Google To Invest Millions in Palestine

http://blog.bazinga.ps/2010/12/Google-To-Invest-Millions-in-Palestine

by amrnt • 16 years ago

36 60 16 years ago

blog.bazinga.ps

endtime3• 16 years ago

As someone with family in Israel and strong views on the ME conflict, I think this is great news. Anything which supports/encourages the Palestinians making their own lives better and producing stuff which doesn't explode is a good thing for everyone in the region. This sort of thing is how a viable Palestinian state is going to come about, if ever.

gabea• 16 years ago

I think that the part of your comment regarding "producing stuff which doesn't explode" is very unnecessary. Your level of bias is clearly evident here. Instead of trying to pull both sides together through the positiveness of such news you add fuel to the conflict. Having family in the region does not make your statement any more authoritative then it would for someone with family in Palestine.

I hope you rethink your intentions here and in future posts about this terrible conflict attempt to be more evenly considerate. Remember there are always two sides to every story.

Thank you.

_pius4• 16 years ago

Comments like this stop threads from devolving into flame wars. Thanks.

endtime3• 16 years ago

I made no attempt to hide my position; I actually intended to make it quite clear. The point of my comment is that this isn't Google taking sides, and that this should be seen as a good thing by people on both sides of the conflict, to one of which I belong. That's why I mentioned having family there - not because I think it makes my opinion correct, just because I think it makes the perspective from which I'm coming that much clearer.

That said, the tone of equivocation you take is a great example of "pretending to be wise": http://lesswrong.com/lw/yp/pretending_to_be_wise/

talbina3• 16 years ago

On the other hand, your government's policies have stifled Palestinians in both regions, in food, shelter, security, and basic medical care.

It's kind of hard to produce anything when your house is demolished by bulldozers and your town's farm is burned.

This sort of thing is how a viable Palestinian state is going to come about, if ever.

jacobmg4• 16 years ago

That is trolling. All you're doing is reciting your standard "Israel is evil occupier" routine typical of someone of a certain political bias. No sources or added incite. It is however a fact, that since a high percentage of suicide bombers came out of Palestinian territories when compared to other countries, it is accurate to imply that a different economic course could diminish the terrorist aspect of the Palestinian economy. endtime's comment may seem inflammatory to you, but it is only objective recognition of economic factors. Your's is analysis of far more complex issues and simplifying of the moral choices in the conflict.

endtime3• 16 years ago

This is the kind of pointless, irrelevant, tired rhetoric that belongs on reddit. I really expected better of HN than to upvote this kind of comment.

snowmaker• 16 years ago

Is Google in the practice of making these kinds of investments in very early stage tech sectors? What is in this for them?

cdibona2• 16 years ago

Yes. I didn't cut this deal, mind you, so I can't speak for Gisele, but we do indeed make these kinds of investments if anything as early as possible in a region.

It might be perceived as riskier, but I would say that it's likely only slightly riskier than funding a startup anywhere else.

cool-RR7• 16 years ago

I wonder, why are they doing this? I mean, the reason tech companies go to Israel is because there's an enormous concentration of talent there. Why would they go to Palestine? I don't think there's any talent there. Is this a humanitarian thing?

I'd be happy to hear first-hand experiences from people who worked with Palestinian developers or with software produced by Palestinian developers.

talbina3• 16 years ago

I wonder, why do you think there's no talent there? Do you think Google would have done some due diligence before hand?

cool-RR7• 16 years ago

I think there's no talent there because:

1. I never knew a Palestinian developer on any mailing list or other forum.

2. I never knew of any software or technological product developed in Palestine.

3. I never knew of any notable developer or software developed in ANY of the Muslim states in the middle east, and that's a huge evidence given that there are >100 million Muslims there.

cdibona2• 16 years ago

(I'm a googler, but I didn't cut this deal , so I can't speak to the deal teams)

I was just in jordan and met a number of Palestinians (expat and visiting from the region) and I can only say that they seemed as technical as any hacker I've met in Cambridge or in the Valley. (this means that I met people as smart and as inexperienced as I've met in those places too)

They work under what we'd consider tougher conditions (less reliable power and rough and tumble internet connections) but that doesn't keep people from experimenting and learning.

As a funny side note, do you know what SICP sells for in Jordan? 11$! (the jd is pegged to the us currency)

cool-RR7• 16 years ago

Interesting, thanks!

VB6_Forever10• 16 years ago

Hmmm declaring the people of a territory you occupy to be less talented than your own people. Reminds me of something

cool-RR7• 16 years ago

That's a completely trollish comment.

Samuel_Michon8• 16 years ago

"a territory you occupy"

Last I heard, the jury was still out on whose land it is.

Samuel_Michon8• 16 years ago

Inflammatory title. The story is about investments in Gaza and the West Bank. 'Palestine' is not a country, it's a name for an entire region, including Israel and parts of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The author probably meant 'Palestinian National Authority'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_National_Authority

VB6_Forever10• 16 years ago

From the story it seems they are investing €2 million. It doesn't seem like a lot but hopefully it will be just the start

Qz• 16 years ago

€2 million may not seem like a lot in western nations, but typically third world countries have a much more favorable exchange rate of dollars/euros into local currency. All those charity ads on TV that talk about people surviving on less than $2 a day tend not to mention that $2 a day can buy you a lot of more stuff in other countries than in the US.

VB6_Forever10• 16 years ago

good point

cagey• 16 years ago

It will be exceedingly interesting to watch the progress/outcome of this investment (if Google chooses to share honestly, something that's clearly optional). The best indication of the actual ROI of this investment will be whether further investments are forthcoming (although Google could pour a few tens of millions USD down a hole and not notice). Anyone know if Google has invested comparable amounts in Lebanon, Syria or Libya?

Google To Invest Millions in Palestine

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