Elon Musk Closes Deal - Owns Twitter

[Scepticalscribe]

I’ll just leave this here.

What does it actually say, as it had been deleted by the time I read your post.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Perhaps you can't see the image. It says,

Breaking:
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Monday
that the province is canceling its
$100 million contract with Elon Musk's Starlink
in response to Trump's new tariffs on Canada.
​

Unfortunately one of the comments below it indicates that Ford has gone back on his decision. 🙁

 

[Pumbaa]

Well well…

Publishing the names and photos of Felon Musk’s groomed DOGE Youth squad currently aiding him illegally doing God knows what with sensitive government data is not acceptable on Reddit.

Why are Felon & Co. not out there raging against this blatant case of censorship? 🤔 😜

 

[P___X]

Well well…

Publishing the names and photos of Felon Musk’s groomed DOGE Youth squad currently aiding him illegally doing God knows what with sensitive government data is not acceptable on Reddit.

Why are Felon & Co. not out there raging against this blatant case of censorship? 🤔 😜

View attachment 1911

There's a reddit alternative in the fediverse called Lemmy:

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use.

lemmy.world

Anytime shit like this happens, lemmy gets a boost.

Unmasked: Musk’s secret DOGE goon squad—who are all under 26 - Lemmy.World

lemmy.world

 

[SouprMatt]

There's a reddit alternative in the fediverse called Lemmy:

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use.

lemmy.world

Anytime shit like this happens, lemmy gets a boost.

Unmasked: Musk’s secret DOGE goon squad—who are all under 26 - Lemmy.World

lemmy.world

Their names are being widely shared on Maatodon too. The more the big companies censor things, the more people will move to non-corporate platforms.

 

[P___X]

Their names are being widely shared on Maatodon too. The more the big companies censor things, the more people will move to non-corporate platforms.

yup. way too late, but finally people realized that social media needs to get billionaire-proofed with a built-in redundancy in the system. BTW, i went to read comments on r/Conservatives and wow. People live in a parallel universe. The schism is unfathomable.

 

[SouprMatt]

yup. way too late, but finally people realized that social media needs to get billionaire-proofed with a built-in redundancy in the system. BTW, i went to read comments on r/Conservatives and wow. People live in a parallel universe. The schism is unfathomable.

Fox News proved the effectiveness of propaganda. Social media also proved its ability to control minds. Combine them and you can lead a group of millions by the nose.

 

[SouprMatt]

Ah, the sound of crickets...

 

[Thomas Veil]

Confirmed, from the CBC:

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pausing all retaliatory measures in response to U.S. tariffs …

That pause includes Ford's promise to rip up Ontario's nearly $100 million contract with Elon Musk's Starlink, a spokesperson confirmed.

So it’s become one more tool in this stupid game of brinksmanship. I’d like to see them go ahead with that part anyway, just to punish that self-important muskrat.

Ford pauses retaliatory measures to U.S. tariffs after Trump delays them by 30 days​

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well well…

Publishing the names and photos of Felon Musk’s groomed DOGE Youth squad currently aiding him illegally doing God knows what with sensitive government data is not acceptable on Reddit.

Why are Felon & Co. not out there raging against this blatant case of censorship? 🤔 😜

View attachment 1911

There's a reddit alternative in the fediverse called Lemmy:

Lemmy.World - A generic Lemmy server for everyone to use.

lemmy.world

Anytime shit like this happens, lemmy gets a boost.

Unmasked: Musk’s secret DOGE goon squad—who are all under 26 - Lemmy.World

lemmy.world

While the youth of the members of this - quite illegal - coup d'état is what seems to have generated most comment, instead, what strikes me most forcibly are the following observations:

Firstly, is the fact that they are all male;

Secondly, the ethnicity: With one or two minor exceptions (who appear to have some Asian ancestry), I am also forcibly struck by the fact that these young men are all white.

And thirdly: They are all from either reasonably affluent academic backgrounds, or hail from backgrounds that are exceptionally wealthy.

Thus, in terms of gender (all male), social class (all affluent or outright wealthy) and ethnicity (all, or, almost all of them are white men) we have a snapshot of the current rulers of the country.

This is not just about abolishing diversity programmes, - and I have long been struck by how rarely the fatuous argument that promoting diversity somehow means eliminating merit is called out, or challenged, as though wealthy white males are the only individuals who could possibly possess any talent or merit - but is also about excluding all women, all people of colour, and anyone who is not wealthy, not only from consideration for appointment to any position in this administration, and from the public space, but also from consideration when drawing up what passes for public policy under this appalling administration.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

View attachment 1912

Ah, the sound of crickets...

A very relevant and salient point that I would like to hear, see, read, shouted from the proverbial roof-tops and into the online ether.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Confirmed, from the CBC:



So it’s become one more tool in this stupid game of brinksmanship. I’d like to see them go ahead with that part anyway, just to punish that self-important muskrat.

Ford pauses retaliatory measures to U.S. tariffs after Trump delays them by 30 days​

Robert Reich has an excellent piece in today's edition of the Guardian.

He argues that it is not just brinkmanship, but bullying behaviour, the sort that domestic abusers engage in, a display of crude sadistic power along with vicious and vindictive unpredictability.

 

[SouprMatt]

While the youth of the members of this - quite illegal - coup d'état is what seems to have generated most comment, what strikes me forcibly is:

Firstly, the fact that they are all male;

Secondly, the ethnicity: With one or two minor exceptions (who appear to have some Asian ancestry), I am also forcibly struck by the fact that these young men are all white.

And thirdly: They are all from either reasonably affluent academic backgrounds, or hail from backgrounds that are exceptionally wealthy.

Thus, in terms of gender (all male), social class (all affluent or outright wealthy) and ethnicity (all, or, almost all of them are white men) we have a snapshot of the current rulers of the country.

This is not just about abolishing diversity programmes, - and I have long been struck by how rarely the fatuous argument that promoting diversity somehow means eliminating merit is called out, or challenged, as though wealthy white males are the only individuals who could possibly possess any talent or merit - but is also about excluding all women, all people of colour, and anyone who is not wealthy, not only from consideration for appointment to any position, from the public space, but from consideration when drawing up what passes for public policy under this appalling administration.

Over in the Executive Branch thread, we see that Marco Rubio re-hired a man named Darren Beattie who was too much of a white supremacist for Trump's first term. They are intentionally pushing the racism further. It is truly appalling. It's even more maddening when one realizes that most Trump voters are WELL aware that he is such a racist. So they either voted because of that, or at the least decided that electing a racist wasn't a deal-breaker for them. It certainly doesn't make me feel proud to be an American these days.

 

[P___X]

View attachment 1912

Ah, the sound of crickets...

THis timeline feels like the punchline of a horrible old joke being meticulously explained over and over again.

While the youth of the members of this - quite illegal - coup d'état is what seems to have generated most comment, what strikes me forcibly is:

Firstly, the fact that they are all male;

Secondly, the ethnicity: With one or two minor exceptions (who appear to have some Asian ancestry), I am also forcibly struck by the fact that these young men are all white.

And thirdly: They are all from either reasonably affluent academic backgrounds, or hail from backgrounds that are exceptionally wealthy.

Just the appearance of these kids screams private schooling in a bubble, with adjustment issues who chose the worst possible mentor. It's also the cream of the crop for alt-righters. Super ironically they are exactly the same demographic as Luigi Mangione, just a few years younger.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Over in the Executive Branch thread, we see that Marco Rubio re-hired a man named Darren Beattie who was too much of a white supremacist for Trump's first term. They are intentionally pushing the racism further. It is truly appalling. It's even more maddening when one realizes that most Trump voters are WELL aware that he is such a racist. So they either voted because of that, or at the least decided that electing a racist wasn't a deal-breaker for them. It certainly doesn't make me feel proud to be an American these days.

They voted for him because he is a racist and a misogynist, and not reluctantly, or in spite of this.

 

[P___X]

They voted for him because he is a racist and a misogynist, and not reluctantly, or in spite of this.

THere's one consistent pattern of right wing attitude I find interesting: "How dare you insinuate me being a racist/sexist just to silence my opinion. You deserve what you get politically because you ignored my needs and opinions, and it is your fault that I vote for racist/sexist policies". The whole discourse went off rails, because a decade ago I was able to find a coherent logic in right wing ideas and policies, but these days it's about blaming muslims (europe), immigrants, america (europeans, but not america got cool overnight), china (americans), concurrently dismantling public health, education, and international alliances that had always been stable and safe in my lifetime.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

THere's one consistent pattern of right wing attitude I find interesting: "How dare you insinuate me being a racist/sexist just to silence my opinion.

Nowadays, unfortunately, all too many of them are proud - openly proud - of the fact that they are considered racist and sexist, and no longer see this as anything to apologise for.

You deserve what you get politically because you ignored my needs and opinions,

Yes, they all play the victimhood card, even when they hold the most misogynistic and racist of positions.

However, and unfortunately, the wholly inadequate response of what, for want of a better term, one can attempt to describe as "the elite" (socio-economic-political) to the shocks (professional, psychological, personal) that followed from the financial crash of 2008, and the utter failure to hold anyone - or anything - seriously to account for what were egregious errors with catastrophic consequences for many - has served to render crude populist politics, and performative autocracy ever more appealing to people who felt betrayed, left behind, and obsolete, in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, and the implementation of a wider neoliberal economic set of policies.

and it is your fault that I vote for racist/sexist policies".

Even though they actually strongly support such policies.

The whole discourse went off rails, because a decade ago I was able to find a coherent logic in right wing ideas and policies, but these days it's about blaming muslims (europe), immigrants, america (europeans, but not america got cool overnight), china (americans), concurrently dismantling public health, education, and international alliances that had always been stable and safe in my lifetime.

It is also about blaming women, a stance that receives strong support from sources that have been given far too much respect, a stance that dates as least as far back as the dramatic expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I think that the threats made by the new administration to a plethora of countries - which I would argue is an attempt to introduce a stratospheric level of gaslighting in politics and international relations, a kind of creative chaos, designed to shock and awe and distract - all the better to mask - or distract from, draw attention away from - the actual constitutional (or, quasi-constitutional) coup d'état (that DOGE now has - an undoubtedly utterly illegal access to government personnel files, and to payroll records? - this is absolutely outrageous) that is currently taking place under everyone's eyes (or nose) - among whom can be numbered neighbours such Canada, and Mexico, and others, such as Colombia, Denmark, Greenland, not to mention China and the EU, and, most recently, Gaza - I think it interesting to also note that South Africa (birthplace of the egregious Mr Musk) has now also appeared on that dreadful list, as the US is threatening to cut funding to South Africa, on account of its land law legislation, which has been an attempt to redress the atrocities and egregious inequalities of the apartheid era.

Moreover, given that this thread is mainly about the appalling Mr Musk, I think merits a change in title to reflect the unfortunate fact that the power and influence wielded by Elon Musk in his current (unaccountable) role far exceeds his ownership of what used to be Twitter.

 

[Jay Mysteri0]

The question has been why emo has been obsessed with USAID

Elon Musk's Enemy, USAID, Was Investigating Starlink's Contracts in Ukraine

The agency was in the midst of a probe into the billionaire's equipment at the time of Musk's assault.

gizmodo.com

Since coming into power, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has barraged USAID, the international aid agency that dispenses food and supplies to nations all over the world. It is likely that the agency will soon be shuttered and could be subsumed into the U.S. State Department. Now, new reporting shows USAID was actually investigating equipment from one of Musk’s companies at the time that he attacked the agency.

The Lever reported Tuesday that USAID’s inspector general was in the process of investigating its own public-private partnership between Musk’s Starlink and the Ukrainian government at the time that the billionaire’s DOGE crippled the agency. Publicly available information about that probe is still online. An announcement from last May reads: “The USAID Office of Inspector General, Inspections and Evaluations Division, is initiating an inspection of USAID’s oversight of Starlink satellite terminals provided to the Government of Ukraine. Our objectives are to determine how (1) the Government of Ukraine used the USAID-provided Starlink terminals, and (2) USAID monitored the Government of Ukraine’s use of USAID-provided Starlink terminals.”

Musk has called the agency “evil” and a “criminal organization,” though the fact that USAID was investigating the Starlink activities may suggest ulterior motivations for the billionaire’s vitriol. It’s unclear what the Starlink probe’s status is right now.

Musk’s “criminal” remarks are funny since it increasingly looks like Musk’s DOGE activities represent breaches of federal law and, therefore, may be construed as rampant criminal behavior. On Tuesday, the Washington Post noted that officials at half a dozen federal agencies had raised concerns over whether what Musk was doing was illegal. Those agencies included the “Treasury Department, the Education Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the General Services Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the White House budget office, among others,” the newspaper reported.

DOGE has been staffed by a bunch of kids in their 20s who are now engaged in unprecedented, legally risky work. As far as I can tell, it’s basically Elon being followed around by a bunch of “Gregs.” If the bottom ever falls out of this thing and DOGE runs into legal trouble, it’s easy to imagine that Musk’s army of anti-bureaucracy grunts might be considered expendable.

USAID has a long, controversial history and has often been accused by foreign governments of being a front for the CIA. While the agency dispenses aid to foreign countries, it has often been entangled in scandals. It hardly represents, as Sean Hannity recently put it, “radical DEI, woke, transgender, you know, leftist, Green New Deal madness.” Given its history, it’s obvious that Musk’s battle against the agency will play well with voters who earnestly believe Trump wants to “destroy the deep state.” That said, Elon Musk literally works for the deep state, so I don’t know how his being in charge is any better.

 

[SouprMatt]

ProPublica with some more outstanding investigative reporting… This time about Elmo and his young teen virgins that are illegally infiltrating the government.

Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has been unleashed on federal agencies. ProPublica is attempting to document who is working with him and what they are doing.

projects.propublica.org

Name them and shame them. If law and order ever return to America, we can give the list to prosecutors.

Remember when the “big” newspapers actually used to practice journalism? I guess they’ve abdicated that role completely.