Mainly, CS&W is about exploring the world out there, so here is some interesting weekend reading about places that chances are, you’re probably not right now:
Long train travel: There Is No Reason to Cross the U.S. by Train. But I Did It Anyway.
Shorter train travel: Brexit, and train travel through Europe.
How the contest between free trade and protectionism sparked fervor and unrest in medieval England: Maken Engelond Gret Ayeyn.
An article that prompted a post earlier this week: Grocery Stores Are at the Front Line of Turkey’s Latest Political Battle.
China, India, Nepal and the political future of Buddhism: China Is Winning the War for Nepali Buddhism.
How to escape despotism: The Underground Railroad of North Korea.
Policy wonk note: One of the recurring themes here is that, since the crumbling of the Berlin Wall in 1989, throughout the Clinton, Bush and Obama years, it has taken a long, long time for an international order to emerge from the ‘Post-Cold-War’ period. Here is a longish article that suggests that, finally, it’s time: The End of the New Deal Era—and the Coming Realignment. The author, Frank J. DiStefano, writes
“American parties are temporary coalitions forged as tools to self-govern our republic at specific moments of crisis. They bind fractious collections of people who disagree about many things but agree on how to solve the biggest problem of their age,”
and he says that is about to change. (Note to readers outside the U.S., it’s a little heavy up on American history.)
And finally, in the aesthetics department: How to Arrange Your Kitchen: According to Julia Child.
See you next week.
Common Sense and Whiskey 