Silicon Bites #90 - Orwellian 'Ministry of Efficiency' Mounts a 'Crypto Coup' Against US Governance.

Edition No90 | 04-02-2025 - Under the guise of bringing efficiency and transparency to governance in the US is a coup under way? An administrative takeover, a crypto coup by the leading luminary of the tech brotherhood, Elon Musk? A nihilistic revolution eviscerating US government institutions. Some are starting to see patterns that indicate a hijack of the Federal Government is in progress and being conducted virtually unchallenged. You perhaps thought that Trump 1, after 2016 was chaotic, then buckle up, because 2025 will be far wilder and stranger. ---------- We ran two events in Ukraine in the last two weeks. Lviv (part 2) and Kyiv. The event we ran in August 2023 was a huge success, and had a great impact. Now our aim is even more ambitious. Two cities. Two events. Multiple panels consisting of the best experts, and all filmed in high definition for the channel. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras But it costs. Last time the overall cost was £3,500 for Live in Lviv, and we covered 80% of this through ticket sales. This time the costs are higher, and there's less opportunity to sell tickets at the available venues and studios, so I'm creating a campaign to raise £5,000 to make this trip a reality. We also have a much more ambitious programme to film interviews around Kyiv and Lviv for the channel. This project will have an impact, so please help if you can. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- The newly created “Department of Government Efficiency” under Elon Musk, is increasingly starting to look like an Orwellian choice of names. For efficiency, read demolition of the basic functions of government, and a paralysis in the process of governance. Barely has the inauguration passed and attempts to decimate the federal civil service are well in hand. But the consequences are being felt on a global scale, as we just saw with the suspension of USAID that will affect many hundreds of millions of people outside of the US. ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- NEWS SOURCES: https://substack.com/home/post/p-156341494 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/02/elon-musk-doge-access-federal-payment-system https://news.sky.com/story/senior-usaid-pair-suspended-after-refusing-elon-musks-doge-staff-access-to-secure-systems-13302165 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/02/politics/usaid-officials-leave-musk-doge/index.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/02/02/this-needs-to-stop-now-elon-musk-confirms-radical-doge-us-treasury-plan/ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/18/tech-bros-trump-inauguration-silicon-valley-nation-state https://news.sky.com/story/senior-usaid-pair-suspended-after-refusing-elon-musks-doge-staff-access-to-secure-systems-13302165 https://www.businessinsider.com/union-groups-sue-accuse-treasury-giving-doge-access-data-2025-2 ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemysl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ----------