'Multipolarity Not a Hypothesis but the New Reality in Which the World Lives': Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez '...what is happening today is not a transfer of hegemonies. It is a multiplication of poles. Not only of power, but also of prosperity. And this is great news for Europe,' Sanchez said.

3 The need to observe simple rules: no interreference in domestic affairs, no foreign aggression.
Very simple. Very true.
thewire.in/world/multip...

Sodium-ion battery study claims zero thermal runaway breakthrough www.pv-magazine.com/2026/04/10/s... @dominikkeiner.bsky.social

Ok I'm bored and want to procrastinate work so let's do a thread instead. Wanna hear a story?

Alright then, story it is. So gather around, children, because now we're going to talk about the most important science book you've probably never heard of.

Ready? Off we go, then.

Perfectly reasonable, as is a nice sharp cheddar.

Be Free or Die. The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape From Slavery to Union Hero by Cate Lineberry

A black and white photo of Robert Smalls with the caption: "Fuck them boats. - Cpt Robert Smalls

There was once an enslaved man who stole a Confederate ship and sailed his a bunch of families to Union controlled waters & got everyone free.

Then he fought as a soldier in the Union Army.

Then he was elected to US House of Representatives.

Robert Smalls was born 187 years ago today

what do we want?

OBJECT PERMANENCE

when do we want it?

WHEN DO WE WANT WHAT

"got stuck" is doing a lot of work here.

Movie stars join forces to buy Auckland film and TV studio Director Taika Waititi says the dream is to keep growing and nurturing the industry's workforce.

What a great move. So cool to see this investment in local production of local stories.... www.rnz.co.nz/life/screens...

Iran war: What is happening on day 36 of US-Israeli attacks? Iran claims responsibility for downing two US warplanes, as search under way for missing crewmember.

Iran claims responsibility for downing two US warplanes, as search under way for missing crewmember.

Thanks for sharing. Independence is a live topic of discussion with our international counterparts.

The world is divided between those who think before writing, and AI "authors"

owenmarshall.net.nz/bookshelf/sa...

preach! "give me a good deal now, or I'll go elsewhere. this is not personal, just business. being selfish like this is best for me *and* for my fellow consumers."

That's my personal approach - think it through while writing.

In a group setting it can be easier to thrash out a common view verbally though.

Oh, but everybody's talking about World War Three

“When Bill Withers showed up,” Halverson says, “he comes walking in with his guitar and a straight-back chair, like a dining room chair, and asks, ‘Where do I set up?’ I showed him right in the middle of the room, and then he left and he came back in with this platform, a kind of wooden box that didn’t have a bottom. It was about four inches tall, and was maybe 3 foot by 4 foot; it was a fairly large platform, and he set it down in the middle of the room. Then he put his chair on it and got his guitar out, and he’s sitting on top of this box. So I miked him and I miked his guitar, and then I was doing other things—getting sounds together. “But then he calls me over and he points down to the box and says, ‘You gotta mike the box.’ Well, the way I was trained, you serve the artist, whatever the artist needs. So I got a couple other mics and I miked the box, the place down near the floor, next to this platform. “And now, when you listen to ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’ you know that all that tapping that goes on [while Withers sings] ‘I know I know I know’ all through it, actually, that’s him tapping his feet on the box, which is actually more intricate than the guitar on that track. He had evidently rehearsed that in his living room, maybe for years.”

"You gotta mike the box." the engineer Bill Halverson on the making of "Ain't No Sunshine," 1971 (from a Mix interview in 2012)

agree, and those very early switching facts reinforce what has become increasingly obvious: that renewables are the safer & cheaper future.

can you link to the excerpt please?

that's a terrific photo!

wow. those are quick & strong reactions to relative price changes.

in economics, we usually assume that short-run (immediate) responses are weaker than longer-run, because it takes time for people to buy different stuff & change their habits etc.

if that holds, we're in for a sea change.

Reporter left speechless after witnessing Japan's new $70 million Maglev train in action at 310 mph

Why the World Bank changed its mind on industrial policy The World Bank’s newfound support for industrial policy reveals how economic theory is inseparable from geopolitics

Timely piece on how dramatically the dominant (world bank) views on economic management have changed...

www.theglobalcurrents.com/p/why-the-wo...

counterpoint: we need smart people with good values to remain in the fight, not abandon the field.

Lemon Pound Cake earworm is quite serious. I've agreed not to sing it out loud.

Good to hear. We're pretty hopeless at pruning but it hasn't seemed to matter this year.

Our tree is going great. We're sharing the fruit with the possums.

Monty’s Surprise Apple Introduction In April 2000 Mark Christensen and friends discovered a unique seedling apple tree in a remote part of central North Island New Zealand. Mark and friends were on a road trip and came ...

Dessert tonight uses Monty's Surprise, a heritage apple rediscovered out the back of Whanganui. Here's the backstory....

www.heritagefoodcrops.org.nz/montys-surpr...

Commercial risk management in action.

anyone who ever got whooped by Gran know that old lady strength is real

I heard there was
a secret cord
that David kept
in his cable hoard
but he can never find it
when he needs it

So just as we can substitute renewable energy for fossil fuels in transport and process heat, we can also do this in farming.