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Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

nytimes.com

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Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#261

Post by conanbatt »

remarkEon wrote: post #149
conanbatt wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get the reasoning to be against it. If your goal is "global liberation", taking money from oppressive regimes its a pretty darn fast way to do it. You make the oppressors pay for the future liberation. We should applaud if thats whats happening.

I think it's naive to think that taking money from oppressive regimes has no other effect than depleting their cash reserves. Google and Facebook seem to have no qualms about acquiescing to Chinese censorship demands. I think it's folly to think Saudi money won't or doesn't have at least some nefarious influence somewhere . It's worth at least taking a look.

Its worth 'taking a look', sure, but its definitely been the other way around. The article itself reminds us of how Twitter was important during the Arab Spring. Wouldn't that Saudi money have been instrumental in the opposite of what the article points at?

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#262

Post by nautilus12 »

bcraven wrote: post #146
nautilus12 wrote: post #144

Aside from simply diversifying their portfolio are there any prominant deep state theories as to why Saudi Arabia would want to prop up tech? For example, one such theory could be that Apple is being funded by Saudi Arabia to specifically build addictive technologies so the American public is enmeshed in confusing contradictory media sources rendering the US public largely ineffective and allowing them a secret backd…

What a hilariously convoluted plan! Here's an easier one- oil is running out so the Kingdom needs to diversify. Tech provides investment and job opportunities.

This was just an example

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#264

Post by gozur88 »

erikb wrote: post #211
PeachPlum wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you show me the list of President Trump's human rights abuses ?

E.g. depends on whether you consider simply grabbing women by the pussy as a human rights abuse.

... when she's okay with it.

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#265

Post by gozur88 »

jernfrost wrote: post #219
PeachPlum wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you show me the list of President Trump's human rights abuses ?

Fortunatly for the US there are checks and balances hindering Trump from doing most of the evil he wants to. Don’t be naive and think he would be nice if he had dictatorial powers. He has already publicly complained that he can’t use the FBI for whatever he wants to, like going after his political opponents.

So no actual abuses, just some hyperventilating on the left? Presumably Trump could do things like, oh, I don't know, use the IRS as a tool to harass his political opponents.

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#266

Post by weberc2 »

humanrebar wrote: post #241
refurb wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whose morals? Yours? Mine? It's not easy to get people to agree on what is moral beyond things like murder.

Well, mine, clearly. Any discussion to the contrary is dangerous and should be silenced. Or at least be done in private away from everyone else.

Hear that! Opinions I disagree with are literally violence, and suppression by physical means is justifiable self defense!

/sarcasm

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#267

Post by clairity »

hedonistbot wrote: post #174
clairity wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And their money is just as good for hiring programmers and renting servers as anyone else's. maybe you didn't mean it this way, but i was struck by the nonchalance of this statement, as if being able to spend money justifies taking the investment. and i presume that's exactly why the article was written, to question that kind of stance. now i love tech, and will defend our ability to progress and advance and make n…

> but none of us gets a free pass from morality, not even in business What? That's news to me. What about the entire defence industry? What about all the politicians that take a cushy job in the companies they helped during their time in office and who can be directly held accountable by the electorate? And why should anyone question the Saudis when they just signed a multi billion dollar weapon deal with the US gove…

yes, you should be upset at those things. that's exactly what i'm talking about. don't just accept unethical behavior as fait acccompli. say something about it. let your voice be heard, by the people involved, as well as the people around you. particularly when it involves institutions like corporations and governments that people like to hide behind.

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#268

Post by juliangoldsmith »

jernfrost wrote: post #219
PeachPlum wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you show me the list of President Trump's human rights abuses ?

Fortunatly for the US there are checks and balances hindering Trump from doing most of the evil he wants to. Don’t be naive and think he would be nice if he had dictatorial powers. He has already publicly complained that he can’t use the FBI for whatever he wants to, like going after his political opponents.

>He has already publicly complained that he can’t use the FBI for whatever he wants to, like going after his political opponents.

When his political opponents take money to approve a deal to sell one-fifth of the United States's uranium production to Russia [0], perhaps the FBI should be going after them.

[0]: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton...

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#269

Post by coliveira »

PeachPlum wrote: post #190
coliveira wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A very good explanation of why capitalism is an imoral system. Anyone who can't understand this simple fact is just losing their times. The shadier your scheme for making money, the further away you get (as long as you don't go to jail) because that's the whole nature of the beast.

amoral, not immoral but even then I disagree, just look at the life expectancy of the billions of people under capitalism. Milton Friedman - Is Capitalism Humane? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHPI1emZFVg

This is an economic system created and maintained by humans. The morality or immorality is a property of those who maintain it, no matter how much these people try to dissuade others of this simple fact.

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#270

Post by coliveira »

jamesrcole wrote: post #234
PhasmaFelis wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The least of several evils" is not the same thing as "good".

But what if it's the least evil of all the available options? That doesn't itself make it "good" but that does make it the best option available.

Contrary to popular belief, economy is not a binary system. There is a huge range of decisions that can be pursued and each decision has a particular interest. Modern societies have decided to take the "market-friendly" decisions each step of the way instead of the human- and environment-friendly decisions with the excuse that this is the least of "two" evils.
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