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David Sacks Profile picture
David Sacks
@DavidSacks
I told you so. @theallinpod @craft_ventures @glueAI @saasgrid_hq
27 subscribers
May 18 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
On the latest episode of @theallinpod (29:40), I demoed @GlueAI using ChatGPT-4o. Much has already been written about the conversational and multimodal abilities of GPT-4o but I wanted to highlight how good the performance is for SaaS apps like Glue.🧵

Glue is a new work chat app that is based on threads rather than channels and makes AI a full-fledged member of the team. We created a new workspace for the All-In Pod and added all of our episode transcripts so the AI would have that context. Image
May 1 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
BREAKING: Ukraine flag-waver finally recognizes there are trade-offs. As I warned here…
Mar 2 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
In 1991 the Soviet Union fell apart and NATO faced an existential crisis: its reason for being no longer existed. But rather than disband, it came up with a new mission: to expand. And in a self-referential loop, NATO expansion would create the hostility needed to justify itself. Bureaucracies often take on a life of their own and end up causing the very problems they were supposed to solve.

NIH was supposed to prevent pandemics, so it funded gain-of-function research, causing a pandemic.

NATO was supposed to prevent a war, so it expanded to Russia’s border and sought to encircle it, provoking a war.
Feb 26 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Didn’t see this one coming. Image Budanov is the CIA’s man in Kiev. So why start telling the truth now? He’s directly contradicting Nuland’s narrative. 🤔
Feb 23 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
The U.S. can only produce about 1,000 artillery shells per day. The Europeans even less. The Russians are producing & using around 10,000/day. This is one of the reasons Ukraine is losing the war. Congressional action won’t fix this. Another reason is air defense. Ukraine has run out, and the U.S. can’t deliver more without putting our own troops in the Middle East at risk. The Russians have total air superiority and are precision-bombing Ukrainian targets at will.
Feb 20 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
This is John F. Sopko, one of America's most dedicated and effective public servants. As Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), Sopko and his team rooted out billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse in Afghanistan. They generated 427 audits, 10 comprehensive Lessons Learned reports, and 160 criminal convictions. With the Afghanistan mission winding down, Senator @RandPaul proposed that Sopko and his team pivot to Ukraine. They were ready to take on the assignment. But that idea was rejected by the White House and Senate. If Sopko were working in the private sector, I have no doubt that he would be promoted for his efforts. But in government, he might just be a little too effective for his own good. After all, if he was place in charge of Ukraine oversight, what do you think he would find?Image In lieu of Sen. Paul’s proposal, the Department of Defense named the Hon. Robert Storch as first Lead IG and then Special IG for Operation Atlantic Resolve, a role in which he will provide Ukraine oversight for DoD. He will also coordinate with IGs from the State Department and USAID with respect to their oversight efforts. While I have no reason to doubt that Storch will do a fine job, the advantage of the Paul proposal is that it was both more sweeping and more focused, creating a single office for all Ukraine oversight with the proven track record of the SIGAR team.
Feb 20 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
You can almost feel the panic online that the $61 billion won’t pass. For many, this is the last big payoff they will ever see. They will say anything to get it. They will do anything to get it. The pressure on Speaker Johnson must be enormous. I compliment him for holding firm so far. But at the end of the day, I expect something will pass. Pockets don’t line themselves.
Feb 15 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Ronald Reagan’s signature foreign policy achievement was negotiating a peaceful end to the Cold War. Neocons opposed him at the time. Now they have started a new Cold War with Russia and, invoking Reagan’s memory, insist we can’t negotiate a peaceful end. These people are sick. Two excellent articles on this subject from @CatoInstitute:



cato.org/commentary/rea…
cato.org/commentary/bet…
Jan 12 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The Biden administration could have gotten Gonzalo Lira back with a phone call but didn't lift a finger. Therefore the Ukrainian government knew it could act with impunity. Still, the sheer brazenness to kill an American citizen in custody reveals a thuggish and unmoored regime. If you want to quibble and argue that Lira wasn't killed by the Ukrainian government, but rather he was just wrongfully imprisoned (for exercising First Amendment rights), abused and denied vital medical treatment, I don't see much of a difference.
Nov 4, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Another remarkable confessional by the MSM in which we learn that everything we were told over the last 5 months about Ukraine making progress in its Counteroffensive was a lie. “Stalemate” has replaced “Counteroffensive” as the main media narrative about the war. But it is not accurate. Ukraine is *losing* a war of attrition. This is why officials believe they only have until the end of the year before “urgent discussions” are necessary. Image
Oct 31, 2023 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
The average age of a soldier in the US military is 23. In Ukraine it’s 43. Think about what that means. For every 23 year-old remaining, Ukraine would need a 63 year-old or two 53 year-olds just to maintain the average. An entire generation of young people has been wiped out. According to TIME, the shortage of personnel has become even more dire than the deficit in arms and ammunition. One of Zelensky’s close aides says that even if the U.S. and its allies come through with all the weapons they have pledged, “we don’t have the men to use them.” Image
Jul 22, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I suspect most establishment politicians looking at the Joe & Hunter Biden arrangement are quietly thinking “Wow this was really brazen. I can get away with a lot more than I thought.” This has been going on a long time. Obama aids were forced to defend their VP pick back in 2008. Image
Jul 17, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Nice try. The expert class touted the upcoming counteroffensive for months, crowing about the benefits of “combined arms operations” and “maneuver warfare” and promising to “punch through” quickly. For example: Just days before it began, Petraeus said the counteroffensive would be “very impressive” with progress after 3-4 days.
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Jul 10, 2023 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Wait what Previously:



Jul 2, 2023 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
Zaluzhny says current plans are not feasible, and simple math indicates why: Ukraine has recaptured ~50 square miles at a cost of over 10,000 lives. Since Russia occupies 50,000 sq miles (1000x), at this rate it will cost Ukraine 10,000,000 lives to liberate the entire country. It’s worth pointing out that the 50 sq miles, obtained at a cost of 200+ lives per mile, are in the security (or “grey”) zone. Ukrainian forces have not even made it to the Russians’ first fortified line yet.
Jun 19, 2023 • 9 tweets • 6 min read
THE FAILING COUNTEROFFENSIVE AND THE PEACE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN

With each passing day, it’s becoming clear that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is failing to achieve any of its originally stated objectives. Recall: the Biden administration’s bet was that the counteroffensive would roll back Russian territorial gains, cut the land bridge to Crimea, and force Russia to the negotiating table. That is almost certainly not going to happen. On the contrary, a stalemate is more likely, or even that Russia will take more territory and win the war, as Mearsheimer has predicted.

What are Biden’s options now? Either escalate or admit defeat. In preparation for NATO’s Vilnius Summit, Blinken has been floating a proposal to give “Israel status” to Ukraine. This means multi-year security guarantees including weapons, ammunition and money that would continue even if Biden loses the next election.

This is not what the American people signed up for. Many Americans supported the $100+ billion in appropriations for Ukraine believing it was a one-time deal to reverse Russian territorial gains. If they had been told that it was the basis for an annual appropriation in a new Forever War, they would have preferred an alternative, especially if they had known that one was available.

THE PEACE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN

New evidence is emerging that a peace deal was achievable at the beginning of the war. At a recent meeting with the African delegation, Putin showed the draft of an outline or preliminary agreement signed by the Ukrainian delegation at Istanbul in April 2022. It provided that Russia would pull back to pre-war lines if Ukraine would agree not to join NATO (but Ukraine could receive security guarantees from the West).

This document has not been publicly released yet, but no one seriously contests that it exists. The only dispute is over what happened subsequently; Ukraine (via reporting in Reuters) contends the deal fell apart. However, the availability of a deal based on Ukrainian Neutrality is consistent with previous comments from Naftali Bennett, who said a deal was attainable but rejected by the West.

Why would the West do this? Ukrainska Pravda (UP), a pro-Ukraine publication, reported in May 2022:

“As soon as the Ukrainian negotiators and Abramovich/Medinsky [the Russian negotiators], following the outcome of Istanbul, had agreed on the structure of a future possible agreement in general terms, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared in Kyiv almost without warning. "Johnson brought two simple messages to Kyiv. The first is that Putin is a war criminal; he should be pressured, not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not. We can sign (an agreement) with you (Ukraine), but not with him. Anyway, he will screw everyone over", is how one of Zelenskyy's close associates summed up the essence of Johnson's visit.”


Johnson (who must have been speaking not just for himself but for the Western alliance) wanted to pressure Putin, not make peace, and promised new weapons systems if Ukraine would keep fighting.

At the time of UP’s article, Ukraine appeared to be doing well, so UP portrayed Zelensky’s decision to accept Johnson’s offer as a smart gamble. Now, in hindsight, it looks like a disaster.

AFGHANISTAN REDUX?

I know some of you may find it hard to believe that the realities on the ground are so at odds with the mainstream media's coverage. But it’s worth recalling that the American public was assured for two decades that we were winning in Afghanistan. All of that reporting was revealed as a pack of lies when the Afghan army that we were supposedly “standing up” collapsed within a matter of weeks. At that point, the media stopped reporting on Afghanistan, just like it had stopped reporting on Iraq, instead of holding anyone accountable.

Unfortunately, it looks like we're headed for a similar kind of outcome in Ukraine. The only question is when, and how long Biden will be able to perpetuate a proxy war of choice that could have easily been avoided. Update: in an interview with WashPo, Ukraine’s top general Zaluzhny confirms that the Western equipment provided so far (at a cost of $100B+) is insufficient to achieve the originally stated goals of the counteroffensive: “these plans are not feasible at all.” Image
Jun 16, 2023 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Is Ukraine about to become a Forever War?

In preparation for a meeting of NATO allies in Vilnius next month, Secretary of State Blinken has been floating a proposal to give "Israel status" to Ukraine. This consists of long-term security guarantees (which run for ten-year intervals in Israel’s case) including weapons, ammunition, and money “not subject to the fate of the current counteroffensive or the electoral calendar.” In other words, America won’t reassess support even if the counteroffensive fails. Indeed, support won’t cease even if voters want to make a change in the next election.

Some observers may see here a classic bait and switch. Last year, after Ukraine retook land around Kharkiv and Kherson, the American people were assured that the Ukrainians would complete the job in the spring and summer of 2023. This new Ukrainian counteroffensive would roll back Russian territorial gains, perhaps even threaten the Russian hold on Crimea, and thereby drive Moscow to the negotiating table and end the war. Many Americans supported the $100+ billion in appropriations for Ukraine on this basis. The implicit promise was that this was a one-time expense, not the baseline for an annual appropriation in a new Forever War.

Now a difficult start to the counteroffensive coupled with a proposed multi-year deal at Vilnius makes clear that this was a lie or a pipe dream. But isn’t this what always happens? Administrations ease us into war with promises of quick and easy victory, and then once involved, tell us we can’t back out no matter the cost because American credibility is at stake. It’s Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq all over again, except this time with a nuclear-armed adversary creating the heightened risk that the war could escalate into WWIII at any point.

For more on this subject, check out my first article for @RStatecraft @QuincyInst:

responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/06/16/wil… Zelensky has said he will not attend NATO’s Vilnius Summit next month unless Ukraine is given a timetable for membership. Former NATO secretary general Anders Rasmussen, now a consultant to Zelensky, even threatened that “if NATO cannot agree on a clear path forward for Ukraine… the Poles would seriously consider going in,” triggering direct war between NATO and Russia. The American people may want to question the wisdom of making new Article 5 guarantees if existing ones can be used to blackmail the United States into reckless action.

responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/06/16/wil…
Jun 3, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Hot jobs report today. I don’t know where they’re finding all these jobs. All I see are layoffs. Summers is already talking up a 50bp rate hike in July. That won’t be good for CRE, banks, or stocks.

Apr 21, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Simplest way for corporate journalists to get blue checks en masse would be for their organizations to go gold and affiliate them. Stop pretending this is a personal expense. It’s a business expense. Similarly, it would be a smart idea for Hollywood talent agencies to pay for their celebrities via the Verified Org Affiliates feature. Celebs would get blue checks. The agencies would get the benefit of the association.
Mar 23, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
When the Fed spiked interest rates from ~0 to ~5% over the past year, it had 3 main effects:
1. Undercut value of bonds, especially long-dated bonds.
2. Made lending more expensive, particularly for large purchases like real estate that have to be financed.
3. Increased… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Update: “The balance-sheet risks for mismanaged states and municipalities have been hiding in plain sight just as they were at Silicon Valley Bank.”

apple.news/AUa4aTaoaSm6ya…
Mar 17, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Team SIBs vs Team Regional Banks Sen. Jim Lankford raises an excellent line of questioning here. If some banks are “systemically important” (where deposits are fully protected) and some banks aren’t (where deposits are only partially protected), won’t all the money move to the SIBs?