Gawker: valleywag, pablo chavez

Google executives complain about 90 denied H-1B visas

theodp — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:40:00 EDT

Never mind that it rejected over a million other hopefuls last year: Google is really steamed that only 210 of its 300 work-visa hopefuls won the H-1B lottery. And Google lobbyist Pablo Chavez has also had it up to here with critics who say Google isn't doing enough for Americans and underprivileged U.S. students, insisting that Google has a diverse workforce and may even have some non-offshored money for black and Hispanic students — once they've proven their worth by completing two years of a computer-science or computer-engineering major on their own with a 3.5+ GPA — this at a time when budgets are down across the board for academic computer-science programs.

Pablo goes on to argue that if it was left up to U.S.-born talent, great software like Orkut might never have been developed. There you go!

In a follow-up, Computerworld reports Google PR is tap-dancing around the question of whether the 90 workers denied H-1B visas were actually denied any job at Google or just U.S.-based jobs. "As a company with a global presence, we're fortunate enough to be able to have employees work for us in other countries if they're not permitted to stay in the U.S.," a Google spokesperson emailed. "That said, many of our core products are created and improved upon here. We also believe that worker satisfaction is higher when employees can work in the location they prefer." So there you have it: According to Google, it's not applying for H-1B visas because it needs to have its workers in the U.S. It's just doing it for fun.

John McCain advertising alongside Al Jazeera on YouTube

Jackson West — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:40:00 EDT

John McCain has joined Barack Obama in lining Google's pockets with cash from his admittedly smaller campaign warchest. But a couple of flubs here could hurt the candidate. First, I seriously doubt his target demographic is watching much Al Jazeera. And he used a jowl-free photo from his youth, not something up to date — which is typical of creepy older men looking to rob the cradle on social networks, not a candidate who's trying to sell himself as a rigorously honest plain-talker. Maybe Pablo Chavez, senior policy counsel at Google who's contributed $3,750 to the McCain campaign, could send a note suggesting some changes in the the ad buy instead of a check next month. (Screenshot by Steve Rhodes)

Orkut inventor may be best argument against H-1B visas yet

Owen Thomas — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT

Give us more H-1B visas and we'll give you innovative products. That's the pitch Google exec Laszlo Bock made to Congress as he decried the H-1B visa cap. Projects like also-ran social network Orkut, which was created (or stolen, depending on who you ask) by H-1B hire Orkut Buyukkokten (pictured, right) represent a boon to the U.S. economy, added Google lobbyist Pablo Chavez as he echoed Block's plea for more visas.

But this week's SEC filing painted a different picture of orkut, as Google warned investors that its "ability to generate revenue from services in which we have invested considerable time and resources, such as YouTube, Gmail, Orkut and Google Checkout" poses a risk to the company. Buyukkokten, meanwhile, has made enough off Google to buy a three-story apartment in San Francisco and hire male strippers for a birthday party.