I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SAY THIS, BUT YAY FOR RANDOM PENGUIN:  Palestine book by Alana Hadid and Jenan Matari pulled from Random House before release. Authors withdraw book planned for young readers after disputes with editors over characterizations of 7 October.

As for the authors, all enthusiastic about the Neolithic atrocities of October 7? I’m a fair woman. May it be done onto them as they admire. (What? Sometimes Team Heads on Pikes gets loud in the back of my mind.)

OPEN THREAD: Show your work.

SAY ANYTHING:

MISSION… ACCEPTED: meet the stunning new mid-engined Porsche Mission S.

Porsche is on the ropes. Its profits – once the envy of many a carmaker – fell off a cliff last year, plunging a whopping 93 per cent to €90m. Its bet on an EV future resulted in… two new petrol crossovers.

It’s now on a mission to turn the ship around. And this is part of the solution. Welcome to the stunning new Mission S supercar.

It’s not a limited-edition hypertoy conceived for the fortunate few (though no doubt it’d sell out in seconds), but a full-production car that’ll sit at the top of Porsche tree. Which means it’ll look down on Porsche’s halo car.

“The Mission S represents a mid-engined super sports car platform positioned above the 911 – not as a one-off hypercar, but as a permanent and versatile addition to our customer offering,” said boss Michael Leiters.

It was designed to be “recognisable as a Porsche at first glance”, and we’d say… mission accomplished. It’s very 911-alike at the front with that familiar headlight arrangement, a slatted bonnet, a clean front bumper, and what Porsche deems ‘torpedo’ wings.

Car and Driver says that it can be yours for a mere half a million dollars.

A GOOD GUY WITH A GUN:

Remember, the true first responders are the ones already on the scene.

ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTERS TORCH ALBANIAN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS:

Violent student protests have gripped Albania with government buildings torched, petrol bombs launched and calls for the prime minister to resign.

Riot police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse crowds in the capital, Tirana, on Thursday – the third day of unrest.

Protests started because of plans by Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, to build a multi-billion-dollar luxury marina and tourism development on an uninhabited island and unspoilt stretch of coastline in the south of the country.

But the largely peaceful protests of the past few months widened this week to include tens of thousands of students who are furious with the poor state of the education system and a lack of jobs.

On Wednesday, demonstrators set fire to the education ministry and attacked other government buildings, including the prime minister’s office and interior ministry.

Albania, huh? Time to fire up the B-3 bombers:

SOME OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS AREN’T ANY BETTER: