And the up and down of Elon Musk's Reputation with Me Goes Back Up

Elon Musk is a genius weirdo. 

Sometimes he does inventions that are game changing and fantastic - Tesla and SpaceX come to mind; some ideas are kinda duds - hypersonic tubes; others make you question his sanity - MAGA support, covid disinformation, working conditions at Tesla.

But Musk gets huge ass props right now. A few years back, Musk introduced an idea called "Starlink"

Starlink is a plan to use satellites to supply internet to underserved countries with no access to internet. Or to areas ravaged by natural disasters. 

It has received little press because to date it hasn't been a roaring success or a disappointing failure.

Until now.

When Russia attacked Ukraine's infrastructure on day 1, it was a great idea (militarily, not morally). Without internet access to the world, images wouldn't get out and Putin's propaganda would flourish in an information black out.

But Musk, in an act of both self-promotion and humanitarian interest, has provided free internet access to the entire country via satellite. 

AND it has worked. I have seen plenty of recommendations from resistance groups keeping in touch, regular citizens reporting images and stories from inside Ukraine. And, of course, the speeches of Zelensky to his citizens and the world wide audience.

This kind of technology will be / is great in areas hit by Tsunamis, floods and other local disasters. And the war in Ukraine is the worst kind of disaster (so far).