Elon Musk’s incomprehensible shutdown of Starlink satellites was supposed to prevent “complicity in a major “act of war”. Apparently, the idea that Starlink had been being used for 18 months didn’t register. Unconfirmed reports say that a Ukrainian drone attack went ahead anyway and damaged a tanker.
It’s the logic of this move that’s the problem. Whether Musk likes it or not, his satellites have been in this war since day one. It’s a bit late for denial of his own role in the war. Is this another case of the right-wing ethos of “always do something stupid under all circumstances and then find an excuse for it later”?
Ukrainian civilians have been under direct Russian attack on a daily basis since the war began. Ukrainians have been subject to mass atrocities and crimes against humanity. Therefore, according to cuckoo logic, Musk seems to think Ukraine shouldn’t be striking back. It’s naughty.
Russian Black Sea forces have been attacking grain supplies for desperate famine-hit countries. Therefore, by the same utterly useless logic, it’s Ukraine’s fault if those supplies are destroyed by those nice Russian ships.
What madness is this?
Drones are very much one of the defining elements of this war. The world is building drones of all kinds, from heavy hitters to the true cheap kill Australian cardboard drones by their thousands. Russia claims to be starting mass production of suicide drones soon.
This is the reality. What does Mr. Musk propose to do about it? Not much, apparently.
A few custom geostationary satellites could do the same job. There’s also a thing called the GPS for those who’ve forgotten. Ukraine has spent the entire war finding workarounds to the neuroses of other people. They will find a way to fight as usual, despite the inconsistencies of the world.
Musk has moved from an indirect supporter of a country fighting for its life to demoting himself as yet another wimpish Western corporate enabler of Putin.
This is one in a long, extremely monotonous, series of very bad wrong moves by Musk. Sooner or later, it’ll be too many bad moves.
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
