Quarantegan
@quarantegan.bsky.social
Covid is airborne. Covid is not mild (ask your neurons & vasculature).
And -- Covid is not over 😷 #wekeepussafe #covidcompetentcommunity #makeairbreathableagain #maskup
[art credits: Eyvind Earle, "Paradise"; Artur Rosa, "Layers of Impossibility"]
And -- Covid is not over 😷 #wekeepussafe #covidcompetentcommunity #makeairbreathableagain #maskup
[art credits: Eyvind Earle, "Paradise"; Artur Rosa, "Layers of Impossibility"]
Pinned
Quarantegan
@quarantegan.bsky.social
· Jul 21
![The first page of a memo from a public relations firm, Impact Research, to President Joe Biden and his staff on February 24, 2022 (about a third of the way through the deadliest few months of the pandemic to date). In summary, the memo states that two years into the pandemic, people are over it and want to get back to normal, and that "nearly every American finally has the tools to protect themselves from this virus." The first two bullet points read "Declare the crisis phase of COVID over and push for feeling and acting more normal", and "Recognize that people are 'worn out' and feeling real harm from the years-long restrictions and [next words underlined] take their side."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5pds6fax4nwcysq5nqsxiqn2/bafkreif6tt6kusbzze6n2dwxkihv3qth3gp5bqsbtpsrkihi5mhxyyumi4@jpeg)
There seem to be a lot of #BlueMAGA voices that are outraged at any perceived maligning of what they believe to be Joe Biden's heroic management of the pandemic he declared "over" in '23 - the one that is, in fact, ongoing.
"He did the best he could."
No. He did what Impact Research told him to.
"He did the best he could."
No. He did what Impact Research told him to.
Reposted by Quarantegan
ICE detained Purple Heart veteran William Vermie for hours at the Whipple Federal Building.
He says he’s speaking out because he’s white, he has privilege and if he doesn’t use it to stand up for others, who will?
That is what solidarity looks like.
He says he’s speaking out because he’s white, he has privilege and if he doesn’t use it to stand up for others, who will?
That is what solidarity looks like.
January 20, 2026 at 2:47 PM
ICE detained Purple Heart veteran William Vermie for hours at the Whipple Federal Building.
He says he’s speaking out because he’s white, he has privilege and if he doesn’t use it to stand up for others, who will?
That is what solidarity looks like.
He says he’s speaking out because he’s white, he has privilege and if he doesn’t use it to stand up for others, who will?
That is what solidarity looks like.
Reposted by Quarantegan
One of the issues that has come up again and again in my reporting on misinformation and social media is the massive influence social media companies have on research in the field.
Last night a preprint dropped that tries to get at this with some numbers. My piece in @science.org (and 🧪🧵 coming):
Last night a preprint dropped that tries to get at this with some numbers. My piece in @science.org (and 🧪🧵 coming):
Nearly a third of social media research has undisclosed ties to industry, preprint claims
Industry-linked studies were also more likely to focus on particular topics, suggesting these ties may be skewing the field
www.science.org
January 19, 2026 at 3:26 PM
One of the issues that has come up again and again in my reporting on misinformation and social media is the massive influence social media companies have on research in the field.
Last night a preprint dropped that tries to get at this with some numbers. My piece in @science.org (and 🧪🧵 coming):
Last night a preprint dropped that tries to get at this with some numbers. My piece in @science.org (and 🧪🧵 coming):
Reposted by Quarantegan
Microsoft CEO says AI “risks becoming a speculative bubble unless its use spreads beyond big tech companies and wealthy economies.” Brother you’re the one building this dogshit, we’re three years and hundreds of billions in, how have you not worked it out?
www.ft.com/content/2a29...
www.ft.com/content/2a29...
January 20, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Microsoft CEO says AI “risks becoming a speculative bubble unless its use spreads beyond big tech companies and wealthy economies.” Brother you’re the one building this dogshit, we’re three years and hundreds of billions in, how have you not worked it out?
www.ft.com/content/2a29...
www.ft.com/content/2a29...
Reposted by Quarantegan
All the Carney stans will still say he’s playing 4D chess and knows better than we do.
Miss me with the “he’s better than the alternative” when you’ve decided he can do no wrong. Conservatives don’t cross the floor to join a truly liberal party. You voted for a conservative.
Miss me with the “he’s better than the alternative” when you’ve decided he can do no wrong. Conservatives don’t cross the floor to join a truly liberal party. You voted for a conservative.
Why the fuck is an foreign authoritarian regime investing in Canada's nation building projects?
This is insane. Carney is a fool and the Liberals have no ethics.
This is insane. Carney is a fool and the Liberals have no ethics.
Qatar to invest in Canada’s major building projects, Carney says - National | Globalnews.ca
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will complete a long-stalled investment agreement with Qatar following his meeting Sunday with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
globalnews.ca
January 20, 2026 at 5:11 PM
All the Carney stans will still say he’s playing 4D chess and knows better than we do.
Miss me with the “he’s better than the alternative” when you’ve decided he can do no wrong. Conservatives don’t cross the floor to join a truly liberal party. You voted for a conservative.
Miss me with the “he’s better than the alternative” when you’ve decided he can do no wrong. Conservatives don’t cross the floor to join a truly liberal party. You voted for a conservative.
Reposted by Quarantegan
January 15, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Reposted by Quarantegan
I've quoted this passage from Trump -- where he states his intent to cause riots and US economic collapse -- so many times. He flat-out announced it on Fox News in February 2014. In my book HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT I quote my own 2016 essay warning of his plan:
www.hidinginplainsightbook.com
www.hidinginplainsightbook.com
January 28, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I've quoted this passage from Trump -- where he states his intent to cause riots and US economic collapse -- so many times. He flat-out announced it on Fox News in February 2014. In my book HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT I quote my own 2016 essay warning of his plan:
www.hidinginplainsightbook.com
www.hidinginplainsightbook.com
Reposted by Quarantegan
New article! On life, death, and the rampage of ICE.
sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/a-shining-...
sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/a-shining-...
A Shining Mausoleum on a Hill
Life, death, and the rampage of ICE.
sarahkendzior.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:37 PM
New article! On life, death, and the rampage of ICE.
sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/a-shining-...
sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/a-shining-...
Reposted by Quarantegan
Sarah Kendzior, scholar of authoritarian states, predicted everything we are seeing now from the Trump administration.
She was called an alarmist, a doomsayer.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=7CaI...
She was called an alarmist, a doomsayer.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=7CaI...
The Author Who Warned America: Sarah Kendzior
YouTube video by The Mark Thompson Show
m.youtube.com
January 17, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Sarah Kendzior, scholar of authoritarian states, predicted everything we are seeing now from the Trump administration.
She was called an alarmist, a doomsayer.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=7CaI...
She was called an alarmist, a doomsayer.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=7CaI...
Reposted by Quarantegan
January 17, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Quarantegan
This is the post that opened my eyes & all others by Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social & she has always been right y’all. This was and still is great advice in thd times we are in and facing in the future. She knew and still knows . She has a PhD in all this shit we’re going through and
“Do not accept brutality and cruelty as normal even if it is sanctioned. Protect the vulnerable and encourage the afraid. If you are brave, stand up for others. If you cannot be brave — and it is often hard to be brave — be kind.”
@sarahkendzior.bsky.social
thecorrespondent.com/5696/were-he...
@sarahkendzior.bsky.social
thecorrespondent.com/5696/were-he...
We’re heading into dark times. This is how to be your own light in the Age of Trump
Having studied authoritarian states for over a decade, I would never exaggerate the severity of the threat we now face. But an American kleptocracy is exactly where president-elect Trump and his backe...
https://thecorrespondent.com/5696/were-heading-into-dark-times-this-is-how-to-be-your-own-light-in-the-age-of-trump/1611114266432-e23ea1a6
January 19, 2026 at 7:39 AM
This is the post that opened my eyes & all others by Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social & she has always been right y’all. This was and still is great advice in thd times we are in and facing in the future. She knew and still knows . She has a PhD in all this shit we’re going through and
Reposted by Quarantegan
She predicted this Trump flex and more…
Behind Trump’s Obsession With Greenland, @sarahkendzior.bsky.social youtu.be/FyjQ5CUS1V8?... via @YouTube
Behind Trump’s Obsession With Greenland, @sarahkendzior.bsky.social youtu.be/FyjQ5CUS1V8?... via @YouTube
Behind Trump’s Obsession With Greenland, Sarah Kendzior
YouTube video by The Mark Thompson Show
youtu.be
January 20, 2026 at 12:30 AM
She predicted this Trump flex and more…
Behind Trump’s Obsession With Greenland, @sarahkendzior.bsky.social youtu.be/FyjQ5CUS1V8?... via @YouTube
Behind Trump’s Obsession With Greenland, @sarahkendzior.bsky.social youtu.be/FyjQ5CUS1V8?... via @YouTube
Reposted by Quarantegan
“But what deeply troubles me now is that for all the steps we've taken toward integration, I've come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house."
Dr. King said this famous quote on March 27th, 1968, mere days before his murder. But the context around the quote is interesting...
Dr. King said this famous quote on March 27th, 1968, mere days before his murder. But the context around the quote is interesting...
January 20, 2026 at 3:40 AM
“But what deeply troubles me now is that for all the steps we've taken toward integration, I've come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house."
Dr. King said this famous quote on March 27th, 1968, mere days before his murder. But the context around the quote is interesting...
Dr. King said this famous quote on March 27th, 1968, mere days before his murder. But the context around the quote is interesting...
Reposted by Quarantegan
Never ask why they did something.
Always ask how it became permissible.
Don’t ask who decided.
Ask what made the decision valid.
Always ask how it became permissible.
Don’t ask who decided.
Ask what made the decision valid.
January 20, 2026 at 3:34 AM
Never ask why they did something.
Always ask how it became permissible.
Don’t ask who decided.
Ask what made the decision valid.
Always ask how it became permissible.
Don’t ask who decided.
Ask what made the decision valid.
Reposted by Quarantegan
It was definitely 1943, maybe even mid-43, before François Mitterrand was fully engaged in the Resistance. He worked for the Vichy Regime! But we think of him as more good than evil because he did eventually fight the Nazis. Susan Collins, Todd Young, etc. --you too could be remembered this way!
Imagine if there were even 5 Republicans in Congress that would put their country before Trump...but nope.
January 20, 2026 at 5:40 AM
It was definitely 1943, maybe even mid-43, before François Mitterrand was fully engaged in the Resistance. He worked for the Vichy Regime! But we think of him as more good than evil because he did eventually fight the Nazis. Susan Collins, Todd Young, etc. --you too could be remembered this way!
Reposted by Quarantegan
To translate Trump & the GOP, just remember one simple rule: It’s always Opposite Day.
“Great again”=Shit’s bad
“ Roaring economy”=Unemployment & costs up
“Peace”=War
“Free speech”=Forcibly imposed right-wing narratives
“Criminals”=Targeted innocents
“Violent demonstrators”=peaceful dissent
“Great again”=Shit’s bad
“ Roaring economy”=Unemployment & costs up
“Peace”=War
“Free speech”=Forcibly imposed right-wing narratives
“Criminals”=Targeted innocents
“Violent demonstrators”=peaceful dissent
Trump on his message in Davos: "The primary message is how well the United States is doing. And I say it all the time -- a year and half ago we were a dead country, and now we have the hottest country in the world"
January 20, 2026 at 5:23 AM
To translate Trump & the GOP, just remember one simple rule: It’s always Opposite Day.
“Great again”=Shit’s bad
“ Roaring economy”=Unemployment & costs up
“Peace”=War
“Free speech”=Forcibly imposed right-wing narratives
“Criminals”=Targeted innocents
“Violent demonstrators”=peaceful dissent
“Great again”=Shit’s bad
“ Roaring economy”=Unemployment & costs up
“Peace”=War
“Free speech”=Forcibly imposed right-wing narratives
“Criminals”=Targeted innocents
“Violent demonstrators”=peaceful dissent
Reposted by Quarantegan
'Where's Papi? Where's Papi?'
January 20, 2026 at 5:58 AM
'Where's Papi? Where's Papi?'
Reposted by Quarantegan
January 20, 2026 at 3:43 AM
Reposted by Quarantegan
There is no “normal” level of long C19.
The baseline is no C19, and no long C19.
The baseline is no C19, and no long C19.
January 20, 2026 at 5:50 AM
There is no “normal” level of long C19.
The baseline is no C19, and no long C19.
The baseline is no C19, and no long C19.
Reposted by Quarantegan
On Dec 8, 2025, Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev’s Telegram account posted that, “Traditional Europe still has a chance to survive. On one condition: the European Union must be destroyed.” t.me/kvmalofeev/3...
January 19, 2026 at 7:22 PM
On Dec 8, 2025, Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev’s Telegram account posted that, “Traditional Europe still has a chance to survive. On one condition: the European Union must be destroyed.” t.me/kvmalofeev/3...
Reposted by Quarantegan
"I've asked them to get their affairs in order to make sure they have their wills written... because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable..."
www.npr.org/2026/01/18/n...
www.npr.org/2026/01/18/n...
Amid ICE clashes, New Hampshire bishop urges clergy to prepare their wills
The Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire told priests protesting ICE to get their wills and affairs in order. Some praise the bishop, while other priests say they never signed up to be martyrs.
www.npr.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:56 PM
"I've asked them to get their affairs in order to make sure they have their wills written... because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable..."
www.npr.org/2026/01/18/n...
www.npr.org/2026/01/18/n...
Reposted by Quarantegan
It’s all connected. I started looking into nuclear because these three chaps come from Christian Nationalist pastor Doug Wilson’s network in Moscow, ID. I keep an eye on Isaiah Taylor for this reason & bc he’s tied to Thiel’s network through his company, Valar Atomics. bsky.app/profile/jenn...
🤔 In 2021, Kip Mock of Moscow ID accidentally set his pal, Elijah Froh, on fire by pouring diesel on a fire. Mock & Froh were later were hired by Valar Atomics—founded by their pal, Isaiah Taylor, a high school dropout from Moscow, ID who somehow landed a DOE contract to build a nuclear reactor. 1/
January 19, 2026 at 9:41 PM
It’s all connected. I started looking into nuclear because these three chaps come from Christian Nationalist pastor Doug Wilson’s network in Moscow, ID. I keep an eye on Isaiah Taylor for this reason & bc he’s tied to Thiel’s network through his company, Valar Atomics. bsky.app/profile/jenn...
Reposted by Quarantegan
Yes. My theory of the moment is Miller/Vance thought their view that immigrants threaten social solidarity would be widely shared. But ICE raids are driving native-born Americans to show solidarity with immigrants quite courageously. Now Miller is trying to disrupt that alliance with state violence.
Insightful point here: Even if you take Trump seriously - he does not like the optics - they rested on an assumption that communities would welcome ICE as heroes, rather than showing the type of solidarity that Trump inherently cannot understand.
Trump is privately worried about the "optics" of ICE raids and his advisers are looking for ways to soften them, Axios reports. I'm calling bullshit: The terror and violence cannot be hived off from the broader policy agenda. They are 100% intrinsic to it.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2053...
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2053...
January 19, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Yes. My theory of the moment is Miller/Vance thought their view that immigrants threaten social solidarity would be widely shared. But ICE raids are driving native-born Americans to show solidarity with immigrants quite courageously. Now Miller is trying to disrupt that alliance with state violence.
Reposted by Quarantegan
Gessen, who grew up in Russia and knows what autocracy and authoritarianism are, advises: "Claim all the room there still is for speaking, writing, publishing, protesting, voting. . . . It’s something each of us needs to do — right now, while we still can."(Gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
Opinion | One Year of Trump. The Time to Act Is Now, While We Still Can.
www.nytimes.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Gessen, who grew up in Russia and knows what autocracy and authoritarianism are, advises: "Claim all the room there still is for speaking, writing, publishing, protesting, voting. . . . It’s something each of us needs to do — right now, while we still can."(Gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
Reposted by Quarantegan
One Year of Trump. The Time to Act Is Now, While We Still Can.
By M. Gessen
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
By M. Gessen
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
January 20, 2026 at 12:53 AM
One Year of Trump. The Time to Act Is Now, While We Still Can.
By M. Gessen
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
By M. Gessen
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...