But #Musk’s order, which hasn’t previously been reported, is the first known instance of the billionaire actively [& personally] shutting off #Starlink coverage over a battlefield during the conflict. The decision shocked some Starlink employees & effectively reshaped the front line of the fighting, enabling #Musk to take “the outcome of a war into his own hands,” another one of the three people said.

#power #corruption #oligarchy

We all suspected it, now it’s confirmed.

#Musk ordered shutdown of #Starlink satellite service as #Ukraine retook territory from #Russia

A previously unreported order by #ElonMusk to cut satellite #communications over a portion of Ukraine disrupted a counteroffensive by Kyiv in the autumn of 2022. Reuters investigated the billionaire's order & its implications for countries increasingly reliant on his Starlink internet service.

#power #corruption #oligarchy
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/musk-ordered-shutdown-starlink-satellite-service-ukraine-retook-territory-russia-2025-07-25/

Greg Lloyd
Greg Lloyd boosted

Upon #Musk’s order, #Ukraine troops suddenly faced a #communications #blackout, acc/to a Ukrainian military official, an advisor to the armed forces, & 2 others who experienced #Starlink failure near the front lines. Soldiers panicked, drones surveilling #Russia forces went dark, & long-range artillery units, reliant on Starlink to aim their fire, struggled to hit targets.

#power #corruption #oligarchy

Greg Lloyd
Greg Lloyd boosted

“We have to do this,” Michael Nicolls, the #Starlink engineer, told colleagues upon receiving the order from #Musk, one of these people said. Staffers complied, the 3 people told Reuters, deactivating at least a hundred Starlink terminals, their hexagon-shaped cells going dark on an internal map of the company’s coverage. The move also affected other areas seized by #Russia, including some of #Donetsk province further east.

#power #corruption #oligarchy

bhaugen
bhaugen boosted

"Can you believe it has been over a year since the conservatives on the Supreme Court invented a very special immunity for a very special president?

It’s arguably the worst decision to come out of the Roberts Court, which is saying something. And it isn’t a reach to say that if there had been no immunity decision, there likely would be no Donald Trump second term."

~ Liz Needham

#Trump#SupremeCourt#JohnRoberts #immunity#RuleofLaw #corruption

/1

https://www.publicnotice.co/p/scotus-immunity-decision-trump-treason-obama

"Roberts’ opinion provides an open invitation for Trump to do exactly what he’s doing now.

Worse, it actually lays out a clear and easy-to-follow road map on how he can and should pursue it without risking his own hide—tap into the most essential powers of the presidency to protect himself, no matter how lawlessly those powers are wielded."

~ David Pepper

#Trump#SupremeCourt#JohnRoberts #immunity#RuleofLaw #corruption
/3

https://davidpepper.substack.com/p/roberts-handy-roadmap-for-illegal

"The Supreme Court can’t be bothered to do real law — but they still expect trial judges to read their minds and treat those nebulous shadow docket orders like binding precedent. And that invisible ink precedent says that Trump can fire anyone, anywhere, at any time."

~ Liz Dye and Andrew Torrez

#Trump#SupremeCourt#JohnRoberts#ShadowDocket#RuleofLaw #corruption
/4

https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/ep-153-the-shadow-docket-gets-shadier-051

"Without the immunity decision, Trump would probably still be dragging out his appeals in his multitude of criminal cases, and the rest of us would be living in a world where the federal government remains functional. Instead, Trump has taken full advantage of that immunity, not just to dodge his crimes, but to crown himself a king, above all laws. And thus far, the Court seems more than happy to help."

#Trump#SupremeCourt#JohnRoberts #immunity#RuleofLaw #corruption
/2

"Roberts’ opinion provides an open invitation for Trump to do exactly what he’s doing now.

Worse, it actually lays out a clear and easy-to-follow road map on how he can and should pursue it without risking his own hide—tap into the most essential powers of the presidency to protect himself, no matter how lawlessly those powers are wielded."

~ David Pepper

#Trump#SupremeCourt#JohnRoberts #immunity#RuleofLaw #corruption
/3

https://davidpepper.substack.com/p/roberts-handy-roadmap-for-illegal

"Without the immunity decision, Trump would probably still be dragging out his appeals in his multitude of criminal cases, and the rest of us would be living in a world where the federal government remains functional. Instead, Trump has taken full advantage of that immunity, not just to dodge his crimes, but to crown himself a king, above all laws. And thus far, the Court seems more than happy to help."

#Trump#SupremeCourt#JohnRoberts #immunity#RuleofLaw #corruption
/2

As a result,…troops failed to surround a Russian position in the town of Beryslav, east of Kherson, the administrative center of the region of the same name. “The encirclement stalled entirely,” said the military official in an interview. “It failed.”

Ultimately, #Ukraine’s counteroffensive succeeded in reclaiming Beryslav, the city of Kherson & some additional territory #Russia had occupied.

#power #corruption #oligarchy

bhaugen
bhaugen boosted

"On July 3, the Supreme Court handed down its final order vacating the lower court’s preliminary injunction and paving the way for their removal to South Sudan—due process, to determine whether this violates U.S. and international law barring torture, be damned."

#SupremeCourt#JohnRoberts#Trump #corruption #democracy#RuleofLaw#Constitution#Catholic#HeritageFoundation#LeonardLeo#OpusDei
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