RSSMicrosoft to Train Colombian Fighters
By Nate Mook | Published October 20, 2006, 4:56 PM
Microsoft on Thursday pledged to donate $300,000 and train former paramilitary fighters in Colombia to handle civilian jobs. The effort comes after Colombian President Alvaro Uribe asked Microsoft chairman Bill Gates for help with re-integrating former militiamen.
$234,000 in cash and $77,000 in software will be donated to the country, with some of the software designed to create an employment database that matches the skills of former fighters with employers. Many paramilitary fighters have had trouble finding jobs due to a lack of education and their history.
The announcement was made by Microsoft president of international operations Jean-Philippe Courtois and Frank Pearl, a special envoy to President Uribe who is in charge of private sector employment for ex-combatants.
Microsoft's donation will be put toward opening eight training centers in the next three years, according to the Associated Press. The centers will offer training to over 2,000 former fighters.
Microsoft has a long history of reaching out to developing countries through donations and by working closely with governments to offer low-cost software. Windows XP Starter Edition has been released in a number of regions around the world, including Central and South America.
Hola. ¿Usted tiene gusto de activar su copia del Windows Vista hoy?
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|The new WGA, the advantage is you dont get your kneecaps knocked in by pablo.
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|Once trained, they can join the ranks of "Tech Support," answering incoming customer telephone calls. We really could use more telephone tech support representatives who can only speak broken English! ;)
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|I second that! Nothing against foreign folk but if speaking good English is vital to the job then they'd better be able to speak good English.
I recently had a chat with Dell support. The guy spoke such dire English that I had to claim the phone line was bad and ask him to email his advice to me :-/
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|There's something vaguely disturbing about this move...
*hides*
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|I sure hope they won't be leading up the anti-piracy department or some of us are in a lot of trouble.
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|lol, come in like the death squad.
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|That was really funny .... :D
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|Well, at least Microsoft got to them first before the RIAA\MPAA did.
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|By "paramilitary fighters" I suppose they mean the often USA-backed killers that use CIA methods and training?.
Because there are only three camps in the civil war in Colombia (the country name is Colombia, not Columbia, you d*mwits, unless you mean the DC in the USA): the military, the right-wing paramilitary -which does the 'dirty work' for the men in uniform and the mass killings of civilians, and the left-wing guerrillas.
Colombia's Paramilitary
Profile of an Entrenched Terror Network
http://www.zmag.org/cont...eiss_paramilitaries.cfm
Colombia: Paramilitary Groups Closely Tied to Army, Police
U.S. Funding Military Unit Implicated in Serious Abuses
http://hrw.org/english/d...01/10/04/colomb2603.htm
Colombian army officials accused of allegedly faking terrorist attacks
http://en.wikinews.org/w...aking_terrorist_attacks
Right wing paramilitary forces and Carlos Castaño's Skull
http://www.democracyarse...09/carlos_castaos_.html
also
http://www.killingtrain.com/archives/000226.html
THESE are the guys being "retrained"? Sheesh, they should be in jail in any civilized country...
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|Sheesh, they should be in jail in any civilized country.
Because we know the success rate of reforming people via imprisonment...
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|good one! :) Or the third option: Gitmo! :)
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|Yeah, now that is how civilized countries take care of things!
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|I vote this the *most* mis-leading TITLE ever! They did get me to read it tho so kudos on that. lol
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|Maybe they could help out our veterans....? Last I heard they were the ones who allow their great squandered wealth possible. Maybe he could setup high class homless shelter in every city in the u.s. or a free training program for our veterans that are disabled from war instead of giving hundreds of millions to a college for minorities or Columbian fighters or africa?
Bill gates really is a weirdo, did they threaten to kidnap his daughter or something and this was a ransom payoff? give us money or we kill you, columbian war fighters.
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|Oh, well, and yet again ...
It's ColOmbia, not ColUmbia, how hard can it be ...????
We're not talking about a country with a spelling like "Kazakhstan" here ... come on guys!
But you know how Ameticans from the Unired States are ...
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|Bill Gates agenda to save the world may require that he use that free memory diagnostic tool provide at microsoft.com on himself. He may not remember but someone else had already tried to save the world.
Whats next, teaching the drug cartel how to use msoffice for a more proficient organization? Lets see databases on cia agents, spreadsheets for calculating profits, word for threat letters, etc....
It would be nice that he put all his money and attention into the country and the people that made him what he is today....
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|Oh cry me a river, the US is soo poor. Trust me, if the average person in the US actually cared, we could solve most of our problems almost over night...of course, who knows how long it would take us to agree on what our problems actually are.
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|LOL...some of you guys are way funny.
Anyway, as others have stated - as well as the article, apart from the...um, 'catchy' headline....to make this super simple, they're DONATING money and software (to the country), to train EX-MILITARY (as in, no longer in the military...veterans?) to work in CIVILIAN jobs, as in - not in the military, anything else than military even.
So, MS is indeed, NOT training 'Columbian Fighters', at least not active ones, and most definitely not to fight...
I hope this fixes the confusion and sarcasm rampant in the responses. And honestly, I can identify with having catchy news titles, but this is pushing it.
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|Although it has been already stated, the title is quite odd! It seems like an idea taken out of context! First I was astonished. Then I began to understand it was about re-integration funds. Nate, wouldn't a title like "Microsoft funds ex-fighters re-integration" be more suitable?
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|it was directed towards the guy who consistently calls microsoft microsux and windoze (which is very clever for a 5 year old)of course its not an attack on apple or microsoft but people feel the need to bring up an operating system when it has nothing to do with the article...its what a troll does...
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|What a bunch of #@$%*&# Fanboy IDIOTS!!!!!!
And how does this have anything to do with Apple versus MS or MS versus Apple!?
Who gives a #%$@ what Bill Gates or Steve Jobs do!?
Go back to high school and argue over the origins of the mystery meat.
Why is it always the same #%$&@ IDIOTS who participate in this sh!t?
The only thing I can agree with in this thread is with what Murphmeister said. The article title is the best example of innuendo and doublespeak lending itself to inappropriate emotional responses I have seen in a long time!
Oh, and did I say it clearly enough? You folks are #$%@& IDIOTS!!!!!
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|For a guy who spends most of his time telling all the other people the are waisting their time... You seem to have a lot of free time.
Wow... That was a really odd sentence to write. I'll have to come back and come up with a more logical way to put it. =)
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|"waisting their time"...I am sure there is a joke in there someplace, beside the obvious...
"a lot of time..." - it takes 5 minutes to peruse the site...and Much more time to find anything that actually contributes to an enhanced understanding of any of the articles and unfortunately even less time to read the rarity...
...Eliminate the infantile MS/Apple attacks and there wouldn't be much of anything left on this site. And eliminate the HS and sophomoric college crowd living off daddy's credit card while whining about DRM with no understanding of the market environment and all 3 people left might be able to have a discussion.
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|True enough... =)
No fault in your logic there...
I miss the days of 'The free ride', oh well. =)
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|Nice substance you added there. Well done.
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|I miss the days of 'The free ride', oh well.
What's a 'free ride'? It sounds like it would've been nice.
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|And how does this have anything to do with Apple versus MS or MS versus Apple!?
I dunno, why don't you ask the known Mac fanboy that brought the topic of OS quality into this...he was the first one to post.
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|Someone want to nudge the mods? They seem to be napping on the job again... :p
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|No kidding. I'm paying my own way through college right now. School loans are going to be the death of me. =p
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|Yeah, I actually managed to avoid loans for the first few years, working full-time and on-call; but then had issues with my employer and ended using up my savings and eventually getting myself quite in debt to loans and credit cards. I finally graduated and am recovering at a decent rate, so don't sweat it too much.
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|Next..Apple training poodles to jump through hoops, Linux training...Oh never mind.
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|Congratulations Betanews on the best topic title ever.
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|Sometimes...just take a step back. Your hatred or dislike for MS makes you seem too ignorant.
They can help and give to worthy and legitimate causes and you insult them. Nice.
Insult and criticize their products, as logic would only understand, but support any and all companies if they try to make the world a better place.
Or just be smug and enjoy smug products. The choice is yours...and I love freedom. :)
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|Handle civilian jobs my foot, that's M$’ phase 1 for total world domination, build an army. Can anyone say President Bill Gates!!!:-)LMAO
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|So, since your OS is so perfect (SARCASM for the noobs) you have so much extra money to train military?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Fix windoze first aholes.
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|It isn't military training, they are training ex military people to work in civilian jobs. Also Microsoft is not sending their staff to train them, they are just donating money. Do read the articles before you go off on a ridiculous rant.
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|Former* military. Colombia is just like any other developing nation-- they've had a lot of problems, and they need the support of more developed nations to succeed.
So how about you set an example for Microsoft and don't be such an ahole, OK? :)
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|I don't see Apple donating Macs to developing countries. Say what you will about M$ they do spend alot of money on good causes. At least Bill Gates goes to Africa and puts his money where his mouth is.
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|Fix windoze first aholes.
Yes the perfection of an OS is much more important than the livelihoods and social acceptance of living breathing people.
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|LOL@ignorant noob.
Grazer your a worthless troll that adds nothing. haha
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|???
Did you not get the sarcasm? Or did you think your "OMG, fix Windoze, Micro$haft, you noobz!" comment was actually a worthwhile non-troll?
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|SARCASM for the noobs
Noobs at what? Stop watching PurePwnage.
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