Elon Musk’s financial interests put him in a position of having his own personal foreign policy, but new reporting shows that whether it’s manufacturing in China or the Starlink network being used in Ukraine, Musk’s decisions can run counter to stated US policy.
- Blaiz0r ( @Blaiz0r@lemmy.ml ) 129•1 year ago
This is why billionaires shouldn’t exist they are treasonous
- Lexam ( @Lexam@lemmy.ca ) English72•1 year ago
They should exist, but we are not utilizing them correctly. Once someone has reached a billion dollar networth then they are thrown a big party and then sacrificed to a valcono. I believe this would curb emissions and fix climate change.
- Blaiz0r ( @Blaiz0r@lemmy.ml ) 31•1 year ago
There was a native American tribe that every ten years had individuals return all personal wealth back to the tribe and the threw a big party, then start it all over again
- doggle ( @doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) 9•1 year ago
Maybe we just seize all their assets, nationalize them and make them start over with nothing. Call it new game +.
- Lexam ( @Lexam@lemmy.ca ) English1•1 year ago
But volcano!
- ulkesh ( @ulkesh@beehaw.org ) English1•1 year ago
That was awesome. Thank you for making my day!
- Ferris ( @Ferris@infosec.pub ) 6•1 year ago
Wealth Piñata monetary policy
- derpgon ( @derpgon@programming.dev ) 4•1 year ago
Polluting a volcano with a bag of shit isn’t really green. I say we just bury them so they can at least be used as fertilizer.
- jonne ( @jonne@infosec.pub ) 46•1 year ago
Just too much power for one person. Even if they’re not in charge of a global internet provider, your average billionaire can singlehandedly affect the lives of millions of people (employees, customers, bystanders) with no democratic oversight at all. It’s just not something that should exist.
- gnuhaut ( @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml ) 15•1 year ago
You: Want to abolish billionaires because they do not support the war enough.
Me: Want to abolish billionaires because they exploit and oppress the working class.
We are not the same.
- dumdum666 ( @dumdum666@kbin.social ) 25•1 year ago
I want to abolish them because of both - checkmate
- Collision Resistance ( @CollisionResistance@lemm.ee ) English4•1 year ago
Apt username
- dumdum666 ( @dumdum666@kbin.social ) 10•1 year ago
I chose it so you could jerk yourself off about it and feel good at least once in your life :)
- gnuhaut ( @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml ) 2•1 year ago
Patsoc detected.
- dumdum666 ( @dumdum666@kbin.social ) 7•1 year ago
Please enlighten me what a Patsoc is - I am really curious.
- gnuhaut ( @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml ) 3•1 year ago
“Patriotic socialist”, someone who claims to be a champion of the working class, but is actually more of nationalist. They only care about the working class of a certain nationality or racial group, and are generally bigoted in their view towards marginalized groups. Real socialists are internationalist. You wanting to get rid of Musk, because he’s not sufficiently gung-ho about a war fought between capitalists on the back of workers, implies you consider the national interest more important than the lives of workers. This is anti-worker class collaborator shit, which is what patsocs are really.
- dumdum666 ( @dumdum666@kbin.social ) 8•1 year ago
What the fuck are you even talking about? Russia is throwing thousands of „working class“ lives away, since it wants to expand its territory in aggressive moves since decades. They are forcing Ukraine to defend itself and yes, those are also working class people.
So you, as a good socialist, are probably on the barricades because of this unprovoked attack on the Ukrainian working class. How are you fighting to defend them from getting killed? Please don’t answer something in the likes of „Ukraine should give up“ because then everyone would only see that you are actually advocating the Murder of the Ukrainian people.
- Varixable ( @Varixable@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) 2•1 year ago
Lol what the fuck is this? “You’re an enemy of the working class because you don’t support Elon Musk!”
This is some brain worm shit my dude.
- Blaiz0r ( @Blaiz0r@lemmy.ml ) 16•1 year ago
Well you’ve jumped to conclusions there, I’m not talking about the war but Billionaires in general and their respective countries in general.
Billionaires have too much power, live outside the existing system of government and laws, gained their money and power through exploitation and in general are undemocratic.
So I agree with your second statement, but not the first
- zephyreks ( @zephyreks@programming.dev ) 2•1 year ago
China seems to do a pretty good job of keeping their billionaires in check. Maybe we should take notes?
- s20 ( @s20@lemmy.ml ) 48•1 year ago
What the hell? Look, man, I hate the guy but he’s remarkably consistent: he works for his interests. Even when he does dumbshit things like buy Twitter, the thinks he’s operating in his interests.
He’s not complicated. He’s a self absorbed piece of shit. That’s really all you ever need to know about the fucker.
- Hot Saucerman ( @dingus@lemmy.ml ) English25•1 year ago
“Elon desperately wants the world to be saved. But only if he can be the one to save it,” Altman added.
From an interview with Sam Altman. It’s grandoise narcissism, plain and simple.
- vzq ( @vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone ) 15•1 year ago
But he’s also a contrarian asshole.
- d-RLY? ( @dRLY@lemmy.ml ) 3•1 year ago
Which he is also pretty consistent about. Yet somehow these children’s cartoon evil/greedy businessmen are just handed power and trusted by such a shocking amount of people. It is kind of impressive in a “we’re fucked” kind of way.
- dangblingus ( @dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) 2•1 year ago
He bought Twitter WITH $22B OF SAUDI MONEY. Should tell you everything you need to know about the purchase, the motivation, and why he’s “doing so badly” with it.
- arc ( @arc@lemm.ee ) 30•1 year ago
He posted the other day about being proud American etc. and yet he’s actively giving comfort to hostile adversaries like Russia and screwing US allies. I think if I were the US federal government I wouldn’t touch SpaceX or Starlink with a shitty stick given the mercurial, manchild in charge of them with his own agenda.
- some_guy ( @some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org ) 1•1 year ago
It’ll be interesting to see how much the US invests in his companies post Twitter shit show.
- ShaggySnacks ( @ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one ) English21•1 year ago
Remember folks, the rich only care about one thing and one thing only, getting richer. A bunch of these shit heads got together and started actively planning on overthrowing the US government because the election of FDR was going to affect their interests.
- Storksforlegs ( @storksforlegs@beehaw.org ) English3•1 year ago
Kind of the same thing thats happening right now, only instead of plotting they are spreading conspiracy theories and rage bating people into supporting them.
- cobra89 ( @cobra89@beehaw.org ) 2•1 year ago
I’d argue Musk cared more about being able to bloviate on Twitter than he did about getting richer from that transaction.
Of course there’s the very real possibility that he was foolish enough to believe he could make money on the deal.
- exploding_whale ( @exploding_whale@lemmy.ml ) 1•1 year ago
The irony of this is FDR wasn’t exactly lacking in wealth or at least access to it at any point in his life.
- lanbanger ( @lanbanger@kbin.social ) 16•1 year ago
Then he’ll have to be sanctioned. Which would be a shame.
- Noerttipertti ( @Noerttipertti@sopuli.xyz ) 8•1 year ago
Sanctioned or…
Dramatic pause
“Sanctioned”?
- mwguy ( @mwguy@infosec.pub ) 12•1 year ago
Musk is South African. We should expect his loyalties to reflect his home country more than the US.
- reverendsteveii ( @reverendsteveii@sopuli.xyz ) 11•1 year ago
What good does this really do south africa though? Id more expect his loyalty to be to himself and his own profit than any country regardless of where he’s native.
- mwguy ( @mwguy@infosec.pub ) 3•1 year ago
South Africa is the S in BRICS.
- reverendsteveii ( @reverendsteveii@sopuli.xyz ) 3•1 year ago
Okay.
- gnuhaut ( @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml ) 11•1 year ago
You’re mad at Musk for this???
Musk has done so many terrible things. Treats his workers like shit, destroys the environment, platforms racists (he’s a racist pos himself), false advertising, siphons government subsidies, scams investors (including pension funds, I don’t particularly care about scamming venture capitalist and the like), lobbies against public transport and god knows what I forgot right now.
But oh no! He only supports the war effort up to a point, and he doesn’t want to have a cold war with China. For once he’s kinda reasonable, and for that the libs are calling him a traitor.
- drewdarko ( @drewdarko@kbin.social ) 16•1 year ago
We are calling him a traitor for having Starlink turned off in Ukraine to protect Russia from a counter attack.
- FaceDeer ( @FaceDeer@kbin.social ) 5•1 year ago
Last I heard, he simply didn’t turn it on when Ukraine asked him to, before the DoD had explicitly contracted him to support Ukraine’s military. The narrative of him throwing a switch mid-attack and laughing maniacally as Ukrainian drones drifted helplessly to shore has been spreading like wildfire but that seems to be based on a quote from one guy who has since walked it back.
Is there some Fediverse equivalent to /r/enoughmuskspam? My feed is starting to get flooded with these five-minute-hates of Elon Musk and it’s wearying.
- drewdarko ( @drewdarko@kbin.social ) 5•1 year ago
Nope, Starlink was already in use. Musk used his position as CEO of Starlink to cut off service to Ukraine. But only long enough to interrupt a counter attack on the Russian fleet. Once the opportunity had passed he had it turned back on.
His intentions are obvious.
- gnuhaut ( @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml ) 5•1 year ago
That’s because you identify with the US empire, which is not, and never was, on your team. And neither was Musk.
Musk isn’t even against the US empire, he just didn’t want to escalate. The White House regularly does (not) do a thing because they don’t want to escalate. They’re all traitors to the US too, are they?
Treason is not wanting total war, got it.
- drewdarko ( @drewdarko@kbin.social ) 3•1 year ago
If Musk really wants to prevent escalation then he should help the US and it’s allies stop Russia from invading other countries as they have been doing for decades.
Russia is starting total war. Musk is helping them continue by preventing efforts to stop Russia.
- gnuhaut ( @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml ) 3•1 year ago
help the US and it’s allies stop Russia from invading other countries as they have been doing for decades
Wait, you think the country that has by far done the most invasions should be supported to stop *checks notes* an invasion? This is like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. And apparently by any means necessary too.
I wonder what would have happened if the US’s whole Mediterranean fleet were destroyed thanks to Russian help during one of their “humanitarian interventions”. I wonder if you were also moralizing about the need to start WW3 in those situations?
- mrnotoriousman ( @mrnotoriousman@kbin.social ) 5•1 year ago
Yes, Russia should stop invading and get the fuck back to their own country. Whatever you want to whine about someone else doing is irrelevant. Russia invaded and can gtfo or die.
- Honytawk ( @Honytawk@lemmy.zip ) 1•1 year ago
Just because the US is doing illegal invasions of sovereign nations, doesn’t mean Russia is allowed to.
- krolden ( @krolden@lemmy.ml ) 3•1 year ago
traitor to whom?
- Honytawk ( @Honytawk@lemmy.zip ) 1•1 year ago
The country he lives in, and the military that paid to have the service of his business to be used … by the military.
- krolden ( @krolden@lemmy.ml ) 2•1 year ago
At most that is breach of contract. Definitely not traitorous.
- mwguy ( @mwguy@infosec.pub ) 2•1 year ago
Civilian space assets cannot be used for warfare or they become legitimate targets in a war. When the US commits to defending and replenishing starlink satellites lost in conflict I’ll blame Musk for not enabling his network to be used for warfare.
- drewdarko ( @drewdarko@kbin.social ) 4•1 year ago
The Ukraine military was already using starlink. Starlink agreed to provide their service to the Ukraine military as a US military contractor with the US paying the bill.
So they can do that because they have already done that.
The US has committed to defending and replenishing Starlink because they’ve been doing that by protecting the antennas and replacing them as they get attacked.
Again. Starlink already agreed to be used in Ukraine and at the time that Musk interrupted service to the Ukrainian military it had been in use for a long time.
Musk only interrupted service long enough to prevent the counter attack on Russia. Then agreed to turn it back on after the opportunity for a counter attack had passed.
Seems pretty obvious that Musk stepped in to help Russia as a traitor to the US.
- mwguy ( @mwguy@infosec.pub ) 1•1 year ago
If Congress declared war or maybe an Authorization for Use of Force (like Iraq/Afghanistan) it would be fair to consider him a traitor. Until then not really.
We’re mad that one person could have this much power, especially because they’re a narcissistic man child who thinks he knows better than everyone else and is quickly becoming radicalized to the far right.
- gnuhaut ( @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml ) 10•1 year ago
Elon Musk is a US interest. The US is a bunch of business interests in a trench coat, and they don’t always agree on everything. Some want to do business with China, some want the Chinese competition destroyed, and some want to create tension so they can sell more weapons.
The idea that Musk is “counter” to US interests is wrong, he just represents a faction of the ruling class that’s not on board with the (trade) war on China. Since it’s not in the interest of the working class to have a US-China (trade) war, neither in the US nor anywhere really, he is inadvertently aligned with the interests of the majority of humanity on this one.
- Collision Resistance ( @CollisionResistance@lemm.ee ) English9•1 year ago
If Rachel Maddow says it, then it must be true.
If you’re skeptical, here’s the article the interview was about.
- Collision Resistance ( @CollisionResistance@lemm.ee ) English7•1 year ago
I know redditors and lemmies are eager to fight to the last Ukrainian, but atleast half the country wants to stop unlimited Ukrainian funding. So Musk prohibiting Ukrainians to use his tech for offensive warfare against another country, is him saving the world from nuclear war.
In his own words, “The United States Congress has not declared war on Russia”. And that is 100% true.
I know many of you guys had your bunkers ready for the nuclear fallout. But understand that many others want to live normally.
Here is Walter Isaacson (on whose book this story is based) himself saying,
To clarify on the Starlink issue: the Ukrainians THOUGHT coverage was enabled all the way to Crimea, but it was not. They asked Musk to enable it for their drone sub attack on the Russian fleet. Musk did not enable it, because he thought, probably correctly, that would cause a major war.
https://twitter.com/WalterIsaacson/status/1700342242290901361
- dumdum666 ( @dumdum666@kbin.social ) 8•1 year ago
Yeah - Isaacson walked back on the initial story. we will probably never find out which version is true … but you can be sure that the last published version of any story is not necessarily the truth.
And that you are insinuating that the Ukrainian people are being used „to the last Ukrainian“ is in itself a sickening twist of the truth. This is Russian Propaganda language.
- Collision Resistance ( @CollisionResistance@lemm.ee ) English5•1 year ago
Is this Russian Propaganda language too?
Mitt Romney - We (Americans) are losing no lives in Ukraine…
Richard Blumenthal - We’ve helped restore faith and confidence in American leadership — moral and military. All without a single American service woman or man injured or lost…
- dumdum666 ( @dumdum666@kbin.social ) 4•1 year ago
WaPo: Paywall
FT: PaywallRomney Tweet „The single most important thing we can do to strengthen America relative to China is to see Russia defeated in Ukraine. A weakened Russia deters the CCP’s territorial ambition, and halts Putin’s vision of reestablishing the old Soviet Union. Supporting Ukraine is in our interest.“
Romney CNN: „“People think, increasingly it appears, that we shouldn’t be doing this. Well, let me start by saying we haven’t lost a single American in this war,” McConnell said. “Most of the money that we spend related to Ukraine is actually spent in the US, replenishing weapons, more modern weapons. So it’s actually employing people here and improving our own military for what may lie ahead.“
Blumenthal: Zelenskiy doesn’t want or need „our“ (probably the US is meant) troops.
Where exactly is this „gotcha“ moment that you are trying to push?
- Hyperreality ( @Hyperreality@kbin.social ) 5•1 year ago
Ad hominem.
- shiveyarbles ( @shiveyarbles@beehaw.org ) 3•1 year ago
She does an excellent job of backing up what she says. Unlike you.
- lilShalom ( @lilShalom@lemmy.basedcount.com ) 7•1 year ago
No good deed goes unpunished.
- zephyreks ( @zephyreks@programming.dev ) 7•1 year ago
Truly, the pinnacle of modern journalism: YouTube.
A YouTube clip interviewing a New Yorker journalist from a news station’s official channel. 🤨
- zephyreks ( @zephyreks@programming.dev ) 2•1 year ago
The article in question: ❓
- Ben Hur Horse Race ( @JudahBenHur@lemm.ee ) 4•1 year ago
I know dude what the fuck… I saw the “headline” and looked at the source. what in the real fuck
Yes, MSNBC’s YouTube channel posting clips from their TV programs is definitely not a valid news source 🙄
It’s wild how quickly some of y’all love to (smugly) dismiss things at a glance.
- zephyreks ( @zephyreks@programming.dev ) 3•1 year ago
Then maybe link the article itself? It’s not that hard, guys.
An “article” of a TV interview. Ok, champ.
You have a lovely day.
- zephyreks ( @zephyreks@programming.dev ) 1•1 year ago
If the guy wrote an article, just link to an article 🤷♀️
- zephyreks ( @zephyreks@programming.dev ) 3•1 year ago
Like you can’t even argue that this is at least a perspective from a foreign state. It’s literally the thoughts of one guy.
“One guy” is a strange way to describe Ronan Farrow, who just did a huge New Yorker article on Elon Musk.
- zephyreks ( @zephyreks@programming.dev ) 2•1 year ago
Ah yes, because the New Yorker is a completely unbiased source of information instead of (as the name might suggest) a newspaper targeted at the New York elite.
🙄🙄🙄
- finally debunked ( @FinallyDebunked@slrpnk.net ) 5•1 year ago
it is really wonderful that someone truly wants peace to settle in my country
- Honytawk ( @Honytawk@lemmy.zip ) 1•1 year ago
The only person capable of settling peace is that dictator Putin just stopping their illegal invasion into a sovereign nation.
- Asymptote ( @Asymptote@lemmy.dbzer0.com ) 3•1 year ago
The past half century has been moving production out of the west and into China but it’s somehow just bad when it’s Musk?
Come on, this circle jerk is getting more retarded by the day.