The western [oligarchy] is preventing us from going after the assets of Russia’s [oligarchy] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/16/russia-rich-wealthy-western-elites-thomas-piketty
Starlink and compensating posturing notwithstanding, I'd challenge Musk to support this sort of accountability, were I anyone. Of course, that would be "tightening constraints" not "relaxing constraints". Musk has multiple veneer layers, much like Putin. Inferring beyond the layers to the core, they seem the same to me. Power, power, who's got the power. NATO rejects the no-fly zone. But my guess is it's not because of some Utilitarian sense of suffering. It's because war is only profitable to a small slice of the industrial world. In some ways, that's a good thing, I guess. It signals that we've moved away from bombs and fire, toward money and "cyber"/info. To Alphabet, Meta, and even Musk Enterprises, people are not only the means of production, but also the product. It's stupid to destroy your merchandise. It's smarter to keep them enslaved. It's akin to our move from broad spectrum [pest|herb]icides toward *targeted* "management". Bombs and fire are too coarse to preserve the status quo. Oligarchs like Musk need the analog for GMOs and viruses ... hearts and minds of the Metaverse denizens. NATO's missed the boat on this one, defending oligarchs everywhere. On 3/16/22 10:20, Marcus Daniels wrote:
I’ve seen longer interviews with Musk where he transitions from the adolescent personality to answering serious technical questions. The goofball veneer doesn’t serve him well. There are plenty of people that see things in terms of celebrity or sports teams rivalries, so maybe that is why he does it? And the fact it is a back-and-forth is particularly weird. Zelensky this morning was at least being reflective about alternatives to NATO to come to defense of nations in situations like this. How to solve the big problem? That’s what I’d hope to see from someone like Musk. Starlink was probably not an inexpensive gesture, not to minimize it. *From:* Friam <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Steve Smith *Sent:* Wednesday, March 16, 2022 9:09 AM *To:* [email protected] *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] and don’t miss this I think I am glad that Musk's challenge didn't bubble up all over the popular media. While I think it was a typical Musk move, and may have some significant psyops value, there is no way in hell it is his place to claim to represent Ukraine or whatever bloc of interests that surround them. And on top of that *as if* either side would accept such a proxy battle as definitive. I realize there are millennia of precedent for peoples choosing this alternative to mutual decimation and see the sensibility to it. Perhaps one could even attribute the Olympics to this. Speculating about who of the two would be a more effective fighter, etc. is like tweener boys sitting around a campfire in the backyard (started with gasoline because they could) and arguing about the outcome of battles between African Lions and Grizzly bears and other apex predators who would never have a natural encounter. As one of those barely-pimpled kids with gasoline residue on my fingers, I speculate that while Putin has a lot more practice with *brutal* martial arts practice in his life, Musk probably can equal him in his own way in a certain kind of ruthlessness. I suppose *both* should expect a 007-class villain attempt to poison the other in such an engagement. A more realistic challenge might have been Vlod v. Vlad. Maybe a medley of competitions involving improvisational comedy, ballroom dancing, and bitch-slapping at arms-length. For a handicap against the younger, more experienced Vlod, some could be held on horseback? Maybe more appropriate for Musk to challenge the financier behind the Wagner Group <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Prigozhin#Wagner_Group>? Or maybe my favorite blood-and-neuron sport: "Chess Boxing <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing>": <https://en.chessbase.com/post/cheboxing-documentary--the-kings-discipline-210613> https://en.chessbase.com/post/cheboxing-documentary--the-kings-discipline-210613 <https://en.chessbase.com/post/cheboxing-documentary--the-kings-discipline-210613> On 3/15/22 8:26 PM, Marcus Daniels wrote: https://www-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-doubles-down-challenge-fight-putin-2022-3?amp <https://www-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-doubles-down-challenge-fight-putin-2022-3?amp>
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