Stephen Harper Enters His Stand-up Comedy Era

Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper wasn’t known for his lighthearted sense of humour.

And yet, somehow, against all odds, Harper was very entertaining this past week as he spoke at the MRVO Automotive Conference and Expo in Niagara Falls.

He joked about his exchange with Hugo Chaves, saying, “I’m not sure if he was kidding, crazy or serious,” as he explained how Chaves suggested that Canada join with Venezuela to one day surround and take over the United States.

Harper recounted his infamous albeit brief exchange with Vladimir Putin. At a G20 meeting in 2014, he shook Putin’s hand and told him to get out of Ukraine. He joked, “I certainly wouldn’t take a drink from the man.” cbc.ca

There was also a bit about Donald Trump. Harper explained that he’s never met Trump but knew many of his aides and advisors. He quipped, “I wonder what my friends say behind my back.”

Has Stephen been taking improv classes?

Was he always funny, and we just didn’t know it?

It likely helped that he’s left his more sexist material behind. thestar.com

He did indulge in a bit of revisionist history comedy, claiming to have balanced the budget. In reality, every government in Canada over the last 17 years, including his, has run a deficit. fraserinstitute.org

Or maybe time heals all wounds, and we can enjoy his new comedy routine while we thank him for the pandas. cbc.ca

Changan and Mazda are preparing to launch the EZ-6 in China. carnewschina.com

Baidu already sells self-driving robotaxis in China. carnewschina.com

Pony.ai wants to IPO in the U.S. electrek.co

BYD expects to grow its market share in Germany. reuters.com

Chery builds their 15 millionth vehicle. carnewschina.com

Xpeng says we don’t give a fuck about EU tariffs (I might be paraphrasing). cnbc.com

In a stunning feat of engineering, SpaceX “caught” their Super Heavy booster in a purpose-built launch tower using robot arms nicknamed the “chopsticks.” theverge.com

Elon may face trademark legal battles over the names Robovan and Starship. businessinsider.com

Optimus robots at Tesla’s Cybercab event were controlled and voiced by people. theverge.com

Some speculate that the Robovan is sized to fit in The Boring Company’s tunnels. teslarati.com

Cybertrucks might be too pointy and heavy to get regulatory approval in the EU. techcrunch.com, wired.com

Full Self-Driving is under investigation again. theverge.com, techcrunch.com, arstechnica.com

There is a new 7-seater variant of the Model Y. carwow.co.uk

Elon is great for the book publishing industry. bloomberg.com

Robosen now sells a $600 Buzz Lightyear robot toy. robosen.com

Boston Dynamics and Toyota have plans to bring AI intelligence to the Atlas humanoid robot. techcrunch.com

The U.S. Armed Forces is going to buy a bunch of Anduril drones. zona-militar.com, forbes.com

Watch MAB Robotics’ Honey Badger robot dog walk underwater. youtube.com

Chinese drone maker DJI sues the U.S. military. bloomberg.com

The U.S. government plans to give out nearly $2 billion in grants to protect its aging power grid. reuters.com

Canadian crude was shipped from Vancouver to Alaska for the first time in at least ten years. finance.yahoo.com

China’s Dongfang Electric Corporation has rolled out the world’s largest offshore wind turbine. electrek.co

Canada's first large-scale EV battery plant is about a year away from fully opening. cbc.ca

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co, Idemitsu Kosan Co, and Hokkaido Electric Power Co have teamed up to develop a carbon capture and storage facility in Japan. reuters.com

University of Waterloo student builds a mini fusion reactor in his bedroom. thebrighterside.news

Ontario needs a lot more electricity to power its EV and AI future. Maybe Doug Ford should talk to that University of Waterloo student. cbc.ca

Alberta is proposing new restrictions on wind and solar farms that it says are designed with environmental protection in mind. I smell bullshit. cbc.ca

Ferrari’s ‘most powerful road car ever’ is a hybrid V6 with three electric motors that kick out 1,200 horsepower and comes with a price tag of $3,9 million. theverge.com, motortrend.com, roadandtrack.com, motor1.com

PHEVs aren’t winning in the US, either. autonews.com, jdpower.com

Nissan assembles an EV charging network and a combination of partnerships that lets Ariya owners pay at participating charging stations through Nissan’s own app. It is expected to also include Tesla Supercharger NCAS support by the end of the year. theverge.com

Mary Barra insists GM will still phase out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. theverge.com

GM works with Forge Nano to enhance the performance and lifetime of EV batteries. techcrunch.com

Ford has a NACS adapter problem. electrek.co

Stellantis plans to shutter and sell its vehicle proving grounds in Arizona. cnbc.com

BMW’s CEO Oliver Zipse urges the EU to cancel their EV targets. reuters.com

Lucid looks to raise more cash. reuters.com

Mexico wants to build their own cheap EVs to compete with China. electrek.co

Amnesty International wants OEMs to be more transparent about their battery supply chains and rare earth material sources. theverge.com

Waymo offers riders in San Francisco $3.00 credits if their destination is a transit station. waymo.com, techcrunch.com

David Hasselhoff shows off Rivian’s new Knight Rider mode on YouTube. youtube.com

Earlier this week, Bluesky added half a million new users in a day and became the #2 app in the Social Networking category in the app store. techcrunch.com

Follow The Change Optimist on Bluesky. bsky.app

ROSÉ from Black Pink and Bruno Mars are trying to kiss your face for real. youtube.com

ICYMI: JENNIE has that pretty girl mantra that makes you wanna swing both ways. youtube.com

Nate Smith and Avril Lavigne have been trying to hold on but are falling apart. youtube.com

FKA twigs seduces a perfect stranger and demonstrates her impressive dance prowess again. youtube.com

Paris Hilton has ADHD. youtube.com

Ruel is hooked on the feeling that they could never live without you and gets a haircut. youtube.com

Violet Orlandi killed two birds with a single stone. youtube.com

HEALTH and FILTER are tired of feeling like this. youtube.com

WARGASM tell you to shut the fuck up. youtube.com