That’s what I thought about when it was announced Elon Musk had become the world’s first trillionaire. At least 750,000 people have died since he sent US AID “into the woodchipper,” and two thirds of those dead are children. More than 14 million additional avoidable deaths are expected by 2030.
So yeah, today I feel deep sorrow living in a world celebrating the “brilliance” of this man, because all I can see is a deep moral failure of our species, when so many children continue to suffer in our world.
I encourage you to read this article to really understand the implications of what has happened due to the cancellation of US AID, not just the deaths, but what it could unleash worldwide: Inside the demise of USAID—and what comes next | Oxfam.
We are not safer, and he is responsible for that. Perhaps it’s part of the bigger eugenicist goals of the super-rich? Too much? I don’t think so at all.
Just the amount of suffering and death is enough for me to never EVER support Elon Musk, and I hope it’s enough for you too. If you do not believe the world should have trillionaires, please make sure your pension is not investing in SpaceX – and I mean, go the extra mile. Demand they divest from it and tell your friends to join you. Honestly, no one should have that much money or power. Time for revolution.
Read/listen
- As Musk becomes the first trillionaire, historian sees warning signs
- The people who want AI to replace us The Gray Area with Sean Illing – Apple Podcasts
- What Elon Musk’s Trillion-Dollar Payday Is Costing the Rest of Us | The Nation
- Think Musk the billionaire was bad? Brace yourself for Musk the trillionaire | Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian
Read David’s take on this news too – space What? A two trillion dollar company means you are robbing yourself of your future – by David Ko – Rethinking Choices
His power is enormous
We must get our heads around this. We know what he wants to do, because he’s not quiet about it, but are we paying enough attention? I don’t think we are, and I also think we feel powerless, something that needs to stop. To illustrate his power briefly, here are the main bits.
Space dominance
He’s not just making decisions that kill the poorest, his mission to reach Mars and own the space race is a big concern too. Not only is he filling space with waste, we are going from 10,000 satellites today to 100,000 by 2030, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX owns two-thirds of the satellites in space today!
Today, Musk has near-absolute control and technical direction over SpaceX, with 85% of the company’s voting power. This means he’s the only one who can fire himself. Does anyone think one man deserves that much power, even if you’re a fan boy or gal? Especially this much tech in space?
White supremacy
Elon Musk is a racist and while many suggest it’s inconclusive, I have no doubts at all. He is driving divisions around the world, he is a force behind our societal divisions (especially in predominantly white countries), and if we let him win, it will make life worse for all of us, including those on the streets backing his agenda.
Listen to this podcast about his recent foray into spreading social division in the UK – The UK’s Violent Riots Were Stoked by Elon Musk and a Global Far-Right Network –On the Media – Apple Podcasts.
And read this too: Parallel student murders expose ‘two-tier’ fallacy | EasternEye.
If anyone thinks racism is not on the table, check out this piece (not about Musk), but we know it’s a core strategy of the entire regime: US Accepts Only White Refugees For Sixth Consecutive Month – Mother Jones.
Global Influence
He also has a megaphone for his views, and an algorithm to back them up. When he bought Twitter, the reporting was making it apparent that the information ecosystem had moved from the media moguls to the Nerd Reich or tech broligarchy (Murdoch to Musk: how global media power has shifted from the moguls to the big tech bros : Find an Expert : The University of Melbourne).
This power is destructive and while he claims free speech, it’s anything but, as he uses it for publicizing and advancing right-wing political narratives, and it’s so powerful it now overshadows traditional mainstream media. It also silences voices that disagree with him – free speech my arse. This post could get me cancelled on X, and if it does, happy days.
Beyond him, the movement to far right domination of the media continues unabated, and it was just yesterday that the Paramount-WBD merger wins approval from DOJ, which includes CNN and CBS News. That’s two more left leaning media channels gone soon. As was discussed last year, A Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger could give Trump even more influence over US media – shaping the news and culture Americans watch and stream.
Regardless of whether you agree with a channel’s views, having either “side” dominant contributes to the breakdown of democracy, so this announcement is one more nail in the coffin for the US. However, for the rest of us, always remember, what happens there, filters out everywhere.
AI power
Finally, and I’m sure there’s more to be added, but Elon Musk has enormous power and influence in AI – an area that is generating more and more conversations AND concerns.
This is worth a watch
If you want to understand his AI power, this article lays it out – Muskonomics: How Elon Musk Built the World’s First Trillion-Dollar Personal Fortune – and here are his leverage points of power in my summary:
1. xAI and Grok has full access to anyone still on Twitter/X, so it’s learning from the billions of conversations happening there, in real time – hint, a lot of those conversations aren’t pleasant
2. Physical AI and robotics, linking to both Tesla and his Optimus robots. Tesla is a physical AI developer; with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) chips and neural networks powering millions of autonomous vehicles. While Optimus will soon be performing human physical labour (a good or a bad thing, depending on how its handled)
3. Then we have the Colossus Supercomputer, one of the most powerful AI training facilities in the world. It leverages thousands of GPUs in a converted factory in Memphis, and to power it, Musk acquired a massive fleet of gas turbines to power his Earth-based AI data centre – note, not an environmental gift
4. Then we have the aerospace and satellite infrastructure, which of course includes SpaceX and orbital datacentres, which will be powered by solar energy, meaning no constraints geographically or energetically
5. And finally (for now, but there are other businesses) Neuralink, which is all about merging the human brain directly with computers. It’s goal, making sure human’s don’t become obsolete
Too much power and influence for one man? I certainly think so, and I hope you agree. A lot of people are obviously fine with this, and well, we’ll reap what we sow. The time for revolution is long past. Join the fight, because…
The world is on fire!
I won’t share too many news stories here, but a few key links and some hopeful content in the mix. These are the main references from the show yesterday:
- Jan Omsonst’s article published on LinkedIn this week – A short on what it means to cool down a water planet… | LinkedIn
- An expansion of what Jan started with, our Earth, the water planet – Overheating a Water Planet: Warmed Oceans Will Not Be Ignored – Union of Concerned Scientists
- Warming oceans – “Shocking temperatures”: scientists stunned as the sea heats up way too soon – Futura-Sciences
- Video and a great summary of the cold blob and AMOC risk – Why is this one spot not warming? This got a lot of positive attention this week
- What will come with an El Niño? Well, this is a useful summary – Here are 10 ways a ‘super’ El Niño could impact the planet | Benjamin Selwyn | The Guardian
- No matter what happens this cycle, worse is to come The looming El Niño could be bad – but much worse is to come | New Scientist
- How hot is it where you live? New tool from Reuters – Reuters Climate Monitor
- This has freaked the scientists out. Personally, I don’t like it when scientists freak out – Record winter temperatures in Antarctic raise fears over speed of climate breakdown | Polar regions | The Guardian
- A new record heat for May and this is before El Niño officially started (which happened this week) World sees second-hottest May as Europe faces ‘new normal’: EU monitor | The Straits Times
- And a final for this section, although there are so many I could share, but everything is linked below, so you can take a look in your own time. This is quite an alarming piece. Billions rely on the water from these glaciers – Climate-driven glacier melt could reshape water quality downstream
If you want to see a positive path forward, watch this – it’s terrific
This is a worthwhile watch if you haven’t seen it – press freedom is essential for democracy!
To provide some delight, watch this interview. She is so excited and passionate about the whale graveyard. I promise it will make you smile, and we all need to be doing that more often.
Plenty more in the Weekend Reads, from the World Cup, Cosmeticorexia, synthetic human embryos in space, war, Screwworm, more tech bro shenanigans, country shenanigans, Boomer backlash, an earthquake in the Philippines, Myanmar rebels are starting to lose, and a whole lot more.
One article I definitely recommend reading is this one on Jared Kushner – talk about corruption – They Went to Jared – Mother Jones – it’s a crazy time, no doubt!
Friends content and my own
We had Jan Omsonst, The Earth Systems Nerd, on The Sh*t Show this week, and I consider him an Information Synthesizer. I’m one too but more mainstream. Jan synthesises pure science – the deeply complex stuff – and he understands it across the key scientific fields.
Interestingly, Jan told us before the show went live that when he first learned the ocean was acidifying, he couldn’t help but try to understand what was going on. Twenty years later, he’s still going and said he doesn’t think he’d have started if he knew it would take 20 years.
But that is the reality of understanding the earth systems – it’s not something you can do quickly, and there is still so much we don’t know. Jan took us on a wild ride through the current situation we find ourselves in, with the forthcoming El Niño a potential extinction-level event, but the really important point is – we don’t know how strong it’s going to be yet, we only know it’s going to get hotter!
If you haven’t listened, please spend the time. He said it would take him three weeks, six hours a day, to share everything he knows, so this is a packed lesson from someone who’s committed decades to understanding it.
Cindy Tien joined us on The Sh*t Show last week and I just loved this little clip. It’s always an inside job.
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Cheers
Andrea
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