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Report: Elon Musk ‘Turned Off’ Starlink to Thwart Ukrainian Drone Attack on Crimea

Musk himself said he actually declined a request to turn additional satellites on.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A new biography on Elon Musk claims that Musk “secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet,” though Musk himself said he actually declined a request to turn additional satellites on.

From CNN, “CNN Exclusive: ‘How am I in this war?’: New Musk biography offers fresh details about the billionaire’s Ukraine dilemma”:

Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet, according to an excerpt adapted from Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the eccentric billionaire titled “Elon Musk.”

As Ukrainian submarine drones strapped with explosives approached the Russian fleet, they “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly,” Isaacson writes.

Musk’s decision, which left Ukrainian officials begging him to turn the satellites back on, was driven by an acute fear that Russia would respond to a Ukrainian attack on Crimea with nuclear weapons, a fear driven home by Musk’s conversations with senior Russian officials, according to Isaacson, whose new book is set to be released by Simon & Schuster on September 12.

Musk’s concerns over a “mini-Pearl Harbor” as he put it, did not come to pass in Crimea. But the episode reveals the unique position Musk found himself in as the war in Ukraine unfolded. Whether intended or not, he had become a power broker US officials couldn’t ignore.

The new book from Isaacson, the author of acclaimed biographies of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein, provides fresh insights into Musk and how his existential dread of sparking a wider war drove him to spurn Ukrainian requests for Starlink systems they could use to attack the Russians.

After Russia disrupted Ukraine’s communications systems just before its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Musk agreed to provide Ukraine with millions of dollars of SpaceX-made Starlink satellite terminals, which became crucial to Ukraine’s military operations. Even as cellular phone and internet networks had been destroyed, the Starlink terminals allowed Ukraine to fight and stay connected.

But once Ukraine began to use Starlink terminals for offensive attacks against Russia, Musk started to second-guess that decision.

“How am I in this war?” Musk asks Isaacson. “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.”

Musk was soon on the phone with President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, the chairman of the joint chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, and the Russian ambassador to the US to address anxieties from Washington, DC, to Moscow, writes Isaacson.

Meanwhile, Mykhailo Fedorov, a deputy prime minister of Ukraine, was pleading with Musk to restore connectivity for the submarine drones by telling Musk about their capabilities in a text message, according to Isaacson. “I just want you—the person who is changing the world through technology—to know this,” Fedorov told Musk.

Musk, the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla and private space exploration firm SpaceX, replied that he was impressed with the design of the submarine drones but that he wouldn’t turn satellite coverage back on for Crimea because Ukraine “is now going too far and inviting strategic defeat,” according to Isaacson.

Musk did not respond to CNN’s request for comment but did respond to the story on Twitter/X.

“The Starlink regions in question were not activated,” Musk said. “SpaceX did not deactivate anything.”

“Both sides should agree to a truce,” Musk said. “Every day that passes, more Ukrainian and Russian youth die to gain and lose small pieces of land, with borders barely changing. This is not worth their lives.”

“There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol,” he said in a follow-up tweet. “The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor. If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”

Ironically, the Ukrainian military (and by extension the war) is being kept alive entirely due to Starlink. If not for Starlink, Ukraine would have been forced to go to the negotiating table a long time ago.

That said, Musk still deserves credit for advocating for peace while the bloodthirsty neocons running our government are doing everything in their power to escalate the war.

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Incredible: After Celebrating An Actual Nazi In Parliament, Trudeau Complains About ‘Russian Propaganda’

“I think it’s going to be really important that all of us push back against Russian propaganda”

Published

19 hours ago

on

26 September, 2023

Steve Watson

GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images

Despite the fact that he met with and then invited a former SS soldier into his parliament, where the 98-year-old Nazi was given a standing ovation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau complained about “Russian propaganda” and “Russian disinformation” Monday.

Here’s the backstory from yesterday:

Canada’s Speaker Of The House Apologises For Honoring An Actual Nazi

Trudeau was asked about the situation by reporters and commented, “Obviously it’s extremely upsetting that this happened,” before immediately blaming the Speaker of the House, noting “The speaker has acknowledged his mistake and has apologized. This is something that is deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians, I think particularly of Jewish MPs and all members of the Jewish community across the country, celebrating, commemorating Yom Kippur today.”

He then pivoted to Russia, stating “I think it’s going to be really important that all of us push back against Russian propaganda, Russian disinformation and continue our steadfast and unequivocal support for Ukraine.”

Incredible.

Watch:

Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre told parliament that “Canadians are sick and tired of a prime minister who never takes responsibility for things that happen under his watch,” adding “he always finds someone else to throw under the bus,” and asking the Speaker of the House “are you that person?”

Poilievre demanded that Trudeau personally apologize, describing the situation as “an appalling error in judgment on the part of Justin Trudeau, whose personal protocol office is responsible for arranging and vetting all guests and programming for state visits of this kind.”

“It was impossible for any parliamentarian in the room (other than Mr. Trudeau) to know of this dark past,” Poilievre added of the SS veteran.

Meanwhile, comedian Rob Schneider hit out at Trudeau, and said he has cancelled his upcoming dates in Canada in protest:

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    Biden Regime Poised to Allow Israelis to Travel to U.S. Without Visa, Despite Escalating Human Rights Abuses

    Published

    22 hours ago

    on

    26 September, 2023

    Chris Menahan | Information Liberation

    BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

    The Biden regime is poised to allow Israeli citizens to travel to the US without a US visa, despite Israel’s escalating human rights abuses against Christians in the Holy Land and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. 

    From AP News, “The Biden administration is poised to allow Israeli citizens to travel to the US without a US visa”:

    The Biden administration is poised to admit Israel this week into an exclusive club that will allow its citizens to travel to the United States without a U.S. visa despite Washington’s ongoing concerns about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinian Americans.

    U.S. officials say an announcement of Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program is planned for late in the week, just before the end of the federal budget year on Saturday, which is the deadline for Israel’s admission without having to requalify for eligibility next year.

    The Department of Homeland Security administers the program, which currently allows citizens of 40 mostly European and Asian countries to travel to the U.S. for three months without visas.

    Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set to make the announcement Thursday, shortly after receiving a recommendation from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel be admitted, according to five officials familiar with the matter who spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been publicly announced.

    Christian leaders in the Holy Land spoke out earlier this year about how Christians are being viciously persecuted, attacked, spat on and abused in Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right regime with authorities doing little to nothing to hold their abusers to account.

    Just two weeks ago, video went viral showing a mob of Israeli children kicking and cursing a group of Christian missionaries with their parents’ full support. 

    Though Biden calls himself a Zionist, he’s long touted his opposition to Israel expanding settlements in the West Bank as a show of independence. 

    Nonetheless, Netanyahu spit in his face earlier this year by approving a major expansion of new settlements in the West Bank.

    Israel banned congresswomen Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesotafrom entering their country in 2019 and bans US citizens from entering if they’re supporters of the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement (BDS).

    Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen claimed Monday on Twitter/X that Israel’s entry to the Visa Waiver Program is a done deal. 

    “Great news for the citizens of Israel ahead of the new year – as we promised, this coming November we will enter the visa exemption program for the USA,” Cohen said. “Anyone who wishes can fill out a form online, pay $21 and receive an entry visa within 72 hours. This is a great achievement that testifies to the close relations between Israel and our great ally the USA. I thank US President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken for their support during the process, and especially the friends of the outgoing ambassador Tom Neides who promoted the issue here in Israel.”

    This post was originally published at Information Liberation

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    World News

    Canada’s Speaker Of The House Apologises For Honoring An Actual Nazi

    Whoops, sorry we gave a standing ovation to an SS soldier

    Published

    2 days ago

    on

    25 September, 2023

    Steve Watson

    Screenshots

    The Canadian speaker of the House of Commons has issued an apology after he asked the entire Parliament to give a standing ovation last week to a 98 year old Nazi Waffen-SS soldier in the presence of the visiting Ukrainian President Zelensky.

    Anthony Rota issued the apology Sunday, claiming that the decision to honor Yaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian who fought with 14th “Galicia” division of the Waffen-SS in the Second World War, was entirely down to him.

    “I wish to make clear that no one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukraine delegation, was aware of my intention or of my remarks before I delivered them,” Rota noted, adding “This initiative was entirely my own, the individual in question being from my riding and having been brought to my attention.”

    “I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world. I accept full responsibility for my actions,” Rota further stated.

    Mistakenly honouring one of Hitler’s henchmen, hardly a common error is it.

    As the chamber applauded, Zelensky punched the air while stood next to Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau.

    Rota fawned over Hunka, telling MPs that he is a “veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today even at his age of 98.” 

    Rota failed to mention the fact that Hunka is an actual Nazi who somehow walks free today.

    Here’s how the guy ended up living a decent life in Canada:

    Trudeau should also be held accountable, particularly given that he likes to throw around the word ‘Nazi’ when describing anyone he disagrees with.

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