Politics F' Elon Musk!

Discussion in 'Blazers OT Forum' started by Rastapopoulos, Dec 17, 2024.

  1. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    England's greatest native-born NBA player (sorry Joel Freeland)?
     
  2. Phatguysrule

    Phatguysrule Well-Known Member

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    He certainly kickstarted the electric car boom. Which we're all benefiting from because China is polluting far less than it would be otherwise (other countries as well, but China's the big one).

    And he definitely kickstarted the space economy. I don't think we would have reusable rockets without him.

    The other stuff is also true. He's crazy. He's selfish. He's an ass.

    But he often succeeds where other founders fail. That's tough to deny.
     
  3. julius

    julius I wonder if there's beer on the sun Staff Member Global Moderator

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    That is 100% accurate. I had to explain to someone that Apartheid Clyde is not the inventor of Telsa or Space X or Twitter...but they refused to believe me. It was sad.
     
  4. julius

    julius I wonder if there's beer on the sun Staff Member Global Moderator

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    He didn't kick start shit.
     
  5. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Define "kickstart". You know he didn't found Tesla, right? Or Space-X? That's exactly what Amaechi is talking about.
     
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  6. Phatguysrule

    Phatguysrule Well-Known Member

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    Tesla was shit before Musk got involved. It was barely a startup. The founders were driving that company into the ground.

    SpaceX didn't even exist. It now puts 90% of mass into orbit every year at a fraction of the price of any other company, with a fraction of the waste.

    Starlink didn't exist. Now we're looking at having cellular service worldwide with no dead spots anywhere in a matter of a year or two. That wasn't even on the table a decade ago.

    Yes he did.

    He definitely has faults. But he is either incredibly lucky or incredibly good at getting very hard things done.
     
  7. crandc

    crandc Well-Known Member

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    I have always liked Amaechi.
     
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  8. Phatguysrule

    Phatguysrule Well-Known Member

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    You almost have to to get that much money.
     
  9. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    "Almost"??? You have to be a literal psychopath to be sitting on that much money knowing the misery in the world. Billionaires are truly evil scum. Bring back the guillotines.

    Why do we subscribe to this "great man" bullshit? What did Musk achieve that wouldn't have happened without him? And was it good? Tesla isn't even a particularly good electric car company, Space-X has allowed Republicans to starve NASA so Musk gets rich dumping TONS of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere with every launch, and Starlink is obnoxious space-pollution. "But it's bringing the internet to the developing world" - that's a good thing? We're all miserable and crazy because of the internet. And don't get me started about his Hyperloop scam.
     
  10. julius

    julius I wonder if there's beer on the sun Staff Member Global Moderator

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    No he didn't.

     
  11. Phatguysrule

    Phatguysrule Well-Known Member

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    Tesla made an electric car company the most valuable company in the world. That was a good thing.

    I believe SpaceX has made NASA more competitive than it would have been otherwise. And I think it's important that the West be intimately involved in space colonization very soon. The more we can get out to space the better. That's going to have to come from corporations and not NASA. But NASA Will need to be involved and can help set it up to be a good endeavor for humanity rather than just a money grab by corporations.

    I think starlink is a great thing. I think it's embarrassing that the US government didn't have that set up long ago. And I've said that before. Musk showed the world how to do it. Now I would like to make it a utility. Set up rules and let companies offer bandwidth. One company can maintain the hardware and other companies can sell the service. The way I would like internet to be managed in the United States.

    I would encourage these billionaires to go out and show the way. Then I would reward them for succeeding. And then I would take it from them and use the newfound discovery or ability for the greater good. That's what government should be doing.

    I like DARPA. The x prize.

    I'm not miserable and crazy because the internet. I've been able to work from home for the last 7 years because of the internet. I've learned a ton on the internet.

    I think these are good things for humanity as long as we keep them under control.
     
  12. jonnyboy

    jonnyboy Well-Known Member

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    He supported Trump and everything else hinges on that fact. Nothing else matters here. Any achievements he may have had are negated by that fact. You cannot argue logic here if Trump is involved. He cannot have done anything good or correct ever. Godspeed making the argument though.
     
  13. Phatguysrule

    Phatguysrule Well-Known Member

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    Trump is a flaming piece of shit. Certainly.

    But I don't work that way.
     
  14. jonnyboy

    jonnyboy Well-Known Member

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    I know how you feel and i know you don’t operate that way. It’s why you’re one of the few here i’ll engage with earnestly, despite us disagreeing on most things.
     
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  15. PtldPlatypus

    PtldPlatypus Let's go Baby Blazers! Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    Is it just billionaires? How about hundred millionaires? What's the cutoff? How much wealth is a person permitted to have before they are "a literal psychopath"?
     
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  16. jonnyboy

    jonnyboy Well-Known Member

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    There’s no logic it’s just an angry rant. I bet Bill Gates would get a pardon from him.
     
  17. THE HCP

    THE HCP NorthEastPortland'sFinest

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    I’m gonna have to go with Ben Gordon or Luol Deng FAMS!
     
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  18. Phatguysrule

    Phatguysrule Well-Known Member

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    I think clearly billionaires. Probably slightly less likely for 100 millionaires. Slightly less still for 10 millionaires.

    Probably down to about average for millionaires.
     
  19. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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  20. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Ben Gordon was born in London but I don't think he grew up there, and he never played for Britain. Luol Deng was born in South Sudan, wasn't he? He DID grow up in the UK, though. He's British in the way that Giannis is Greek. Amaechi's 100% born and bred.

    Deng's certainly the best player ever to play for the British National Team, no question. Isn't he in charge of South Sudan's team now?
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2024

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