Rafi
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rafil.bsky.social
Rafi
@rafil.bsky.social
Not a journalist anymore. Not big on bluesky. Nothing of note to say.
Reposted by Rafi
cartoon evil
Former Washington Post journalists have launched a GoFundMe to help repatriate fired staff members who are effectively stranded in foreign countries.

One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.

Abolish the billionaire class:
Donate to Support for Washington Post international employees, organized by Michelle Lee
Among the hundreds of journalists laid off by The Washington Post on … Michelle Lee needs your support for Support for Washington Post international employees
www.gofundme.com
February 8, 2026 at 5:31 AM
Reposted by Rafi
This is just part of patrol. ICE threatens you, points guns at you, brutalizes or kills someone in front of you. Every day it's somebody new in our circle. We gather around them while they work through the stress and fear and then, to the person, they go back out.

My friends are so insanely brave.
Friend who's part of a neighborhood watch group says their car was just surrounded by ICE. Is fine but obviously rattled.
February 6, 2026 at 9:51 PM
there has to be accountability from dem governors and mayors for shit like this. ISP pulled the same shit at broadview and pritzker has experienced zero repercussions afaict
🚨BREAKING: Local Minneapolis police rush ICE protesters in front of federal building—violently arresting one woman as she screams. LIVE NOW ⬇️
February 7, 2026 at 9:42 PM
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Someone pointed out that influencers use serotonin/dopamine/cortisol/oxytocin like they’re the four humors and now I can’t stop seeing it
March 20, 2025 at 2:49 AM
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“The Epstein class” is a keeper.
Ossoff: We were told that MAGA was for working-class Americans. But this is a government of, by, and for the ultra-rich. It’s the wealthiest Cabinet ever. This is the Epstein class. They are the elites they pretend to hate.
February 7, 2026 at 9:00 PM
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I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.

Great work everyone.
February 6, 2026 at 3:00 PM
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ICE told nurses this Minneapolis man “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall.”

What actually happened is that they pulled him from a car, beat him so viciously with a steel baton that he had 8 skull fractures, 5 life-threatening brain hemorrhages, and couldn’t remember he had a daughter.
February 7, 2026 at 5:54 PM
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new reaction image drop
pictured: our geese looking at airplanes
February 6, 2026 at 8:21 PM
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February 6, 2026 at 8:27 PM
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Texas AG Ken Paxton has announced legal action against the Houston area Screwston Antifascist Committee, alleging commission of terrorism and doxing. Their account has been quiet for some time, but this was one of their last posts — identifying a neo-Nazi.
February 6, 2026 at 4:18 PM
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US Marshals, acting on behalf of the DOJ in Memphis, TN, kicked a dog during an arrest, leaving it with a broken rib.
February 6, 2026 at 3:28 PM
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"I need AI to make art, human art is only for the rich and privileged-"
February 6, 2026 at 7:29 PM
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This is exactly correct. Biden (out of genuine ideological extremism) and Harris (out of generic cowardice) both were extremely pro-Israel, to the displeasure of their party's voting base, and pro-Israel groups didn't credit them at all. 100% factually true.
February 6, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Rafi
There's exactly one normal man left on planet Earth.
Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.”

Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.
February 6, 2026 at 5:12 AM
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Oh you mean AIPAC tamping down the mildest possible criticism of Israel drove people to support a more aggressive stance toward them? That's the first I've heard of this.
If you're not watching NJ-11, you should be

An AIPAC super PAC spent ~2 million on anti-Malinowski ads bc, while generally pro-Israel, he expressed openness to conditions on aid. But they didn't openly attack on Israel; they attacked from left on other issues. Now Mejia, a progressive Dem, may win
New Jersey 11th Congressional District Special Primary Election Results 2026
Get live results and maps from the 2026 New Jersey special primary election.
www.nytimes.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Reposted by Rafi
photo of a hennepin county sheriff’s deputy (obscured partially by security here) letting ICE agents into the court side of the government center in downtown minneapolis and bypassing weapons screening
February 6, 2026 at 3:46 AM
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fox running outrage headlines for *the outcome they wanted*, which is "compete as your gender at birth."

everything is so stupid
February 6, 2026 at 12:46 AM
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I know this is kind of spitting into the wind, but I'd like to make an effort:

Just because ICE calls them "administrative warrants" doesn't make that the most accurate term for them.

They are forms. ICE forms. Signed by an ICE employee. Authorizing an arrest, but still, a _form._
February 6, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Reposted by Rafi
While reporting this, I had something happen that's never happened. A comms rep for one of the co's disputed my reporting and said what I was telling them was untrue because it was not in Grok, xAI's chatbot.

I was looking directly at the files. And this person was using AI to challenge the truth.
Epstein had many known connections to Silicon Valley CEOs, but less known was how he made money from those relationships.

We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
Jeffrey Epstein’s Money Mingled With Silicon Valley Start-Ups
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:38 PM
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the Barbara Kruger mural the chase is happening in front of reads:

"WHO IS BEYOND THE LAW? WHO IS BOUGHT AND SOLD? WHO IS FREE TO CHOOSE? WHO DOES THE TIME? WHO FOLLOWS ORDERS? WHO SALUTES LONGEST? WHO PRAYS LOUDEST? WHO DIES FIRST? WHO LAUGHS LAST?"
I’ve watched this about 20 times already
February 5, 2026 at 4:51 PM
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Abolish ICE is too confusing. What we meant to say is that "no masks should be deployed in an arbitrary and capricious fashion."
Yes. Yes! Thank you
February 5, 2026 at 1:59 AM
Reposted by Rafi
NEW: since last year, a pair of "highly trained" feds have been involved in an array of incidents attacking crowds with chemical weapons.

We used public records and open source analysis to identify Edgar Vazquez and Michael Sveum, alongside some other members of their tactical team.

Read more:
Identified: the El Paso BORTAC crew rampaging through the Midwest
One violent duo in particular, U.S. Border Patrol agents Michael Sveum (EZ-2) and Edgar Vazquez (EZ-17), have been frequently seen alongside former commander-at-large Greg Bovino terrorizing crowds wi...
unraveledpress.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:24 PM
jesus
"The system sucks. This job sucks."

A Justice Department lawyer was removed from her post after her comments to a federal judge.

“I wish you would just hold me in contempt, your honor, so that I can have full 24 hours of sleep,” she said.
Federal lawyer tells judge ‘job sucks’ amid overload of immigration cases, court violations
U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell ordered the hearing for U.S. lawyers to explain the federal government’s failure to comply with court orders.
bit.ly
February 4, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Reposted by Rafi
worth noting that the second rich people stopped being afraid of mobs tearing them limb from limb, they stopped building libraries and opera houses and stuff and started ripping the copper wiring out of the walls of society instead
February 4, 2026 at 4:44 PM
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Unbelievable
February 4, 2026 at 4:36 PM