Elon Musk, What's up with that dude?

nivek

nivek

As Above So Below

Twitter kept 'secret blacklist to stop accounts and topics trending': Second tranche of internal files reveal conservatives were marked 'do not amplify' and COVID lockdown skeptics 'shadow banned' in a move staff called 'visibility filtering'​

Twitter kept a 'secret blacklist' of topics and accounts to prevent them from trending, according to data obtained by journalist Bari Weiss (inset). Conservative commentators such as Dan Bongino (top right) and Charlie Kirk (bottom right) were deliberately put on a 'search blacklist' - in the case of Bongino - or tabbed 'do not amplify', in the case of Kirk. Those who questioned the prevailing COVID orthodoxy of lockdowns and mask mandates, such as Stanford's Dr Jay Bhattacharya, who argued that lockdowns harmed children, were also placed on a 'search blacklist'. Weiss made the revelations on Thursday in the second tranche of what has been termed The Twitter Files. Elon Musk (left), who bought Twitter in October for $44 billion, was gleeful about the revelations regarding the company he now owns - retweeting Weiss' thread, with a popcorn emoji. Weiss said a senior Twitter employee described 'visibility filtering' 'as being a way for us to suppress what people see to different levels. It's a very powerful tool.'

Twitter 'kept a secret blacklist of accounts and topics to stop them trending'

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AD1184

AD1184

Celestial
The other day Musk made a poll Tweet asking users if he should resign as head of Twitter and promised to abide by the result:


View: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1604617643973124097


A majority of respondents voted that he should step down.

However, this is likely a bit of sleight-of-hand by Musk, as he had already said that his time as head was only going to be temporary, and he was reportedly looking for a permanent chief executive long before the poll. He also did not mention a time-frame within which he would step down in the poll post. So he was already planning to abide by a 'Yes' vote on the poll before he tweeted the poll, and he likely could have gauged that a majority of Twitter users would have preferred that he resign beforehand.
 
nivek

nivek

As Above So Below

Elon Musk claims he had 'major side effects' from the Covid booster shot that left him feeling like he 'was dying' and claims his cousin was hospitalized with inflammation of the heart​

Elon Musk said he had 'major side effects' from his second Covid-19 booster shot that left him feeling like he 'was dying'. Musk, 51, took to Twitter to share his experience of the Covid-19 vaccine in response to a retweet of a poll that said 7 percent of adults claimed they experienced major side effects from the Covid vaccine. The Twitter and Tesla CEO said the second booster 'crushed me'.

'I had major side effects from my second booster shot. Felt like I was dying for several days. Hopefully, no permanent damage, but I dunno,' Musk tweeted over the weekend. He added: 'And my cousin, who is young & in peak health, had a serious case of myocarditis. Had to go to the hospital.' Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart and is named as a possible, but very rare, side effect of Covid-19 vaccinations.

When asked why he had gotten the second booster, Musk said that it was not his choice but because it was a requirement fly to Germany. It is unclear which trip Musk is referring to as he is understood to have visited Berlin in September 2020 and August 2021.

Musk explained further, detailing the which vaccines he had and when. He said he had Covid-19 before any vaccines were made available, which he described as a mild cold. 'Then had J&J [Johnson & Johnson] vaccine with no bad effects, except my arm hurt briefly,' he said. 'First mRNA booster was ok, but the second one crushed me.'

(More on the link)

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nivek

nivek

As Above So Below

Twitter CEO Elon Musk caves to pressure from India and BLOCKS all Indian users from accessing links to BBC doc criticizing PM Narendra Modi​

Elon Musk has caved in to pressure from India and removed a BBC documentary criticising PM Narendra Modi from Twitter.

The two-part documentary, India: The Modi Question, has not been broadcast in India by the BBC, but the nation's federal government blocked it over the weekend and banned people from sharing clips on social media, citing emergency powers under its information technology laws.

Twitter and YouTube were ordered by the Indian government to block all links to the film within the country, Kanchan Gupta, a senior adviser in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said Tuesday.

He later said that both platforms 'have complied with the directions'. Musk markets himself as a free speech advocate, but......

(More on the link)

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pigfarmer

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Mysterious spiral formation appears among stars above Hawaii

Mysterious spiral formation appears among stars above Hawaii​

By
Allie Griffin
January 30, 2023 10:07pm
Updated

A mysterious spiral formation was spotted in the night sky above Hawaii earlier this month, sparking curiosity among observers.

The spectacle, initially spotted by an observatory in Mauna Kea on Jan. 18, first looked like a traveling bright star before it morphed shapes.

It grew into a larger blob before it transformed into a dot with a spinning spiral around it, footage from the Subaru-Asahi STAR Camera shows.


Mysterious flying spiral in night sky
https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/sky-whirlpool-729.jpg
The mysterious orb was captured by Subaru-Asahi STAR Camera above Hawaii.SubaruTel_Eng/Twitter
The night sky whirlpool, however, is not a UFO or spaceship — but reportedly the work of billionaire Elon Musk.

What do you think? Be the first to comment.
The rare sighting is believed to be connected to the launch of a satellite by Musk’s Space X.

Subaru Telescope, one of the camera operators, said it believes the dazzling phenomenon is related to the satellite’s orbital deployment operation.
 
nivek

nivek

As Above So Below

'We will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3': Elon Musk slaps down ex-NASA astronaut Scott Kelly after he pleaded with him to ramp up Starlink over Ukraine​

Ex-NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has called on Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, to expand his Starlink internet service in Ukraine. Kelly made the plea on Twitter, urging Musk to help Ukraine defend itself from a potential genocidal invasion, after SpaceX limited military access to Starlink. Musk defended the decision, saying SpaceX would not contribute to escalating the conflict, which could lead to World War III.

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Standingstones

Standingstones

Celestial
nivek said:

'We will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3': Elon Musk slaps down ex-NASA astronaut Scott Kelly after he pleaded with him to ramp up Starlink over Ukraine​

Ex-NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has called on Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, to expand his Starlink internet service in Ukraine. Kelly made the plea on Twitter, urging Musk to help Ukraine defend itself from a potential genocidal invasion, after SpaceX limited military access to Starlink. Musk defended the decision, saying SpaceX would not contribute to escalating the conflict, which could lead to World War III.

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Click to expand...
Who is right, Scott Kelly or Elon Musk? I’ve always taken Kelly to be a level headed individual. Would the Starlink service actually escalate the Ukrainian conflict?
 
nivek

nivek

As Above So Below


Elon Musk claims US media is 'racist against whites and Asians' and appears to back Dilbert creator who warned people to 'stay the f**k away from blacks' - as WaPo and NY Times drop comic strip​


Elon Musk (middle) has sensationally claimed the media is racist to white people and Asians as he voiced his support for disgraced 'Dilbert' comic strip creator Scott Adams (left). The New York Times and Washington Post became the latest newspapers to announce they were dropping the 'Dilbert' series this weekend following a racist tirade from Adams in which he urged his followers to 'get the f**k' away from black people. But Twitter CEO Musk appeared to back the shamed creator as he replied to a tweet about the controversy claiming 'the media is racist.' 'For a *very* long time, US media was racist against non-white people, now they're racist against whites & Asians,' the 51-year-old billionaire explained. 'Same thing happened with elite colleges and high schools in America. Maybe they can try not being racist.'

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nivek

nivek

As Above So Below

China aims to launch nearly 13,000 satellites to ‘suppress’ Elon Musk’s Starlink​

Researchers say China plans to build a huge satellite network in near-Earth orbit to provide internet services to users around the world – and to stifle Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The project has the code name “GW”, according to a team led by associate professor Xu Can with the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Space Engineering University in Beijing. But what these letters stand for is unclear.

The GW constellation will include 12,992 satellites owned by the newly established China Satellite Network Group Co, Xu and his colleagues said in a paper about anti-Starlink measures published in the Chinese journal Command Control and Simulation on February 15.

The launch schedule for these satellites remains unknown, but the number would rival the scale of SpaceX’s planned network of more than 12,000 satellites by 2027.

Xu’s team said the GW satellite constellation was likely to be deployed quickly, “before the completion of Starlink”. This would “ensure that our country has a place in low orbit and prevent the Starlink constellation from excessively pre-empting low-orbit resources”, they wrote.

The Chinese satellites could also be placed in “orbits where the Starlink constellation has not yet reached”, the researchers said, adding that they would “gain opportunities and advantages at other orbital altitudes, and even suppress Starlink”.

The Chinese satellites could be equipped with an anti-Starlink payload to carry out various missions, such as conducting “close-range, long-term surveillance of Starlink satellites”, they said.

The Starlink network, now with over 3,000 satellites in orbit, is expected to eventually grow to more than 40,000 satellites, according to SpaceX.
China’s space surveillance and defence capacity cannot cope with so many satellites, Xu’s team said.

The Starlink satellites can receive data from the US Department of Defence to plan or coordinate their positions, and they are equipped with surveillance sensors to monitor the space environment, according to the paper.

“The Starlink satellites may use their orbital manoeuvrability to actively hit and destroy nearby targets in space,” the researchers said.

China plans to build more powerful radar systems powered by new technology to identify and track Starlink satellites, they said.
According to the researchers, the radar and other detection measures would be used to update a “Starlink catalogue” that would eventually contain detailed data on every satellite.

Xu’s team said the Chinese government could also cooperate with other governments to form an anti-Starlink coalition and “demand that SpaceX publish the precise orbiting data of Starlink satellites”.

They added that new weapons, including lasers and high-power microwaves, would be developed and used to destroy Starlink satellites that pass over China or other sensitive regions.

The Ukrainian military has used Starlink services effectively against Russian forces. Since the war broke out, Chinese military researchers have repeatedly called for developing capabilities to destroy Starlink if necessary.

On February 13, SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that the company would restrict the military use of Starlink in the Ukraine war because “we will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on February 18 that the US government had talked to Musk about the use of Starlink satellite internet in Ukraine, but did not elaborate. [SCMP]

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AD1184

AD1184

Celestial
nivek said:

China aims to launch nearly 13,000 satellites to ‘suppress’ Elon Musk’s Starlink​

Researchers say China plans to build a huge satellite network in near-Earth orbit to provide internet services to users around the world – and to stifle Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The project has the code name “GW”, according to a team led by associate professor Xu Can with the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Space Engineering University in Beijing. But what these letters stand for is unclear.

The GW constellation will include 12,992 satellites owned by the newly established China Satellite Network Group Co, Xu and his colleagues said in a paper about anti-Starlink measures published in the Chinese journal Command Control and Simulation on February 15.

The launch schedule for these satellites remains unknown, but the number would rival the scale of SpaceX’s planned network of more than 12,000 satellites by 2027.

Xu’s team said the GW satellite constellation was likely to be deployed quickly, “before the completion of Starlink”. This would “ensure that our country has a place in low orbit and prevent the Starlink constellation from excessively pre-empting low-orbit resources”, they wrote.

The Chinese satellites could also be placed in “orbits where the Starlink constellation has not yet reached”, the researchers said, adding that they would “gain opportunities and advantages at other orbital altitudes, and even suppress Starlink”.

The Chinese satellites could be equipped with an anti-Starlink payload to carry out various missions, such as conducting “close-range, long-term surveillance of Starlink satellites”, they said.

The Starlink network, now with over 3,000 satellites in orbit, is expected to eventually grow to more than 40,000 satellites, according to SpaceX.
China’s space surveillance and defence capacity cannot cope with so many satellites, Xu’s team said.

The Starlink satellites can receive data from the US Department of Defence to plan or coordinate their positions, and they are equipped with surveillance sensors to monitor the space environment, according to the paper.

“The Starlink satellites may use their orbital manoeuvrability to actively hit and destroy nearby targets in space,” the researchers said.

China plans to build more powerful radar systems powered by new technology to identify and track Starlink satellites, they said.
According to the researchers, the radar and other detection measures would be used to update a “Starlink catalogue” that would eventually contain detailed data on every satellite.

Xu’s team said the Chinese government could also cooperate with other governments to form an anti-Starlink coalition and “demand that SpaceX publish the precise orbiting data of Starlink satellites”.

They added that new weapons, including lasers and high-power microwaves, would be developed and used to destroy Starlink satellites that pass over China or other sensitive regions.

The Ukrainian military has used Starlink services effectively against Russian forces. Since the war broke out, Chinese military researchers have repeatedly called for developing capabilities to destroy Starlink if necessary.

On February 13, SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that the company would restrict the military use of Starlink in the Ukraine war because “we will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on February 18 that the US government had talked to Musk about the use of Starlink satellite internet in Ukraine, but did not elaborate. [SCMP]

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Click to expand...
Musk has opened Pandora's box with his StarLink satellites. With Musk, Amazon, and the Chinese and other players all wanting control of their own 10,000+ satellite "constellations" in low-earth orbit, there is a large risk of a calamity which makes space inaccessible for everyone. It will also destroy the night sky.
 
nivek

nivek

As Above So Below
AD1184 said:
Musk has opened Pandora's box with his StarLink satellites. With Musk, Amazon, and the Chinese and other players all wanting control of their own 10,000+ satellite "constellations" in low-earth orbit, there is a large risk of a calamity which makes space inaccessible for everyone. It will also destroy the night sky.
Click to expand...

Its completely ridiculous to have so many satellites in low orbit, even if it was just the StarLink satellites and nothing else...It's just not a good sustainable plan...There's also the rate in which our technology is advancing which would make the older generations of these satellites obsolete, replacing older with newer satellites, what's done with the older satellites, just left to decay on their own?...Its lazy, sloppy, and irresponsible...

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nivek

nivek

As Above So Below
Doh!...

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Tesla under investigation after reports of steering wheels FALLING OFF while driving: 120,000 Model Ys may have been delivered to customers with missing bolt​

US regulators are investigating Tesla after motorists complained the steering wheel on its Model Y vehicles can detach while driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is leading the probe which it says affects an estimated 120,000 cars manufactured in 2023.

It comes after two drivers uploaded images of their steering wheels falling off to social media, after they were delivered with missing bolts.

The Tesla driver said he had 'lost trust' in the beleaguered electric car brand which has come under fire for some of its lax safety controls including a full self-driving system which has allowed some drivers to fall asleep at the wheel.

The NHTSA posted several documents to its website on Wednesday explaining the issues with the Tesla Model Ys.

The Model Y costs upwards of $53,000 and is Tesla's top selling car.

In one complaint filed with NHTSA and shared on Twitter, an owner said he was driving with his family on Route 1 in Woodbridge, New Jersey, when the steering wheel suddenly came off on Jan. 29, five days after the vehicle was purchased.

The owner wrote that there were no cars behind him, and he was able to pull toward the road divider. There were no injuries.

At first a Tesla service center gave the owner a cost estimate of $103.96 to repair the problem. The service center apologized in what appear to be text messages posted on Twitter.

'Am I responsible for manufacturing defect?' he wrote at the time.

'It’s not even week and getting bill for faulty steering wheel. Isn’t it company’s responsibility to fix it?

'I would greatly appreciate refund and keep the car as we lost trust and family is not feeling safe driving it back.'

The service center removed the charge and wrote that Tesla doesn’t have a return policy, but he could reach out to the sales and delivery team.

The man was later given the option of keeping the car or getting it replaced with a new one.

(More on the link)

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AD1184

AD1184

Celestial
nivek said:
Doh!...

...

Tesla under investigation after reports of steering wheels FALLING OFF while driving: 120,000 Model Ys may have been delivered to customers with missing bolt​

US regulators are investigating Tesla after motorists complained the steering wheel on its Model Y vehicles can detach while driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is leading the probe which it says affects an estimated 120,000 cars manufactured in 2023.

It comes after two drivers uploaded images of their steering wheels falling off to social media, after they were delivered with missing bolts.

The Tesla driver said he had 'lost trust' in the beleaguered electric car brand which has come under fire for some of its lax safety controls including a full self-driving system which has allowed some drivers to fall asleep at the wheel.

The NHTSA posted several documents to its website on Wednesday explaining the issues with the Tesla Model Ys.

The Model Y costs upwards of $53,000 and is Tesla's top selling car.

In one complaint filed with NHTSA and shared on Twitter, an owner said he was driving with his family on Route 1 in Woodbridge, New Jersey, when the steering wheel suddenly came off on Jan. 29, five days after the vehicle was purchased.

The owner wrote that there were no cars behind him, and he was able to pull toward the road divider. There were no injuries.

At first a Tesla service center gave the owner a cost estimate of $103.96 to repair the problem. The service center apologized in what appear to be text messages posted on Twitter.

'Am I responsible for manufacturing defect?' he wrote at the time.

'It’s not even week and getting bill for faulty steering wheel. Isn’t it company’s responsibility to fix it?

'I would greatly appreciate refund and keep the car as we lost trust and family is not feeling safe driving it back.'

The service center removed the charge and wrote that Tesla doesn’t have a return policy, but he could reach out to the sales and delivery team.

The man was later given the option of keeping the car or getting it replaced with a new one.

(More on the link)

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Click to expand...
There are mountains of videos on probably all video sharing sites/apps of disgruntled owners showing the build quality issues with their Teslas. They have a reputation for it. I don't know how it compares objectively to other manufacturers though.
 
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