Elon Musk takes over Twitter

The Tweetdeck bell tolled for me today. For whatever reason, the old version was still working for me until I accidentally refreshed my browser this morning. Fuck. I really need Tweetdeck for work so I had no choice. Work will pay for it but it just galls me that I have to pay this MFer. If they had charged for Tweetdeck under Jack Dorsey, I would have happily paid because it’s useful. But ugh, I hate Elmo. And I don’t want the fucking blue check either.

 

New Twitter Homepage Features Photo Of Erect Penis That Is Impossible To Close Out Of

 

The mark of a true genius

 

Taking a flamethrower to $44b must be fun.

 

This Brewster’s Millions remake sucks.

 

"There's no Mets in this building!"

 

Opinion | Elon Musk’s control over satellite internet demands a reckoning

Starlink is far from the first constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit and far from the first to sell to militaries. But what distinguishes the network is the amount of data it can move, as well as how quickly it can increase that capacity: SpaceX can launch satellites unprecedentedly fast and at unprecedentedly low cost thanks to the reusable rockets it has pioneered. The bigger the satellite fleet, the more versatile and effective: As a satellite flies above a terminal located on the ground, it transfers the signal to a satellite behind it, and so on, forming a chain that ensures users maintain constant access to the internet.

Working together, these satellites can provide this kind of service even in remote locations. And, of course, they can provide it in locations where traditional methods of connection, for whatever reason, are unavailable — such as war zones.

Starlink has been a boon to Ukraine’s efforts to repel the Russian invasion ever since Ukraine’s digital minister tweeted a plea for assistance at Mr. Musk in February 2022 and Mr. Musk answered. The trouble with relying on one key technology for battlefield communications, however, is that it also means relying on whoever controls that technology. And because Starlink is a commercial company rather than a traditional defense contractor, in this case Mr. Musk has largely been able to call the shots — literally.

Using a technique known as geofencing, Mr. Musk has restricted his satellites’ availability on the front lines. Purportedly, he’s wary of aiding an offensive rather than merely a defensive war, which isn’t surprising given his proposal for a “peace plan” whose defining feature was its generosity toward Russia. Sometimes, when Ukraine has wanted to retake Russian-occupied cities, its government has had to message SpaceX employees or the CEO himself for permission. Ukraine’s request at one point to send a drone into ships docked in the Black Sea near Crimea was reportedly rebuffed.

Mr. Musk is the wrong person to be making these calls.

 

Maybe don't use the site at all.
I wouldn't pay him my attention let alone one wooden nickel of my money.