Pinned Tweet
Is anybody talking about the #equity issues inherent in "one way masking is sufficient" given that #respirator mask fit is so individual & free #n95 #masks aren't?
Like, what faces do a @honeywell molded soft cup w/ the shaped nose (which are in my CVS) fit?
#CovidIsNotOver
vvalkyri retweeted
The @nytopinion supporting #BAAJA is propagandistic nonsense.
The opening paragraphs don't mention all the coal, oil, & natural gas that the bill will enable, and they repeat the misleading claim the bill will "reduce" energy prices ($5 per month by 2040 is hardly a reduction).
vvalkyri retweeted
Pete Hegseth was reportedly handed a briefing card explaining why a highly decorated U.S. general was not responsible for security at the site of the deadly Kabul airport bombing. He glanced at it — and, according to The New York Times, replied: “I don’t care.”
That is one of the most striking revelations in a New York Times investigation into the campaign against Gen. Christopher Donahue, one of the U.S. Army’s most experienced combat commanders.
According to the Times, Hegseth believed Donald Trump wanted someone held accountable for the disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and the suicide bombing at Kabul airport that killed 13 American service members.
Donahue was a senior commander at the airport, but his paratroopers were not responsible for security at Abbey Gate when the bomber struck. Marines were manning the gate. In other words, Donahue appears to have become a convenient target — partly because he was the general in one of the defining images of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The famous night-vision photograph shows Donahue boarding the final U.S. military flight out of Kabul, making him the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan. Hegseth reportedly became fixated on the image and repeatedly referred to it as a “selfie.” It wasn’t. The photograph was taken by an Army photographer. Donahue did not take it and did not distribute it.
Hegseth’s then-chief of staff, Joe Kasper, reportedly tried to correct the record. On the way to the White House, Kasper handed Hegseth a card laying out several basic facts: the photograph was not a selfie, Donahue had not distributed it, and Donahue’s troops were not responsible for Abbey Gate when the bombing occurred.
According to the Times, Hegseth briefly looked at the card, handed it back and said: “I don’t care.”
Donahue’s military record makes the episode even more extraordinary. He served for roughly three decades, completed more than 20 combat deployments, commanded Delta Force and later helped develop new approaches to drone warfare after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. His supporters reportedly regarded him as a generational military talent.
Yet the more senior officers and lawmakers tried to defend him, the more determined Hegseth allegedly became. An effort to arrange a meeting between Donahue and Vice President JD Vance was reportedly derailed after Hegseth learned about it. Senators were later told that lobbying on Donahue’s behalf was only hardening Hegseth’s position.
On August 27, Donahue retired from the Army.
The contrast is remarkable. When a congressman previously suggested that troops deployed to Los Angeles had not been properly cared for, Hegseth indignantly declared: “No one in senior leadership cares more about troops than this secretary.”
But when his own chief of staff reportedly placed evidence in front of him showing that a distinguished combat commander was not responsible for the security failure Hegseth associated him with — and that the supposed “selfie” he had fixated on wasn’t even a selfie — Hegseth apparently did not ask for more information.
He did not reconsider. He did not ask whether he might be scapegoating the wrong man. According to The New York Times, he simply handed the card back: “I don’t care.”
Those three words say more about the episode than any congressional testimony ever could.
P.S. I'm moving from Twitter/X to Substack. Join me there for independent journalism, investigations, and political analysis. Free and paid subscriptions are welcome.
mykhailorohoza.substack.com
vvalkyri retweeted
Trump just told me at the White House podium that he is not going to approve any wind turbines, despite the bipartisan permitting bill that is about to be voted on in the Senate
vvalkyri retweeted
A degree requirement is very common in both state and fed gov't. It's also very common in the private sector. I knew a guy who worked at Panera for 15 years & couldn't become a manager without a degree. Critically: this barrier is a huge source of resentment for the working class.
I didn't really understand this until I lived in rural PA and married into the working class. Just enormous resentment/pain around the issue that then gets directed towards white college ed people, liberals, & the Dem party.
Then you add the enormous focus on student loans and you get kind of a powder keg. Nancy Pelosi actually warned us about this in late 2021 but she got dragged for it.
Shapiro removing the degree requirement was the right thing to do in PA and also political genius. In 2024, Kamala Harris ended up adopting a similar proposal, after speaking with Shapiro, though hers was directed towards federal jobs + possible incentives for the private sector. She didn't really have time to campaign on it.
I cannot stress this enough for Democrats, both in terms of congressional legislation + 2028: brain-storm ways to show the working class you "see" them. Addressing unjust barriers towards advancement like degree requirements is one of many possible paths.
The working class people I knew in rural PA really respected Shapiro for doing this, whether it directly impacted them or not.
Replying to @magi_jay
Why would you need a college degree to work for the government if you have the relative experience? Is this a thing in other states?
vvalkyri retweeted
Bill Murray retomando su papel de “Atrapado en el tiempo” para un spot publicitario de Jeep.
Maravilloso 🤣
vvalkyri retweeted
“Many people deeply resent the Jews for what Auschwitz took away from them — the easy knowledge that their vantage point was elevated over and superior to that of the Jews,” notes Schraub. “The desire to neuter the Holocaust is a desire to return to that old state of affairs.”
Another Patrick Stewart tribute
Buckingham Palace Honours Sir Patrick Stewart (1940–2026) with Star Trek Theme Tune 🕊️
The Band of the Grenadier Guards performs the iconic Star Trek theme at Buckingham Palace in honour of Sir Patrick Stewart, following the sad news of his passing.
Queen Elizabeth II knighted Sir Patrick Stewart in 2010, recognising his outstanding contribution to drama and the arts 🇬🇧
🎥 @KingsGuardTours
📆 30 October 2026
📍 Buckingham Palace
#SirPatrickStewart #StarTrek #GrenadierGuards #BuckinghamPalace #BritishArmyMusic
1
21
vvalkyri retweeted
Buckingham Palace Honours Sir Patrick Stewart (1940–2026) with Star Trek Theme Tune 🕊️
The Band of the Grenadier Guards performs the iconic Star Trek theme at Buckingham Palace in honour of Sir Patrick Stewart, following the sad news of his passing.
Queen Elizabeth II knighted Sir Patrick Stewart in 2010, recognising his outstanding contribution to drama and the arts 🇬🇧
🎥 @KingsGuardTours
📆 30 October 2026
📍 Buckingham Palace
#SirPatrickStewart #StarTrek #GrenadierGuards #BuckinghamPalace #BritishArmyMusic
A longer interview with the guy he's amazing
He planned to make good trouble. But he didn't expect to be handed a Fox News mic. thehandbasket.co/p/tom-hoyle…?
Patrick Stewart tribute
Another beautiful to Sir Patrick Steward tribute that I ran across on Reddit
If the creator of this would let me know, I am happy to flag it
Collection of scenes from Star Trek: The Next Generation
I'm not crying, you're crying!
Paying tribute to a great actor and a fine human being
27
To read later
The vote count is complete. The Reservists and Economic Party received the support of approximately 152,000 voters, who appear to have come in roughly equal numbers from both political “blocs,” and from socioeconomic clusters reflecting the full political, economic, and identity spectrum of those who rushed to the front lines to defend the country on October 7. In doing so, we became the only party in these elections whose agenda and voters alike transcended the division into political “blocs.”
But it is possible that, despite not being represented in the Knesset, the election results will nevertheless allow us to achieve the very thing for which we sought to enter it. The results hold enormous political potential. Precisely because neither side got what it wanted, an opportunity has opened up to form the government Israel needs: a broad, centrist Zionist government that will finally begin confronting the country's fundamental challenges.
What do the results tell us?
Netanyahu's coalition does not have a majority to return in its current composition. That is over.
The change bloc does not have a majority to form a government without relying on parties and members of Knesset who hold explicitly antizionist and Palestinianist positions.
And it seems it will take time to fully grasp the significance of the scale of political support for anti-Zionist Arab and ultra-Orthodox parties, especially in a scenario of their full voter mobilization. The possibility of political cooperation between anti-Zionist Arab and ultra-Orthodox parties, and the emergence of an “antizionist bloc” that increasingly places the interests of these two groups above the shared Zionist interest, represents a strategic threat to the future of the State of Israel. For Zionist parties to rely on anti-Zionist parties in order to defeat a Zionist political rival is dangerous behavior.
And here lies the paradox: an outcome that makes almost nobody happy individually could turn out to be an excellent result for the State of Israel and Zionism. Precisely because neither side can get everything it wants, the necessity of working together has emerged.
The right government for Israel at this moment is a government of Likud, Yashar, Lieberman, and Bennett. A broad, centrist Zionist government, without the ultra-Orthodox and Arab parties, and also without the less centrist Zionist parties.
Such a government could, if it chose to, commit to preserving the existing legal situation, under which there are no longer any arrangements granting exemptions from service and the law currently in force is the Defense Service Law. It could ensure that state services and public-sector positions are reserved for those who serve and defend the country. It could guarantee state Zionist education, in Hebrew, for all Israeli children. And it could put an end to the economic mechanisms through which Israel's welfare state has, for decades, encouraged draft evasion and separation from the Zionist enterprise. (And it certainly wouldn't hurt to lower the electoral threshold to encourage Zionist Arab and Zionist ultra-Orthodox political representation.)
Such a government could confront the enormous diplomatic and security challenges ahead, finally begin working to dismantle Palestinianism at home and abroad, and return Israel to a Zionist and productive path.
There are no serious security or economic differences between the parties of Netanyahu, Eisenkot, Bennett, and Lieberman that justify continued paralysis or another election. They have far more in common than our political discourse allows us to see. If they wanted to, they could form an excellent government.
But for that to happen, both sides would have to give something up.
Netanyahu cannot insist on preserving every component of his current coalition and expect everyone else simply to join it. The election results neither allow nor justify that.
Conversely, the change bloc cannot insist on boycotting Netanyahu at the price of relying on antizionist and Palestinianist forces.
The danger now is that, instead of seizing the opportunity, both sides will choose escalation, which could look like this:
Netanyahu will entrench himself in a coalition that lacks a majority, while the other side will use its parliamentary majority to pass confrontational legislation and paralyze the government. Each side will respond with further escalation, and Israel will find itself in a prolonged political and institutional crisis, precisely when it needs a functioning government more than ever.
This is exactly where we wanted to play a political role.
We did not seek to be the kingmaker who determines who becomes prime minister. We sought to be the spearhead for establishing a broad, centrist Zionist government. A political force capable of standing up to either side that refused to compromise, and making it clear that refusal carries a price.
This was our message throughout the campaign: What, not who.
Israel is a parliamentary, coalition-based democracy. The prime minister, as the English name suggests, is the first among ministers, not a president and not a king. The identity of the prime minister matters, but the composition of the coalition and the policies it advances matter far more.
Therefore, the question of who will be prime minister is secondary to the question of what kind of governing coalition we will have.
Will it be a government that continues subsidizing draft evasion and separation from the rest of society, or one that restores service, Zionist education, and shared responsibility to the center of Israeli life? Will we continue postponing the confrontation with our fundamental problems, or will we seize the opportunity to halt processes that have been endangering our future for decades? These are the questions that truly matter. And if we fail to confront them now, the future price will be far higher — and the damage may not even be reversible.
We ran in these elections to change the direction in which Israel is heading. We had hoped to do so from within the Knesset, and we are disappointed that we will not be able to. But the results have created a genuine opportunity to achieve the very goal for which we embarked on this journey.
The responsibility now lies with the leaders who were elected. They can continue to entrench in political blocs that have led Israel into repeated election cycles and governments dominated by the extremes, or they can recognize that the new political reality requires them to do something different.
If a broad, centrist Zionist government is formed here, without the ultra-Orthodox and Arab parties, and finally begins confronting the fundamental questions facing the State of Israel, that will be the achievement we sought.
And that will be reward enough for us.
25
vvalkyri retweeted
On this day—October 28, 1917
31 years before the modern State of Israel and months before even Balfour, The Sun reported “Terror in Palestine”: 300 Jews deported from Jerusalem, 8,000 Jaffa Jews evicted with houses looted, two Yemeni Jews hanged at the entrance to Tel Aviv.
Ottoman governor Jamal Pasha ordered the mass expulsion of the Jews of Jaffa and Tel Aviv. Thousands were expelled with little or nothing. Many died from exposure, disease, and starvation. Properties were looted. Witnesses described hangings and bodies left in the dunes.
There was no “occupation,” no “settlements,” no Netanyahu, not even a State of Israel. Still, Jews in the Land were driven from their homes and killed.
So what's the conflict really about?
vvalkyri retweeted
"What's election day like in Israel?"
Oh you know, pretty normal. Probably the same as every other country.
The disparate coverage re Faza and everywhere else in two charts. I'm kind of surprised that the direct death number for Sudan is so low for september. Tho they've got a lot going on with disease and famine and then sort of intermittent massacres. Not sure Ukraine breakdown.
Below are two charts, one showing all the major conflicts going on in the world and the deaths accumulated by them in the month of September 2026.
The second chart lists the media coverage/headlines and attention those deaths received.
We now have real data to back up what many of us have been saying for months on this app.
Look at Gaza/Palestine with 120 the “least amount of deaths” where supposedly a genocide is happening but with “the most coverage.”
Nigeria had 451 deaths nearly 4 times that of Gaza but received ZERO HEADLINES and they receive $730 MILLION in American taxpayer dollars FY2025.
Somalia had 194 deaths, 74 murders than Gaza and receives ZERO HEADLINES and they received $498 MILLION in American taxpayer dollars FY2025.
Gaza receives way more headlines, coverage, and attention than Ukraine and they had 6202 deaths in September alone and it’s not considered a GENOCIDE. Nobody’s marching in the streets, protesting, and rioting around the world for Ukrainians.
Ethiopia had the 4th largest deaths at 609 and coverage is AGAIN surpassed by Gaza and they received $920 MILLION in American taxpayer dollars in FY2025. None of people talking about Gaza care that the tax dollars are getting to extremists and funding their atrocities.
And you wanna know why?
Yes it’s antisemitism because it’s a conflict with Jewish people.
But ALSO in the other countries it’s the Islamists who are doing the killings mainly, but in Gaza they’re being killed and are pissed about it and the world has to know and pay, as they cry victim.
25
vvalkyri retweeted
In essence, this is no different than running risky Gain-of-Function research on on a dangerous pathogen...
Uncontrolled H5N1 outbreaks on mink farms are a global risk, as Mink have α2,6 receptors similar to humans. The virus could evolve that infection route in Mink.
🤖 Made with AI
New: Little has been done to stop a bird flu outbreak on a Utah mink farm. Experts say officials’ failure to act is “irresponsible’’ and “astounding.” propub.li/47AsJDY
vvalkyri retweeted
In Israel, we vote with a slip that has a 1, 2, or 3 letter sequence identifying each party. They don’t necessarily spell a word or anything to do either the party name. The system was designed in 1948 for a nation of immigrants who couldn’t necessarily read Hebrew but knew the alphabet.
vvalkyri retweeted
In 2024, I investigated why Biden Admin had slow-walked response to #H5N1 outbreak in dairy cows. The answer: @USDA let farmers not test cows, at dairy lobby's behest.
vanityfair.com/news/story/in…
Strong 🧵on evolution of H5N1 risks: "This should have ended 2 years ago." 👇
There is something really concerning (and disappointing) going on in the US right now.
A dangerous and preventable situation.
Let me explain.
nextstrain.org/avian-flu/h5n…
1/
vvalkyri retweeted
FORTRESS: The Pentagon is preparing every major U.S. military base to survive 90 days without outside support — no civilian power grid, no global supply chains, no outside fuel or water.
The initiative, revealed in documents reviewed by Fox News Digital, envisions portable nuclear reactors, massive battery storage, and microgrids that can disconnect installations from civilian electricity entirely. Strategic reserves of munitions, fuel, critical minerals, and medical supplies would be stockpiled based on wartime consumption rates. Civilian factories are being pre-identified to shift to defense production during a crisis.
Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell put it bluntly: "Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures."
Full story here foxnews.com/politics/inside-…
































