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Why Peter Thiel Wants to Topple Gawker and Elect Donald Trump

nymag.com

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Re: Why Peter Thiel Wants to Topple Gawker and Elect Donald Trump

#3
What I find interesting is that the author of this piece attacks Peter Thiel as some opponent of press freedom because he helped fund a legitimate lawsuit that a jury found in favor of Terry Bolea.

The same author in 2012 wrote an article wrote an article defending Venezuela's Chavez in his treatment of the press [0]. In 2012, Reporters without borders, gave Venezuala a 117/177 in terms of press freedom[1].

0. http://georgiapoliticalreview.com/chavez-versus-the-press/

1. https://rsf.org/en/venezuela

With regards to articles about Peter Thiel, it seems like the media hand wringing over Gawker, may be in part because it strikes close to home to a lot of media members. They want the power of the media without the responsibility. In addition, I suspect a lot of media members have close friends and relatives that work for Gawker and this conflict of interest is hardly ever disclosed.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Wants to Topple Gawker and Elect Donald Trump

#4

What I find interesting is that the author of this piece attacks Peter Thiel as some opponent of press freedom because he helped fund a legitimate lawsuit that a jury found in favor of Terry Bolea. The same author in 2012 wrote an article wrote an article defending Venezuela's Chavez in his treatment of the press [0]. In 2012, Reporters without borders, gave Venezuala a 117/177 in terms of press freedom[1]. 0. http:/…

I think it's more that Thiel's lawyers dropped claims that would have gotten Bollea more money in order to cause more pain to Gawker. And refused various settlement offers.

And that Thiel is also funding the anti-Gawker lawsuit by the guy who claims he invented email.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Wants to Topple Gawker and Elect Donald Trump

#5

What I find interesting is that the author of this piece attacks Peter Thiel as some opponent of press freedom because he helped fund a legitimate lawsuit that a jury found in favor of Terry Bolea. The same author in 2012 wrote an article wrote an article defending Venezuela's Chavez in his treatment of the press [0]. In 2012, Reporters without borders, gave Venezuala a 117/177 in terms of press freedom[1]. 0. http:/…

wouldn't normally care to weigh in on Thiel, but his supporters keep using the phrase "he helped fund a legitimate lawsuit" as though that has anything to do with Thiel's motivation or the end result. He's funded maybe over a dozen other suits, secretly, some of which were pretty dubious. His stated goal is to destroy a news agency because they reported on his personal life. I hate that kind of journalism, but I don't think billionaires should be able to use money and the courts to shut down speech they don't like.

>>They want the power of the media without the responsibility What do you mean by that? "The Media" is not one single thing, but the precedent Thiel is setting could affect all types of media.

Frankly, I find Thiel's anti-democratic tendencies to be troubling. What I mean is that is his attempt to hijack the legal process to stifle speech vis a vis paying for a decade of continuous legal proceedings.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Wants to Topple Gawker and Elect Donald Trump

#6
post #4

What I find interesting is that the author of this piece attacks Peter Thiel as some opponent of press freedom because he helped fund a legitimate lawsuit that a jury found in favor of Terry Bolea. The same author in 2012 wrote an article wrote an article defending Venezuela's Chavez in his treatment of the press [0]. In 2012, Reporters without borders, gave Venezuala a 117/177 in terms of press freedom[1]. 0. http:/…

I think it's more that Thiel's lawyers dropped claims that would have gotten Bollea more money in order to cause more pain to Gawker. And refused various settlement offers. And that Thiel is also funding the anti-Gawker lawsuit by the guy who claims he invented email.

It's clear that Thiel only wants to silence voices who write about and criticize him.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Wants to Topple Gawker and Elect Donald Trump

#7
post #5

What I find interesting is that the author of this piece attacks Peter Thiel as some opponent of press freedom because he helped fund a legitimate lawsuit that a jury found in favor of Terry Bolea. The same author in 2012 wrote an article wrote an article defending Venezuela's Chavez in his treatment of the press [0]. In 2012, Reporters without borders, gave Venezuala a 117/177 in terms of press freedom[1]. 0. http:/…

wouldn't normally care to weigh in on Thiel, but his supporters keep using the phrase "he helped fund a legitimate lawsuit" as though that has anything to do with Thiel's motivation or the end result. He's funded maybe over a dozen other suits, secretly, some of which were pretty dubious. His stated goal is to destroy a news agency because they reported on his personal life. I hate that kind of journalism, but I don'…

I'm curious at whether or not Gawker would have any legal standing for a retaliatory lawsuit against Thiel for damages. It seems like a stretch, but then again, if someone has dragged you through the courts at considerable legal cost and publicly stated that it was to drain you of money, how exactly is that not a perfectly legitimate damages complaint. Or at the very least contempt of court.

Oh, and as though it's not obvious, I have less than zero professional legal experience.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Wants to Topple Gawker and Elect Donald Trump

#8
post #4

What I find interesting is that the author of this piece attacks Peter Thiel as some opponent of press freedom because he helped fund a legitimate lawsuit that a jury found in favor of Terry Bolea. The same author in 2012 wrote an article wrote an article defending Venezuela's Chavez in his treatment of the press [0]. In 2012, Reporters without borders, gave Venezuala a 117/177 in terms of press freedom[1]. 0. http:/…

I think it's more that Thiel's lawyers dropped claims that would have gotten Bollea more money in order to cause more pain to Gawker. And refused various settlement offers. And that Thiel is also funding the anti-Gawker lawsuit by the guy who claims he invented email.

>` And that Thiel is also funding the anti-Gawker lawsuit by the guy who claims he invented email.

Your information is incorrect. By all means find a legitimate source for that claim but I recall the man saying he wasn't backed by Thiel.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Wants to Topple Gawker and Elect Donald Trump

#9
The authors guess: Thiel is interested in a Nietzschean transfiguration of politics.

Pretty fair article on the alt-right, given the source. They even noticed the post-libertarian aspect of it, which I think is the biggest political story of the last eight years.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Wants to Topple Gawker and Elect Donald Trump

#10
Interesting read. I am neutral on the Gawker issue (or more accurately, I just don't care) but the bits about Trump, future governance past democracy, etc. were good.

I live in the USA, and I have a difficult time thinking of our political system as being a democracy or a representative democracy. The financial nobility own the government on most issues that matter. I don't even think we have class warfare because the elites have won, game over.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the future, a pleasant waste of time! I expect some form of meritocracy with huge wealth disparity and some form of guaranteed minimum income to keep society functioning. My field (since the early 1980s) is artificial intelligence and machine learning, and I expect to see continued rapid progress in practical automated systems that will replace blue and white collar labor. Society will need to adjust.

Edit: I have read Thiel's book "Zero to One" twice.

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