Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps placing wealth and success above all else is... bad?
It entirely depends on your ethics system.
It might surprise you that as you acquire wealth and power that your ethics and values change.
Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
151–160 of 181 posts
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, I'm pretty sure he's referring to the whole Gawker vs. Hulk Hogan trial thing, which was one of the biggest attacks on freedom of the press in recent history. Whether you believe Gawker deserved it or not, he used Terry Bollea (Hogan) as a prop to push his own agenda.
>the whole Gawker vs. Hulk Hogan trial thing, which was one of the biggest attacks on freedom of the press in recent history What a disingenuous load of nonsense. If you film people having sex with their permission, then you are a pornographer and subject to certain restrictions as to how you may publish your works. If you film people having sex WITHOUT their permission or knowledge and post the videos online then yo…
Please notice that Gawker did not film Bollea having sex, so you are conflating two completely separate things.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
He's quite clear about multiculturalism and diversity - he is criticizing the premise that pushing the people "who look different, but think alike" is not as productive as progressives think. He wants the diversity of ideas, regardless of ethnicities and skin colors.
I mean, if you think you can get max diversity of ideas without also pulling people from different cultures, you’ve been around way too many white men.
You can't get the max diversity of ideas while only pulling people from a small number of cultures, however cultures and viewpoints aren't merely an effect of race and so you also cannot achieve diversity of ideas by just diversifying race.
This is all smoke-and-mirrors though. In 2017 when people argue for or against idea diversity, they're almost always just fighting a trojan war for or against redistribution of resources from 'privileged' to 'oppressed' (or if you're right-wing: from 'deserving' to 'undeserving'.)
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, I'm pretty sure he's referring to the whole Gawker vs. Hulk Hogan trial thing, which was one of the biggest attacks on freedom of the press in recent history. Whether you believe Gawker deserved it or not, he used Terry Bollea (Hogan) as a prop to push his own agenda.
> one of the biggest attacks on freedom of the press in recent history Not even close.
Sure, in light of Trump's constant barrage of attacks on the press, Gawker's demise might look small (even deserved, to a point), until you realize this sets a precedent for "if you are a billionaire, you can kill whatever outlet you want." Scary, considering there's a number of billionaires with rather ass-backwards agendas, like say the Merced family supporting white supremacist rags.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is a separate problem that legal fees in the US are so exorbitant as to render even millionaires helpless in confrontations with abusive corporations. By all means, there should have been no need for a wealthy benefactor in the first pace. Unfortunately, there was. Mr. Thiel may have acted due to an alignment of selfish motivations, but he provided a public service, nonetheless. Both sides were adequately funded a…
> It is a separate problem that legal fees in the US are so exorbitant Not at all, the cost of obtaining justice is the central issue here. If obtaining justice lies only with those with immense wealth, they can selectively choose to apply or not apply it, which is inherently unjust.
This is exactly it.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, I'm pretty sure he's referring to the whole Gawker vs. Hulk Hogan trial thing, which was one of the biggest attacks on freedom of the press in recent history. Whether you believe Gawker deserved it or not, he used Terry Bollea (Hogan) as a prop to push his own agenda.
If publishing revenge porn is the essence of freedom of press, the press should be destroyed ASAP.
That is a straw man and you know it.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, I'm pretty sure he's referring to the whole Gawker vs. Hulk Hogan trial thing, which was one of the biggest attacks on freedom of the press in recent history. Whether you believe Gawker deserved it or not, he used Terry Bollea (Hogan) as a prop to push his own agenda.
Putin and Xi must be relieved to hear that Gawker going bankrupt is “one of the biggest attacks on freedom of the press in recent history.”
Context is everything, isn't it? If I said that the North Bay fires were one of the biggest tragedies in recent memory, you wouldn't chastise me for not mentioning the Rohingya pogroms, would you?
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
Weird, because in Gawker's case, he didn't have a case for libel or slander. They outed him as gay. I considered their actions despicable, but they didn't lie and that's why he didn't have a case. And that's why he had to use Hulk Hogan to exact revenge, which goes to show that a single guy with too much money can essentially reign unchecked in today's America. That's not good, no matter if you happen to agree politi…
In your ideal society, you would rather see Hogan lose in court for lack of money?
In my ideal society, lawyers wouldn't cost and arm and a leg or at least government would make sure individuals could sue corporations if there's a solid case.
Essentially, the bigger issue here is that Gawker could hide behind a bunch of lawyers even when they knew they were doing something despicable. Take that away, and things get fairer pretty quickly.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#159Palantir’s snooping abilities are probably a lot more valuable if Google doesn’t have them
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#160I think we've seen Thiel do this before, indirectly fund opposition to organizations he doesn't like when he can't attack them directly. He's also funded lots of politicians that work quite hard to restrict rights at every level of government, including, frankly, that are rather adamantly against equal rights for gay people. He's a great representation that some people will align themselves with anyone to further the…
Netflix recently added a documentary called ""Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and Trials of a Free Press" which also reveals some insight into Thiel's funding.
What's the spoiler?