Russia's War Against Ukraine

[Pete Dero]

well elon is certainly being a fucking cunt.

Tomorrow he will deny this  >:D.

[GDS_Starfury]

Yeah I was gonna say....

In an apparent bid to remain the most unlikable public figure who still actively supports Ukraine, Musk decided it's time for the taxpayers to foot the bill for Starlink  :bd:

Nevermind that he's still making money off Ukrainians being charged for Starlink service!

while the Pentagon pays for units and services.....

[Con]

What do T-62s look like with new paint and maybe some bells and whistles for comfort?

We will soon know. Russia is going to working on 800 of them over the next three years.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-to-modernize-800-vintage-t-62-tanks-due-to-ukraine-losses-report/ar-AA12SQPr?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=1685c28e29f849e98c8d246a2a68ba2c

The article links to a Russian article that gives a few more details. I was able to read it with MS Edge's translate feature:
https://anna-news.info/deputat-guravlev-800-tankov-t-62-popolnyat-rossijskuyu-armiyu-v-techenii-3-let/

Interesting point someone showed was that the T62 does not have a loader
So they will have to train loaders and the crew (if there even is training) without having any institutional knowledge on how to do this.  It might seem trivial but loading is a skill as is a competent crew.

[Con]

Best caption I saw for this pic is

The Devil on my shoulder convincing me to order another drink

meanwhile in russia....

[ArizonaTank]

Yeah I was gonna say....

In an apparent bid to remain the most unlikable public figure who still actively supports Ukraine, Musk decided it's time for the taxpayers to foot the bill for Starlink  :bd:

Nevermind that he's still making money off Ukrainians being charged for Starlink service!

while the Pentagon pays for units and services.....

I don't have a problem with SpaceX getting paid, particularly since the service is so important to the Ukrainian resistance.

But I don't know how fair SpaceX's demand is. Is it a fair price for the service? or are they taking advantage of the situation and price gouging?

If price gouging, this is not going to be good for Ukraine, the US or even Musk. SpaceX is a US Government contractor servicing several parts of the Government, and those contracts are worth billions. Price gouging may put SpaceX in the US Government contractor penalty box...stupid move Mr. Musk. 

But the really stupid thing about this is that Musk and his crew could have handled the situation so much better. Take Lockheed. Those guys are raking in the bucks for missiles used by the Ukraine, and everybody loves their stuff and doesn't complain about the price (at least not yet).

But you don't see Lockheed doing the dumb messaging that SpaceX just pulled; saying things like, 'send us money or we don't send any more missiles to Ukraine.'

Musks ultra brash approach to business is starting to have some negative consequences for him...his Twitter take-over fiasco is a good example. But I guess Musk just doesn't really care in the end...he probably just enjoys the publicity.

[Dammit Carl!]

Musk is an amazingly lucky idiot up to this point.

Tesla is millions in the red and has been for years.  Musk is on the hook, whether he buys Twitter or not, for millions either way he goes in that direction.  The Hyperloop idea is a goddam joke (and I don't think any cities are really biting at that one), and that is just off the top of my head.

Tesla/Musk has said electric trucks, both small and semi-flavored, are coming but haven't made it past concept yet.  Meanwhile, for folks, Ford has the Lightning (and there are probably more out there by other companies), and check out a group from Canada called Edison Motors and their approach to hybrid diesel/electric semis - they went from paper concept to rolling example just this past year.  Still no Tesla trucks.

Musk must have some seriously competent people keeping him from the deep end of the pool and trying to create an underwater toaster, but just a matter of time before they dip on out.

[Ubercat]

well elon is certainly being a fucking cunt.

Maybe because they told him to F off? I wouldn't be inclined to help folks who acted like that.

[Dammit Carl!]

well elon is certainly being a fucking cunt.

Maybe because they told him to F off? I wouldn't be inclined to help folks who acted like that.

Conversely, he shouldn't be butting into a situation that he has no grasp of or stake in outside of money, ostensibly.  Recall his stellar hot takes on rescuing the soccer team in the flooded caves and the people that managed to do it.  He has the ability, for good or ill, to shake things around just by tweeting about it.  Makes me shudder to think how he'll cock Twitter up once it's in his sweaty mitts.

[Ubercat]

well elon is certainly being a fucking cunt.

Maybe because they told him to F off? I wouldn't be inclined to help folks who acted like that.

Conversely, he shouldn't be butting into a situation that he has no grasp of or stake in outside of money, ostensibly.  Recall his stellar hot takes on rescuing the soccer team in the flooded caves and the people that managed to do it.  He has the ability, for good or ill, to shake things around just by tweeting about it.  Makes me shudder to think how he'll cock Twitter up once it's in his sweaty mitts.

Speaking of Twitter, it would certainly be great to see it not so ... politically unbalanced. I think he'd do a great job with it. Time will tell.

[al_infierno]

^ This is getting dangerously close to R&P turf.  Please don't continue this line of discussion while R&P is shut down.   C:-)

[Ubercat]

That's why I was being discrete.  ;)

Speaking of Musk, I have to give him credit for something else. He thoroughly recognizes the inherent threat of AI development. We should have an AI thread in the forum. The stuff that's going on now is exciting and utterly terrifying. We seem to be on the cusp of either Skynet or actual utopia. I'm fearful that we're more likely to get the former.

[Dammit Carl!]

Thanks for the remind.

[FarAway Sooner]

Honestly, I kind of think the guy is just a billionaire who also happens to be an internet troll.  He loves to be at the center of the attention, and he has a talent for saying and doing things that will keep him at the center of attention.  A fawning media plays it all up, because whether people love him or hate him, they still follow articles on what he says, and that's how websites sell advertising on the Internet.

[Jarhead0331]

Musk's IQ is 155. For reference, Albert Einstein was 160. Musk is more than "just a billionaire". Sure, he can be a dick, but so can everybody else posting in this thread. None of us have accomplished anything close to what he has for humanity. So go ahead...keep throwing stones.

[undercovergeek]

We can all feel the love until he switches the interwebs off