Google employees were very heavily represented on the Never Again pledge a few weeks ago, more than any big tech company. I've been able to talk to several Googlers since then, several of whom are now directly involved with Tech Solidarity. Google takes a lot of shit, and some of it is probably deserved, but there seems clearly to be a moral core to the people working there.<p>I stick up for Google a lot --- nobody has done more to improve the security of the web than they have --- but they deserve credit for this kind of thing too.
Relevant part of his background [0]<p>>They formally applied for their exit visa in September 1978, and as a result his father was "promptly fired". For related reasons, his mother also had to leave her job. For the next eight months, without any steady income, they were forced to take on temporary jobs as they waited, afraid their request would be denied as it was for many refuseniks. During this time his parents shared responsibility for looking after him and his father taught himself computer programming. In May 1979, they were granted their official exit visas and were allowed to leave the country.[12] At an interview in October 2000, Brin said, "I know the hard times that my parents went through there and am very thankful that I was brought to the States."[17]<p>>In the summer of 1990, a few weeks before his 17th birthday, his father led a group of high school math students, including Sergey, on a two-week exchange program to the Soviet Union. His roommate on the trip was future Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor John Stamper. As Brin recalls, the trip awakened his childhood fear of authority and he remembered that "his first impulse on confronting Soviet oppression had been to throw pebbles at a police car." Malseed adds, "On the second day of the trip, while the group toured a sanatorium in the countryside near Moscow, Brin took his father aside, looked him in the eye and said, 'Thank you for taking us all out of Russia.'"<p>[0] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Brin#Early_life_and_education" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Brin#Early_life_and_edu...</a>
Well at least people are pushing back.<p>What was starting to worry me is that many of the top CEOs were all kissing Trumps ass as to who can bring back more jobs. They were stumbling over themselves, "we are bringing 10000 jobs in the next 2 years".<p>There needs to be a lot of vocal people against this, immigrants are one the weakest groups in society. Trump just deomstrated and confirmed this.<p>What I don't get, and maybe someone can explain it, why isn't this un-constitutional? It feels like banning people, people who are perfectly legal not citizens but still legal, based on their religion is against the constitution. Am I missing something? Wasn't this country started by people looking to escape religious persecution?
It's great to see someone with this much influence joining the masses to protest these injustices. I understand these companies have shareholders and tend to avoid politically charged topics, but in this case, it affects not only Google's employees but people all over the country.
Of the five largest tech companies in the world, the CEOs of four of them have come out against the Executive Order targeting specific immigrants: GOOG/MSFT/FB/AAPL.<p>AMZN and Jeff Bezos have strangely been absent even though he was the most critical pre-election.
Here's a great photo:<p><a href="https://twitter.com/SmellTheTea/status/825577114871140352" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/SmellTheTea/status/825577114871140352</a>
Where were all these millionaires and billionaires when we were droning people in some of these countries? They all donated to Clinton's election campaign and under her watch as Secretary of State we dropped thousands of bombs. They supported the <i>pro-war</i> candidate.<p>Why is restricting our borders considered so inhumane as to cause an Internet-wide outcry, while killing people for years hadn't?
Something wrong with this world. I wish it to be vice a versa. Brin should be in the president chair, making America great as Google, and Trump should be outside joining protest against modernization.
I applaud this and very much wish to see more like this.<p>That's from someone who finds plenty of opportunity to criticise Google. Including presently for the company's support of the GOP, now a de-facto fascist party. Yes, I'm aware the situation's a complex one, and Google isn't a garage operation any more.<p>Regardless: thank you, Sergey.
Inevitable since <a href="https://qz.com/889524/the-us-says-oracle-is-encouraging-indians-to-hire-others-indians-and-its-killing-diversity/" rel="nofollow">https://qz.com/889524/the-us-says-oracle-is-encouraging-indi...</a>
You all are aware that the past 6 U.S. presidents have done this sort of thing...right?<p>Obama last did it in 2011.<p>The hypocrisy here is that because Trump did it, it is wrong.<p>We are a nation of laws and in order to maintain law and order, we must follow those laws. The minute tech companies (let's not be obtuse here, corporations are in the business of making money and appeasing shareholders) decides they are either for or against certain laws, well...you have anarchy.<p>This has nothing to do with denying rights to immigrants and everything to do with the far lefts disproval of the elected president of the United States.
The constitution only applies to citizens.<p>Edit: apparently I was mistaken. It applies to 'the people' of the US, which is anyone with 'substantial connection' to the US and under US jurisdiction. Green card holders would seem to be pretty clearly of 'the people' then.<p>Of course, it's a damn shame to treat any legal immigrant or legitimate asylum seeker this way. Seems to be absolutely against the long standing traditions of the country.
American citizen here:<p>I was denied a entry visa into Paraguay left to be stranded in Brazil. I barely made it to my grandmothers funeral. I had to call the embassy and spend several days in limbo. I understood that I was powerless because I was not a citizen of Brazil nor Paraguay. I wasn't entitled to representation by either country nor would they provide it.<p>I was jailed in Mozambique for refusing to pay a bribe at the border. I did not expect nor receive any special treatment. This is the way things are.<p>I overstayed my visa in Chile by less than 24 hours, was forced to remain at the border between Argentina and Chile for the day and threatened with jail. I did not fight and riot nor protest. Why would I? I need to follow the laws of the country I am in.<p>What we have here is a nation so divided that you have people on the right who are for less government and rule, but respect the rule of law and people on the left who have no regard for the law and demand more regulations and laws.<p>Disappointing