From Uber To Eric Schmidt, Tech Is Closer To the US Government Than You'd Think (theguardian.com) 48
An anonymous reader shares an article on The Guardian: Alphabet's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, recently joined a Department of Defense advisory panel. Facebook recently hired a former director at the U.S. military's research lab, Darpa. Uber employs Barack Obama's former campaign manager David Plouffe and Amazon.com tapped his former spokesman Jay Carney. Google, Facebook, Uber and Apple collectively employ a couple of dozen former analysts for America's spy agencies, who openly list their resumes on LinkedIn.
These connections are neither new nor secret. But the fact they are so accepted illustrates how tech's leaders -- even amid current fights over encryption and surveillance -- are still seen as mostly U.S. firms that back up American values. Christopher Soghoian, a technologist with the American Civil Liberties Union, said low-level employees' government connections matter less than leading executives' ties to government. For instance, at least a dozen Google engineers have worked at the NSA, according to publicly available records on LinkedIn. And, this being Silicon Valley, not everyone who worked for a spy agency advertises that on LinkedIn. Soghoian, a vocal critic of mass surveillance, said Google hiring an ex-hacker for the NSA to work on security doesn't really bother him. "But Eric Schmidt having a close relationship with the White House does," he said.Danny Yadron, said, "What's worse for a Silicon Valley executive: ties to the Chinese military or friends in the US Defense Department?"
These connections are neither new nor secret. But the fact they are so accepted illustrates how tech's leaders -- even amid current fights over encryption and surveillance -- are still seen as mostly U.S. firms that back up American values. Christopher Soghoian, a technologist with the American Civil Liberties Union, said low-level employees' government connections matter less than leading executives' ties to government. For instance, at least a dozen Google engineers have worked at the NSA, according to publicly available records on LinkedIn. And, this being Silicon Valley, not everyone who worked for a spy agency advertises that on LinkedIn. Soghoian, a vocal critic of mass surveillance, said Google hiring an ex-hacker for the NSA to work on security doesn't really bother him. "But Eric Schmidt having a close relationship with the White House does," he said.Danny Yadron, said, "What's worse for a Silicon Valley executive: ties to the Chinese military or friends in the US Defense Department?"
Revolving door. (Score:5, Informative)
This has been a problem in agriculture and other industries for decades.
Re:Revolving door. (Score:5, Interesting)
I recently finished reading The Profiteers [publishersweekly.com]. About how Bechtel worked within and manipulated government policy to make a buck. I'm sure that in a few decades, someone will write about various players in the information business and how they played public policy and Congress to create an economic environment conducive to their success. New century, old game.
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That's a GREAT one, I saw it years ago... apk (Score:2, Interesting)
See subject: How he went into countries as a "consultant" after they took over media, communications, education etc. (std. fare for conquerors in war) for "indoctrination" & control of the masses AFTER they engineered economic ruin in said nations, nation after nation, to get them in their control & into debt etc. (also std. fare for conquest + control).
* I may have some of that "wrong" but feel free to correct or enlighten me again fixing my mistakes - but that's what I recall of it.
When I was youn
Cartel Capitalism (Score:4, Interesting)
In our system of Cartel Capitalism - there really isn't a difference between the government and the large companies that buy influence.
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Given that socialism and communism and indeed just about every ism that exists explicitly do the same thing, I think that all you attempting to channel Candide and blame capitalism for this ill need to get over yourselves.
Correction - Cartel SOCIALISM (Score:4, Interesting)
I meant to say Cartel Socialism -- under real capitalism (which we left a long time ago) the government does not pick the winners and losers - the market does. (Remember to big to fail? Tarp? Congress voting on secret trade bills they can't read?). Calling something 'that it is not', does not change what it is. Even huge companies go broke (and need to - should!) under free-enterprise.
One can measure the degree of socialism by the percentage of GDP that is government spending ( in fact THE definition back when words meant something).
The USA (41.6%) is now at a level similar to Norway (43.9%) - way past Russia (35.8%) and China (23.9% vaild?). And this does not include the amount of private spending mandated by government regulation. To say that the USA is not a socialist country reminds me of 1984(the book). As a result, the USA is in decline while Russia and China's economies are expanding.. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
The US government spending continues to increase - and as it does the appearance of Cartels - companies whose existence and freedom from competition depends on government interventions - increases. And the middle class disappears.
One very good measure of corruption is the size of the middle class. (It is shrinking rapidly). The DemoPulicans have all been bought. They do not support the interests of the people - but only the interests of who is bribing them - from inside and outside of the country.
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Norway has^H^H^H had oil revenues to support their experiment. The USA does not.
And this quote is false: "It's not the amount of spending, it's the services provided for citizens"
Services do not define socialism. Instead it is the loss of free enterprise and the amount of government spending as a part of GDP in that it reflects the lost choices of the public. When a government elite bureaucrat chooses what to buy - you don't get to. ( The money I spend goes at least 2x farther anyway ). The government is
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Computer companies being tied so closely to governments means one thing and one thing only to me. No electronic elections ever, an extraordinarily bad idea. Pencil and paper and eyeball counting only as a strict law, not to be cheated at any level, not local, not state and not federal. You get your ballet, you go to your private booth and either make and 'X', in the appropriate place or list of numbers in order of preference. You put your marked ballot in the appropriate box and under supervision that clos
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We give the government $5,000,000,000,000 or so dollars to play with every year, and people are surprised that someone decides to bribe them for a piece of the action?
Color me astounded.
And that's ignoring the fact that government employees don't make a lot of money, which makes them easy to bribe, from Congresscritters all the way down to low-level bureaucrats.
Seriously, it makes perfect sense for businesses to take money to Washington to buy legislation, regulations, everything else - the return is ins
Closer than who thinks? (Score:5, Insightful)
Is anyone surprised that tech companies are a big part of the military industrial complex?
Re: that last paragraph (Score:1)
That's some hell of a choice you leave there. Does it have to be either or? And if so,wouldn't the answer be quite obvious? Well, maybe not to the Chinese.
didn't /. just cover this topic? (Score:1)
The Android Administration: Google's Relationship With the Obama White House [slashdot.org]
Not a dupe but kinda close. And its the closeness that really bothers me.
Don't worry (Score:1)
How else do you get experienced people? (Score:3)
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I'm not so sue this is about experienced people as much as it is about laws being crafted or not made at all to benefit the companies. You have noticed that despite an outcry, no movement has been done on any data protection laws similar to what Europe has. You are the product they sell to others. Financial institutions and government agencies suffer data breeches by using faulty software products and no accountability is pointed towards the product that had the zero day hole in it which was billed as the b
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You don't see a problem when the only advice that matters is the advice coming from those giving you money and helping you get into the positions of power that their advice would actually matter with?
The president is not normally saddled with the mundane workings of government. So it isn't about technology the government uses or employs. It is about laws like the EU data privacy and such that google and other companies are running into issues with.
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a dozen?! (Score:2)
wow that's so many compared to Google's 28,457 other software engineers. [quora.com] -_-
Same Old Same Old (Score:4, Interesting)
John Podesta, Podesta Group and the Clinton Fund. Google that for some king of sleaze stuff. Podesta Group was BPs chief lobby pre and during the oil spill.
http://freebeacon.com/issues/p [freebeacon.com]...
https://www.opensecrets.org/lo [opensecrets.org]...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ [washingtonpost.com]...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ [huffingtonpost.com]...
Dumb Question (Score:2)
"Danny Yadron, said, "What's worse for a Silicon Valley executive: ties to the Chinese military or friends in the US Defense Department?""
Easy, ties to the Chinese Military are worse. The US Defense Department at least answers to a democratically elected government.
Dont get me wrong, the US government is far from an angel but out government does answer to its governed people at least on some level and we don't also claim massive amounts of ocean space belonging to other nations as our own.
Really, what a dum
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Parties are not part of the government. They are private organizations that can set up whatever rules they want for picking a nominee.
Quick learners (Score:1)
If you think government is the good guy, then it sure is easy to capture and sway.
But if your cynical, then you see hints of both worlds. Government is the corrupt bad guy *and* it can be captured to further nefarious ends (such as gaining anti-competitive advantages).
Hijacking Ideas (Score:2)
America Inc... (Score:2)
And the vast majority of its citizens are employees, (and sometimes even slaves), of the vast corporation called United $tates of America. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?