Gil Durán
@gilduran.com
33K followers 2.2K following 2.1K posts
California writer. Ida Tarbell stan. Beat: tech fascism, billionaire extremism, network state, crypto cartels. Writing a book: “The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Global Democracy.” The Nerd Reich: http://www.thenerdreich.com
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Reposted by Gil Durán
gwensnyder.bsky.social
As a protest optics nerd love about the inflatables is how much they visually disrupt and pull focus from the fascist shock imagery Noem & Miller are trying to create.

So many of these photos now look like the world's silliest dance party, backgrounded by a bunch of guys in uniform looking awkward
gilduran.com
I have heard that theory but the only thing Thiel has achieved is to further associate himself with the Antichrist
Reposted by Gil Durán
beingsass.bsky.social
Ah ha! This is what he views as the real evil..

"Thiel claims a vast “machinery” of the Antichrist has been put in place over the last three decades to increase financial surveillance and keep the wealthy from hiding their money:.."
Reposted by Gil Durán
oregonian.com
Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...
Reposted by Gil Durán
jetjocko.bsky.social
One conception of the Devil is that his only actual power is deception—lies, illusions, obfuscation, trickery.
gilduran.com
News: I have obtained full transcripts of Peter Thiel's Secret Antichrist Lectures (as have multiple other journalists).

They were supposed to be embargoed until 9 a.m. tomorrow, but Reuters has a story up. (They may have gotten them from a different source)

www.reuters.com/world/us/pet...
www.reuters.com
Reposted by Gil Durán
tedolsen.bsky.social
“Hoard your wealth in case you need it to stop the antichrist“ is very Antichrist.
gilduran.com
News: I have obtained full transcripts of Peter Thiel's Secret Antichrist Lectures (as have multiple other journalists).

They were supposed to be embargoed until 9 a.m. tomorrow, but Reuters has a story up. (They may have gotten them from a different source)

www.reuters.com/world/us/pet...
www.reuters.com
Reposted by Gil Durán
mostlymartha.bsky.social
It's funny because I always thought Revelation was a political protest document about the Roman Empire, but then Peter Thiel became a public figure, and I started thinking the antichrist was real and literal.
gilduran.com
News: I have obtained full transcripts of Peter Thiel's Secret Antichrist Lectures (as have multiple other journalists).

They were supposed to be embargoed until 9 a.m. tomorrow, but Reuters has a story up. (They may have gotten them from a different source)

www.reuters.com/world/us/pet...
www.reuters.com
Reposted by Gil Durán
elenem.bsky.social
Whether or not you think this stuff is batshit, these are the beliefs driving so much of what's happening around the world. When you have more money than God, you don't have to have good ideas to succeed. Worth knowing about it in order to try and counter it.
gilduran.com
News: I have obtained full transcripts of Peter Thiel's Secret Antichrist Lectures (as have multiple other journalists).

They were supposed to be embargoed until 9 a.m. tomorrow, but Reuters has a story up. (They may have gotten them from a different source)

www.reuters.com/world/us/pet...
www.reuters.com
Reposted by Gil Durán
gilduran.com
News: I have obtained full transcripts of Peter Thiel's Secret Antichrist Lectures (as have multiple other journalists).

They were supposed to be embargoed until 9 a.m. tomorrow, but Reuters has a story up. (They may have gotten them from a different source)

www.reuters.com/world/us/pet...
www.reuters.com
gilduran.com
Timeline cleanse: Bernie the Rescue Rat chomping a tortilla.
Hooded rat eating tortilla
gilduran.com
u should see the transcript. every paragraph is a tangent
gilduran.com
A religious group rented the venue. Legally perilous to deny a religious group a rental. Don't blame the Commonwealth Club.
gilduran.com
Well, the billionaires are gonna be in a lot of trouble if Jesus comes back
gilduran.com
4. Gavin Newsom is dangerous because he could fuse Washington and San Francisco.

"You know, I actually held a fundraiser for him back in 2003 here in San Francisco. And I'm tempted to talk about that a lot, because it might hurt him."

more to come at the Nerd Reich (free!)

www.thenerdreich.com
The Nerd Reich | Silicon Valley Tech Extremism
Silicon Valley tech billionaire politics: authoritarianism, fascism, plutocracy, weirdness
www.thenerdreich.com
gilduran.com
My takeaways from Thiel's Secret Antichrist Lectures (embargo lifted):

1. Tech is building the "machinery" of the Antichrist. D'oh!

2. The Antichrist is defined by "velocity" ("acceleration," eh?)

3. The Antichrist will be Gen Z (weird numerology stuff about the number 33)
gilduran.com
News: I have obtained full transcripts of Peter Thiel's Secret Antichrist Lectures (as have multiple other journalists).

They were supposed to be embargoed until 9 a.m. tomorrow, but Reuters has a story up. (They may have gotten them from a different source)

www.reuters.com/world/us/pet...
www.reuters.com
gilduran.com
There's not a lot that's new, but some of the main themes come into sharper focus.
gilduran.com
News: I have obtained full transcripts of Peter Thiel's Secret Antichrist Lectures (as have multiple other journalists).

They were supposed to be embargoed until 9 a.m. tomorrow, but Reuters has a story up. (They may have gotten them from a different source)

www.reuters.com/world/us/pet...
www.reuters.com
gilduran.com
Has any tech reporter *not* been promised exclusive access to the worst-kept "secret" lecture series in San Francisco?
Reposted by Gil Durán
junoryleejournalism.com
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
Reposted by Gil Durán
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
“.. the first time a Republican governor has questioned the interstate deployment of National Guard troops over a governor’s objections.”

@nytimes.com #OKgov
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/u...
Reposted by Gil Durán
chrismurphyct.bsky.social
We aren't on the verge of an authoritarian takeover. We are in the middle of it.

But I worry people don't see the whole scheme. They just pay attention to each new daily outrage. So I went to the Senate floor to explain Trump's plan.

Here's a 🧵of the speech. It's important.
Reposted by Gil Durán
hcrichardson.bsky.social
20 paragraphs down in the NBC News story that broke the information that the administration is considering invoking the Insurrection Act is the report that Stephen Miller is driving the issue.
Reposted by Gil Durán
luxalptraum.com
TFW you paid $1400 to see Beckett’s most famous work without knowing anything about it
One Star Review of Waiting for Godot on Broadway
I recently attended Waiting for Godot on Broadway and spent over $1,400 for two Row C seats (103 and 104). I'm a longtime admirer of Broadway productions and even hold a season pass for Shea's Performing Arts Theatre, so I came in with genuine enthusiasm and high expectations. Unfortunately, this show was unlike anything ! have ever experienced —and not in a good way.
What I encountered was not the artistry, music, or emotional storytelling I usually associate with Broadway, but instead what felt like an endless cycle of nonsensical conversation between characters who seemed trapped in their own madness. I tried-truly tried-to find meaning, symbolism, or even a thread of emotional resonance. I stayed through the first half hoping the second would offer clarity. But by intermission, it was clear: this was a waste of both time and money.
Keanu Reeves is an actor I respect greatly, but I cannot fathom why he would agree to participate in such a disjointed, inaccessible production. His talent was lost in a performance that defied reason rather than provoked insight.
To anyone considering attending: unless you are drawn to highly abstract, nearly incomprehensible theater, I strongly caution you against this show. For the average, educated, thoughtful theatergoer, it is far more frustrating than fulfilling. In my opinion, this was the single most disappointing Broadway experience I've ever had - an unfortunate waste of money and, more importantly, of time.