Quote :

"RIP Jensen we shall meet again in the next lyfe"

If you were a younger woman, you could meet right now!

His schedule just freed up for more trysts!

11/13/2026 4:08:51 AM

It’s not scapegoating if you are in fact the person that is responsible for the thing.

I don’t care how on the tail distribution of dorkiness or determination or whatever archetypes Thiel might describe Elon as. He decided to throttle the starlink connection and Ukrainian civilians died as a result. It’s not scapegoating if you are the guy that pulled the trigger.

Similarly, it doesn’t matter where Jensen’s sex needs fall on a distribution compared to normal folks. He set up fake storefronts in Malaysia to sell chips to sanctioned entities. He pulled the trigger.

That Thiel link is just rich “Founders” justifying why they deserve all the power and any criticism can just be dismissed as haters and the jealous. I don’t need to lean on Elon or Jensen being different or unlikable to blame them, I can judge them by their actions.

11/13/2026 6:25:25 AM

I felt that one!

11/13/2026 6:44:38 AM

^^Agreed. The simping for billionaires in this board is wild.

11/13/2026 7:02:35 AM

You are always simping for billionaires. The question is which billionaires. A decade ago it was the choice between Koch/big energy billionaires and Wall Street/ascendent tech ones.

11/13/2026 8:51:33 AM

Quote :

"He decided to throttle the starlink connection"

as far as i'm aware that continues to be an allegation

Quote :

"Ukrainian civilians died as a result"

as far as i'm aware (and after a quick check) no ukranian civilians died during the periods in which the starlink connection issues were relevant. that doesn't take away from your broader point that it prevented Ukraine from being able to defend their people and territory, but just wanted to clarify so that we don't contribute to the spread of misinformation.

furthermore, the responsibility here 100% lies on Putin.

Quote :

"He set up fake storefronts in Malaysia to sell chips to sanctioned entities."

i've not even seen that formulation as an allegation. if anything, the allegation is that nvidia sold chips to a Singapore/Malayasian company that had the right to buy the products, but then those companies made the nvidia chips available (knowingly??) as part of their neocloud services to chinese companies, which is what the export controls are supposed to prevent. i haven't seen anything proving that nvidia knew this was possibly happening, that jensen knew it was possibly happening, that his relationship with Alice Huang contributed in any specific way that was any different from how nvidia would sell to any other company across the world they sell to, or that alice was acting intentionally on behalf of the CCP/MSS (although if this in particular is proven to be true it would be change my point of view on this saga in some ways). everything we know so far is allegation, and as far as i'm concerned, allegations designed not to protect american national interests or out of concern for jensen's marriage or adherence to nvidia's corporate policies, but specifically to smear Jensen and create a sense of public outrage (and confusion) that would justify him being fired in an environment where the facts are not clear and have not been adequately established.

Quote :

"The simping for billionaires in this board is wild"

this isn't about simping for billionaires. casting every fucking thing as "billionaires bad" is simpleton thinking. there are billionaires who do good and even great things, and there are billionaires who do bad and even terrible things. my concern over the last decade+ is that nobody seems capable of making distinctions. nobody uses their brain. nobody thinks. everybody just reacts based on political tribal affiliations. it's pathetic. there are important issues about the future of this nation and the world at hand here, and i would like to see the nation and my peers address them like serious adults. we're in our 40s. why are people still discussing the world like know-nothing 17 year old kids. grow up.

11/13/2026 9:13:52 AM

The simpletoning for billionaires in this board is wild lol

11/13/2026 9:44:55 AM

It’s not an allegation, atleast the Oct 19th throttling incident. Elon on Twitter after initially blaming it on the Pentagon:

Quote :

" Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be," Musk wrote on X. "Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.""

But Starlink is also used in air defense in Ukraine. Allowing radar installations to communicate aerial threats, including warning civilians, and then to help interceptors kill threats before they reach their targets. On October 19th, while Elon was throttling connections, Russia landed a ballistic missile in a cafe and park in Kharkiv. It killed like 2 or 3 kids and another 2 or 3 adults. It killed a lady and her kid as she pushed the kid in a stroller through the park for god sakes. It’s not disinformation to say Elon contributed to this attack. Perhaps “pulling the trigger” is too strong a descriptor. You are correct that is better assigned to Putin. But Ukranian civilians definitely died and Elon’s actions more likely than not contributed.


My bad. Jensen didn’t set up the storefronts, he was just fucking the lady that did. I actually agree that the media’s emphasis on the sex part of the scandal is too much and a complete distraction from the real issues in this episode. I’m willing to let there be more investigation here on what Jensen knew or didn’t know. I’m just highly skeptical he knew nothing. BTW I think the government (Trump admin and Biden Admin) knew what was going on too.


For me, my criticisms of the billionaire class aren’t partisan, it’s born from watching their actions over the last 10 years (more like last 20 years, but I want to stick to your timeline). The vast, vast majority are wildly predatory and always looking for leverage, rent seeking, and accruing more power. At the same time our politico-legal system has been operating under the assumption that these folks can’t be held accountable for anything. They aren’t like us. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say they would cut my throat the moment it’s convenient.

11/13/2026 10:18:24 AM

Quote :

"The simpletoning for billionaires in this board is wild lol"

lol

Quote :

"Russia landed a ballistic missile in a cafe and park in Kharkiv. It killed like 2 or 3 kids and another 2 or 3 adults"

I hadn't seen that information, thanks. as far as the allegation/proof distinction, I think there is still uncertainty as to the full details and what has been proven true. I don't particularly care to spend much more time getting into the details at this point (mostly bc the conflict has moved on), but my point here is two things can be true - 1) I don't see it as impossible that Trump and/or Elon would intentionally stage this kind of service interruption as a way to send a message to Zelensky, but I would like to see (if possible which given the circumstances seems unlikely) actual proof of what is being alleged 2) and probably more importantly, that the above allegations are more accurately seen for what they are - not a particularly significant moment in a 4+ year long war but as a way to smear political rivals for outsized political impact. both can be true, and #2 is more serious in my view.

Quote :

"I’m just highly skeptical he knew nothing."

could be. he does have incentives to try to (legally?) skirt the export controls. and I don't mean selling a few extra billion in equipment, I mean his view on whether the US should have these export controls in the first place which could result (has already?) in china focusing on domestic development of these technologies, in which case the US would lose out not just on the large chinese financial market but also would be ineffective strategically from an american national interests perspective. i don't mind the skepticism, i have my own "this shit don't smell right" tendencies when it comes to various current affairs, but let's figure out the facts before we resort to torpedoing a company of significant national importance.

Quote :

"BTW I think the government (Trump admin and Biden Admin) knew what was going on too."

i have seen the reporting along these lines. i'd like to know more about what and why either admin handled things the way they did given what they knew or thought they knew. tbd?

Quote :

"For me, my criticisms of the billionaire class aren’t partisan"

i get the arguments you made. i recognize and share them broadly speaking. but again, there is much more nuance and distinction making to be had than i typically see in the online discourse. there are going to be wealthy people in public life. i think we should focus less (not zero, just less) on resentment, suspicion and contempt, and more on identifying where those with wealth and power can be productive allies for our shared national and cultural goals, not just assume that they are all evil and only got wealthy and powerful through unsavory means. it's unproductive and also just not true.

[Edited on November 13, 2026 at 10:43 AM. Reason : p.s. Terd you should post more. I don't always agree with you, but at least you typically participate in the conversation with a level of thoughtfulness that we could use more of around here.]

11/13/2026 10:42:33 AM

Quote :

" not a particularly significant moment in a 4+ year long war but as a way to smear political rivals for outsized political impact."

This is only true if it happens once and then Ukraine meets with SpaceX or the Pentagon or whomever and it all gets resolved. I think this is just the beginning of a pressure campaign on Ukraine. So yes, I think (1) - The Trump admin, and apparently Musk, are gonna fuck with the Ukrainians endlessly in the coming months. By February, I think it will be undeniable.

11/13/2026 11:16:59 AM