Vinod Kholsa, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and well known Silicon Valley venture capitalist, is at the center of a lawsuit revolving around the popular Northern California destination Martins Beach, located six miles south of Half Moon Bay. The beach has always been popular with families and surfers alike, and the prior owners had always provided access for a $5 fee. Mr. Kholsa has taken a different approach, which has consisted of putting up a locked gate to block the beach’s only road access point and painting over a billboard welcoming people to the beach.
Mr. Kholssa sees himself as an “eco warrior” and is a darling of the Democratic party (he held a private dinner with Barack Obama and U.S. Senators after the Snowden revelations first hit), yet his behavior in this affair portrays him as the typical elitist oligarch limousine liberal. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised by the behavior of a man who’s firm hired British war criminal Tony Blair back in 2010 (was this before or after Blair took on his role at JP Morgan).
From SFGate we learn that:
SAN FRANCISCO – The billionaire landowner who bought a popular beach in San Mateo County and then locked out the public was evasive and uncooperative when questioned Monday about his decision, stating repeatedly he “did not recollect” conversations, letters or legal documents.
Vinod Khosla testified during the civil trial in San Mateo County Superior Court that he did not remember why he set up two limited liability companies to buy Martins Beach, what amount he paid for the property, when he bought it or why the decision was made to keep the public out.
For such a brilliant guy, he certainly seems to have a selective memory when it comes to peasant access to his beach.
The Silicon Valley venture capitalist remained calm but gave no ground during the intense questioning – sometimes tinged with disbelief and sarcasm – by the lead attorney for the Surfrider Foundation, which sued Khosla for blocking the only access road to the beach. Khosla explained that he never had a conversation about the property without his lawyers present, a strategy that allowed him to invoke attorney-client privilege for virtually every question whose answer he could recollect.
from A Lightning War for Liberty http://ift.tt/1v0gKqm
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