this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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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.

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[–] Blaiz0r@lemmy.ml 129 points 1 year ago (4 children)

This is why billionaires shouldn't exist they are treasonous

[–] Lexam@lemmy.ca 72 points 1 year ago (4 children)

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@lemmy.ml 31 points 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@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Maybe we just seize all their assets, nationalize them and make them start over with nothing. Call it new game +.

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[–] Ferris@infosec.pub 6 points 1 year ago

Wealth Piñata monetary policy

[–] derpgon@programming.dev 4 points 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@infosec.pub 46 points 1 year ago* (last edited 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@lemmy.ml 15 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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@kbin.social 25 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I want to abolish them because of both - checkmate

[–] CollisionResistance@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] dumdum666@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago

I chose it so you could jerk yourself off about it and feel good at least once in your life :)

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[–] Blaiz0r@lemmy.ml 16 points 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

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[–] s20@lemmy.ml 48 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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.

[–] dingus@lemmy.ml 25 points 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@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

But he’s also a contrarian asshole.

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[–] arc@lemm.ee 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

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.

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[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 21 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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.

The Business Plot

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[–] lanbanger@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Then he'll have to be sanctioned. Which would be a shame.

[–] Noerttipertti@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 year ago

Sanctioned or...

Dramatic pause

"Sanctioned"?

[–] mwguy@infosec.pub 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Musk is South African. We should expect his loyalties to reflect his home country more than the US.

[–] reverendsteveii@sopuli.xyz 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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.

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[–] gnuhaut@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

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@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago (6 children)

We are calling him a traitor for having Starlink turned off in Ukraine to protect Russia from a counter attack.

[–] FaceDeer@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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@kbin.social 5 points 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@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

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.

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[–] krolden@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)
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[–] gnuhaut@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 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.

[–] CollisionResistance@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

If Rachel Maddow says it, then it must be true.

[–] stopthatgirl7@kbin.social 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] CollisionResistance@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

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@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] CollisionResistance@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] dumdum666@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

WaPo: Paywall
FT: Paywall

Romney 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@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

Ad hominem.

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[–] zephyreks@programming.dev 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Truly, the pinnacle of modern journalism: YouTube.

[–] stopthatgirl7@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

A YouTube clip interviewing a New Yorker journalist from a news station’s official channel. 🤨

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[–] JudahBenHur@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I know dude what the fuck... I saw the "headline" and looked at the source. what in the real fuck

[–] stopthatgirl7@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] zephyreks@programming.dev 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] stopthatgirl7@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

“One guy” is a strange way to describe Ronan Farrow, who just did a huge New Yorker article on Elon Musk.

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No good deed goes unpunished.

[–] FinallyDebunked@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

it is really wonderful that someone truly wants peace to settle in my country

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