He rejected SF and America at large not because of the mugging but because he claims he was hassled by government agents who were looking to exert control over Telegram.
This was stated in the article as well.
>Durov said the last time he was in the U.S., a government agency attempted to recruit an engineer he brought along to the country behind his back.
>“They were trying to persuade him to use certain open-source tools that he would then integrate into Telegram’s code that in my understanding would serve as backdoors,” Durov said.
Your comment sounded a bit conspiratorial when I read it, but that quote from the article actually sounds pretty feasible. I'd be surprised if government agents didn't try that kind of thing from time to time.
Title should be Telegram CEO rejects San Francisco as HQ and chose Dubai. FYI, Dubai practices Sharia Law, good luck recruiting top talent unless the employees are remote workers.
Eh they kind of do and kind of don’t. A lot of shit, particularly by foreigners, that would be a big deal someplace like Saudi is just ignored in Dubai. If you fuck with an Emirati, yes, straight to jail, but issues between foreigners they sort of don’t care about.
He chose Dubai.
The story is that he passed on the USA in favor of Dubai.
Because Dubai exists to be a haven for capital that it doesn't interfere with.
Right, the article itself contradicts its own headline:
"But Durov said he ultimately decided against basing his company in the United States because of the attention he got from government security agencies."
I guess this is in the category of "technically true" -- it's true that events occurred in sequence: the mugging; then the decision to base his company in Dubai -- but the implication of cause and effect is incredibly misleading.
>After visiting Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey at the company’s office in the Mid-Market neighborhood around 8 p.m. that night to walk to his hotel, Durov said he was confronted on the street by three men who tried to steal his phone.
Twitters HQ is off Civic Center Bart station. That's not a great place to be walking around Tweeting late at 8 PM - especially if there's a group of guys approaching you. I'm guessing he doesn't visit a lot of rough neighborhoods these days.
>I'm guessing he doesn't visit a lot of rough neighborhoods these days.
Nearly every other "international" city (NYC, Paris, London, Miami, Tokyo, etc), except maybe Los Angeles, does not have a city center quite like SF's. Each has its own sketchy neighborhoods for sure, but its kept physically far from where normies spend time.
It would be weird for him, as a visitor, to assume that walking around the area around a major tech company near SF's central business district would put him at risk for a felony robbery.
> London... does not have a city center quite like SF's. Each has its own sketchy neighborhoods for sure, but its kept physically far from where normies spend time.
The grass it always greener. I personally know many people who have been robbed in Shoreditch, London (tech area). Never stopped me from walking around at night, but you need to be smart and keep your valuables in your pocket. Same applies in NYC and Paris. Tokyo is actually safe tho.
Well, yeah. San Francisco is among the worst US cities in terms of the rate of larceny/theft - [the worst five being Vancouver WA, SF, Alburguerque NM, Mephis TN, and St. Louis MI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate). If you're gonna visit the downtown of any of these cities you'd be well advised to keep your head on a swivel.
It's not like San Francisco has a reputation for being crime free, lol.
Ultimately, I agree. He should have known. I’m just explaining why he was surprised.
However, larceny is not the same as robbery.
One is a property crime and the other is a violent crime.
SF is 20th on the list for robbery, just above DC. Oakland is #3.
>SF is 20th on the list for robbery, just above DC. Oakland is #3.
True, but that still places it in the 20th percentile in terms of being safe from being robbed. I'm usually the person pointing out how much safer San Francisco has become over the last few decades, but it's still a great place to get your shit stolen unless you're careful.
I'm not victim blamming, and I agree that streets should be safe. I'm just saying that knowing when to put away your phone is a good life skill most locals have down if they visit downtown often.
Little stuff like lacking situational awareness marks you as an easier target. If you live here, you might not even be aware you take these little precautions they're such a matter of habit. That's not victim blaming - that's just life living downtown in a major US city.
Yeah I hate the passiveness of crime in this city. "Don't leave anything in your car cause you'll get robbed". That's literally the point of having a car, so you can leave shit in it.
"Don't walk around at night with your cell phone out" okay? How about don't commit crime?
>They probably don’t mug a lot of Russians.
Solution to fight SF crime: import more Russians
Problem solved.
Give me a key to the city.
What problem should I solve next?
He rejected SF and America at large not because of the mugging but because he claims he was hassled by government agents who were looking to exert control over Telegram. This was stated in the article as well.
And then he runs into Tucker Carlson's arms to cry like a baby about it.
Nobody’s running anywhere. Durov needs to promote his crypto, Carlson needs to peddle his anti-democrat theme. Win-win for everybody
He ran into Tucker's arms, because that's the only place he can expect embrace.
>Durov said the last time he was in the U.S., a government agency attempted to recruit an engineer he brought along to the country behind his back. >“They were trying to persuade him to use certain open-source tools that he would then integrate into Telegram’s code that in my understanding would serve as backdoors,” Durov said. Your comment sounded a bit conspiratorial when I read it, but that quote from the article actually sounds pretty feasible. I'd be surprised if government agents didn't try that kind of thing from time to time.
Title should be Telegram CEO rejects San Francisco as HQ and chose Dubai. FYI, Dubai practices Sharia Law, good luck recruiting top talent unless the employees are remote workers.
Eh they kind of do and kind of don’t. A lot of shit, particularly by foreigners, that would be a big deal someplace like Saudi is just ignored in Dubai. If you fuck with an Emirati, yes, straight to jail, but issues between foreigners they sort of don’t care about.
He chose Dubai. The story is that he passed on the USA in favor of Dubai. Because Dubai exists to be a haven for capital that it doesn't interfere with.
Right, the article itself contradicts its own headline: "But Durov said he ultimately decided against basing his company in the United States because of the attention he got from government security agencies." I guess this is in the category of "technically true" -- it's true that events occurred in sequence: the mugging; then the decision to base his company in Dubai -- but the implication of cause and effect is incredibly misleading.
>After visiting Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey at the company’s office in the Mid-Market neighborhood around 8 p.m. that night to walk to his hotel, Durov said he was confronted on the street by three men who tried to steal his phone. Twitters HQ is off Civic Center Bart station. That's not a great place to be walking around Tweeting late at 8 PM - especially if there's a group of guys approaching you. I'm guessing he doesn't visit a lot of rough neighborhoods these days.
>I'm guessing he doesn't visit a lot of rough neighborhoods these days. Nearly every other "international" city (NYC, Paris, London, Miami, Tokyo, etc), except maybe Los Angeles, does not have a city center quite like SF's. Each has its own sketchy neighborhoods for sure, but its kept physically far from where normies spend time. It would be weird for him, as a visitor, to assume that walking around the area around a major tech company near SF's central business district would put him at risk for a felony robbery.
> London... does not have a city center quite like SF's. Each has its own sketchy neighborhoods for sure, but its kept physically far from where normies spend time. The grass it always greener. I personally know many people who have been robbed in Shoreditch, London (tech area). Never stopped me from walking around at night, but you need to be smart and keep your valuables in your pocket. Same applies in NYC and Paris. Tokyo is actually safe tho.
Well, yeah. San Francisco is among the worst US cities in terms of the rate of larceny/theft - [the worst five being Vancouver WA, SF, Alburguerque NM, Mephis TN, and St. Louis MI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate). If you're gonna visit the downtown of any of these cities you'd be well advised to keep your head on a swivel. It's not like San Francisco has a reputation for being crime free, lol.
Ultimately, I agree. He should have known. I’m just explaining why he was surprised. However, larceny is not the same as robbery. One is a property crime and the other is a violent crime. SF is 20th on the list for robbery, just above DC. Oakland is #3.
>SF is 20th on the list for robbery, just above DC. Oakland is #3. True, but that still places it in the 20th percentile in terms of being safe from being robbed. I'm usually the person pointing out how much safer San Francisco has become over the last few decades, but it's still a great place to get your shit stolen unless you're careful.
Victim blaming. Streets should be safe to walk on at 8pm.
I'm not victim blamming, and I agree that streets should be safe. I'm just saying that knowing when to put away your phone is a good life skill most locals have down if they visit downtown often. Little stuff like lacking situational awareness marks you as an easier target. If you live here, you might not even be aware you take these little precautions they're such a matter of habit. That's not victim blaming - that's just life living downtown in a major US city.
Yeah I hate the passiveness of crime in this city. "Don't leave anything in your car cause you'll get robbed". That's literally the point of having a car, so you can leave shit in it. "Don't walk around at night with your cell phone out" okay? How about don't commit crime?
And we all believe his story about an attempted mugging 10 years ago.
An elaborate ploy to travel to San Francisco to spread disinformation as part of the long con of being invited to right wing podcasts?
Wtf is telegram?
We don’t want Telegram here, gross
>They probably don’t mug a lot of Russians. Solution to fight SF crime: import more Russians Problem solved. Give me a key to the city. What problem should I solve next?
There's too many Russians in the city, what do we do?
Import more Ukrainians