5 ms·

> For starters, immigration is a key issue for Silicon Valley for which Thiel can be a voice of reason to influence the new administration. I don't know if imm

by objclxt 10y ago

> For starters, immigration is a key issue for Silicon Valley for which Thiel can be a voice of reason to influence the new administration. I don't know if immigration is as much of an issue for Palantir, given many of its clients are clandestine and won't permit non-citizens to work on their projects.

ktamura 10y ago
I wasn't talking about Palantir specifically but the valley in general =)
amasad 10y ago
It's huge for FB, and he's on the board.
- jgalt212 10y ago
  walk me through that one.
  - amasad 10y ago
    Simple: majority of FB employees are immigrants. And they want more, much more. Why do you think Zuck formed Fwd.us?
    - douche 10y ago
      I think you've got the wrong politically-active Silicon Valley wunderkind.
pen2l 10y ago
> > For starters, immigration is a key issue for Silicon Valley for which Thiel can be a voice of reason to influence the new administration. > I don't know if immigration is as much of an issue for Palantir, given many of its clients are clandestine and won't permit non-citizens to work on their projects. So, Palantir is actually in trouble for not hiring certain immigrants / races. See http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/technology/us-accuses-tech-firm-of-bias-against-asian-software-engineers.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/technology/us-accuses-tech... And my worthless personal single data point: I personally know a Pakistani guy who was rejected from Palantir. Sure, every other person gets rejected from every other place. The thing is, this guy is one of the best programmers I know of, has great charisma, has great communication skills, and has a star-studded pedigree. Yeah I know I'm going off on a single data, but I was just stunned to see anyone reject this guy because I happen to personally know of his genius.
- wavefunction 10y ago
  I expect there to be a prohibition against foreign nationals at a lot of defense contractors. Consider his country of origin: it's one of the last places our government wants technology transfer or espionage to occur with. And I mean no offense to your friend, but that's how those folks think.
  - pen2l 10y ago
    So, I should not have said "Pakistani". He's actually an American-born, his parents came here in early 80s. Is that still a problem you think? Would a defense contractor be hesitant in hiring native-born citizens with parents from a different country of origin?
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      > Would a defense contractor be hesitant in hiring native-born citizens with parents from a different country of origin? Foreign contacts (including family) may be a complication in security clearance background investigations, IIRC, but AFAIK discriminating directly on that basis (rather than simply requiring the clearance if necessary for the specific job) would be a bright-line violation of the law.
    - wavefunction 10y ago
      From what I understand, even a "white person" whose family has been here for generations can get denied clearance due to their ties or relationships to foreign nationals. This is at least true for the CIA and NSA.
- totalZero 10y ago
  Wait, so everyone is supposed to hire this dude, or else they're racist? Not really arguing with you considering that you acknowledge it's just one data point, but this standard is unfalsifiable. By your logic, there's no way to decline hiring him without being a racist...

by objclxt 10y ago

ktamura 10y ago

I wasn't talking about Palantir specifically but the valley in general =)

amasad 10y ago

It's huge for FB, and he's on the board.

jgalt212 10y ago
walk me through that one.
- amasad 10y ago
  Simple: majority of FB employees are immigrants. And they want more, much more. Why do you think Zuck formed Fwd.us?
  - douche 10y ago
    I think you've got the wrong politically-active Silicon Valley wunderkind.

pen2l 10y ago

> > For starters, immigration is a key issue for Silicon Valley for which Thiel can be a voice of reason to influence the new administration. > I don't know if immigration is as much of an issue for Palantir, given many of its clients are clandestine and won't permit non-citizens to work on their projects. So, Palantir is actually in trouble for not hiring certain immigrants / races. See http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/technology/us-accuses-tech-firm-of-bias-against-asian-software-engineers.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/technology/us-accuses-tech... And my worthless personal single data point: I personally know a Pakistani guy who was rejected from Palantir. Sure, every other person gets rejected from every other place. The thing is, this guy is one of the best programmers I know of, has great charisma, has great communication skills, and has a star-studded pedigree. Yeah I know I'm going off on a single data, but I was just stunned to see anyone reject this guy because I happen to personally know of his genius.

wavefunction 10y ago
I expect there to be a prohibition against foreign nationals at a lot of defense contractors. Consider his country of origin: it's one of the last places our government wants technology transfer or espionage to occur with. And I mean no offense to your friend, but that's how those folks think.
- pen2l 10y ago
  So, I should not have said "Pakistani". He's actually an American-born, his parents came here in early 80s. Is that still a problem you think? Would a defense contractor be hesitant in hiring native-born citizens with parents from a different country of origin?
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > Would a defense contractor be hesitant in hiring native-born citizens with parents from a different country of origin? Foreign contacts (including family) may be a complication in security clearance background investigations, IIRC, but AFAIK discriminating directly on that basis (rather than simply requiring the clearance if necessary for the specific job) would be a bright-line violation of the law.
  - wavefunction 10y ago
    From what I understand, even a "white person" whose family has been here for generations can get denied clearance due to their ties or relationships to foreign nationals. This is at least true for the CIA and NSA.
totalZero 10y ago
Wait, so everyone is supposed to hire this dude, or else they're racist? Not really arguing with you considering that you acknowledge it's just one data point, but this standard is unfalsifiable. By your logic, there's no way to decline hiring him without being a racist...