Valastrius
@valastrius.bsky.social
BRD specializing in ska and cackles, most often in the direction of Crumbling Muscovy.
Pinned
Valastrius
@valastrius.bsky.social
· Nov 8
The First was Life, the Quickening of Matter
The Second Was Mind, the Awakening of Flesh
The Third was Glyph, the Embodying of Thought
The Fourth was Light, Weaving These into Sand
The Second Was Mind, the Awakening of Flesh
The Third was Glyph, the Embodying of Thought
The Fourth was Light, Weaving These into Sand
The Iranian regime took two days to turn a generation's worth of neocon derangement into cold reality. Not a month ago, the hope was that the regime might give way to something better. Now there is none, drowned in blood.
Howl, for it is laid waste.
Howl, for it is laid waste.
"As many as 30,000 people could have been killed in the streets of Iran on Jan. 8 and 9 alone, two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health told TIME—indicating a dramatic surge in the death toll."
time.com/7357635/more...
time.com/7357635/more...
Iran Protest Death Toll Could Top 30,000: Local Officials
According to two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health who spoke with TIME.
time.com
January 25, 2026 at 8:14 PM
The Iranian regime took two days to turn a generation's worth of neocon derangement into cold reality. Not a month ago, the hope was that the regime might give way to something better. Now there is none, drowned in blood.
Howl, for it is laid waste.
Howl, for it is laid waste.
Reposted by Valastrius
This really does feel like game set and match for the opposition.
If they can walk away after slaughtering 30k they can probably kill any number above and beyond that.
If they can walk away after slaughtering 30k they can probably kill any number above and beyond that.
January 25, 2026 at 5:48 PM
This really does feel like game set and match for the opposition.
If they can walk away after slaughtering 30k they can probably kill any number above and beyond that.
If they can walk away after slaughtering 30k they can probably kill any number above and beyond that.
Reposted by Valastrius
if you were claiming this was CIA/Mossad-led I hope you fucking die of shame
January 25, 2026 at 7:27 PM
if you were claiming this was CIA/Mossad-led I hope you fucking die of shame
Reposted by Valastrius
hard to fathom. this wasn't a crackdown, it was a nationwide massacre.
"As many as 30,000 people could have been killed in the streets of Iran on Jan. 8 and 9 alone, two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health told TIME—indicating a dramatic surge in the death toll."
time.com/7357635/more...
time.com/7357635/more...
Iran Protest Death Toll Could Top 30,000: Local Officials
According to two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health who spoke with TIME.
time.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:44 PM
hard to fathom. this wasn't a crackdown, it was a nationwide massacre.
Reposted by Valastrius
For those unfamiliar, in On Violence, Arendt points out that the ability to dish out violence is often confused for power - the ability to get compliance without violence.
Successful governance relies almost entirely on power, because violence is expensive and limited.
Successful governance relies almost entirely on power, because violence is expensive and limited.
January 25, 2026 at 7:38 PM
For those unfamiliar, in On Violence, Arendt points out that the ability to dish out violence is often confused for power - the ability to get compliance without violence.
Successful governance relies almost entirely on power, because violence is expensive and limited.
Successful governance relies almost entirely on power, because violence is expensive and limited.
Reposted by Valastrius
Lmao got his whiny ass
January 25, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Lmao got his whiny ass
Reposted by Valastrius
After Careful Thought, I Have Decided That Our Ship Actually Is Being Attacked by the Kraken
For a long time I resisted the idea that the multiple tentacles tearing at the thin wooden planks of our vessel represented some kind of 'sea monster' threat. But when the facts change, I change my mind.
For a long time I resisted the idea that the multiple tentacles tearing at the thin wooden planks of our vessel represented some kind of 'sea monster' threat. But when the facts change, I change my mind.
January 25, 2026 at 7:11 PM
After Careful Thought, I Have Decided That Our Ship Actually Is Being Attacked by the Kraken
For a long time I resisted the idea that the multiple tentacles tearing at the thin wooden planks of our vessel represented some kind of 'sea monster' threat. But when the facts change, I change my mind.
For a long time I resisted the idea that the multiple tentacles tearing at the thin wooden planks of our vessel represented some kind of 'sea monster' threat. But when the facts change, I change my mind.
Reposted by Valastrius
This video is amazing, but running down the ad board is also such an incredibly unintentional Verhoeven moment
January 25, 2026 at 7:52 PM
This video is amazing, but running down the ad board is also such an incredibly unintentional Verhoeven moment
Reposted by Valastrius
This is why 'marginalized people, who have no power to fight back, are a poor matchup with superpowered people who can remake reality on a whim' is always going to be a truthful literary criticism.
I don’t read a lot of comic books but the stories where they try to talk about the government persecuting superheros are so bad. Wolverine is a metaphor for being a racial or sexual minority but if he were real the government would obviously be justified in attacking him.
January 25, 2026 at 7:56 PM
This is why 'marginalized people, who have no power to fight back, are a poor matchup with superpowered people who can remake reality on a whim' is always going to be a truthful literary criticism.
Reposted by Valastrius
Like the North American version of that time the U.S. annihilated those Technically Not The Russian Army "mercenary" forces in Syria after the American commander called his Russian counterpart on the phone and asked if this was a "no air cover for you" tier deniable force he was fighting.
January 25, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Like the North American version of that time the U.S. annihilated those Technically Not The Russian Army "mercenary" forces in Syria after the American commander called his Russian counterpart on the phone and asked if this was a "no air cover for you" tier deniable force he was fighting.
Reposted by Valastrius
I think Rainbow Warrior 2: Blackwater Boogaloo, This Time It's Even Dumber is an underdiscussed third option between "Nothing Ever Happens" and "1812: The Sequel" tbh.
January 25, 2026 at 7:56 PM
I think Rainbow Warrior 2: Blackwater Boogaloo, This Time It's Even Dumber is an underdiscussed third option between "Nothing Ever Happens" and "1812: The Sequel" tbh.
Reposted by Valastrius
This guy gets it. Do you? Does everyone you know?
This point needs to be made over and over, until EVERYONE gets it.
This point needs to be made over and over, until EVERYONE gets it.
January 25, 2026 at 7:17 PM
This guy gets it. Do you? Does everyone you know?
This point needs to be made over and over, until EVERYONE gets it.
This point needs to be made over and over, until EVERYONE gets it.
Reposted by Valastrius
we have won the horse girls. repeat: we have won the horse girls
Just logged on to IG and saw this, they’ve radicalized the equestrians
January 25, 2026 at 3:45 AM
we have won the horse girls. repeat: we have won the horse girls
Reposted by Valastrius
Maybe letting rich people run everything was a mistake
Media outlets using terms like "immigration crackdown" or "immigration enforcement" to describe what is happening are simply manufacturing consent for fascism and state terror
This isn't about individual reporters/editors. It's about their bosses who lack the courage and ethics to meet this moment
This isn't about individual reporters/editors. It's about their bosses who lack the courage and ethics to meet this moment
January 24, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Maybe letting rich people run everything was a mistake
Reposted by Valastrius
I still cannot believe they executed him like rat fucking cowards
January 25, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I still cannot believe they executed him like rat fucking cowards
Reposted by Valastrius
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.
January 25, 2026 at 12:28 PM
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.
Reposted by Valastrius
hey everybody lifelong tech expert here
> "system crash” deleted nearly two weeks of surveillance footage from inside the facility
that's not how anything works they're lying and destroying evidence hope that helps
> "system crash” deleted nearly two weeks of surveillance footage from inside the facility
that's not how anything works they're lying and destroying evidence hope that helps
And what is happening inside ICE detention centers? 404 Media also learned that the federal government claimed that the day after it was sued for allegedly abusing detainees at an ICE detention center, a “system crash” deleted nearly two weeks of surveillance footage from inside the facility.
ICE Says Critical Evidence In Abuse Case Was Lost In 'System Crash' a Day After It Was Sued
The government also said "we don't have resources" to retain all footage and that plaintiffs could supply "endless hard drives that we could save things to."
www.404media.co
January 25, 2026 at 5:26 PM
hey everybody lifelong tech expert here
> "system crash” deleted nearly two weeks of surveillance footage from inside the facility
that's not how anything works they're lying and destroying evidence hope that helps
> "system crash” deleted nearly two weeks of surveillance footage from inside the facility
that's not how anything works they're lying and destroying evidence hope that helps
Reposted by Valastrius
the thing that gets me, in both renee good's murder and alex pretti's murder, is how calm, cool, and collected they both were, in comparison to their killers
these are crimes of passion, being perpetrated by the most emotionally dysregulated pack of semi-functional alcoholics in the US government
these are crimes of passion, being perpetrated by the most emotionally dysregulated pack of semi-functional alcoholics in the US government
I still cannot believe they executed him like rat fucking cowards
January 25, 2026 at 7:29 PM
the thing that gets me, in both renee good's murder and alex pretti's murder, is how calm, cool, and collected they both were, in comparison to their killers
these are crimes of passion, being perpetrated by the most emotionally dysregulated pack of semi-functional alcoholics in the US government
these are crimes of passion, being perpetrated by the most emotionally dysregulated pack of semi-functional alcoholics in the US government
Reposted by Valastrius
strategy before tactics--not the reverse
January 25, 2026 at 6:59 PM
strategy before tactics--not the reverse
Reposted by Valastrius
this sense that the only thing to do is just chase polls, chase the next election, make the median voter into their god
they now struggle to conceive of the possibility that liberalism has its own internal wellsprings--that is a *project* to be *fought for*
they now struggle to conceive of the possibility that liberalism has its own internal wellsprings--that is a *project* to be *fought for*
January 25, 2026 at 6:58 PM
this sense that the only thing to do is just chase polls, chase the next election, make the median voter into their god
they now struggle to conceive of the possibility that liberalism has its own internal wellsprings--that is a *project* to be *fought for*
they now struggle to conceive of the possibility that liberalism has its own internal wellsprings--that is a *project* to be *fought for*
Reposted by Valastrius
which is a huge contrast to the reactionary insurgents, who settled on what they believed in first, and figured out *how* to fight for it second
we must do the same
we must do the same
January 25, 2026 at 6:59 PM
which is a huge contrast to the reactionary insurgents, who settled on what they believed in first, and figured out *how* to fight for it second
we must do the same
we must do the same
Reposted by Valastrius
yeah this is something i've seen a lot of in elite liberal circles: a kind of collapse of internal morale in the face of electoral losses. klein's interview with coates is probably the exemplar here. but it's a sign i think of how (elite) liberals assumed history had ended and lost their way
I think the most charitable way you can interpret a lot of Matty's commentary over the last few years is as the product of total despair.
You sure that’s the most indefensible part Matt
January 25, 2026 at 6:57 PM
yeah this is something i've seen a lot of in elite liberal circles: a kind of collapse of internal morale in the face of electoral losses. klein's interview with coates is probably the exemplar here. but it's a sign i think of how (elite) liberals assumed history had ended and lost their way
Reposted by Valastrius
I pointed out (elsewhere) that the Vice President was lying when he said in a speech that archaeologists used mass infant remains to identify ancient brothels (they don't) so now I have right-wing chuds emailing my university email to 'gotcha' me about the sites I mentioned by name already.
January 25, 2026 at 4:41 PM
I pointed out (elsewhere) that the Vice President was lying when he said in a speech that archaeologists used mass infant remains to identify ancient brothels (they don't) so now I have right-wing chuds emailing my university email to 'gotcha' me about the sites I mentioned by name already.
Reposted by Valastrius
Crowns in gutters across America.
Anyone can step in and start new.
Not easy, necessary.
Anyone can step in and start new.
Not easy, necessary.
If this is true (and that’s not a small if), it is reasonable to posit that Bezos is trying to offload the Post. Or kill it altogether.
Sports is a top driver of traffic and subscriptions for most news sites.
And we’ve seen how Bezos and Lewis have mangled the Opinion section.
Sports is a top driver of traffic and subscriptions for most news sites.
And we’ve seen how Bezos and Lewis have mangled the Opinion section.
January 25, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Crowns in gutters across America.
Anyone can step in and start new.
Not easy, necessary.
Anyone can step in and start new.
Not easy, necessary.
Reposted by Valastrius
Senate Dems needn’t come to agreement on everything right now. That’s a path to the lowest common denominator. They simply have to agree to filibuster DHS approps. As to which of a host of anti-brutality and anti-authoritarian proposals to advance, let a thousand flowers bloom.
January 25, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Senate Dems needn’t come to agreement on everything right now. That’s a path to the lowest common denominator. They simply have to agree to filibuster DHS approps. As to which of a host of anti-brutality and anti-authoritarian proposals to advance, let a thousand flowers bloom.