These aren't your typical "real" protestors. They aren't well-meaning #students out protesting fossil fuel use, or Israel, or student debt, or creeping fascism. They aren't the tree-hugging crowd protesting environmental #issues.

They don't seem to actually believe any of the stuff they're pushing. Like I said, they didn't even make their own signs. They're pretty obviously being paid to be there, and they do exactly the minimum they're told to do, and no more.

So, the only real effect this has is that it corrodes our functioning society. Who would pay for fake protests to do that?

I'm hoping it's #foreign. Russia and China do these sorts of things, trying anything they can to hurt their enemies and fracture their #unity. If Canadians, for example, stop trusting media reports about the war in Ukraine, or about China's brutal suppression of #Tibet and persecution of #Uyghurs, we might stop shipping arms to #Ukraine, or criticizing China at the UN. Both of those countries have the motivation, the resources, and the experience to do this here in Canada.

So, fellow #Canucks - have you noticed any of these so-far-out-there-they-can't-be-real protests in your city? What are the slogans on their signs?

2/2

#Starlink on Thurs suffered a rare #global #outage of several hours, the company said, because of an internal software problem. A #Ukraine military commander in a social media post said “Starlink is down across the entire front,” updating the post 2½ hours later to say connectivity had returned.

With >7,900 #satellites now in orbit, #SpaceX has become the world’s largest satellite operator. Its devices…account for about ⅔ of all active satellites in #space….

…#SpaceX is the first company to establish an extensive network of communication satellites in low-Earth orbit, a region of #space that is closer to the planet than areas where such satellites historically reside. The proximity of #satellites that now make up the company’s constellation allows #Starlink to offer space-based #wireless connectivity that is faster than any previously available.

Underscoring the point himself during his recent dispute with #Trump, #Musk threatened to decommission a #SpaceX spacecraft the US now relies upon to transport #astronauts & critical cargo.

His threat, later retracted, unnerved attorneys at #NASA, who felt forced to explore whether Musk’s warning could be considered a notice of #contract termination, according to two people familiar with the matter.

“There are things that we can do, & have done” to prevent it, she added, without providing further detail.

Reuters couldn’t determine if the shutdown affecting Kherson was among the steps she was referring to…

Following the start of the Kherson shutdown, word of an outage emerged in some media reports. At the time, it wasn’t clear to those who lost connectivity whether a technical problem, sabotage or some other factor was responsible.

In his 2023 biography of #Musk, author Walter Isaacson reported that the tycoon had ordered #Starlink to disable coverage in #Crimea, which #Russia had annexed from #Ukraine after a 2014 invasion that the international community condemned as #illegal. Musk, Isaacson wrote, believed a planned Ukrainian attack on Russian vessels in the Crimean port of Sevastopol could prompt #nuclear retaliation.

The #US Department of #Defense declined to comment. Reuters couldn’t determine whether #WhiteHouse or #Pentagon officials after the shutdown had any exchanges with #Musk over the outage.

The #Kherson episode is distinct from an earlier report of an incident that purportedly occurred that same September, involving #Crimea just to the south, & raised concerns about Musk’s ability to influence the conflict in #Ukraine.

The parliamentarian is a businesswoman & fmr board member at #Twitter, the social media site that #Musk acquired in 2022 & rebranded as #X.

“Its control,” Lane Fox said of #Starlink, “rests solely with Musk, allowing his whims to dictate access to vital infrastructure.”

Musk’s political #influence, & his massive business with the #US federal govt, are now being put to the test. Since leaving his role advising #Trump, Musk has publicly feuded with the president….

…#Musk’s order was an early glimpse of the #power the magnate now wields in #geopolitics & #GlobalSecurity because of #Starlink, a fast-growing #satellite internet service that barely existed early this decade & now provides connectivity even in remote areas of the world. Even before his brief role as donor & advisor to #Trump, Starlink’s success–& the unrivaled connectivity it offers across the planet–had given Musk increasing #influence w/political leaders, governments & militaries worldwide.