White House officials said the installation was an effort to increase internet availability at the complex. They said that some areas of the property could not get cell service and that the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure was overtaxed.

  • Ulrich@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    4 hours ago

    They said that some areas of the property could not get cell service and that the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure was overtaxed.

    Starlink has absolutely nothing to do with either of those things…

  • arc@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    4 hours ago

    I do not believe for a second that communications within the Whitehouse are inadequate, or if they were, could not be solved in a secure manner. Slapping a Starlink in a few places sounds like an invitation to backdoor all communications. Not only that, it is an invitation to sidestep obligations to preserve government records.

  • notannpc@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    23
    ·
    6 hours ago

    Ah yes, because what the white house needs is an inferior ISP to plug the gaps that could easily be filled by proper wireless access point configuration and distribution.

    This is definitely not going to come back to haunt us later.

  • Snapz@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    ·
    9 hours ago

    Are you a white house staffer carrying a heavy stack of top secret documents? Do you desperately need both hands to vape or to text roger stone a progress report? Try DOCDASH!

    Just request a docdasher in app and a helpful person like Yvegeny, Dmitri or Boris will show up to the white house on a motorcycle, take your documents from you, not copy and transmit them, and just keep them very safe, like tippy top safe.

  • Zier@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    121
    ·
    11 hours ago

    They literally installed spyware in the WH. National security is an utter joke with these traitors.

    • Allonzee@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      46
      ·
      edit-2
      9 hours ago

      This country was destroyed under Reagan. We needed a national security strategy against the capitalists back then and instead invited them into the government.

      This is just the fire sale, the vultures picking the well rotted corpse clean. Reagan and Welch destroyed this place, don’t give Trump that much credit. He’s just an opportunist who saw profit in chaos.

      The United States 1776-1980 - Died of thirst waiting for Promised Golden Showers of Prosperity that never came - Useful Idiots

  • SnortsGarlicPowder@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    28
    ·
    10 hours ago

    Somebody is going to have to explain to me how starlink is going to boost WiFi availability if it is routed from offsite using their current fibre network.

    • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      8 hours ago

      Yeah, this doesn’t make sense to me. Starlink needs a dish that has to be outside without trees covering it, so it isn’t like they can place new routers around the building that receive Starlink and have wifi capability. They will still have to run a cable from the dish(es?) to new wireless routers. How is that ANY different from just running new wireless routers from their existing fiber?

      • ECB@feddit.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        4 hours ago

        It’s literally not any different. Starlink is just a less-reliable broadband internet connection, it has nothing to do with WiFi

      • theneverfox@pawb.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        4 hours ago

        Because now you don’t have to run wires from the existing network to the new WiFi, you just plop them both in the new location!

        But then if you want the access points to act like one WiFi network so walking around doesn’t reset all your connections, all you have to do is run cables to the new WiFi access points from the original signal, unplug them from Star Link, then wire starlink into the main uplink as a fail over or something! Easy!

  • DaddleDew@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    206
    ·
    13 hours ago

    In any healthy democracy, this would have been seen as a scandal exposing signs of corruption and would have likely resulted in the dissolution of the government and early election.

    But the US is not a healthy democracy.

      • anomnom@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        38
        ·
        11 hours ago

        Besides the security concerns, I want to know what they’re using it for, and how much bullshit they’re hiding by avoiding the official network.

        It’s certainly not a speed and convenience thing.

        • kautau@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          9 hours ago

          Yes. That’s the joke. I’m unsure how the burning terminator dying with a thumbs up wasn’t clear enough that there is obviously more to this than just “security concerns”

    • tabular@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      12 hours ago

      Given it’s unrepresentative voting system I think how much is enough to be a democracy. T hot take for people that see democracy. Two parties to choose from is just one more than a clear dictatorship. If neither actually represents you then yeah it’s not healthy .

      • kautau@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        12
        ·
        edit-2
        9 hours ago

        Agreed, except for one point. It’s an oligarchy. Our “dictator” was just selling cars on the White House lawn. Capitalism won to get to it’s late stages, happy to let racist hatred and russian influence fester for continued capital self-interest

  • a_postmodern_hat@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    40
    ·
    edit-2
    12 hours ago

    Musk is literally a James Bond villain. Literally. Like LITERALLY a Bond villain.

    Edit: minus the genius and charisma

    • ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      28
      ·
      11 hours ago

      Imagine how galling this must be for Jeff Bezos. He’s put so much effort into his Bond villain persona. The guy even now looks like Dr Evil. But he’s being out eviled by a pudgy, dorky-looking South African nepo-baby.

  • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    115
    ·
    14 hours ago

    If you live in the DC area, absolutely do NOT sign up for this service.

    100% chance that the government, as well as musks companies would be monitoring you directly 24/7.