Wife of LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer steps in to save NPR’s future with $80M gift NPR also received an anonymous $33 million donation in April

Wife of LA Clippers owner and billionaire Steve Ballmer steps in to save NPR with $80M

The Swashbuckler Podcast Episode · Life Sentences Podcast · 2 April · 43min

‘A new biography by colonial historian @patriciaaobrien.bsky.social provides a fascinating & often shocking insight into (Errol) Flynn’s behaviour…’

podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/t...

Former Maga loyalists question Trump’s sanity and lead calls for removal President’s past allies consider invoking 25th Amendment after president makes genocidal threats

‘Questions about the US president’s mental state have dogged him since his first term, when he insisted he was a “very stable genius”. But now former allies from his Maga movement have turned on him and claim the president has gone insane.’

www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/1986c67...

Opinion | A Stunning New Verdict Rewrites the Rules of Corporate Morality

‘…possibly for the first time ever, anywhere, an entire corporation had been put on trial and found criminally liable for enabling terrorism.’

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/o...

Been saying this for weeks! (Well, 9 days…)

😂

Trump is an utter disaster for the world’s oil and gas industry The US president has done more than anyone to accelerate the collapse of the fossil fuel system

‘Nobody has done more to accelerate the world’s electrotech revolution and pull forward the irreversible collapse of the oil and gas industry – not even Greta Thunberg, Al Gore or…the CCP.’

Trump is an utter disaster for the world’s oil and gas industry www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/2d3fd20...

The future of the past — how artificial intelligence is changing history - ABC listen Artificial intelligence has been defined as a cluster of technologies of and for the future. But like most humans, AI is built using what has happened in the past — scraping behaviours, experiences an...

Fascinating @marnieh-w.bsky.social…

www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

A very sobering read and some lessons for us all. 👇👇👇
Thank you for posting.
#auspol #ukpol #nzpol #cdnpol

trump’s post depicting himself as Jesus will be included in abnormal psychology textbooks re narcissistic PD Dx

I am not a Catholic, not even a Christian. I rather consider myself as either a very light Buddhist or a non-religious person. Nevertheless, I'm outraged.

Ludicrous that Australia doesn't have thousands of these. We are now years and years behind other countries who have the infrastructure to run everything on renewable energy, & we're still polluting & not taxing the billionaire fossil fuel companies. Clowns to the left of us, jokers to the right.

After Criticizing Pope, Trump Posts Image of Himself as a Jesus-Like Figure

After Criticizing Pope, Trump Posts Image of Himself as a Jesus-Like Figure www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/u...

Hungarians showing how to win big in an unfair election: organize AND protest AND vote AND demand profound change.

This Hungarian Town Explains Why Orban Could Lose on Sunday

Great to wake up to news of Viktor Orban’s defeat in Hungary! 🎉

This (gift) article points to how it happened. The opposition campaigned hard on the grift, graft & self-enrichment of Orban & his cronies.

Big pointer for the US Democratic Party in that?

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/w...

Is AI the greatest art heist in history? New technologies of reproduction are plundering the art world – and getting away with it

"We are replaced by digital homunculi, trained on our stolen creations. And no, the work is not good, but that scarcely matters. Generative AI is a tool to discipline, then eliminate, the human worker. The audience will just have to get used to it. This is sold as progress," writes Molly Crabapple.

How Britain holed the Royal Navy below the waterline The UK is struggling to defend its own waters while committing ships to missions abroad

Russian subs brazenly probing UK waters. Trump demanding European governments send ships to the Gulf. Argentina eyeing the Falklands.

Once, the Royal Navy had ships to handle these challenges simultaneously. Now it struggles to muster enough for one.

www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/a7dc286...

France 🇫🇷 doubles electrification support to €10bn/year through 2030 — EVs, heat pumps, industry.
The reason?

The Strait of Hormuz crisis making fossil fuel dependence impossible to ignore.

Geopolitical shocks don’t just raise prices. They change what’s politically possible.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Sadiq Khan demands stronger action on social media ‘outrage economy’ Mayor says disinformation, including about London crime rates, is ‘eating away at basic bonds of trust’

This is important — London Mayor calls out “The Outrage Economy!”

@sadiqkhanlondon.bsky.social is calling for “significantly stronger action against social media companies that spread disinformation after a study showed a surge in hostile accounts posting falsehoods about London’s crime rates…”

“The EV revolution is moving on from light to heavy vehicles, and doing so at an astonishing pace,” Mike Seccombe reports. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/economy... via @thesaturdaypaper.com.au

Quiz Time: Name That Bellicose Babbler 1. "God Will Roast Their Stomachs in Hell." 2. "Don't Push It, or I'll Give You a War You Won't Believe." 3. "You Should... Totally Cut Their Windpipes and Thus Clearly Show Them What a Real War Is Like." 4. "I Am Altering the Deal. Pray I Don't Alter It Any Further." 5. "[They] Will Become Good Food for the Sharks." 6. "Open the F#@*&N' Strait, You Crazy Bastards, or You'll Be Living in Hell." 7. "Ithe Best in Life Is] to Crush Your Enemies, See Them Driven Before You, and to Hear the Lamentations of Their Women." 8. "If You Start Throwing Hedgehogs under Me, I Shall Throw a Couple of Porcupines under You." A. Kim Jong Un B. Nikita Khrushchev C. "Baghdad Bob" D. Rambo E. Conan the Barbarian F. Iranian Spokesperson G. Trump H. Darth Vader Answer Key: 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-h, 5-f, 6-g, 7-e, 8-b

Latest comic: Name That Bellicose Babbler

A complete history of One Nation’s f lame-outs

In 1998, a record 11 One Nation MLAs were elected to the Queensland parliament. Within months the party was tearing itself apart, and long before the next election all had left the party.

Stephen Spencer on the long list of ex-One Nation candidates. satpa.pe/NnUkCs6

Weasel words won’t do. In the Trump era, Australians need a PM to speak more clearly and more often | Tom McIlroy To the frustration of some in his own party, Anthony Albanese is cautious by nature, and often follows the lead of others when it comes to sensitive topics

‘It was revealed…that the government was bringing to an end an annual report on delays and cost blowouts in major defence projects... The report has previously highlighted about $80bn in projects currently running a combined 30 years behind schedule.’ 🤔😠

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

The Pro-Iran Meme Machine Trolling Trump With AI Lego Cartoons Since the beginning of the Iran war, the group Explosive Media has released over a dozen viral videos mocking Trump and the US.

‘Explosive Media began in 2025 as a YouTube channel featuring political commentary delivered by a young Iranian man. The content never gained traction… But all that changed in February, when the group began posting Lego-inspired videos’.

www.wired.com/story/inside...

Jane Caro: ‘I’ve been bullied by the wittiest men in Australia’ The writer and social commentator on privilege, anxiety and how we have let down public education

I was taught to speak up about injustice. Thank you to Caitlin Cassidy and The Guardian fir taking me for a walk and allowing me to shine a light on the glaring injustice of how we fund public and private schools. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Changing the face of politics - Pathways to Politics The Pathways to Politics Program for Women is a national, proudly non-partisan initiative that aims to change the face of politics by equipping women with the skills, knowledge, confidence and network...

Canberra & region (incl South Coast) women intending to run for federal, state/territory or local politics, do apply for this fantastic (& fully-funded) non-partisan program. 🗳️

I’m Director of #PathwaysToPolitics #UniCBR in 2026. Applications open now: pathwaystopolitics.org.au

Phew.

‘They…feel betrayed by the expanding war in Iran and ashamed when Mr. Trump used an expletive on Easter to make demands of the Iranian government. Some were so perplexed by his military interventions that one declared they “make zero sense.”’

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/u...

Crying into your steering wheel is the sign of a healthy society, actually.