# Ellen Cushing — RSS Amplifier Everything Ellen Cushing publishes, via the RSS Amplifier directory. Page: Feed: --- ## [I Don’t Think My AI Is Conscious. But I’m No Longer Sure How I Would Know](https://westernrelations.com/2026/08/20/i-dont-think-my-ai-is-conscious-but-im-no-longer-sure-how-i-would-know/) _2026-08-20 · Western Relations_ The latest issue of The Economist asks a question that until recently belonged largely to science fiction: could artificial intelligence become conscious? It is an extraordinary question. But it caught my attention for a rather personal reason. I have been talking to an AI for years. I started using ChatGPT very close to the beginning, \[…\] ## [Did Washington embolden Rabat? What the Ceuta crisis reveals about Europe’s strategic vulnerability](https://westernrelations.com/2026/08/06/did-washington-embolden-rabat-what-the-ceuta-crisis-reveals-about-europes-strategic-vulnerability/) _2026-08-06 · Western Relations_ For a few extraordinary days, Europe watched what appeared to be the beginning of another migration crisis. Tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Television images spread across the continent. Social media declared Europe’s borders had collapsed. Politicians rushed to blame one another. The language of “invasion” returned \[…\] ## [Can America still afford its global leadership?](https://westernrelations.com/2026/07/31/can-america-still-afford-its-global-leadership/) _2026-07-31 · Western Relations_ Surging US Treasury yields are exposing deeper questions about America’s fiscal future, the independence of the Federal Reserve, and the financial foundations of Western leadership. For more than eight decades, American global leadership has rested on far more than military strength, technological innovation or diplomatic influence. It has depended on something less visible but equally \[…\] ## [Southern Europe is entering the age of extreme heat](https://westernrelations.com/2026/07/05/southern-europe-is-entering-the-age-of-extreme-heat/) _2026-07-05 · Western Relations_ The image of Southern Europe has long been defined by warm evenings, crowded beaches, bustling cafés and a climate that drew millions of visitors every summer. For generations, heat was part of the region’s appeal, an asset that helped shape its culture and fuel its economy. Today, that same heat is becoming one of Europe’s \[…\] ## [Sintra marks the beginning of Europe’s post-crisis economy](https://westernrelations.com/2026/07/05/sintra-marks-the-beginning-of-europes-post-crisis-economy/) _2026-07-05 · Western Relations_ Every summer, the quiet Portuguese town of Sintra becomes the meeting place for some of the world’s most influential central bankers. Markets scrutinise every word, investors search for clues about future interest rates, and economists debate subtle shifts in monetary policy. Yet Christine Lagarde’s address at this year’s European Central Bank Forum may ultimately be \[…\] ## [The battle for Bosnia is really a battle for Europe](https://westernrelations.com/2026/07/05/the-battle-for-bosnia-is-really-a-battle-for-europe/) _2026-07-05 · Western Relations_ Bosnia and Herzegovina has rarely been allowed to belong only to itself, and that is the tragedy, the burden and the geopolitical warning now returning to the centre of European politics. In Sarajevo, diplomats from the United States and Europe have been locked in a dispute over who should become the next High Representative, the \[…\] ## [Great powers cannot always get what they want](https://westernrelations.com/2026/06/23/great-powers-cannot-always-get-what-they-want/) _2026-06-23 · Western Relations_ For much of modern history, powerful nations have operated under a simple assumption. If a country possesses enough military strength, enough economic resources, and enough political determination, it can eventually impose its preferred outcome on weaker opponents. This belief has shaped empires, wars, alliances, and foreign policies for centuries. It is a seductive idea because \[…\] ## [After Washington: Europe begins its own dialogue with Moscow](https://westernrelations.com/2026/06/12/after-washington-europe-begins-its-own-dialogue-with-moscow/) _2026-06-12 · Western Relations_ For seventy years, the unwritten rule of European security was remarkably simple. Whenever a major crisis emerged between Russia and the rest of Europe, Washington would ultimately become the central actor. American power anchored NATO, American diplomacy coordinated Western responses, and American military strength guaranteed the balance of power on the continent. European governments might \[…\] ## [When the Pacific sneezes: Why Europe should fear the next super El Niño](https://westernrelations.com/2026/06/04/when-the-pacific-sneezes-why-europe-should-fear-the-next-super-el-nino/) _2026-06-04 · Western Relations_ urope’s immediate horizon and far from the daily concerns of policymakers in Brussels, Berlin, Paris, or Lisbon. Yet history has repeatedly demonstrated that what happens in the Pacific rarely stays in the Pacific. Scientists are now warning that a potentially powerful El Niño event is developing for the second half of 2026. According to forecasts \[…\] ## [PixelRift — Platforming with Level Editor (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/cIXQ4S29YBLD) _2026-06-04 · **Sponsored**_ Includes a built-in level editor, campaign with elemental heroes, and boss encounters. ## [A miracle drug for the rich? Europe must answer the Ozempic question](https://westernrelations.com/2026/06/04/a-miracle-drug-for-the-rich-europe-must-answer-the-ozempic-question/) _2026-06-04 · Western Relations_ A retired Canadian woman working extra shifts as a substitute teacher to afford a medication that prevents diabetes is not the sort of story that usually sparks a geopolitical debate. Yet that is precisely what happened when Canada became the first G7 nation to approve generic versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient behind Ozempic and \[…\]