krushty

curving birds the way they curve me 😔

Because we get asked a lot. The Technological Republic, in brief. 1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation. 2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible. 3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public. 4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software. 5. The question is not whether A.I. weapons will be built; it is who will build them and for what purpose. Our adversaries will not pause to indulge in theatrical debates about the merits of developing technologies with critical military and national security applications. They will proceed. 6. National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost. 7. If a U.S. Marine asks for a better rifle, we should build it; and the same goes for software. We should as a country be capable of continuing a debate about the appropriateness of military action abroad while remaining unflinching in our commitment to those we have asked to step into harm’s way. 8. Public servants need not be our priests. Any business that compensated its employees in the way that the federal government compensates public servants would struggle to survive. 9. We should show far more grace towards those who have subjected themselves to public life. The eradication of any space for forgiveness—a jettisoning of any tolerance for the complexities and contradictions of the human psyche—may leave us with a cast of characters at the helm we will grow to regret. 10. The psychologization of modern politics is leading us astray. Those who look to the political arena to nourish their soul and sense of self, who rely too heavily on their internal life finding expression in people they may never meet, will be left disappointed. 11. Our society has grown too eager to hasten, and is often gleeful at, the demise of its enemies. The vanquishing of an opponent is a moment to pause, not rejoice. 12. The atomic age is ending. One age of deterrence, the atomic age, is ending, and a new era of deterrence built on A.I. is set to begin. 13. No other country in the history of the world has advanced progressive values more than this one. The United States is far from perfect. But it is easy to forget how much more opportunity exists in this country for those who are not hereditary elites than in any other nation on the planet. 14. American power has made possible an extraordinarily long peace. Too many have forgotten or perhaps take for granted that nearly a century of some version of peace has prevailed in the world without a great power military conflict. At least three generations — billions of people and their children and now grandchildren — have never known a world war. 15. The postwar neutering of Germany and Japan must be undone. The defanging of Germany was an overcorrection for which Europe is now paying a heavy price. A similar and highly theatrical commitment to Japanese pacifism will, if maintained, also threaten to shift the balance of power in Asia. 16. We should applaud those who attempt to build where the market has failed to act. The culture almost snickers at Musk’s interest in grand narrative, as if billionaires ought to simply stay in their lane of enriching themselves . . . . Any curiosity or genuine interest in the value of what he has created is essentially dismissed, or perhaps lurks from beneath a thinly veiled scorn. 17. Silicon Valley must play a role in addressing violent crime. Many politicians across the United States have essentially shrugged when it comes to violent crime, abandoning any serious efforts to address the problem or take on any risk with their constituencies or donors in coming up with solutions and experiments in what should be a desperate bid to save lives. 18. The ruthless exposure of the private lives of public figures drives far too much talent away from government service. The public arena—and the shallow and petty assaults against those who dare to do something other than enrich themselves—has become so unforgiving that the republic is left with a significant roster of ineffectual, empty vessels whose ambition one would forgive if there were any genuine belief structure lurking within. 19. The caution in public life that we unwittingly encourage is corrosive. Those who say nothing wrong often say nothing much at all. 20. The pervasive intolerance of religious belief in certain circles must be resisted. The elite’s intolerance of religious belief is perhaps one of the most telling signs that its political project constitutes a less open intellectual movement than many within it would claim. 21. Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive. All cultures are now equal. Criticism and value judgments are forbidden. Yet this new dogma glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures . . . have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful. 22. We must resist the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism. We, in America and more broadly the West, have for the past half century resisted defining national cultures in the name of inclusivity. But inclusion into what? Excerpts from the #1 New York Times Bestseller The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West, by Alexander C. Karp & Nicholas W. Zamiska techrepublicbook.com

@canefis Ofc they put it in 5 years late and 2 years after we all quit

😭😭 #prayedfortimeslikethis

@BENJYMINCSGO Wtaf does this mean

faceit frontend is so obviously vibe coded

@wh1111sk +1

maximum respect to anyone still putting themselves through this

My brother is doing the London marathon for charity next month. The charity is Birmingham dogs home. I would really love to help him out if you want to donate to a good cause it’s very much appreciated: justgiving.com/page/james-tay…

@444jdk Ur on ur way out

yearly bio update that one hurt ❤️‍🩹🤞

I’m convinced someone is putting paint stripper in the water cooler at riot HQ

for 5 years every team in VCT has had 2 coaches. for 5 years there has only been 1 in game coach slot. @VALORANT 👍👍👍👍

joined @ALAHLI_ESPORTS 💚 #الأهلي

@RocketBullets It’s working x.com/elosanta/statu…

🚨Bahrain 🇧🇭 and Dubai 🇦🇪 Servers are DOWN on VALORANT

why no one talkin bout the 3 second discord voice delays

@Officialbonkar @tarik Only honest answer here

@tarik Dont trust any of us, we are all fucking bricks.

A small conversation during today's stream sparked some curiosity. How much power does a coach have on an esports teams in 2026? In my experience, players always had majority input for team philosophy and structure. But I've noticed in Valorant that the community is quick to blame the coach. Thoughts?

@TrickVAL no but good score volataic aim_dolphins_moving_tsw_HOTAIRBALLOON

Far too many players believe that mechanics are driven from aim when in reality the “bottleneck” for most players is in the awareness / situation processing that leads to bad micro decisions —> which result in bad mechs

@GODaZeD finally someone tells the truth!!!

The issue with our society is EVIL supercomputer A supercomputer using humans to control the environment BOOTS ON THE GROUND BARBS

@444jdk reddit.com/r/spongebob/

@444jdk scrol;l spongebobr eddit

im so bored of replying to girls on twitter what do people do on their weekends

𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 - 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭, 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬. We supported the scene, even as Tier 2 and Tier 3 Valorant were dragged into the ground. We never expected to be picked for the franchise. We were never mad about it. The environment in T2 was terrible, but we stayed. Make fun of us, troll us, insult us, who cares. We care about players and orgs actually surviving in T2. We care about Valorant as an esport for everyone, not just Tier 1. Most fans have no idea how broken the system is. It can’t work. It’s not sustainable. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒 ‘𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑’. Outside of the franchise, Valorant survives because of passion - people accept minimal wages just to keep the scene alive: CEOs, editors, social media managers, players, coaches, broadcast talent… everyone. Salaries race to the bottom. Prize money never arrives. We still haven’t received ours. Yet we still stayed because we believed things could get better. Because we care about the game, our fans, and the community. We’ve proven that again and again. We invested in boot camps, in mental coaching, a full coaching staff, and a whole content team around competitive Valorant. We built up a gaming facility. 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 ‘𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑇2.’ We played in leagues with broken broadcasts - sometimes no broadcast at all. We didn’t receive the prize money we earned. We were blocked from signing betting sponsors (which are essential for surviving in esports if you are not in T1). We couldn't represent any of our sponsors in watch parties. Still, we built a full content team around Valorant. We signed multiple creators. We posted nonstop short- and long-form content. We built one of the most popular Valorant podcasts. We supported a Game Changers roster from scratch to consistent top 3 placements. We always defined ourselves through performance. But even achievement couldn’t support longevity. Game Changer was a complete failure during our time. Organizations keep the GC scene running by supporting the teams, but no matter how successful they are, it's still a financial disaster. Sure, orgs can’t live off prize pools alone - but if you win it all, you expect to be able to break even. The broadcasts for our GC games were unacceptable. Audio broken. Streams lagging. Impossible to pitch to sponsors. Prize pools were a joke - only two EU slots for global events. Riot did not care. Period. We spent another €300k doing our part to grow the Gamechanger scene. And for what? For nothing. We did all this because we believed we were building something meaningful for fans and players. It is still our fault. We should have left earlier. We could have saved 50% of the budget and invested in Counter-Strike. We should also have done a better job securing sponsorships and hiring a larger sales team; instead, we focused on investing in our teams. We signed the best players we could. We owed it to our fans to provide the best possible rosters. In year two, Riot spat in the face of every T2 org by reducing the franchise partnership (for Ascension winners) from 2 years to 1 year only - a catastrophe for everyone involved. A year later, the system changes again, with new rules and new stakes. How is any organization outside of the franchise supposed to build success in a constantly changing system? Sharing this might help others avoid making the same mistake and invest in titles, systems, and events that are worth it. We spent 1.5Mio€ over 2 years in a broken system because we loved the esport & the community, and because we believed Riot would improve the system. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, '𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲.” Yes. Absolutely, we should. We deserve to poke some fun at it. To be a bit edgy and cringe. We deserve to highlight the broken scene, to ragebait, to shed some light on it, finally. If it costs us some of our image, so be it. At least people see it. At least people talk about it. If there’s even a slight chance that it sparks change, then every post, every joke, every rant was worth it. Peace.

@GingeHazza been like this for 10 years mate

That epiclan lowers run needs some adjusting man how can we be playing till 2am then grand finals at 10am. Every damn time.

@shalomshadyzx i do condone this behaviour

@krushtyy buying crack rn to test this theory

@Clocracy_ @boafnbr yea i bet they have so much fun for sure

@boafnbr Idk I don’t think that’s up for us to decide 😂😂 ik a lot of people who have played since beta on and off so they are high level but really low rank LOL and they just play for funsies :)

💀Hot Valorant take: I don’t think it’s embarrassing to be a high level in Valorant It’s cool that you have something you’re interested in and that you put a lot of time into :) Keep grinding friends