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Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

nytimes.com

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Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#131

Post by jgome »

andybak wrote: post #121
throw2016 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't make sense. What makes money 'dirty'? What about banks like Goldman Sachs? Is their money 'clean'? What about the Saudi and UAE investment funds? How does one decide what is 'dirty' and 'clean' money and identify it?

I'm conflicted on this. The good old-fashioned lefty in me wants to agree and say "yes - follow the money. Power has tendrils everywhere and they are annoyingly predictable and persistent". However I do have the feeling that Russia's current behaviour is quantitatively if not qualitatively different. In it's scale, it's cynicism and in it's deliberate single mindedness. I'm not a great believer in good vs evil on the…

It is normal (be it "lefty" democratic, or republican US presidents) for the US government to use its power to destroy other countries and steal its resources...

And yet here you are discussing "cynicism and [...] deliberate single mindedness".

As a lefty, you fail to put things in perspective... But I guess it's just not convenient, sometimes, is it?

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#132

Post by oxide »

malvosenior wrote: post #36

I’m having a very hard time understanding why anyone would be upset by the Russian government making technology positive investments. Especially technologists! I wish more money was deployed into software development. Russia seems to be a positive influence here.

blood money is still money, right?

wrong.

this is, in extension, saying it's okay to take money from a currently sanctioned state actor. as long as they want to pay cash and half-ass obfuscated the state actors behind the paycheck you're so concerned about.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#133

Post by oxide »

nzmsv wrote: post #123
Asparagirl wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russia hasn't been a positive influence on anything since Shostakovich and Yuri Gagarin.

It's interesting that most people would probably not say something so xenophobic about any other country on a public forum, but Russia is fair game. Don't believe me? Substitute $country in the above and see if it sounds more or less grating.

It's interesting how often people pretend Russia is unfairly persecuted in internet comment sections around the globe.

:)

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#134

Post by [deleted] »

jgome wrote: post #128
killjoywashere wrote: post #5

If you haven't read Bill Browder's Red Notice, read it now. Wow. Wow. Just wow. YCombinator is in the Kremlin's pocket. Wow. I fully expect this to be downvoted to oblivion. But wow. In essence, Putin used Browder's investigations of Gazprom and other oligarch-controlled Russian businesses (huge national orgs that were privatized after the collapse of the Soviet Union) to jail the richest man in Russia, effectively m…

Since we are at it, I suggest reading John Perkins's "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man": https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins... Also, any book on past and current colonialism (say, current actions of the US military in Africa). How do you like your illegitimately rich country?

[deleted]

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#135

Post by davesque »

malvosenior wrote: post #36

I’m having a very hard time understanding why anyone would be upset by the Russian government making technology positive investments. Especially technologists! I wish more money was deployed into software development. Russia seems to be a positive influence here.

The problem with it is unfolding right before your eyes. Russia is actively using the platform that we now know it funded to sow chaos in the United States. Have you read the summaries of the ads they posted during the election cycle?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/us/politics/russia-2016-e...

The played each side off of the other and, in some cases, even encouraged each side to violently engage the other:

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/31/media/russia-facebook-violen...

Just how do you think all of that will end up? The Russian government should not have any say or influence in these companies since they have clearly demonstrated that they are a bad actor.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#136

Post by oxide »

jgome wrote: post #113
jryan49 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if blood money is used to invest in tech to clean it, and make them profit it's okay?

As opposed to the "blood money" invested by the US govt. in technology companies? Do you also have problems with Twitter, Google and Facebook getting money from the US govt.? Let's not forget, the US govt., both Republicans and Democrats, have directly or indirectly killed millions of people in the last decade... I don't see you complaining about that "blood money" here or anywhere, though.

Nice false equivalence argument, but I'm afraid it's going to fall on deaf ears.

Funny how many Russian apologists are here all of a sudden.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#137

Post by postramus »

YuriNiyazov wrote: post #99
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> anyone who believed yesterday that Milner was not $funded (once again, insert preferred terminology) by the Kremlin is an idiot Then more of us are idiots than you give credit for :). At the very least, I was an idiot and pg was an idiot [1][2]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3143894 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3144475

@postramus - Yes I am. Because it's not.

Can you clarify something? You seem to be arguing two points without differentiating them clearly.

One point is that it should be obvious where the money came from (etc); the other point is that that origin should not be cause for concern.

Is that accurate?

If so I would agree with you on the first point but not the second: the same logic that eg allows one to make the inferences in the first point would also lead one to infer certain things about Yandex (analogous to the situation with Kaspersky).

Do you honestly think that the funding under discussion—and the personal relationships that subsequently developed—had no impact on either Twitter or Facebook deciding to establish their respective partnerships with Yandex?

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#138

Post by jgome »

oxide wrote: post #136
jgome wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As opposed to the "blood money" invested by the US govt. in technology companies? Do you also have problems with Twitter, Google and Facebook getting money from the US govt.? Let's not forget, the US govt., both Republicans and Democrats, have directly or indirectly killed millions of people in the last decade... I don't see you complaining about that "blood money" here or anywhere, though.

Nice false equivalence argument, but I'm afraid it's going to fall on deaf ears. Funny how many Russian apologists are here all of a sudden.

> Russian apologists

Because pointing out the obvious ignorance, hypocrisy and double-speak of US and western people in general is the same as being a "Russian apologist".

Were you ever taught logic?

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#140

Post by andybak »

jgome wrote: post #131
andybak wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm conflicted on this. The good old-fashioned lefty in me wants to agree and say "yes - follow the money. Power has tendrils everywhere and they are annoyingly predictable and persistent". However I do have the feeling that Russia's current behaviour is quantitatively if not qualitatively different. In it's scale, it's cynicism and in it's deliberate single mindedness. I'm not a great believer in good vs evil on the…

It is normal (be it "lefty" democratic, or republican US presidents) for the US government to use its power to destroy other countries and steal its resources... And yet here you are discussing "cynicism and [...] deliberate single mindedness". As a lefty, you fail to put things in perspective... But I guess it's just not convenient, sometimes, is it?

You might have to reword that - I'm honestly having difficulty parsing it.
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