Mostly Harmless

Hegseth quotes fake Pulp Fiction Bible verse during Pentagon sermon

Elon Musk’s latest tirade against South Africa is a masterclass in billionaire bait-and-switch. He claims Starlink is banned solely because he isn’t Black, a narrative he pushes to his 200-million-plus followers as proof of "viciously racist" laws. In reality, the 30% local equity requirement he decries is a standard part of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) framework that hundreds of other U.S. giants, including Microsoft, have navigated for decades without the "drama". Musk’s "principle" against these rules conveniently ignores that South Africa has already pivoted to accommodate him. As of December 2025, the government introduced Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs), allowing foreign firms like Starlink to skip the equity transfer entirely by investing in local infrastructure and skills. Instead of taking the win, Musk has escalated to hurling expletives at senior diplomats and alleging (without evidence) that he was pressured to "bribe" his way into a license. The irony is thick: while Musk plays the victim of "reverse racism", his refusal to follow local law is the primary hurdle keeping high-speed internet from the very rural South African communities he claims to want to help. It isn't about the color of his skin; it’s about a billionaire who believes his birthplace owes him a waiver for the same rules everyone else follows.

Wow

Marc Andreessen on why Starlink may be the most misunderstood success story in tech right now: “Elon’s not the first guy who said we’re going to do satellite-based internet access. There was Bill Gates, Craig McCaw. Complete catastrophe, total bankruptcy, complete disaster. Elon’s like, ‘I know, I’m going to do another three of those. We’re starting as a side project at the rocket ship company.’ If the rockets are reusable, we’re going to be launching them all the time. What’s going to go in the rockets? I could wait for the customers to come to me, or I could just put up my own satellites. Anybody who knew anything about the history of satellites knew that was the craziest idea in the world. And of course it’s like this giant success. It’s the side project. It’s clearly the least studied and understood thing I know of in the world right now.”

when spacex was getting started, the first and last men to walk on the moon testified before congress against it. gene cernan told congress commercial space companies "do not yet know what they don't know." he said the boeings and lockheed martins were "the folks who have been working on everything we've done for the last 50 years. they know how it can be done." neil armstrong said he was "not confident" the newcomers could achieve their goals. together with jim lovell they warned it would put america on "a long downward slide to mediocrity." spacex now launches more rockets than every country on earth combined. the experts will always tell you it can't be done. build it anyway!

LA Mayor Karen Bass gives additional $360 million to NGO to “prevent homelessness”

The vaccine dosage was obviously too high and done too many times. I had the original Wuhan virus before there was any vaccine and it was much like any other cold/flu. Bad, but not terrible. But my second vaccine shot almost sent me to the hospital. Felt like I was dying.

Elon Musk speaks hard truths on what Nelson Mandela actually stood for and how South Africa has completely lost that Starlink is still blocked in Elon's home country because he is not black "The vision that Nelson Mandela, a remarkable leader, proposed was for all races to coexist equally in South Africa. Currently, there are around 140 laws that preferentially benefit Black South Africans over others" Mandela fought for absolute equality, but the current system has betrayed that vision They cannot claim to honor Mandela’s legacy of racial harmony while enforcing 140+ race-based ownership quotas. That is not progress - it is just discrimination wearing a new mask By actively blocking Starlink over these "discriminatory laws," bureaucrats are literally keeping their own rural schools and communities disconnected from the future

It’s getting worse.