Rapid Travel Chai

Dateline: Southern Namibia

News:

• Sweden’s subtly radical ‘feminist’ foreign policy is causing a stir (The Washington Post). Courage in diplomacy.
• Russia sending in blood and treasure to fight ISIS or anti-Assad or depends who you ask and people claim the US got played? I don’t see it. The Russians are the ones for the job. Some of the takes from the Washington Posts range of pundits, Russia and the “facts on the ground” in Syria, In Syria, whose side is the United States on, and Obama’s Syria debacle.
• Here’s Who’s to Blame for All Those New Peanut Allergies (StumbleUpon). I didn’t like nuts until adulthood, fortunately I played in the dirt a lot.
• For decades, the government steered millions away from whole milk. Was that wrong? (The Washington Post). A few years ago I stepped up to 2%, now do I go all in?
• Amid the Crowing of the GOP and Clinton, Sanders Is on the Rise (Truthdig). It is time for his candidacy to be taken seriously and Clint have to face a challenger. The Democrats are foolish to let all attention be taken up by the clown car on the other side. Meanwhile, Can we get the Rubio boomlet over with? (The Washington Post). Youth with retrograde ideas. Or, Carly Fiorina’s Shameless Promotion (NYT). Great salespeople can sell anything.
• The one thing Speaker Boehner must do before leaving (The Washington Post). When the Republicans were the party of business this would have been unfathomable.
• Calais terminal ‘invasion’ halts Eurotunnel overnight (The Guardian). Europe rended apart when its values put to an extreme test.
• Andy Parker: Oregon shooting shows we are at war (USA Today), Let’s Focus on the Gun-Makers (Truthdig), and President Obama just identified the one thing that could make real gun reform possible (The Washington Post). Split the sensible gun owners off from the lobby.
• A Tradition for New Mothers in China, Now $27,000 a Month (NYT). The curious practice of ‘sitting the month,’ the no shower part must be the hardest however they dress it up.
• Nobel Prize Validates Chinese Medicine? Nope (Science20). A modern biochemical approach was used.
• Beijing ‘100 Percent Covered’ by Web of Surveillance Cameras (China National News). Next time in Tiananmen Square, take a careful look at the street lamps.
• Putting Mobile Ad Blockers to the Test (NYT). Half or more of your data consumption may be ads.
• If Your Wi-Fi Is Terrible, Check Your Router (NYT). Get on the upgrade treadmill.
• Why Some of the World’s Most Famous Chefs Don’t Want a Michelin Star (Vanity Fair). Under the hood.
• Obama to nominate first openly gay service secretary to lead the Army (The Washington Post). Amazing social change.
• Last known photo of Wild West icon Jesse James identified (CBC As It Happens). Pictured, alive with Robert Ford.
• The enigma behind America’s freak, 20-year lobster boom (Quartz). Thanks to reader Andrew Churchill for sharing a preview of my future lobster trips for my wife.
• Bangladesh Grapples With Islamist Militancy (WSJ India Real Time). When I visited some years ago I felt that the world was lucky to not have a significant Islamist threat in Bangladesh despite its poverty and dysfunctional politics. No more.

Travel

• The Cheapo Alternatives To Buying Travel Gear When You’re Dead Broke (Map Happy).
• 5 Mountains You Can Summit Frugally (Frugal Travel Guy). I need to write about my day trip from Tokyo to the top of Mt Fuji and back.
• Visiting the Oldest Amusement Parks in the World (Miles to Memories). I walked by Tivoli last month and didn’t know there are even older.
• How Not To Get Deported From China (One Mile at a Time). Obscure gotcha, a direct flight with a stopover in a Chinese city that reqires immigration clearance but does not have 72-hour visa-free transit. Urumqi is not the place to expect flexibility, I had a hard time leaving there when I had proof of Kazakhstan visa on arrival approval.