In Russia, Vladimir Putin and his cabinet of political technologists create mass confusion. Vladislav Surkov uses ideas from art to turn Russian politics into a bewildering piece of theatre. Donald Trump employs the same techniques in his first 2016 presidential campaign by using language from Occupy Wall Street. Curtis asserts that Trump "defeated journalism" by rendering its fact-checking abilities irrelevant. The American Left's attempt to resist Trump on the internet had no effect. In fact, they were just feeding the social media corporations who valued their many additional clicks. Syria's revolution becomes more vicious and violent. The technique of suicide bombing that Curtis argues Hafez al-Assad introduced in order to unite the Middle East has instead torn it apart. Russia uses Surkov's concept of "non-linear warfare" to fight against the Syrian rebels. Russia claims to leave Syria, but doesn't.

If you and team were playing from the Surkov hypernormalisation playbook, you would.

“That’s such a bad joke, and we’re talking mass death here - surely he wouldn’t? Would he?”

Discombobulation leaves much more space for lies and profit.

@katie0martin.ft.com @robarmstrong.bsky.social

He always sets his deadlines for Tuesdays, for the Kayfabe. Lean into the taco, lean into the show.

a chart showing india's trajectory to avoid the coal boom

This is really interesting. "leapfrogging" fossil fuels was often hypothetical but in India it really seems to be happening

"but i have to drive, there's no transit where i live"

"why not"

"because every time we ask for transit they say we have to build more homes"

"and that's a problem because ..."

"because i don't want more homes, i just hate traffic"

"it sounds like you hate homes more than you hate traffic"

Should home prices go down? ’No,’ says Canada’s new housing minister | Globalnews.ca Gregor Robertson, the former Vancouver mayor, was sworn in as housing minister in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet on Tuesday.

How can you bring house prices down?

1. Wrong question, but
2. Two answers:

globalnews.ca/news/1117941...

1/5

Voisin C5 1924

Voisin C25 Aérodyne, 1934

Voisin Type C27 Aérosport Coupé, 1934

1954 Biscuter 100, originally designed by Voisin

A Plan Voisin for my city, but meaning every car must be one of these, by the Voisin car company

When you see buses in a depot like this, it means your transit agency could quickly increase service levels at that time.

It's normal to see a lot of buses parked at 2am, but at 9:10am, it's a signal of unmet potential.

All we need is more operating funding to pay for driver, fuel, maintenance.

Renewable energy isn't lagging behind, we are Many Americans don’t realize that renewable energy no longer requires sacrificing cost savings for environmental protection. Remarkably, in just the past several years, wind and solar have become the ...

"In the interest of both sustainability & lowering living expenses, our elected leaders must prioritize clean energy. At the same time, voters should support candidates that prioritize renewable energy..." ~The Michigan Daily OpEd

www.michigandaily.com/opinion/colu...

I was wondering if there's any kind of ongoing global threat that's causing these records to fall, but surely if that were the case it would be mentioned in news stories about these unprecedented temperatures.

“Retirement Plan” (2026 Oscar Nominee) | The New Yorker YouTube video by The New Yorker

This weekend I saw all the Oscar nominated animated shorts. I enjoyed almost all of them.

My favorite, "Retirement Plan," is available free on YouTube. youtu.be/2Mqa4zfJdx4?...

Wu Guanzhong (Chinese, 1919–2010)
"A Village in England", 1992.
Oil on Canvas, 60 × 73 cm.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Anders Andersen-Lundby (Danish, 1841–1923)
"A Busy Town in Moonlight", 1882.
Oil on Canvas, 115 × 175 cm.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

Dorothy Johnstone (Scottish, 1892–1980)
"Greengate Close, Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway", 1940/1980.
Oil on Canvas, 119.5 × 82.5 cm
University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

#CapeCod #Poetry #Painting #Spring

I start the morning gently
In a quiet sort of way
Just grateful for the time
And another beautiful day

Serendipity Corner

🎨 Janet Hill

Virginia Woolf, more than a hundred years ago:

Give me a word you love purely for how it sounds

Tuapse refinery looking like a Surrey barge

This is, without question, a Los Angeles Urban Planning Moment™

Miliband to unveil move to delink UK gas and electricity prices Energy secretary’s push comes as Iran war threatens Labour pledge to cut heating bills

Miliband to unveil move to delink UK gas and electricity prices ft.trib.al/zI9c1JF

CATL has launched its third-gen Shenxing LFP battery, featuring charging speeds: 10%-35% SOC in 1 minute, 10%-80% in 3 minutes and 44 seconds, 10%-98% in 6 minutes and 27 seconds, and 10%-98% in 9 minutes at -30 degrees Celsius.

downstream effects

"The world’s top condom maker says it plans to raise prices by 20%-30% and possibly further due to the impact of the US-Iran war in the petrochemical industry.

"Malaysia's Karex Bhd told Reuters is also seeing a surge in condom demand as rising freight costs and shipping/...

Richmond being Dutch flat yet not developed that way is the biggest own of the region.

Concrete contains drivers.

“Of course, *your* car trip is essential.

And your trip would be so much better if the driver in front had gone by bike or bus instead.

Let’s make that an easy choice for them, so the streets are clear for your essential car trips.”

Got our solar panels installed this AM. They came at 8:30am and we're gone by 1:30pm. 13 panels and 10kwh battery.

We can't export to the grid yet (the network operator has been flooded with new requests) but we charged our car with the sun this afternoon. Great feeling, strongly recommend.

Lots of positive stories here of people saving a fortune on energy bills

Also lots of Qs from people who understandably can't afford upfront costs

There are 7 options I can find to get around this. 5 are available now, 2 are on their way

Since I'm becoming a bit of a solar evangelist, here you go

The "freedom to drive" actually means having zero choice. You are forced to buy, maintain, insure, fuel, and store a depreciating asset on repeat forever.

True mobility freedom is having safe, efficient, accessible alternatives, not surrendering your financial independence to car dependency.

Duffy is telling all governors to outline actions that the federal gov. will support to reduce congestion - such as expanding roads, building new roads, or "recovering roadway capacity from other purposes to support driving" 🥲

Goodby Tim Apple
You were so good at taking our money
While not providing a sense of wonder