(VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
@braak.bsky.social
It's me, braak, returned at long last from my social media exile.
I encourage you to purchase my book, RADHIKA RAAD AND THE TOWER INGENIUS, which is now available (for purchase).
https://a.co/d/1nix74W
I encourage you to purchase my book, RADHIKA RAAD AND THE TOWER INGENIUS, which is now available (for purchase).
https://a.co/d/1nix74W
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
another Lizza article is circulating, which reminds me to tap the sign reminding you to please support independent, worker-run, billionaire and felch-free news outlets when and how you can. if you can spare some $, here's some w/NewsMatch, which will 2x your donation through the end of the year!
Through December 31, we’re participating in a program called NewsMatch, which doubles donations to small nonprofit newsrooms like ours. Subscriptions and one-time gifts are all eligible to be doubled! Support today:
The 51st
Information with representation, by and for District of Columbia residents. A worker-led, independent nonprofit newsroom.
51st.news
November 27, 2025 at 3:16 AM
another Lizza article is circulating, which reminds me to tap the sign reminding you to please support independent, worker-run, billionaire and felch-free news outlets when and how you can. if you can spare some $, here's some w/NewsMatch, which will 2x your donation through the end of the year!
Anyway update, WAKE UP DEAD MAN was good as heck.
November 27, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Anyway update, WAKE UP DEAD MAN was good as heck.
Saw the trailer for the Glen Powell remake of Kind Hearts and Coronets, and if I were a rich guy I'd start to worry about the number of movies people keep making where rich people get gleefully murdered
November 27, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Saw the trailer for the Glen Powell remake of Kind Hearts and Coronets, and if I were a rich guy I'd start to worry about the number of movies people keep making where rich people get gleefully murdered
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
You can read the Lizza stuff without paying for it but it will still come at a terrible cost
November 26, 2025 at 10:51 PM
You can read the Lizza stuff without paying for it but it will still come at a terrible cost
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
one thing to remember about the Guard deployment in DC is that they aren’t actually doing anything beyond picking up trash and strolling around the touristy areas, they could all go home tomorrow and it wouldn’t materially effect the city
November 26, 2025 at 10:48 PM
one thing to remember about the Guard deployment in DC is that they aren’t actually doing anything beyond picking up trash and strolling around the touristy areas, they could all go home tomorrow and it wouldn’t materially effect the city
Oh okay so it's not actually a curveball where he just really liked Rush Hour, it's just the Sex Pest Club again.
Brett Ratner outed Eliot Page as gay (before Page came out as a trans man,” is accused by six women of sexual assault and harrassment, and in 2018 lost all his deals with WB. Now Trump and his fellow rapists and rape apologists are demanding Ratner be fully funded to make movies.
its so weird how everyone connected with trump has SA allegations in their history
November 26, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Oh okay so it's not actually a curveball where he just really liked Rush Hour, it's just the Sex Pest Club again.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
No matter how talented, no one who does anything like this should ever again be trusted with the kind of power producers and directors have, but it's also worth remembering Brett Ratner was one of the worst filmmakers of his day. Just an absolute hack. Awful.
Brett Ratner outed Eliot Page as gay (before Page came out as a trans man,” is accused by six women of sexual assault and harrassment, and in 2018 lost all his deals with WB. Now Trump and his fellow rapists and rape apologists are demanding Ratner be fully funded to make movies.
its so weird how everyone connected with trump has SA allegations in their history
November 26, 2025 at 10:40 PM
No matter how talented, no one who does anything like this should ever again be trusted with the kind of power producers and directors have, but it's also worth remembering Brett Ratner was one of the worst filmmakers of his day. Just an absolute hack. Awful.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Blowing the whistle always takes courage.
In Trump's America, it gets you fired.
In Trump's America, it gets you fired.
SCOOP—In August, nearly 200 current/former FEMA staffers published the Katrina Declaration, a whistleblower letter detailing all the dangers posed by current leadership.
All current employees were put on indefinite leave, and now I've learned one has been fired in violation of federal protections:
All current employees were put on indefinite leave, and now I've learned one has been fired in violation of federal protections:
FEMA employee terminated for signing whistleblower letter
It appears to be a major violation of federal whistleblower protections and constitutional rights.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 26, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Blowing the whistle always takes courage.
In Trump's America, it gets you fired.
In Trump's America, it gets you fired.
Sidney Sweeney
November 26, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Sidney Sweeney
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
~A month or so ago the nu faculty assembly voted like 598 to 7 for no deal.
"A Northwestern spokesman did not return multiple requests for comment."
🫠
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
🫠
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Northwestern University Nears Deal to Resolve Its Conflict With the White House
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:19 PM
~A month or so ago the nu faculty assembly voted like 598 to 7 for no deal.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
The troops themselves have been nothing but courteous and polite since Trump deployed them, and lots of reporting suggests they know this "mission" is pointless. Completely avoidable and desperate effort to use these people as political pawns
November 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
The troops themselves have been nothing but courteous and polite since Trump deployed them, and lots of reporting suggests they know this "mission" is pointless. Completely avoidable and desperate effort to use these people as political pawns
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
This is awful, especially knowing these Guardsmen should have been home with their families
The shooting of two National Guard members took place on 17th Street NW, between I and H streets, about two blocks from the White House. https://wapo.st/48irgBT
November 26, 2025 at 9:23 PM
This is awful, especially knowing these Guardsmen should have been home with their families
look I don't want to get pro-pope here or anything, Catholic sexual politics are still fucked up and they are likely to be an obstacle forever, but I actually think there's some good news lurking in this.
In a new doctrinal note, Pope Leo and the Vatican sharply reject polygamy and growing Western polyamory, praising monogamy as an exclusive union between one man and one woman.
Pope Leo and the Vatican reject polygamy in sweeping doctrinal praise of monogamy
In a new doctrinal note, Pope Leo and the Vatican sharply reject polygamy and growing Western polyamory, praising monogamy as an exclusive union between one man and one woman.
www.sltrib.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:10 PM
look I don't want to get pro-pope here or anything, Catholic sexual politics are still fucked up and they are likely to be an obstacle forever, but I actually think there's some good news lurking in this.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
not beating the “AI art is lazy” allegations
November 26, 2025 at 7:47 PM
not beating the “AI art is lazy” allegations
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
stupid and cruel - Young mother deported from Minnesota to Honduras without her infant - CBS Minnesota share.google/Gb1JDDIKq8Q5...
Young mother deported from Minnesota to Honduras without her infant
After being deported from Minnesota last week, a young mother says she's back in Honduras without her 8-month-old child.
share.google
November 26, 2025 at 8:30 PM
stupid and cruel - Young mother deported from Minnesota to Honduras without her infant - CBS Minnesota share.google/Gb1JDDIKq8Q5...
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
This Monterey Mushroom facility has a strong union contract. The good union wages and benefits make for low overturn, which makes for extremely skilled workers like this.
November 26, 2025 at 6:31 PM
This Monterey Mushroom facility has a strong union contract. The good union wages and benefits make for low overturn, which makes for extremely skilled workers like this.
what
Today, in Utah, homeowners *or renters* can simply buy a solar panel at Costco, take it home, and plug it in to a wall socket, like an appliance. It just sits there & trims about 15-20% off a residential power bill. If you move to another apt., you can take it with you.
November 26, 2025 at 7:58 PM
what
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
People keep posting about how “maybe Leavitt will learn a lesson now that it’s happening to her sister-in-law” and…you are missing a key point. The woman is Leavitt’s brother’s *ex* & Leavitt’s entire family - including her brother & his new wife - seem pretty eager to deport this woman.
“After Ferreira was detained, Dos Santos Rodrigues said Michael Leavitt Sr. and his father, Bob Leavitt, reached out to her.”
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
‘Brazil is not her home.’ Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, brought to US as child, detained by ICE. - The Boston Globe
Bruna Ferreira, 33, was brought to the United States as a child in 1998. She is now in removal proceedings in Louisiana.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:01 PM
People keep posting about how “maybe Leavitt will learn a lesson now that it’s happening to her sister-in-law” and…you are missing a key point. The woman is Leavitt’s brother’s *ex* & Leavitt’s entire family - including her brother & his new wife - seem pretty eager to deport this woman.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
"It was supposed to be a celebratory milestone, the final step in the process to obtain U.S. permanent residency. Instead, as each interview with an immigration officer wrapped up, federal agents swooped in, handcuffed the foreign spouse and took him or her away."
“I had to take the baby from my crying wife’s arms.“ It hasn’t even been a year, and this is not a scandal anymore? What is wrong with us?
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:10 PM
"It was supposed to be a celebratory milestone, the final step in the process to obtain U.S. permanent residency. Instead, as each interview with an immigration officer wrapped up, federal agents swooped in, handcuffed the foreign spouse and took him or her away."
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
She is literally doing a book tour for her memoir about her affair. The publisher is Simon & Schuster
November 26, 2025 at 7:24 PM
She is literally doing a book tour for her memoir about her affair. The publisher is Simon & Schuster
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
Cover Reveal!
“The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" arrives on August 4, 2026.
How extremist tech billionaires are dismantling democracy to crown themselves as kings—and what we can do about it.
Please pre-order! ➡️ www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
“The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" arrives on August 4, 2026.
How extremist tech billionaires are dismantling democracy to crown themselves as kings—and what we can do about it.
Please pre-order! ➡️ www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
November 26, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Cover Reveal!
“The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" arrives on August 4, 2026.
How extremist tech billionaires are dismantling democracy to crown themselves as kings—and what we can do about it.
Please pre-order! ➡️ www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
“The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" arrives on August 4, 2026.
How extremist tech billionaires are dismantling democracy to crown themselves as kings—and what we can do about it.
Please pre-order! ➡️ www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
These abuses of those who are *literally doing everything right & legally* was the breaking point for my wife
“I had to take the baby from my crying wife’s arms.“ It hasn’t even been a year, and this is not a scandal anymore? What is wrong with us?
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:58 PM
These abuses of those who are *literally doing everything right & legally* was the breaking point for my wife
one thing I will NOT say is, I would never say that I have done any crimes, because I am not sure what kind of statute of limitations exist. But I will say that I probably know a lot more about crimes than a lot of people who are weighing in on this so one thing I *will* say is:
We’re not small business owners, ffs - we’re independent contractors, and we are routinely robbed by the world’s dumbest dingbats.
![A quote-tweet with the profile blocked out because I won’t be accused of sending flying monkeys at this digital turd.
counterpoint: pirate everything all the time. pirate a sandwich. download a car. abscond from from small business owner mindset with your brain
[High Priestess, Low Patie... • @cherie... • 14h
Re: previous post - People who steal art of any kind are assholes, full stop. If *you* deserve to be paid for your labor, so do I - and so does everybody else; this means writers, visual artists, musicians, and every other category of People Who Make Things.]
• • •
every time vulgar leftism pipes in from the sidelines of petit bourgeoisdom i am forced to become 8.75% more marxist](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:x2ssvkga34xug334b66hvrje/bafkreigp2f33rtfu62kqjygnsxhg3jxxs6udwuyisipmyqrh5ew4c6kbyi@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 6:49 PM
one thing I will NOT say is, I would never say that I have done any crimes, because I am not sure what kind of statute of limitations exist. But I will say that I probably know a lot more about crimes than a lot of people who are weighing in on this so one thing I *will* say is:
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
I can't get over how quickly the window shifted at Google over what is acceptable from its image generator.
Photorealistic 'evidence' of sensitive events was once a red line.
No longer. "Show the White House on fire with emergency crews responding" returns the desired image with no jailbreak.
Photorealistic 'evidence' of sensitive events was once a red line.
No longer. "Show the White House on fire with emergency crews responding" returns the desired image with no jailbreak.
Google’s Nano Banana Pro generates excellent conspiracy fuel
What are facts?
www.theverge.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I can't get over how quickly the window shifted at Google over what is acceptable from its image generator.
Photorealistic 'evidence' of sensitive events was once a red line.
No longer. "Show the White House on fire with emergency crews responding" returns the desired image with no jailbreak.
Photorealistic 'evidence' of sensitive events was once a red line.
No longer. "Show the White House on fire with emergency crews responding" returns the desired image with no jailbreak.
Reposted by (VFP) Strategic Gravitas Reserve
CDC website altered at Robert F. Kennedy's behest to reflect his belief that "all events depicted in the film Ghostbusters really happened."
November 26, 2025 at 6:10 PM
CDC website altered at Robert F. Kennedy's behest to reflect his belief that "all events depicted in the film Ghostbusters really happened."