1998, pessimists dismissed the idea arguing that Africa is incapable of sustaining the registry while others said that we need to take part in the digital race.
A year after AfriNIC was given full recognition and backing by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization has made major strides towards allocating Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and training.
“We have conducted training in Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya. We are hoping to harness the human recourse so that we can have people to offer these services as new technology emerges,” said Adiel Akplogan, AfriNIC chief executive.
AfriNIC was recognized last April at a meeting held in Argentina. Previously, African Internet Service Providers (ISPs) had to work with other RIR in Europe and North America.
But Akplogan admits that technology consumption still poses a major challenge and is not as rosy as it may suggest. For instance out of 15 million IP address, Africa has only used up 6 per cent.
“I believe there is still lack of aware on the availability of such services. Some network operators in the region do not know they can come to AfriNIC and get the allocations,” said Akplogan.
While the slow uptake of uptake of IP address has been blamed on the lack of awareness, it is also argued that the prices charged are still high for a market that is still struggling with issues of accessibility.
Pierre Ouedraogo, from Burkina Faso says that the prices have been reduced to fit the African market given that before AfriNIC prices were dictated by other regions depending on the area of allocation.
“In 1997, I got the first IP address block from Europe; Burkina Faso has not exhausted these numbers. All Africans should believe in our movement, telecommunication agencies, governments and technology experts should engage in outreach activities to ensure as many people as possible are aware of the services,” Ouedraogo said.
There is debate whether Africa should proceed with allocation of IP version 6 or first exhaust the available version 4.
However, Akplogan and Ouedraogo feel that if a country has the ability to roll out IPv6, then it should not be restricted. They contend that it is easier to adapt to the new strategy since some had not even taken up the IPv4.
IPv4 has been in use since internet was discovered and there has been a push for a newer version that would adopt more features. IPv6 has improved functions, compared to version 4.
“It’s the future of the networks, have to follow technology evolution, what people are doing now, there is no need to wait” said Akplogan.
Akplogan admits that after the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) and the ensuing debate on Internet Governance AfriNIC has been forced to be focal point on such issues in the region.
“We need more resources to deal with different issues without neglecting our core business which is allocation of IP addresses,” Akplogan added.
Ends
Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya.
Tel. 254 720 318 925
blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/
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participants (3)
-
Alice Wanjira -
Brian Longwe -
Rebecca Wanjiku