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ksynwa | on: DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data
What's Elon's beef with USAID? I would think he would go after something like food stamps first owing to his libertarian ethos. Maybe he sees USAID as a completely benevolent handout and a waste of money? I cannot begin to understand why.
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unsnap_biceps | parent | next
USAID was funding the StarLink deployment in Ukraine and was reexamining the deal[1], likely to try to negotiate a cheaper plan or to reduce the funding. My opinion is that it likely hit his ego a bit and it was a really sweet deal for StarLink, so losing out on it would suck.

[1] https://www.newsweek.com/usaid-elon-musk-starlink-probe-ukra...

scarab92 | root | parent
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Martinussen | root | parent | next
Calling a guy a pedophile repeatedly because you made yourself look stupid getting excited about your cool submarine and how awesome everyone will think you are when you save some kids wasn't really worth much money either. I don't think Musk has the self-control to think like that, honestly.
maxden | root | parent | next
It may not be the monetary amount but the message it sends.

Mess with me and Ill shut you down.

scarab92 | root | parent
Unlikely. No one really cares about temporary low-value ad-hoc arrangements like the one between Starlink and USAID. It's too small to matter.

The FAA and EPA have been much much bigger headaches for Musk.

USAID was just a juicy target, since it was essentially a slush fund.

obl1que | root | parent
Musk is petty, though. Remember "pedo guy?"

Given that, your retort inadvertently supports the GP.

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danparsonson | parent | next
An easy win with his rabid xenophobic fan base? A soft target to hurt his opponents and distract from other terrible things they're doing?
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throwawaymaths | parent | next
what's with people not having beef with USAID? It's done so many crazy and bad things, for example:

USAID funded the hepatitis vaccination drive that the CIA used as a cover for espionage against the bin laden family, leading to polio outbreak in pakistan.

https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/he-led-cia-bin-laden-and-...

Distaste for USAID in any other time would be bipartisan; the Clinton Administration floated shuttering it too. If you go to DC a lot of insiders will say, 'yeah, USAID's got to go'.

rhcom2 | root | parent | next
This seems like a criticism of the CIA, not USAID, no?

> The decision to enlist Afridi was probably made by the CIA station chief in Islamabad and was passed on to the Counterterrorism Center back in Langley.

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ksynwa | root | parent | next
I didn't bring this up because it would be controversial on this website. I think USAID is a tool for advancing US geopolitical interests aims first and foremost and I would like it to be abolished as well. But someone like Musk wanting it to be shuttered doesn't make sense because these organisation in one way or another advance the interests of US businesses and he would benefit from that as well.
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amarcheschi | root | parent | next
I think that any sufficiently big organization has done bad things, this alone shouldn't be enough to close an agency.

However, I'm sure Cia has done, does, and will do much worse things than usaid

matthewmacleod | root | parent
Vaccination campaigns are “crazy and bad” because they might be hijacked by the CIA?

I think you’ve identified the wrong culprit there buddy.

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