amandaunderwood.bsky.social
@amandaunderwood.bsky.social
An insight into a future under Vance. A complete severance of co-operative mutual defense relations with Europe.

Meanwhile, BRICS nations are becoming more enmeshed militarily via the hostilities in Ukraine. Nth. Korea's military are getting on the ground training. China/Taiwan plan is firming.
Surprise envoy pushing Ukraine ‘peace’ plan belies Vance influence on US policy
Army secretary Daniel Driscoll presented a Russian wishlist, highlighting differences with the administration
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted
Julie Inman Grant has been asked to testify to Congress. It’s a sign of an increasing US preoccupation with online censorship.
What does the US Congress want with Australia’s eSafety commissioner?
theconversation.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:56 AM
China is rapidly transitioning to renewables & creating new tech to sell to the world. Europe & Australasia are doing likewise.

Are we seeing the new most relevant centers of power for the future taking shape?

The future is green.
We delivered a clear message at Cop30: the delayers and defeatists are losing the climate fight | Ed Miliband
For all its flaws, the Brazil conference underlined the wish by a global majority for clean energy and climate action – and the UK will keep leading the way, says Ed Miliband, secretary of state for e...
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Trump's 'no peace' plan is a complete green light to Putin to finish the job. Unconditional surrender by Europe in other words.

There is another choice.
European countries propose radically different Ukraine peace plan to US
Document omits some of Washington’s pro-Russia points and calls for Kyiv’s sovereignty to be respected
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Two of my favourite public intellectuals. A lovely Sunday read.
In Honor of Joanna Macy, 1929-2025
I write while staying in one of the great forests of British Columbia, a forest in which the inextricability of life from death is gorgeously evident. Several kinds of fern spring from this soil, some...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:26 AM
"When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say."
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:19 PM
There's only a few random's who are still climate deniers so why is it taking so long to reach an effective resolution in endless annual COP meetings?

Humans, eh? Doesn't this picture say it all...
End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff
Wealthy countries should triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Reposted
More fossil fuel lobbyists are coming to global climate talks to push for favourable outcomes. Now their role is in the spotlight.

👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/brazil-...
November 19, 2025 at 8:55 PM
"...the digital world reflects profound power imbalances in knowledge, and how this is amplified by generative AI (GenAI). The early internet was dominated by the English language and western institutions leaving whole worlds of human knowledge and experience undigitised.
What AI doesn’t know: we could be creating a global ‘knowledge collapse’ | Deepak Varuvel Dennison
The long read: As GenAI becomes the primary way to find information, local and traditional wisdom is being lost. And we are only beginning to realise what we’re missing
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:06 PM
As ever, it is the usual suspects who want to sabotage these initiatives for establishing a sovereign state for Palestinians. Self-determination is an inalienable right that the Israeli's vehemently insist upon for themselves. And rightly so. No less should be afforded to the Palestinian people.
UN security council votes to endorse Donald Trump’s Gaza plan
The resolution, which includes references to an independent Palestine, was passed by a vote of 13-0 with China and Russia abstaining
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:53 AM
It's new, isn't it? Say, a decade old. That automatic pondering on what Machiavellian reasoning is behind any generous/humanist impulse by the trump regime. There isn't even a split second of delay. Straight to - 'what does he get from this?'.

My guess is Islamophobic threat for rare earth grift.
Nicki Minaj to spotlight plight of Nigerian Christians in UN speech arranged by White House
Rapper to give address on Tuesday after supporting Trump’s post condemning Nigerian government
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:53 PM
If anyone still holds the illusion that Putin will stop at Ukraine, they should start to pay attention to all the ways he utilises hybrid warfare methods on all his neighbours and beyond.

In short, Putin must lose and lose bigly.
Poland railway blast was unprecedented act of sabotage, says Donald Tusk
Polish PM vows to ‘catch the perpetrators, regardless of who their backers are’ after blast on track used for deliveries to Ukraine
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Climate change is existential for many Pacific nations.

Ignoring the science is deeply shameful.
South Pacific nation of Tuvalu rebukes Trump’s ‘shameful disregard’ at Cop30
Minister from islands facing extinction is one of few delegates directly calling out Trump’s climate policies
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Authoritarians only respect strength. New P.M. Sanae Takaichi is shaping up to be a bold leader. Someone to watch.
China and Japan in escalating spat over Taiwan: What to know
Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi had suggested Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked Taiwan.
www.bbc.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Three guesses why Trump dropped tariffs on Aussie beef.

Nah, just joking. You only need one. Punters paying double for hamburgers. Because we all know that it is U.S. consumers who pay for tariffs imposed on foreign nations.
Australia welcomes Trump’s removal of tariffs on beef and other food imports
‘We maintain our position that tariffs on any Australian products are unjustified,’ trade minister Don Farrell says
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Impossible to believe that it has taken this long to get to this point, but thankfully the time has come.
The signing of Australia’s first treaty may be a turning point not just for Victoria but the beginning of a new chapter in Australia’s history.
Victoria’s groundbreaking treaty could reshape Australia’s relationship with First Peoples
theconversation.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:46 AM
For Trump, it all comes down to where the power lies. With the leader or with the people is of the essence. The former is attractive; the latter is incomprehensible.
Trump’s world order: praising Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as an ‘attractive guy’, while disparaging the first Muslim mayor of New York as a ‘lunatic communist’.
One is a former al-Qaeda leader, the other a US mayor. Guess which was invited to the White House
theconversation.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:09 AM
When everyday people come together to do good, anything can happen.
Next day delivery, no weapons allowed: the unstoppable postal service keeping Ukraine going
Nova Poshta connects frontline cities to the capital, and to millions of refugees across Europe, delivering everything from home comforts to house moving boxes, even under fire
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:55 PM
The response to Mamdani from the wealthy establishment must be countered loudly & proudly by working people. Privileged elites are few. Working people are many. You are the many. The few depend upon the many. That is why they are terrified.

A healthy democracy & economy depends upon the many.
Why the media (not just MAGA) is freaked out over Mamdani
Plus: Midterms success for Democrats must avoid the false choice between affordability and opposing Trump
margaretsullivan.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Small nations most at risk now, but so are we in the not-too-distant future. Reliable, stable weather is dependent upon the health of ocean currents. Once the ocean currents are disrupted, there will be vast tracts of water & earth that becomes uninhabitable to all creatures. With obvious results.
World must ‘honour 1.5C’, small island states insist at Cop30 summit – live
The 1.5 temperature limit is not a political slogan, it’s a lifeline, the small island states say, as climate discussions continue in Belém
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted
Vought holds one of the most powerful jobs in D.C., and he’s used his position to wage a quiet war to change the shape of the entire U.S. government.

Here's what you should know about Trump’s shadow president.
What You Should Know About Russ Vought, Trump’s Shadow President
Vought is the architect of President Trump’s broader plan to fire civil servants, freeze government programs and dismantle entire agencies. Here are some key things to know about the D.C. insider who ...
www.propublica.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Reposted
Parents may not realise AI is being introduced into their children’s classrooms.
Is your child’s school using generative AI? Here are 8 questions to ask
theconversation.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Judging China's future position in the A.I. race vis-à-vis the U.S.'s through market value is a mistake. Xi's move to ensure that corporations have at least a 50% public sector involvement ensures that China's A.I. achievements are difficult to gauge. Then there is trump's anti-intellectualism...
Will China win the AI race?
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang is warning that China could pull ahead. Two experts offer opposing views on whether he’s right.
theconversation.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Bastardry in politics has a long history. This is Australia's version. Was a child when this happened & was shocked to see my father weep. He never did weep again.

Didn't realise the cowards chose Remembrance Day to stick the knife in.

Lest we forget indeed.
Gough Whitlam’s dismissal ‘a calculated plot’ to remove elected government via partisan ambush, PM says
Albanese says ‘old suffocating conservatism’ of Menzies era reached out of its political grave to remove a government chosen by voters
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:15 PM
All of this is transparently clear to everyone who understands economics even a tiny bit. Does sucking the marrow out of his own nation whilst scuppering it economically have any logic? Perhaps you would need to have the dark triad of psychological pathologies to understand it.
Trump’s dollar delusion: how trade war risks ending the US’s ‘exorbitant privilege’
Trump’s team flirts with weakening the dollar, threatening US influence, low borrowing costs and global stability
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:25 AM