クロスポスト: https://hexbear.net/post/539800
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk reportedly caused a geopolitical crisis last year, when Ukrainian forces—which have relied heavily on the company’s Starlink satellite communications—were on the verge of striking Russian naval vessels off the coast of Crimea with submersible drones. Concerned that the attack would provoke Russia into using nuclear weapons, Musk unilaterally opted to sever the submarines’ satellite connection, throwing a wrench in the entire assault.
The incident—shared by CNN based on an adapted excerpt from an upcoming book by Walter Isaacson—demonstrates Musk’s increasing unwillingness to lend his satellite network to offensive maneuvers waged by Ukraine. “How am I in this war?” “Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes.”
After foiling the attack, Musk reportedly received a desperate text from a Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who asked that Musk reinstate the Starlink connection to the drones. “I just want you—the person who is changing the world through technology—to know this,” Fedorov wrote. But Musk refused to reverse course, telling Fedorov that Ukraine “is now going too far and inviting strategic defeat.”
Apparently he was worried that the assault would provoke nuclear war. Musk showing actual thought for the first time in ever.
Anyone else concerned for the Musk / NAFO fans confused as to how they’re supposed to pick a side but none of it makes sense because that would require a nuanced view? Nah, me neither.
This whole situation feels like copium for the failing CO.
Like fuck Musk, of course, but at this point it’s hard to ignore that Ukraine’s having a rough time. So Liberals are going to look for anything they can to make excuses, not unlike how Neo-Nazis make excuses for Germany’s failure in WWII, by blaming the weather or pitting the blame for failure on one or two figures.
Starlink also sucks, it’s genuinely horrid internet. It’s only useful if you’re far from cell signal and you want to access social media or streaming services, and at that, only if you’re willing to accept buffering and snail-slow speeds. It’s not something a military would want to exclusively use for coordination. Ukraine’s military probably has its own internet, and its own secondary lines of communication. Blaming Starlink outages is simply illogical.
One way of reading the ‘news’ is as a giant advert for Starlink. So powerful it can tip the scales of war. Now (a) do what the imperialists tell you to do, otherwise they’ll turn their power against you and (b) don’t forget to buy the platinum subscription package for course-of-history-changing results.
“Blame the weather” it hit me like a brick realizing this is actually what these losers did 😭😭😭😭
Starlink internet is fine, in my experience. Fuck Musk tho.
Seems like another wonder weapon that would’ve fixed everything. There’s been countless wonder weapons sent to Ukraine that ended up being useless.
why do they depend on starlink lol? are these “smart” drones that need to be connected to the internet? 😂
The data has to get around somehow…
The libs(?) are so thirsty for war, they’ll even throw their own arch technopriest under the bus.
I think he’s a fascist in libertarian clothing.
He’s a capitalist acting in his own self-interest and happens to hold some US conservative views, simple as that.
Fun fact: During World War II, those who aided and abetted the enemy, usually got 2 in the brain.
This is a fantasy… both General Motors and Ford profited off the nazi war machine and, as has been mentioned: these investments were protected by the U.S. government under pressure from business interests.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/nov98/nazicars30.htm
We are all NPCs to Elon Musk. This is all just playing a game in God mode to him.
I don’t believe that any of this registers as anything more than a pop up notification in a game to him.
Maybe I’m reading this wrong but did it happen last year? I thought it happened just a few days ago???
It happened last year
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Things will make a lot more sense if you imagine the imperialists, not ‘state institutions’ at the top of the capitalist pyramid.
^Least fascist, most freedom espousing liberal when poked only a little.
Absolutely. He needs to get trialled.
By who?
Well I was watching out Elon tweets last year, he was very worried about NAFO and the nuke war which was provoked by media propagandists that Putin was going to use nukes and Russia is losing the war ASAP. He is an oligarch but at least he had sense when most of socdems had lost their minds over Russia.
I have to be honest. Musk as much as he’s an absolute ass is also making the types of moves I like to see to enable a continued globalized world. He’s the kind of bourgeoisie I hope wins the struggles ahead because he’s preferable to the alternatives for a soft US empire implosion. He just keeps on doing things that I can’t help but cheer, not because they’re objectively good in a vacuum but because they’re creating the best conditions and/or navigating the conditions making the best choices for AES and the global south freeing themselves.
No, he’s just dumb. You may consider that convenient until it gets someone that you care about killed.
He’s arrogant and childish and petty which hinders him. He’s also a reactionary but his selfish pettiness so far has done some interesting things in sabotaging the evil empire.
As to getting people killed. What the fuck does that mean? You sound like a fed crowing on about the dangers of subversive thinking and commies getting people killed.
The US is grinding Ukraine’s population to grist and ironically Musk was one of the few prominent people who said that was bad, they weren’t going to win and it was pointless and dangerous to continue. All true.
I know, I know. No one must insult the nazi fascist Ukraine regime and it’s American cheered genocide of its own people for western arms manufacturer profits.
Alright Russia, good to see you here. Ukraine does not want you there. You weren’t invited. Wagner was literally started by a Nazi and your power structures literally match the definition of fascism. Your justifications for the conflict match that of the Third Reich.
Ukraine is not the Nazis in this match up.
What are other ways he has created such conditions, besides this incident?
He’s broadly anti-decoupling with China to my knowledge. Somewhat willing to say good things about China. I mean he see’s Chinese things like Ali-pay/WeChat and wants to emulate them. Being against escalation against Russia is also good actually.
He’s like Trump and I’m honestly not sure how people here are not getting that was what I was saying. I mean I’m not going to trip over myself to disown him anymore than I have already. I shouldn’t have to because there should be some critical thought given.
Do you have any evidence he is a hawk? Of the variety who would advocate using nuclear weapons or something to avoid giving up US hegemony (as many of the more silent bourgeoisie who control the US government and defense contractors would tend to be) as opposed to a self-serving but also self-defeating capitalist who can’t stop gorging himself off the profit potential of staying linked with China. I mean I hope he and others like him are like that and continue to exist. I guess as an ML I can’t help but be a bit optimistic that some of the bourgeoisie are selling us rope even in this day and age.
I mean there are degrees here. I don’t know if wandering liberals have downvoted me or what but I think what I said speaks for itself and honestly I don’t like Musk, so I’m not really going to compile a list of “why communists should think this guy is useful”, it’s just not worth my time and it was just musing. It was my hot-take. I don’t believe it to be incorrect, no one has really hit me with anything that changes my view.
What a terrible excuse. Russians constantly claims they will do things, and it’s always a lie. Why the hell would musk think they’re going to retaliate with nukes? I’m sure if they were going to, they would have by now. Saying he was afraid Russia would use nukes makes him sound like a little bitch.
He asks how is he in this war? Does he not remember signing a contract with the government? I guess he didn’t read the contract, just saw the $ and considered it a donation.
i dunno man the last time someone attacked some dudes boats in dock - they ended getting nuked twice, i wouldn’t say it’s unjustifiable
That’s not remotely comparable. They are at war. Are you saying Ukraine just can’t attack Russian ships?
Using nukes is never justifiable. Anyone who even thinks of using nukes should be held far away from power and authority.
this is all i’m saying
And what exactly does that mean in relation to what we are talking about? Are you sayin any future use is justified because it was done in the past? If thats the case then I’m just gonna have to strongly disagree.
morality be damned history has a funny way of rhyming
Ok… still not justified.
This is not about justification but expectation. I do not think anyone here is trying to justify nuclear armageddon. The Japan bombs, along with numerous nuclear weaponry incidents in the past that humanity barely evaded, merely show that the patience of nuclear powers about such incidents is much, much shorter than commonly expected, and that crossing red lines said powers have long been making very explicit could reasonably turn out to have been a bad idea in hindsight
If it’s about expectations, then anyone who even thinks of using nukes first should expect their nation to not exist afterward, and those personally responsible will go down in history (if there’s still a world to record it) as the dumbest most evil pieces of shit to ever live.
Sorry but somehow I really don’t think the people handling nuclear weapons are awfully concerned about the consequences such an action will have on their street cred
I’ll tell Putin that [email protected] thinks that he and the entire Russian military command shouldn’t be in charge. I’m sure they’ll all resign within the hour.
We shouldn’t look at the world as we would like it to be, but we need to look at it as it actually is. Russia has stated that they will use nukes if they deem it necessary for the preservation of their nation. Is this a good thing? Of course not. But it being an awful thing doesn’t mean we can just wish it out of existence.
If even one nuke is used, it would be likely that everyone would use them. I’m sure you’ve heard of MAD. Anyone who threatens to use them should be immediately removed from power. That is a principle every citizen of every nation should hold. Unfortunately russians seems not to. There are too many people who support authoritarians. Any nation that uses nukes first will likely be obliterated in response. Putin has to know that, so when Russia says they will use nukes, I don’t believe them.
I think you misunderstand me. I’m not saying that using nukes is a good thing, or that they should ever be used. I’m saying that it doesn’t matter what you or I think about it, we aren’t the ones making these decisions. So we instead should try to understand the positions of the people making these decisions instead of smugly dismissing them as “evil authoritarians.”
Anyone who greedily holds onto power is an evil authoritarian in my book, and anyone who thinks nukes are an option is much much worse. There is nothing to understand. There is no position where nukes are justified. They were used when they were first made, and luckily they haven’t been used since. As soon as they are it will give everyone else the excuse to use them too. Using even one nuke runs the risk of leading to the destruction of the world. No one willing to take that risk should be allowed power, and it should be the obligation of each nations citizens to enforce that.
Oh wow, a lib and insisting trying to understand things is a waste of time, what a shock. I thought I said this to you earlier, but it was someone else. So I’ll say it to you as well. Go away, you’re obviously not happy here and your refusal to understand things is not the strength you think it is, being proudly ignorant isn’t a good thing. So shoo, go somewhere where you can spout nonsense and be praised for it instead of bothering us.
