Elena Pierard @epierard.bsky.social

Moving to @epierard.bsky.social

Research @UniofOxford in Pol economy of energy transitions

[Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn]

Today, more than half a million people demonstrated on the streets of London to call on our government to end its complicity in genocide.

We are an unstoppable movement for Palestine.

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

This is so important for the West to understand. India's foreign minister explains that liberalism doesn't equate democracy and that, on the contrary, when applied internationally it's fundamentally antidemocratic https://t.co/dAGfs1j2u6

As he explains, "different societies have their own culture, their own values, their own ways of doing things" and liberalism on the contrary takes the view that there's "one truth, one judgement and one norm" that should be "preached, propagated, evaluated."

He says that this preaching and propagation is made by "think tanks, people who do ratings, by newspapers" who he describes as "self-appointed custodians" who have zero democratic legitimacy yet are "telling the rest of the world what is right and what is wrong" in their countries.

He also says that Western governments routinely attempt to subvert democracy in other countries by "reaching out to outliers" (i.e. opposition groups), adding that if Indian ambassadors "did a fraction of that, you would all be up in arms".

This I think is undoubtedly the most important mindset shift that the West needs to undertake as we move to multipolarity. Moving from a mindset of "we need to shape others in our image" to "we need to understand others and respect them for who they are." We could do it when the power differential was large and the West was the only game in town but in a world where different centers of power exist with increasingly comparable strength, if one center adopts a neocolonial paternalistic approach to its foreign relations they'll get increasingly isolated and shunned. No-one likes a preacher who insists their way is the only way, especially when they no longer have the power to enforce their sermon.

I actually think the issue runs deeper than liberalism, in fact if we ask the chicken and egg question I think that liberalism is such a good match for the West BECAUSE it has this universalist and preaching aspect. We didn't get preachy because of liberalism. You can trace this pattern through centuries of Western history: from religious missionaries convinced they were saving souls, to colonial administrators bringing "civilization", to our government-funded NGOs (😏) promoting "good governance".

You can see this with Vance's speech at the same Munich Security Forum yesterday. No-one can claim that he's even remotely a liberal, yet there's no arguing that he delivered a sermon to Europeans, enticing them to reform their societies within. Granted, for once the preaching wasn't directed at the Global South, which is somewhat refreshing, but the principle is the same: we see a Western leader positioning himself as a moral arbiter of other societies' internal affairs. The content of the sermon changes, but the underlying impulse to lecture others about how to run their societies remains constant.

It goes to show that the challenge of adapting to a multipolar world runs much deeper than just rethinking liberal internationalism, or setting it aside. It requires confronting a civilizational habit of mind that goes beyond our current ideological divisions - a tendency to view our own preferences, whatever they may be, as universal truths that others must be made to accept. Changing a prevailing ideology is already hard, but this is much harder: we need to change our very civilizational DNA to be at peace with coexisting with others. That is the fundamental lesson we need to learn: the West's future influence in a multipolar world no longer depends on our ability to shape others, but on our ability to shed our compulsion to do so.

[Tzeporah Berman @Tzeporah]

Another oil major is going mask-off this week. Their nearly $9bn in profits is not enough to justify their renewables investments.

BP, Shell, Equinor et al. will never be part of the solution and its time to stop pretending they ever were.

https://t.co/TdsXjTRyAB

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

This is without a doubt the most extraordinary proposal I've heard a U.S. president make in my lifetime (in a good way).

It would be literally be good for everyone, except warmongers and the military-industrial complex.

And, incidentally, it's probably the only way for the U.S. to have any hope of balancing its budget given that such a huge share of federal expenses are related to defense.

[Read Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell) @JPHilllllll]

President of Colombia:

[Gustavo Petro @petrogustavo]

Trump, a mi no me gusta mucho viajar a los EEUU, es un poco aburridor, pero confieso que hay cosas meritorias, me gusta ir a los barrios negros de Washington, allí ví una lucha entera en la capital de los EEUU entre negros y latinos con barricadas, que me pareció una pendejada, porque deberían unirse.

Confieso que me gusta Walt Withman y Paul Simon y Noam Chomsky y Miller

Confieso que Sacco y Vanzetti, que tienen mi sangre, en la historia de los EEUU, son memorables y les sigo. Los asesinaron por lideres obreros con la silla eléctrica, los fascistas qué están dentro de EEUU como dentro de mi país

No me gusta su petroleo, Trump, va a acabar con la especie humana por la codicia. Quizás algún día, junto a un trago de Whisky qué acepto, a pesar de mi gastritis, podamos hablar francamente de esto, pero es difícil porque usted me considera una raza inferior y no lo soy, ni ningún colombiano.

Así que si conoce alguien terco, ese soy yo, punto. Puede con su fuerza económica y su soberbia intentar dar un golpe de estado como hicieron con Allende. Pero yo muero en mi ley, resistí la tortura y lo resisto a usted. No quiero esclavistas al lado de Colombia, ya tuvimos muchos y nos liberamos. Lo que quiero al lado de Colombia, son amantes de la libertad. Si usted no puede acompañarme yo voy a otros lados. Colombía es el corazón del mundo y usted no lo entendió, esta es la tierra de las mariposas amarillas, de la belleza de Remedios, pero tambien de los coroneles Aurelianos Buendía, de los cuales soy uno de ellos, quizás el último

Me matarás, pero sobreviviré en mi pueblo que es antes del tuyo, en las Américas. Somos pueblos de los vientos, las montañas, del mar Caribe y de la libertad

A usted no le gusta nuestra libertad, vale. Yo no estrecho mi mano con esclavistas blancos. Estrecho las manos de los blancos libertarios herederos de Lincoln y de los muchachos campesinos negros y blancos de los EEUU, ante cuyas tumbas llore y recé en un campo de batalla, al que llegue, después de caminar montañas de la toscana italiana y después de salvarme del covid.

Ellos son EEUU y ante ellos me arrodillo, ante más nadie.

Túmbeme presidente y le responderán las Américas y la humanidad.

Colombia ahora deja de mirar el norte, mira al mundo, nuestra sangre viene de la sangre del califato de Córdoba, la civilización en ese entonces, de los latinos romanos del mediterraneo, la civilización de ese entonces, que fundaron la república, la democracia en Atenas; nuestra sangre tiene los resistentes negros convertidos en esclavos por ustedes. En Colombia está el primer territorio libre de América, antes de Washington, de toda la América, allí me cobijo en sus cantos africanos.

Mi tierra es de orfebrería existente en época de los faraones egipcios, y de los primeros artistas del mundo en Chiribiquete.

No nos dominarás nunca. Se opone el guerrero que cabalgaba nuestras tierras, gritando libertad y que se llama Bolívar

Nuestros pueblos son algo temerosos, algo tímidos, son ingenuos y amables, amantes, pero sabrán ganar el canal de Panamá, que ustedes nos quitaron con violencia. Doscientos héroes de toda latinoamerica yacen en Bocas del Toro, actual Panamá, antes Colombia, que ustedes asesinaron.

Yo levanto una bandera y como dijera Gaitán, así quede solo, seguirá enarbolada con la dignidad latinoamericana que es la dignidad de América, que su bisabuelo no conoció, y el mio sí, señor presidente inmigrante en los EEUU,

Su bloqueo no me asusta; porque Colombia además de ser el país de la belleza, es el corazón del mundo. Se que ama la belleza como yo, no la irrespete y le brindará su dulzura.

COLOMBIA A PARTiR DE HOY SE ABRE A TODO EL MUNDO, CON LOS BRAZOS ABIERTOS, SOMOS CONSTRUCTORES DE LIBERTAD, VIDA Y HUMANIDAD.

Me informan que usted pone a nuestro fruto del trabajo humano 50% de arancel para entrar a EEUU, yo hago lo mismo.

Que nuestra gente siembre maíz que se descubrió en Colombia y alimente al mundo

[Afshin Rattansi @afshinrattansi]

THROWBACK: Prof. Jeffrey Sachs says “the most violent country in the world since 1950 has been the United States🇺🇸”

The moderator angrily cuts him off and the audience erupts into applause

[Luis Escobar @LuisenEscobar]

El @elcolmex hizo lo correcto, y sí nos consultó:

[Int'l Criminal Court @IntlCrimCourt]

Situation in the State of Palestine:
#ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. Learn more ⤵️ https://t.co/opHUjZG8BL

[Matthew Todd 🌏🔥 @MrMatthewTodd]

I woke up seeing 60+ people are dead, thinking Valencia will be a turning point, will dominate the news, wake everybody up to climate change. It’s not though is it. The budget is dominating reporting in the UK. Public don’t care. We are determined to send our children over a cliff to their deaths without even engaging with this issue.

[Nahel Belgherze @WxNB_]

The scale of the flooding currently unfolding in Valencia, Spain is unfathomable. This is footage from Chiva, where a jaw-dropping 343 mm of rain was recorded in just 4 hours earlier today, between 4:30 PM and 8:30 PM.

Video credit: Nalabcer

[Jose Maria @josemaria_mx]

Ya puden ver la grabación del programa que grabamos @epierard y su servidor para el @CanalCongreso sobre cambio climático.

Gracias al Prof @khemvirg que visitó Oxford y @InSIS y la red de incidencia en políticas de @UniofOxford y @OxfordNetZero.

https://t.co/Bs8vuYnIvc

[Canal del Congreso @CanalCongreso]

🌱¿Te preocupa el #CambioClimático? 🌎 Mañana nos acompañarán los especialistas @josemaria_mx y @epierard desde la @UniofOxford

¡No te pierdas #ApuntesParlamentarios con @khemvirg, 11:30 am!➡️ https://t.co/c8J1nCJMJl

[Amitav Ghosh @GhoshAmitav]

For Norway to sanction deep sea mining is beyond appalling. Fossil fuels have made it very rich with a sovereign wealth fund that will provide for its citizens for generations. What more do they need? Why should poor countries act responsibly when the richest do this?

[Dr. Aaron Thierry @ThierryAaron]

This weeks #ClimateCrisis news:

#Chile 🇨🇱 declares a state of #Emergency as devastating #wildfires currently sweep the center of the country.

Here's a short🧵 putting this in context & asking what comes next...

[Carbon Tracker @CarbonBubble]

Simultaneous #heatwaves & #flooding in swaths of the US, Europe & Asia are being fuelled by a specific jet stream pattern that creates a series of “heat domes” which in turn drive up temperatures🌡️📈 scientists say https://t.co/N3ajBxSiMX

[Elena Pierard @epierard.bsky.social @epierard]

@admsrl Fue la mejor noticia 🥹. Qué alegría, muchas felicidades! Un abrazote hasta allá. Espero poder verles pronto

[Jason Hickel @jasonhickel]

“An innovation that propelled Britain to become the world’s leading iron exporter during the Industrial Revolution was appropriated from an 18th-century Jamaican foundry.”https://t.co/H3gS1hFMO3

[Elena Pierard @epierard.bsky.social @epierard]

@admsrl Aww this is so sweet! Many congratulations! Beautiful name and gorgeous family, what a lucky baby 🥰. Sending all my love to you three 🩵🩵🩵

[Peter Dynes @PGDynes]

The already uninhabitable Earth. Today, Zabol in Iran recorded the highest temperature on Earth at 49.6C. The whole Middle East region is experiencing extreme heat, making working outside during the day impossible. Living without air con. in such conditions is nearly impossible.