Elon Musk is out, or is he? Since joining Trump on the political stage, his personal net worth has increased by $170 billion, and it now stands at $419 billion.
He will continue to benefit too, because in the short time he’s been leading DOGE he’s made sure there’s less regulation and scrutiny on his businesses, is expecting billions in government contracts, and beyond the US, global deals are being made, many times with Trump’s public support – think Starlink in South Africa, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, India, and well, any country negotiating with the US on tariffs.
Are we sure we want to give a man that much data, and therefore, power?
Unless you’re living under a rock, he’s been appearing everywhere trying to do damage control on his tarnished reputation (I call it the boohoo tour), but with US AID his legacy, how can he come back from that?
Of course, the chances are he will, because we seem to have very short memories and all hail the mega wealthy, right? – but for me, it is completely unforgiveable. What he did is evil. Up to 300,000 people have died since he put US AID “in the woodchipper” – mostly children – and that number is expected to grow significantly.
Absolutely shatteringly heartbreaking! Where’s the outpouring of grief and rage?
In regard to this story, the NYT is doing some pokey reporting on Musk right now, and I really valued this opinion piece – Opinion | Elon Musk’s Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death – The New York Times. One area I’ve been flummoxed about is how he couldn’t foresee the blowback before he got to work. Did he really think everyone would love him?
As Michelle Goldberg says in her article: Musk apparently did not anticipate that it would be bad P.R. for the world’s richest man to take food and medicine from the world’s poorest children.
A man that has no long-term vision or capacity to understand the implications of his actions, is not a man we should trust with anything.
She continues: If there were justice in the world, Musk would never be able to repair his reputation, at least not without devoting the bulk of his fortune to easing the misery he’s engendered. Musk’s sojourn in government has revealed severe flaws in his character — a blithe, dehumanizing cruelty and a deadly incuriosity. This should shape how he’s seen for the rest of his public life. I couldn’t say it better myself.
Some more reads
- A Golden Key and a Black Eye: Elon Musk Exits Washington – The New York Times.
- Elon Musk Juggled Drugs and Family Drama on Trump’s Campaign Trail – The New York Times.
- Musk’s SpaceX town in Texas proposes a new map and zoning.
The other reason Elon Musk is not just “going away” is because he’s part of the Nerd Reich. I’ve been talking about this in the Weekend Reads since January and this group of people have big plans – not for us, but for a small group of elites and those they deem acceptable to be part of their Network State Projects. It’s something we need to wake up to, because this ain’t good for any of us, and they are moving ahead – quickly too. They can now, with Trump in their pocket.
Another member of this cabal is Musk’s mate Peter Thiel, and he’s certainly winning big on government projects too. In the US, that means all private data in one place. Read more: Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans – The New York Times.
Palantir is also getting its hooks into the UK, with the NHS a customer – UK government withholding details of Palantir contract.
Pay attention to Palantir, protest their technology in your country, and keep a close eye on all the men in this cabal. They do not have your interests at heart. If you read the NYT article, former and current employees are getting freaked out by what Palantir is doing – especially in regard to ICE. That tells us we should be very concerned.
Another good read on the Silicon Valley elite: Opinion | Silicon Valley Is at an Inflection Point – The New York Times.
Meanwhile, the planetary crisis continues to accelerate.
The glacial collapse in the Swiss Alps alarmed everyone. It was not expected to be so violent and the residents of Blatten thought they’d be able to return home once everything settled down. This article has powerful images that help you understand the scale: Swiss glacier collapse: How the village of Blatten was wiped off the map – BBC News.
Sustainable airline fuel? Tell ‘em they’re dreaming The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions – Yale e360.
This is a scary amount of drought, and it’s happening across the world. If we think the cost-of-living crisis is bad now, it will get worse. Plant a garden, become a little bit more independent when it comes to your food sources. You will need it – More than 40% of Europe slides into drought, including pockets of Greece, southern Italy and Spain | Science, Climate & Tech News | Sky News.
This is a tipping point and it will change the world – 2 billion people could face chaotic and ‘irreversible’ shift in rainfall patterns if warming continues | Live Science.
The projection of 2100 is way off. This will happen faster and faster now, as heating accelerates – Almost 40% of world’s glaciers already doomed due to climate crisis – study | Glaciers | The Guardian.
We’ve seen floods in Romania, fires in Canada, waves battering Australia’s East Coast (the part that suffered in the recent floods), the Arctic warming three times the global average, and the World Meteorological Organization and the UK Met Office releasing a report with a five-year forecast painting a very troubling picture of extreme weather and deadly heat.
One country that knows all about heat is India, and not only is it getting hotter, but the humidity is increasing too, with wet bulb temperatures regularly in the deadly range. As someone living in Asia, people always say to me: “oh we’re used to it” and I’m like no, this is not something you are used to. This is deadly and if it doesn’t kill you, it can damage your organs, like your kidneys. Kidney dialysis will be a big medical need in the future. We MUST understand this!
Scary? Too bloody right. Can we do something about it? Too bloody right. But we must get going and accept what is required of all of us to succeed. We CAN do it, but we’re not. We’re using more energy now than we ever have. Renewables are merely part of a bigger mix that continues to be dominated by fossil fuel energy. It is time to act with urgency.
Favorite memes, cartoons, Tweets, etc…
Continuing with Musk – fair!
No more Taco’s on the menu at Mar-a-Lago. I thought he was a tough guy?
The memes will continue for some time on this story, and I did hear Pam Bondi said you can be arrested for using it but haven’t found any evidence yet. Share it with me if you see it?
My thoughts exactly! Was there no one in the room suggesting this book might be a bad idea?
No question he’s not hiding anything. It’s all there for us to see. Extraordinary really.
And we are at the fork in the road. Which path will we take?
My content and my pals
Joe Augustin loves AI and yesterday, after discussing TACO (Trump always chickens out) on The Know Show, Joe decided a song was in order – good fun –The Taco Tariff Tango.
It was our last The Know Show this week, but it’s not over, and if you listened until the end, you’ll know what the name of the new show is. I am very happy to be combining this and Climate Courage together, with the purpose of untangling the polycrisis, with Jo Augustin, Dr David Ko and Richard Busellato. Come and join us next week and you can hear more on what we’re doing.
In the meantime, it was the last show for Tim Wade, as he embarks on his new journey. Good luck my friend, I know you’re going to do amazing things.
Watching the whole academic shenanigans in the US, it just takes me back to the rise of the Ayatollah in Iran. Life hasn’t been great for Iranians since then. Does the US really want to go down that path?
Dig into the news
Plenty more to read, listen to or watch, so do click through to the reads at the image below, and a reminder, this platform has articles going back weeks, so have a scan and read/watch/listen to whatever jumps out at you.
Let me know what caught your attention? Or share with me what has your attention now? There’s a lot going on, which means none of us can cover everything. Besides, it’s always great to get feedback so I know I’m delivering something of value.
Cheers
Andrea
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