Alex
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alex-andra3.bsky.social
Alex
@alex-andra3.bsky.social
🇬🇧/🇺🇸Longterm background in British political service and cross-border relations. #Geopolitics #ForeignAffairs

Also have a keen interest in #Philosophy #Psychology #Futurism and more.
Pinned
Let’s talk about “mandates” and the “will of the American people.” #Democracy #autocracy #oligarchy #MAGA #USPolitics
Reposted by Alex
The United States can force Asian countries to choose between Washington and Beijing—but it might not like their answers, writes Lynn Kuok. “Greater U.S. regional influence cannot come through ultimatums and coercion.”
How Trump’s Coercion Could Backfire in Asia
Forcing the region to choose sides risks pushing it toward China.
www.foreignaffairs.com
April 14, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Alex
If pressed for time there is a transcript. It’s worth staying awake to what we may once have dismissed as fringe because “weird” is fast becoming the new norm. #oligarchy
March 18, 2025 at 11:37 AM
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"This is what arbitrary, absolute power looks like. And this is why the men who wrote the Constitution never wanted anyone to have it"

www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Trump Is Showing Why Dictatorships Fail
The authors of the Constitution separated powers for a reason.
www.theatlantic.com
April 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
💥 Trump blinked. The bond vigilantes brought him to heel. news.sky.com/story/tariff...
Also separate shenanigans around anyone buying stocks early in the day (esp before 9.37am) who had access to info that he intended to pause, but it’s the 2nd para that is the truth bomb. #Trump #Tariffs #Bonds
April 10, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Reposted by Alex
April 8, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Enjoyed listening to this. Like many YouTube vids, it can be treated like a podcast. “The Sapient Cosmos: What a modern-day synthesis of science and philosophy teaches us about the emergence of information, consciousness, and meaning” youtu.be/RgpABHt2B7I #Philsky
The Sapient Cosmos: Where Physics, Psychedelics and Shamanism Meet | James Glattfelder, PhD
YouTube video by Essentia Foundation
youtu.be
April 9, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by Alex
De minimis exemption was already closed for China but there is also some brutal increases in the tariff rate for small packages to avoid companies just shipping direct from China to consumers to avoid the 104% tariff on traditional exports
April 9, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Reposted by Alex
It's official now: tariffs on most imports from China will go up to 104% tonight

Tariffs will remain at 20% for rare earth minerals, pharmaceuticals, gold, semiconductors, etc, exempted from the April 2nd tariffs, but this is the end of the vast majority of direct US-China trade
April 9, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Reposted by Alex
'Taiwan can set an example for others dealing with grey zone action ...it will strengthen its position to resist pressure and build a broader coalition that could deny the gains sought by China and others from exploitation of grey zone vulnerabilities' writes Dr Philip Shetler-Jones.
Taiwan’s Evolving Response to China’s Grey Zone Actions
This policy brief traces the emergence and defining features of the grey zone concept, looking at China’s actions and Taiwan’s responses.
www.rusi.org
April 3, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Alex
As Trump unleashes an orgy of tariff mayhem thinking it will bring prosperity to America, one key ingredient is ignored-TRUST. Treaties are reneged, stability is a relic of the past.
No, the real boom won’t be factories—it’ll be share buybacks and corporate looting. Welcome to the Art of the Grift!
April 5, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Autarky
April 8, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Please listen to this. It may not be 100% accurate, but it’s very close. (Btw, Gil Duran is a former comms person for Kamala). #uspolitics #uspol #ukpol #trump #economy #USDollar #Fed #NetworkState
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/d...
The Nerd Reich with Gil Duran
Podcast Episode · Dave Troy Presents · S3 E7 · 1h 10m
podcasts.apple.com
April 7, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Reposted by Alex
The April 11 meeting will mark the first time the coalition will gather without America’s secretary of defense participating.
In first, Hegseth to skip multinational meeting on Ukraine support
The April 11 meeting will mark the first time the coalition will gather without America’s secretary of defense participating.
www.defensenews.com
April 2, 2025 at 6:12 PM
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Absolutely.
April 6, 2025 at 1:30 AM
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This weekend will see the largest protest day of Trump's second term with hundreds of marches in neighborhoods across the country. #HandsOff #April5
Finds yours here: handsoff2025.com
Hands Off!
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They're taking everything they can get their hands on and daring the world to stop them. On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the…
handsoff2025.com
April 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Alex
🇺🇸“Democracy in the United States faces a serious threat, but the case is not hopeless. Its defenders have a wide array of levers they can pull to oppose Trump’s and his allies’ attempts to consolidate power.” 👇
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
#Handsoff2025 #April5 #Protests #Uspol #Trump
How to Save a Democracy
Americans can learn from opponents of authoritarianism elsewhere.
www.foreignaffairs.com
April 4, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Reposted by Alex
Why was Wall Street so wrong about Trump?

my new column: www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
Donald Trump’s Ego Melts the Global Economy
On a chilly Wednesday afternoon, the President announced he would single-handedly blow up a century’s worth of globalization.
www.newyorker.com
April 4, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Alex
China has officially entered the era of “flying taxis”.

Two Chinese companies have obtained the commercial operation certificate for autonomous passenger drones from CAAC.
April 3, 2025 at 6:04 PM
🇺🇸“Democracy in the United States faces a serious threat, but the case is not hopeless. Its defenders have a wide array of levers they can pull to oppose Trump’s and his allies’ attempts to consolidate power.” 👇
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
#Handsoff2025 #April5 #Protests #Uspol #Trump
How to Save a Democracy
Americans can learn from opponents of authoritarianism elsewhere.
www.foreignaffairs.com
April 4, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Reposted by Alex
You have to see this.

PoliticsGirl and her husband teamed up with the brilliant Timothy Snyder (author of On Tyranny) and the legendary John Lithgow to create something truly powerful. It’s important, it’s urgent—and it needs to be shared far and wide.
20 Lessons on Tyranny: by Timothy Snyder / read by John Lithgow
YouTube video by PoliticsGirl
youtu.be
March 31, 2025 at 11:06 PM
It’s impossible for any expert to know exactly how these #tariffs will affect our pockets for a few weeks to months. Trump is sure to reverse or renegotiate a lot of them, + understanding the intricacies of supply chains and production processes is too complex for quick calcs… 1/2
April 3, 2025 at 9:40 AM
So now we have it confirmed why Trump and Vance want Greenland so desperately - and why they were angry with Zelensky for not signing the deal. They know China are now going to further limit access to rare earth minerals. #Tariffs #Politics #UsPolitics #China #Trump #Tradewar
April 2, 2025 at 10:41 PM