Ski

[MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch]

🚨 BREAKING: Ukrainian military sources are reporting that Elon Musk’s SpaceX abruptly restricted Starlink satellite communications during Ukrainian military operations overnight, disrupting critical missions as Russia unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage against Kyiv.

Ukrainian activist Serhii Sternenko reports that Starlink connections began dropping when terminals were moving faster than 100 mph (160 km/h), causing multiple missions to fail.

Ukrainian military communications expert Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov says the restrictions were imposed WITHOUT WARNING.

Sternenko suspects SpaceX acted at the request of the Trump administration, though that allegation has not been independently confirmed.

It is clear that Trump is furious that Zelenskyy has refused to surrender and give away eastern Ukraine, and now Trump is trying to break Ukraine's resolve by actively supporting Russia.

He seems to take that refusal as a personal insult, an attack on his image as the dealmaker who can end the war. Once again, Trump is blaming his own failures on others. This time, the consequences are deadly.

[Jay in Kyiv @JayinKyiv]

Russian media is now in a 24/7 state of ridiculing Trump for being stupid enough to fall for Putin's fake diesel deal that served only to con Trump into blocking Ukraine's strikes on the Russian oil industry.

A simple act of Russia's long-famous practice of reflexive control - getting your opponent to do the thing that hurts them. No different than Brexit or electing Trump twice.

[Roman Anin @RomanAnin]

I spent 15+ years investigating Russian secret services and organized crime. I know people who served with Putin in the KGB and sat in on his deals with St. Petersburg crime bosses. So let me explain the "diesel deal" the way they would — in gangster slang. Because that's the language Putin actually thinks in.

First, the facts.

Putin just raised Russia's 2027 military budget by 27% to a record 17.1 trillion rubles — about $203 billion. Who budgets that kind of money for a war they're about to end?

The FT reported yesterday that Western intelligence has warned the heads of European defense companies that Russia is plotting to assassinate them.

Since September, Tusk, Macron and the intelligence services of Poland, Czechia, Latvia, Belgium, France and Denmark have all warned that Russian hybrid attacks — including drone and missile strikes — will intensify in the coming months.

None of this looks like a country preparing for peace.

Who actually benefits?

🇺🇸 What the US gets: Every serious analysis I've read says the announced volumes won't move American diesel prices. This is a PR move for Trump before the midterms — a story about prices that will "very, very soon" come down once his friend Vladimir's tankers reach US shores, plus the chance to claim he ended another war (I've lost count). The only US "benefit" is Trump's rating.

🇷🇺 What Russia gets: billions of dollars to keep funding its genocidal war against Ukrainians. Sanctions relief. A demonstration of power to the rest of the world. A deeper rift between the US and its European allies. And a real chance to disrupt US weapons and intelligence flowing to Ukraine.

So what is Putin's actual goal?

Trump's disapproval is at record highs and polls show his party will most likely loose midterm elections. In less than a month his power will be badly weakened. Why would Putin sign a long-term peace deal with a lame duck whose signature will soon be scrutinized at best and annulled at worst?

He wouldn't. And here's where the slang comes in.

In the eyes of Putin and his siloviki, Trump is a baryga — a greedy, unscrupulous businessman who puts profit above law and principle. Gangsters despise barygas, but they love using them. The goal is always to turn a baryga into a lokh — a mark, an outsider who doesn't understand the rules of the underworld and gets played to serve the gang's interests.

By signing the diesel deal, Putin plays two scenarios at once:

A) The deal miraculously helps his lokh keep power — great.

B) The deal changes nothing, the baryga loses the midterms — but by then it has already done its job: inflamed US political tensions and acted as arson inside the American system.

Putin knows that the majority of Americans support Ukraine. He knows that by signing, Trump draws unprecedented criticism, including from his own party. And he knows a baryga won't give up power easily, because he will have to answer for everything he did in office — this deal included. That's classic gangster/secret-service method: tie a man to your organization, make him a partner in your crimes, so he can't walk away.

Pouring more oil — diesel, in this case — onto the most explosive fault lines of American politics, raising the stakes for Trump and pushing him past the point of no return serves Putin far better than a peace deal that could be voided within months.

Remember: Putin's goal in the West is chaos, not peace.

[Green Bay Packers @packers]

Enough to make a grown man cry

[Ski @KeithLewandows3]

@RealScottRitter @BohuslavskaKate Hey Scott, you didn't even explain why. If all you got is "trust me, he's lying." That ain't gonna cut it. That's weak.

[Kate from Kharkiv @BohuslavskaKate]

Zelenskyy: "When our strikes reached Yandex data centers, it suddenly became little easier to breathe on many social media platforms. Many people noticed it.

There was less hate, less division, fewer provocations because there were fewer bots. It's pretty clear where those bots were coming from.

If they disappeared when Yandex went offline, this proves once again that Europe is not the source of the problems."

The big problem is that Russia figured out how modern society consumes information a decade ago, but the West hasn't.

​There are millions of bots commenting and posting Russian propaganda. There are paid influencers spreading it, with Russian bots supporting their content.

There is a gigantic machine operating to radicalize and influence Western societies, and there is not enough defense in place.

It doesn't just influence elections, it sows discord, engulfs societies in culture wars, radicalizes teenagers, and shapes political decisions when elected officials fail to read the room.

​That needs to change. And fast.

[The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln]

They're already scheming for Election Day. So, don't wait for November 3rd. Vote early.

Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/1oA7Nct9aC

[The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln]

.@lawler4ny campaigned with the "I love Hitler" group chat leader. This is what MAGA is.

[The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln]

It’s not just Donald Trump. It’s the Republican Party.

Tired of this shit? Show them this November.

[Ski @KeithLewandows3]

@SteveRi98537494 @mattschneidman Like last year's game when Jordan Love was knocked out early in the 2nd Qtr by Booker's helmet to helmet hit?

Nobody cares until their own team is impacted. Amazing.

[Scott MacFarlane @MacFarlaneNews]

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) to NBC about Trump Admin's plans for a live-streamed, public execution of Fort Hood terrorist:

"This is not who we are. Pete Hegseth - and all of his bravado -- need to get the hell out of the Department of Defense."

[Ski @KeithLewandows3]

@TheJeffSchlegel 100% Jeff. Packers had Love knocked out in the 2nd Qtr on Booker's helmet to helmet hit in late 2025, and back-up QB Malik Willis played out of his mind and nearly won. It always sucks when you don't have your starting QB. Trouble is, nobody cares until it lands on your own team.

[Aaron Nagler @AaronNagler]

See Bears fans? THIS is when you talk shit about your rival. After you beat their ass.

[Денис Казанський @den_kazansky]

Residents of destroyed Donbas cities who sided with Russia and obtained Russian passports have appealed to Putin. They state that they have received no compensation and are now simply being thrown out onto the street.

Until now, they had been living in a temporary accommodation center in Russia, but they are now being evicted. They have nowhere to go, as Russia destroyed their hometowns.

This is what the "liberation" of Donbas that Putin speaks of actually looks like. In reality, Putin does not care about these people. The Russian army arrived, destroyed everything they owned, and left them homeless. Now, they are being evicted even from the dormitory where they had been staying. They are receiving no payment for their destroyed property.

[David Haugh @DavidHaugh]

I underestimated Jordan Love. Underrated the #Packers, and certainly didn’t expect a Ben Johnson team to be unprepared to match Green Bay’s intensity. Nobody likes being wrong, but credit the Packers for beating the #Bears in every phase of the game.
Worst loss under Ben. Ouch.

[Aaron Nagler @AaronNagler]

I was told Matthew Golden was a bust. Mostly by Bears fans, to be fair.

[Adam Grant @AdamMGrant]

AI struggles to make creative leaps.

Large language models are trained on data from the past. Original thinking involves recognizing novel patterns in the future.

Long live human ingenuity.

[Ski @KeithLewandows3]

@texvine @ImBreckWorsham These gas prices suck. They're making everything more expensive. This isn't about winning and losing, its about getting out of yet another quagmire in the middle east with no end in sight. It's commonsense.

[Ski @KeithLewandows3]

@Aquarian_Derek @helen_halia @ImBreckWorsham Aquarian, you've been asleep the past 4+ years since the war in Ukraine began. Wherever you're getting your information from, you are badly misinformed.

[Ski @KeithLewandows3]

@jeffcon12 @BigSocks_ @GuntherEagleman Putin is a Communist dictator. Leader of a mass genocide of innocent civilians. And you're cheering him on. Wow. Just, wow..