Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-23 and Invasion

[Caliga]

What I meant to ask, and didn't articulate it well, is just if this is how Russian gallows humor works.  I know Stalin was famously a practical joker and liked to joke about executing people (sometimes to their face/on the phone), but I'm wondering if the "oops, that guy fell out a window by mistake!" is just a thing in Russian culture, and if they always joke about people being murdered and it must have been an accident or not.

[Josquius]

I wonder if there's been anyone in Russia died falling from a window in their single story luxury bungalow.

[Tamas]

Un chief Guteres went to the BRICS meeting, met Putin and called for a just peace in Ukraine. What a disgrace.

[viper37]

Guteres

Ambiguous enough to cover himself saying he didn't mean what is implied with that.
Uninvited gestures

Toss him in the brig.  Throw him out.  He's lost all credibility and he affects the UN.

[HVC]

He's a socialist, it's not hard to imagine he has Russian sympathies, if not directly in putins pocket. 

[Zoupa]

New on WSJ: Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022. At one point, Putin asked him to avoid activating his Starlink internet service over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said two people briefed on the request.

How does this fucking idiot have a security clearance? What is going on down there? God I miss the Cold War. At least the FBI had balls back then.

[The Minsky Moment]

Starlink should have been nationalized a while ago

[The Minsky Moment]

That said I doubt words from Putin was a key factor in influencing Musk re Taiwan.  He is so deep into China he has reason enough to jump to Xi's tune.

[Syt]

That said I doubt words from Putin was a key factor in influencing Musk re Taiwan.  He is so deep into China he has reason enough to jump to Xi's tune.

https://www.ft.com/content/6e08ea9b-0c4a-4e0f-8a13-0eca06aa76b9

Elon Musk's Tesla has joined Chinese automakers in pledging to enhance "core socialist values" and compete fairly in the country's car market after Beijing directed the industry to rein in a months-long price war.

[Sheilbh]

Starlink should have been nationalized a while ago

Yes.

That said I doubt words from Putin was a key factor in influencing Musk re Taiwan.  He is so deep into China he has reason enough to jump to Xi's tune.

Yeah I've said before but my biggest concern of Musk and Twitter etc is he's taken over a social media company funded by the Saudis and his other company is very very deeply involved in China. That all strikes me as a serious problem and even if not for the US (which I think it is) for activists and anti-government speech around the world.

And we have seen that. I've mentioned before but Twitter used to try and fight law enforcement requests to identify their users or at least force them to get a court order. They are spending no money on that and just acquiesce. We've seen this in Turkiye especially and other Middle Eastern countries especially. Like Telegram it's a useful tool for authoritarians - especially, I suspect the ones who funded it and are involved in Musk's other companies.

[HisMajestyBOB]

How does this fucking idiot have a security clearance? What is going on down there? God I miss the Cold War. At least the FBI had balls back then.

No kidding. The idea that the CEO of, say, McDonnell Douglas chatting regularly with Brezhnev during the Cold War is absurd, but I guess now there really are no consequences to colluding with our enemies if you're rich enough.

If Harris wins, the Dems really need to grow a fucking spine and start reigning in our oligarchs.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Came across an article claiming that the Chinese had found a way, using Startlink satellites, to find the locations of stealth craft when in flight.
Something with the high number of satellites and signals being distorted or bumped or something. Anyways, if true that's problematic.
But in light of Musk's treason (cause I don't see any reason to not call it treason, but on the other hand: is also South-African and they're in Putin's camp) I wonder if he didn't spill beans to the CCP too. It would certainly fit his pattern of 'bending over and saying "thank you"' to autocrats that are bent on dismantling the West