July 31, 2023

Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

I think the Roundup makes people feel not so alone.

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World Cup update - This Roundup is being sent on Monday evening to remind you to watch or record the USWNT v Portugal which happens at 3am. Enjoy. 🤞.

Sophia Smith scored twice in the Americans’ group-stage opener against Vietnam.

The U.S. will play Portugal at the women’s World Cup overnight.

Where things stand: The U.S. faces a tricky path to the next stage of the tournament after a win over Vietnam and a draw with the Netherlands.

What’s needed: A win or draw would take the U.S. to the knockout round. A loss would most likely mean the team’s earliest World Cup exit.

Set your alarm: The match starts at 3 a.m. Eastern on Fox or Telemundo. (The Washington Post).

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Joe is always busy. Or not.

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden relax on a Delaware beach, seemingly unbothered by other beachgoers. But wait for the long shot at the end…

Then he went biking.

One more thing.

What do you think Senator Tommy Tuberville who is holding up Biden military appointments and promotions and pay raises thinks of Biden’s decision?

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Kamala is always busy.

Vice President Kamala Harris to deliver remarks in Orlando.

Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Central Florida on Tuesday.

Harris is expected to deliver remarks in Orlando at the African Methodist Episcopal 20th Women's Missionary Society Quadrennial Convention.

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Between Now and September 1, expect to see the District Attorney of Fulton County, GA. often.

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The GOP seems to know what they want. They want to lose the Presidency.

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Should a private citizen be allowed to control communications affecting a nation?

Elon Musk’s Unmatched Power in the Stars

The tech billionaire has become the dominant power in satellite internet technology. The ways he is wielding that influence are raising global alarms.

On March 17, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the leader of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, dialed into a call to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Over the secure line, the two military leaders conferred on air defense systems, real-time battlefield assessments and shared intelligence on Russia’s military losses.

They also talked about Elon Musk.

General Zaluzhnyi raised the topic of Starlink, the satellite internet technology made by Mr. Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, three people with knowledge of the conversation said. Ukraine’s battlefield decisions depended on the continued use of Starlink for communications, General Zaluzhnyi said, and his country wanted to ensure access and discuss how to cover the cost of the service.

General Zaluzhnyi also asked if the United States had an assessment of Mr. Musk, who has sprawling business interests and murky politics — to which American officials gave no answer.

Mr. Musk, who leads SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter, has become the most dominant player in space as he has steadily amassed power over the strategically significant field of satellite internet. Yet faced with little regulation and oversight, his erratic and personality-driven style has increasingly worried militaries and political leaders around the world, with the tech billionaire sometimes wielding his authority in unpredictable ways.

Since 2019, Mr. Musk has sent SpaceX rockets into space nearly every week that deliver dozens of sofa-size satellites into orbit. The satellites communicate with terminals on Earth, so they can beam high-speed internet to nearly every corner of the planet. Today, more than 4,500 Starlink satellites are in the skies, accounting for more than 50 percent of all active satellites. They have already started changing the complexion of the night sky, even before accounting for Mr. Musk’s plans to have as many as 42,000 satellites in orbit in the coming years.

The power of the technology, which has helped push the value of closely held SpaceX to nearly $140 billion, is just beginning to be felt.

Starlink is often the only way to get internet access in war zones, remote areas and places hit by natural disasters. It is used in Ukraine for coordinating drone strikes and intelligence gathering. Activists in Iran and Turkey have sought to use the service as a hedge against government controls. The U.S. Defense Department is a big Starlink customer, while other militaries, such as in Japan, are testing the technology.

But Mr. Musk’s near total control of satellite internet has raised alarms.

In Ukraine, some fears have been realized. Mr. Musk has restricted Starlink access multiple times during the war, people familiar with the situation said. At one point, he denied the Ukrainian military’s request to turn on Starlink near Crimea, the Russian-controlled territory, affecting battlefield strategy. Last year, he publicly floated a “peace plan” for the war that seemed aligned with Russian interests.

To read the full New York Times article on Musk and Starlink, click here.

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Malala Yousafzai.

@Malala wrote - This Barbie has a Nobel Prize 💖 He’s just Ken.

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