Whenever I see Alex Karp speak I wonder why they can't even pretend to put on sheep's clothing.
It says a lot about the breakdown of current US society and democracy that Palantir's leadership feels free to speak in the way that they do. People will not forget, because we all suspected that they were like this, but when given a tiny bit of power by electing a transient and weak president, they pulled their masks off fully.
Seems like a crucial miscalculation on their part, as they lose all international revenue and will likely lose all US revenue as soon as democratic check and balances are restored.
Not just an assumption, but a goal. If some semblance of democratic society returns they know they’ll be held accountable, so they’ll fight with every means available to prevent that from happening.
> Whenever I see Alex Karp speak I wonder why they can't even pretend to put on sheep's clothing.
Because shedding the sheepskin is the point. It's performative. A display of power.
It doesn't matter that Karp has destroyed his brain with cocaine, nor that he's a massive bigot. It's a signal. "We have won. You can't stop us".
> will likely lose all US revenue as soon as democratic check and balances are restored.
The gamble and taunt being that they're stating that this will not happen. Thiel has won. US democracy is dead. The moment Trump croaks they try to seize the fed entirely.
The actual miscalculation is deeper. They may seize the US government. It won't save them, they'll only drag it down with them.
Globalism is not some evil ploy by which [we all know exactly who they're accusing] try to subvert the US. It is the foundational mechanism of the US' imperialism. And in trying to unmake globalism, they're unmaking the American Empire.
Similarly with democracy. Democracy is not some weakness forced upon the west. It is the winning system of government after all others have collapsed. Even the smartest god-king is useless if all his advisors are coked out nutjobs. Thiel's idea of disposing of democracy will doom not only the US, but himself personally as well.
> Whenever I see Alex Karp speak I wonder why they can't even pretend to put on sheep's clothing.
Because he's speaking to his investors aiming to keep the stock price up. He's not selling his products or himself to the world. His investors are rewarding him for the way he talks and acts.
Frankly the other cofounders are just as bad as Thiel but don't draw the headlines quite as much.
"Yesterday, Palantir founder Joe Lonsdale agreed with an X post suggesting communists in the Western hemisphere should be blown up. “Exactly,” he wrote. “What did you think founding Palantir was supposed to be about?”" - https://responsiblestatecraft.org/defense-companies-maduro/
"In a CNBC interview Thursday, Palantir cofounder and CEO Alex Karp opined that AI will undermine the influence of “highly educated, often female voters” and empower working class men instead. And anyone who doesn’t realize this political reality, he added, belongs in an “insane asylum.”" - https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ceo-palantir-ai...
In Germany we have a term for entities headed by people who publicly say things Thiel and his gang say. It's verfassungsfeindliche Organisation. I really don't understand how they can still be considered government suppliers to purchase from. Just because they are on the stock exchange and not some secret conspiracy? (they are not on the stock exchange)
Right but if you read that page you quickly come to the quote "Parliament can make or unmake any law". Technically there is judicial review now, so there is some restrictions, but not like in a USA style constitution.
> US tech billionaire and Maga donor Peter Thiel is starting a series of closed-door lectures about the antichrist in Rome on Sunday, putting him on a collision course with Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church’s first American pontiff.
This sort of stuff might go down well with fundamentalists in america, but it has no place in the advanced world.
This sort of thing has been widespread in US fundamentalist Christian circles for a long time. He probably goes (or went) to a church surrounded by people who also believe that.
Normalization of deviance. They've shifted what is considered normal so far out of bounds that they can now pretend this is just fine. So no more fig-leafs. It brought down the Space Shuttle, and it will bring down society if left unchecked.
If this guy was some raving lunatic on a corner I wouldn't care. But he's got a country sized megaphone thanks to money and has also bought the government. So it does unfortunately matter that he's an insane christian cretin that wants to see the current form of government destroyed.
In fact, I would say the burden of proof is largely on those who would say that Palantir and Thiel can be trusted despite all of their actions and rhetoric.
It's very fair to say that basically no one should be trusted with the large piles of data accumulated by various governments. But I would like to know why GP calls out Thiel specifically. Would they be just as mad at GovCloud?
I think there is a minimum standard of being informed before you can start to question others. Thiel is on the record in many ways that would justify the GPs statement.
Yes, it is fair to say basically no one should be trusted with large piles of government data, but this holds more true for the the likes of Thiel who have indicated that they are willing to abuse such access.
> Thiel is on the record in many ways that would justify the GPs statement.
Thiel is on the record saying he would use the data to make health and security worse? On the record saying he would abuse access? AFAICT this is not true.
That "essay" is only 14 paragraphs. It is pro freedom on the surface, but that just adds weight to the overall message that he is anti democracy. That he believes we'll find more freedom by abondoning democracy and moving to some other system doesn't reassure me of his sanity.
Peter Thiel is at least cosplaying a super-villain.
Palantir is mass surveillance as a product, including "predictive policing". He's been grooming JD Vance as the next president. He has given lectures about the anti-Christ, and seems overly interested in armageddon. And life extension, like getting blood transfusions from the young and joking that he's a "vampire".
"I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible." So which one does he plan to deprive the western world of?
- Palantir built ICE's surveillance infrastructure. The technology concentrates power, and with the current government have zero oversight means this is a dangerous game that is being played. [0]
- Thiel has literally said that freedom and democracy are not compatible. [1]
- He has suggested conservatives should stage a military coup. [1]
- Secretly funded Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker Media, thereby all but destroying it.
- He still believes and pushes the debunked race science.
There's probably many other things I'm missing, but overall he's seems like a not so nice person as far as people go. Overall there is zero reason to trust anything that he has his hands on. Especially not things that matter in a national security context. This applied to all countries, including America.
Whenever I see Alex Karp speak I wonder why they can't even pretend to put on sheep's clothing.
It says a lot about the breakdown of current US society and democracy that Palantir's leadership feels free to speak in the way that they do. People will not forget, because we all suspected that they were like this, but when given a tiny bit of power by electing a transient and weak president, they pulled their masks off fully.
Seems like a crucial miscalculation on their part, as they lose all international revenue and will likely lose all US revenue as soon as democratic check and balances are restored.
It seems clear that the assumptions they are working off is that they will not be restored.
Not just an assumption, but a goal. If some semblance of democratic society returns they know they’ll be held accountable, so they’ll fight with every means available to prevent that from happening.
> Whenever I see Alex Karp speak I wonder why they can't even pretend to put on sheep's clothing.
Because shedding the sheepskin is the point. It's performative. A display of power.
It doesn't matter that Karp has destroyed his brain with cocaine, nor that he's a massive bigot. It's a signal. "We have won. You can't stop us".
> will likely lose all US revenue as soon as democratic check and balances are restored.
The gamble and taunt being that they're stating that this will not happen. Thiel has won. US democracy is dead. The moment Trump croaks they try to seize the fed entirely.
The actual miscalculation is deeper. They may seize the US government. It won't save them, they'll only drag it down with them.
Globalism is not some evil ploy by which [we all know exactly who they're accusing] try to subvert the US. It is the foundational mechanism of the US' imperialism. And in trying to unmake globalism, they're unmaking the American Empire.
Similarly with democracy. Democracy is not some weakness forced upon the west. It is the winning system of government after all others have collapsed. Even the smartest god-king is useless if all his advisors are coked out nutjobs. Thiel's idea of disposing of democracy will doom not only the US, but himself personally as well.
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> Whenever I see Alex Karp speak I wonder why they can't even pretend to put on sheep's clothing.
Because he's speaking to his investors aiming to keep the stock price up. He's not selling his products or himself to the world. His investors are rewarding him for the way he talks and acts.
Frankly the other cofounders are just as bad as Thiel but don't draw the headlines quite as much.
"Yesterday, Palantir founder Joe Lonsdale agreed with an X post suggesting communists in the Western hemisphere should be blown up. “Exactly,” he wrote. “What did you think founding Palantir was supposed to be about?”" - https://responsiblestatecraft.org/defense-companies-maduro/
"“We support warfare and we are proud of it,” Karp stated bluntly during the conversation with German media outlet Heise.de." - https://zetbit.tech/news/209/pentagon-backing-palantir-ceo-k...
"In a CNBC interview Thursday, Palantir cofounder and CEO Alex Karp opined that AI will undermine the influence of “highly educated, often female voters” and empower working class men instead. And anyone who doesn’t realize this political reality, he added, belongs in an “insane asylum.”" - https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ceo-palantir-ai...
They're all certifiable.
In Germany we have a term for entities headed by people who publicly say things Thiel and his gang say. It's verfassungsfeindliche Organisation. I really don't understand how they can still be considered government suppliers to purchase from. Just because they are on the stock exchange and not some secret conspiracy? (they are not on the stock exchange)
It's simple - nobody actually cares about the constitution.
The UK doesn't have a constitution.
Germany does, and that's what verfassungsfeindlich refers to. Germany also uses Palantir.
The UK doesn’t have a written constitution, it does have one though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kin...
Right but if you read that page you quickly come to the quote "Parliament can make or unmake any law". Technically there is judicial review now, so there is some restrictions, but not like in a USA style constitution.
Same is true in the US though? Surely that’s what all those amendments are
... if the goal is to have good health and security.
https://www.ft.com/content/fc1e7e9a-9d5d-4217-b9b2-38069eb11...
> US tech billionaire and Maga donor Peter Thiel is starting a series of closed-door lectures about the antichrist in Rome on Sunday, putting him on a collision course with Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church’s first American pontiff.
This sort of stuff might go down well with fundamentalists in america, but it has no place in the advanced world.
How is this not shut down in any form? This is actual insanity.
This sort of thing has been widespread in US fundamentalist Christian circles for a long time. He probably goes (or went) to a church surrounded by people who also believe that.
Normalization of deviance. They've shifted what is considered normal so far out of bounds that they can now pretend this is just fine. So no more fig-leafs. It brought down the Space Shuttle, and it will bring down society if left unchecked.
Why is it any of our business what this guy says in his free time if it's not advocating for violence?
Calling people "harbingers of the antichrist" is tantamount to advocating violence, not to mention slander.
If this guy was some raving lunatic on a corner I wouldn't care. But he's got a country sized megaphone thanks to money and has also bought the government. So it does unfortunately matter that he's an insane christian cretin that wants to see the current form of government destroyed.
Because he made it our business by deliberately making it public.
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gestures broadly
In fact, I would say the burden of proof is largely on those who would say that Palantir and Thiel can be trusted despite all of their actions and rhetoric.
It's very fair to say that basically no one should be trusted with the large piles of data accumulated by various governments. But I would like to know why GP calls out Thiel specifically. Would they be just as mad at GovCloud?
I think there is a minimum standard of being informed before you can start to question others. Thiel is on the record in many ways that would justify the GPs statement.
Yes, it is fair to say basically no one should be trusted with large piles of government data, but this holds more true for the the likes of Thiel who have indicated that they are willing to abuse such access.
> Thiel is on the record in many ways that would justify the GPs statement.
Thiel is on the record saying he would use the data to make health and security worse? On the record saying he would abuse access? AFAICT this is not true.
I'll just give you one, and you can google for others:
"I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible."
For a guy with his access to data, yes, that makes everybody's security worse.
This is an incomplete quote from a pro-freedom essay: https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/educatio...
Edit: Also, that quote does not provide evidence that he is "on the record" saying he would abuse access or make health or security worse.
That "essay" is only 14 paragraphs. It is pro freedom on the surface, but that just adds weight to the overall message that he is anti democracy. That he believes we'll find more freedom by abondoning democracy and moving to some other system doesn't reassure me of his sanity.
You fail at reading comprehension. That's fine, but don't do it here. Thank you.
Because Thiel is plainly, and in his own words, a regressive threat to democracy.
Peter Thiel is at least cosplaying a super-villain.
Palantir is mass surveillance as a product, including "predictive policing". He's been grooming JD Vance as the next president. He has given lectures about the anti-Christ, and seems overly interested in armageddon. And life extension, like getting blood transfusions from the young and joking that he's a "vampire".
"I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible." So which one does he plan to deprive the western world of?
https://quasa.io/media/peter-thiel-and-the-project-of-a-new-...
Trust must be earned. Thiel has earned none of that.
- Palantir built ICE's surveillance infrastructure. The technology concentrates power, and with the current government have zero oversight means this is a dangerous game that is being played. [0]
- Thiel has literally said that freedom and democracy are not compatible. [1]
- He has suggested conservatives should stage a military coup. [1]
- Secretly funded Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker Media, thereby all but destroying it.
- He still believes and pushes the debunked race science.
There's probably many other things I'm missing, but overall he's seems like a not so nice person as far as people go. Overall there is zero reason to trust anything that he has his hands on. Especially not things that matter in a national security context. This applied to all countries, including America.
[0] https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-immigrat...
[1] https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/owne...
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/26/paypal-co-foun...
[3] https://bylinetimes.com/2025/09/18/peter-thiels-race-science...
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