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Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

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Re: Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

#151

Post by cheaprentalyeti »

verall wrote: post #92
cheaprentalyeti wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look, speaking as someone who had a customer in the area in 2010 who kept me alive... as in, their contracts kept me from homelessness... the US government in 2011 under Barack Obama supported a putsch against the government of Egypt in an attempt to turn the country over to the Moslem Brotherhood, which led to about 1300 deaths in Egypt on both sides at the time. In addition it cost my customer his business. The Ara…

> the 'rebels' they funded with their payment to Iran back in 2015 What rebels were funded with a payment to Iran? What are you talking about?

According to news reports the Syrian faction bombed by Biden this weekend were backed by the Iranians, who have been funding the conflict in Syria and who we paid a large amount of money to in 2015.

Re: Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

#152

Post by tasogare »

tokai wrote: post #86
tasogare wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are you justifying that term? I see nothing (geographically, politically, culturally, economically, historically, religiously, diplomatically, etc.) that could justify it even in the slightest.

Both counties are hereditary totalitarian states that kills off political opposition, are top in the world regarding human trafficking, sponsor terrorism, and generally have the worst human rights records.

That’s very few elements of comparison, and half of that list is equally applicable to the US, in particular sponsoring terrorism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_and_state-sponso...).

Re: Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

#153

Post by bobthepanda »

baybal2 wrote: post #130
Monroe13 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worth noting that earlier this year US imports of Saudi Oil hit zero. Granted it was just for one week but certainly reflective of the broader trend. Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-06/saudi-oil...

US was never really dependent on Saudi oil, and US governments knew it. Even before the shale oil, US had no problem to expand its oil production to match its own consumption. What prevented US oil industry to just work was a very strange regulatory framework where it was both shielded from competition, and prevented from expanding, keeping it in subservient role as a supplier to US strategic petroleum reserve. For a…

US policy in the Middle East is not necessarily about the fact that we get our imports directly from there, but to keep price stability for the global price of oil, which is still something we pay even if we don’t pay SA and friends directly.

Now that we have shale, it seems like this policy is less worth it.

Re: Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

#154

Post by jariel »

chmod775 wrote: post #125
yowlingcat wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> potentially because they think it's poor form to ask about LPs. It is, but I'm not sure it's for the reasons you are implying. First and foremost, Saudi money and oil money is an enormous part of global wealth /full stop/. That deep degree of intermixing happened decades ago; there's no putting that cat back in the bag. Asking a question like this to VCs who you are ostensibly trying to make a good first impression…

> It is, but I'm not sure it's for the reasons you are implying. I'm curious now. Why is it poor form? > Perhaps you don't, but phrasing it that way is a seriously tonedeaf way to signal it. So you're saying they should have phrased the question differently - perhaps they did in fact do that. But I think asking is perfectly legitimate. Now I'm not implying you said this, but I feel like I should point something out a…

It's an bad question to ask outside the context of a relationship. It's like asking a very personal question of someone before even meeting them for a first date.

'Who the LP's are' is basically none of your business unless you are entering into some kind of relationship, even then - it may be out of bounds. Of course you have the right to not take money even in that case, but that's a different thing then knowing when to ask.

All of this talk about 'tainted money' is bordering on naive - it's very subjective, moreover, if people would actually take a moment to grasp how this world operates they might find a lot of things they don't agree with.

I'm not suggesting people don't make decisions about where their money comes from - that's very reasonable - rather that it's much more complicated than 'boycott Nike or Chic-Filet' populism.

As far as LP's - it's definitely not a question you ask, unsolicited, over email, without an established relationship.

You can try to do your own research on it, or, ask 'in person' once you have some semblance of a material conversation with an investor and hope they give you a hint one way or another. It would help to ask it in an informal, indirect manner, possibly lumped in with a few other speculative LP questions.

Re: Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

#155

Post by nabla9 »

dash2 wrote: post #138
nabla9 wrote: post #29

Money = Power over what is spoken and done. Think about this: MSB meets Bezos and gives him a video that installs spyware into his smartphone. MSB taunts Bezos about his extramarital affair before it's widely known. Then his affair is leaked to the press. Bezos thinks MSB might be involved in the process that led to revealing the information. MSB kills one of Bezos's employers. Bezos flies Turkey to meet his fiancee…

According to at least one review, that might be just because The Dissident isn't very good. Little White Lies 88 (sorry, link not online yet) complains about "the film's commitment to a tired and gimmicky school of documentary filmmaking" describes its technique as "Juvenile and crass", and says it "lacks all feeling and creativity". Of course, that could be another instance of the reach of the Saudi propaganda...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dissident#Reception

Re: Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

#156

Post by im3w1l »

m0llusk wrote: post #33
im3w1l wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(I upvoted you for adding context). The reason this is being brought up right now is because of Biden escalating tensions with Saudia Arabia over the murder of Khashoggi. E.g. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/25/politics/biden-us-saudi-r...

That is an interesting narrative take. A more detailed look shows that a report that was begun well before Biden has been released and Biden's first reaction was to have a diplomatic phone call to ease tensions. Biden is trying to moderate tensions, not escalate them, which is the opposite of what you assert.

CNN, who themselves lean Democrat, do not seem to agree with your perspective in the article I linked. They are stressing the Democrats' and Biden's role in this

> Democratic lawmakers are expected to introduce a resolution on Friday to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for Khashoggi's death and dismemberment as well as other human rights violations.

> the President has ended US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen launched by the crown prince six years ago. Biden has also ordered an end to some weapons sales to the kingdom and will soon release the report,

> Dennis Ross, who has worked on Middle East issues in multiple administrations, said Biden is using the report's release to send a message to Congress,

> "I think the Biden administration wants to demonstrate clearly that it is a new day after the Trump administration

Re: Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

#157

Post by randomdotInt »

loceng wrote: post #82
neom wrote: post #11

When I was fundraising for my startup, after pitching I always emailed to ask about the LPs and if there's any Saudi/oil money in the pool. More than 10 firms just ghosted me after that email, potentially because they think it's poor form to ask about LPs. (edit:We were still able to raise over $3.5MM seed though, so don't necessarily let asking put you off.)

Because fuck ethics, right?

I’m curious what your ethics say about your implicit buy in to the destabilization of the environment for future generations?

Everyone is a hypocrite given the right context.

I didn’t really see concerned Americans setting aside their superfluous materialism to spring child political prisoners from cages.

To the people of the U.S.: time to stop believing what the TV told you about your place in the world when you were children. Your military and elite are responsible for the vast majority of the environmental destruction impacting everyone.

Let’s sober up a bit, shall we?

Re: Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

#158

Post by paulcole »

cbozeman wrote: post #91
codq wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's probably less about raw "innovation" and more about integrating themselves within the fabric of American society. This achieves simultaneous financial investment and political insurance.

It's about survival. The Middle East is not full of stupid people. They all see the writing on the wall. Yes, we will always need petrochemicals, but we're rapidly approaching a world where we need very little of them. In another 80-100 years' time, we'll have nuclear fusion, and if for some reason we've decided we don't want unlimited cheap power with easily disposed of waste, then we'll settle for solar, wind, geot…

> It's about survival.

Uber, DoorDash, and WeWork will either be shells of their current selves or nonexistent in a decade or two, let alone a century from now.

Re: Silicon Valley Runs on Saudi (2019)

#160

Post by RhodoGSA »

dalbasal wrote: post #45

This is one of those nerdbait topics. Every tunnel in the rabbit warren splits into more and everyone ends up arguing with themselves about completely disparate topics. Does money have a nationality? / If you owe the bank a million, it owns you. If you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank. Does that apply here? / Taking money from morally questionable people... what about X? / Is Saudi Arabia going to liberalize?…

I agree. Americans have always had it but the 'We are better than everyone else' seems to be getting worse. He brings up 'Women not being able to drive' and other reasons for not accepting their capital.

Certain groups in the middle east don't seem to have the same opinions about accepting American money. So instead of saying "Saudi bad, American good" people need to do alittle bit more research into where the US spends it's money. It's not as pretty as slack and Uber I can tell you that :)

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