The author of the ‘backpacks are all bad and everything is worse on purpose’ site works at Palantir.
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Working for Palantir must really have an impact on one's mental state & wellbeing.
https://jacobin.com/2025/11/peter-thiel-palantir-apocalypse-antichrist
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/10/peter-thiel-lectures-antichrist
https://www.stephendiehl.com/posts/desconstructing_thiel/
If you're watching what Palantir is doing as an insider, I'd want a really good 'Go Bag' too.
It's not a coincidence that Palantir funds terror management media narratives & merchandise for the apocalypse at the same time.
https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-wants-to-be-a-lifestyle-brand/
https://www.readloosey.com/p/outfitting-the-surveillance-era-the
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https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/09/22/palantir-lifestyle-brand-merch
Thiel isn't the first huckster selling chicken little-style "The Sky is Falling" fearmongering to enrich himself.
https://www.stephendiehl.com/posts/desconstructing_thiel/
https://www.wired.com/story/the-real-stakes-real-story-peter-thiels-antichrist-obsession/
Fake Christians adore petty & spiteful "you'll be burning in hell" nihilistic narratives about apocalypse.
https://naomiklein.org/end-times-fascism/
It's always been a barn burner to sell stuff for profitable terror management theory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_management_theoryhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/terror-management-theory
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The author of the ‘backpacks are all bad and everything is worse on purpose’ site works at Palantir.
@skinnylatte ew.
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https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/09/22/palantir-lifestyle-brand-merch
Thiel isn't the first huckster selling chicken little-style "The Sky is Falling" fearmongering to enrich himself.
https://www.stephendiehl.com/posts/desconstructing_thiel/
https://www.wired.com/story/the-real-stakes-real-story-peter-thiels-antichrist-obsession/
Fake Christians adore petty & spiteful "you'll be burning in hell" nihilistic narratives about apocalypse.
https://naomiklein.org/end-times-fascism/
It's always been a barn burner to sell stuff for profitable terror management theory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_management_theoryhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/terror-management-theory
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Cosplaying one of the "winners" in democratic backsliding is very popular with Trump's young male voters.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trumps-dictator-cosplayhttps://www.irishstar.com/news/politics/trump-enemy-cosplay-kristi-noem-36161455
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/01/27/gregory-bovino-trump-minneapolis-immigration-raid/
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/lockheed-martin/
Hijack the amygdala and you easily get people into "fight, flight, freeze, fawning" mode.
In the meantime, Peter Thiel continues his efforts at fascism.
https://www.wired.com/story/documents-reveal-palantir-irs-contract-fraud-clean-energy-credits/ -
The author of the ‘backpacks are all bad and everything is worse on purpose’ site works at Palantir.
do you actually go outdoors & hike / use backpacks ? because i DGAF who the author works for if they are able to speak truth about the BS we're seeing in the outdoor gear world -- i've experienced this personally
once respected brands are being bought & deliberately turned into **** with AI bots to make sure it's really really really hard for to make returns when you get a "walmart" product when you thought you were getting quality
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@skinnylatte Booooo. The points were valid; Matt Stoller is the dude to follow on this stuff. Based on his spelling errors he doesn’t use AI.
@rednikki @skinnylatte rss parrot of Matt Stoller is here: @www.thebignewsletter.com
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@rednikki @skinnylatte rss parrot of Matt Stoller is here: @www.thebignewsletter.com
@gray17 @skinnylatte Thank you!
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The author of the ‘backpacks are all bad and everything is worse on purpose’ site works at Palantir.
@skinnylatte I felt further depressed after reading two articles like that in one day
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@flowerpot @vfrmedia @skinnylatte I prefer Timbuk2, had a laptop backpack survive *ME* eight years. Failing that I'll get a North Face (like a Recon) and those cope with my lifestyle pretty well (6-8) ... so it comes out to $15-$20/year to carry my Boxen, snacks, a spare layer (live on coast), charger/cables, and the required liquid vessel ... not bad overall.
@elfin @flowerpot @vfrmedia @skinnylatte My Timbuk2 messenger bag is still going strong (secondhand) after almost 30 years. They made some quality kit.
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do you actually go outdoors & hike / use backpacks ? because i DGAF who the author works for if they are able to speak truth about the BS we're seeing in the outdoor gear world -- i've experienced this personally
once respected brands are being bought & deliberately turned into **** with AI bots to make sure it's really really really hard for to make returns when you get a "walmart" product when you thought you were getting quality
@peachfront @skinnylatte pssst
palantir is one of the ai companies responsible for making everything worse like that. also they kill children -
The author of the ‘backpacks are all bad and everything is worse on purpose’ site works at Palantir.
@skinnylatte@hachyderm.io ... and it's smells suspiciously like AI writing. Unfortunately, LLMs are good enough that you really can't tell until you've read most of it. -
@vfrmedia @skinnylatte re: Spectacles
I just renewed my old Costco membership & went there for the first time in almost a decade. They have an optometrist + frames. I had been paying $400+ for mediocre frames (NOT counting eye exam). Local optometrists have same price points.
At Costco? I found a pair of current style frames that looked GOOD on me for only $89.
re: backpacks
I didn't read the article but sturdy backpacks & messenger bags are obtainable. https://www.timbuk2.com/collections/all-backpacks@flowerpot @vfrmedia @skinnylatte +1 for timbuk2; I still have the very first messenger bag I ever bought from them almost 30 years ago and it shows almost zero signs of wear. The cell phone holder will contain no phone made in the last 15 years though
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@floatybirb @skinnylatte it was a blog post that got tons of boosts here this morning, until we figured out it was a page that doesn’t deserve our attention.
@Moss @floatybirb @skinnylatte sounds like flamebait -- backpacks are universally loved!
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The author of the ‘backpacks are all bad and everything is worse on purpose’ site works at Palantir.
@skinnylatte @jwz Gross but, like, the piece is still accurate, right?
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The author of the ‘backpacks are all bad and everything is worse on purpose’ site works at Palantir.
@skinnylatte why am I not surprised?
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@peachfront @skinnylatte pssst
palantir is one of the ai companies responsible for making everything worse like that. also they kill childreni get that, so we're gonna let them whitewash what happened to the outrdoor supply industry by pretending the true thing they said that doesn't matter to them is rtrue?
SIGH
i wish people wouldn't assume our opponent is stupid
sometimes they say what is true & it's OK to acknowledge that rather than just knee jerk react and give them a really easy way to play you
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@elfin @flowerpot @vfrmedia @skinnylatte My Timbuk2 messenger bag is still going strong (secondhand) after almost 30 years. They made some quality kit.
@klausfiend @elfin @vfrmedia @skinnylatte This is good to hear. I bought my son a Timbuk2 messenger bag when he started college, hoping it would last him years into a professional career. It still looks newish and that was 3+ years ago.
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@flowerpot @vfrmedia @skinnylatte +1 for timbuk2; I still have the very first messenger bag I ever bought from them almost 30 years ago and it shows almost zero signs of wear. The cell phone holder will contain no phone made in the last 15 years though
@darkuncle @vfrmedia @skinnylatte "The cell phone holder will contain no phone made in the last 15 years though"
I love hearing about well-used items lasting decades. Few things do.
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@skinnylatte @jwz Gross but, like, the piece is still accurate, right?
@chetman @skinnylatte I don't know, but when "the worst person you know makes a good point" I tend to disregard it until I hear what someone who is not ethically compromised has to say instead.
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i get that, so we're gonna let them whitewash what happened to the outrdoor supply industry by pretending the true thing they said that doesn't matter to them is rtrue?
SIGH
i wish people wouldn't assume our opponent is stupid
sometimes they say what is true & it's OK to acknowledge that rather than just knee jerk react and give them a really easy way to play you
@peachfront @imbl @skinnylatte
Outdoor gear?
Outdoor gear.
Of all the pitched firefights, you're choosing to die on a small hill that's not unlike any of the other million small hills like it?
Instead of fighting the source, you want to fight the symptom?
Is this a prank
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@klausfiend @elfin @vfrmedia @skinnylatte This is good to hear. I bought my son a Timbuk2 messenger bag when he started college, hoping it would last him years into a professional career. It still looks newish and that was 3+ years ago.
@flowerpot @elfin @vfrmedia @skinnylatte I got a free one from a job as a welcome gift ten years ago that I said I'd start using when my current one gave up but that was ten years ago ...
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