Third Culture Queen vol. I
Semi-weekly rants on drugs, empires, and philosophy
Welcome to Third Culture Queen! š³ļøāš
Iām excited to be trying my hand at a newsletter again. Unlike other times, Iām being upfront with what TCQ is: Kyle Borland ranting into the void.
As you already know or as you will learn, I make categorical jumps and connections that donāt make sense (to you) ā so be prepared to roll with a punch or two (or ask me).
I will be providing my own commentary, based on articles I curate and share, but I encourage you to respectfully engage (re: come for me!) in any replies or comment threads. Sometimes there will be structure, other times expect (mostly filtered) stream of consciousness, and I might even dabble in a podcast (no longer than 8 min š¤).
Truthfully, I donāt know what I want this to be other than a more formal way of collecting my turbulent thoughts. The first step is writing consistently, and I hope yāall will tag along for the ride. And, if you like what you see, share with your friends! š
Drugs
Things to Know (links in headlines):
Banking for cannabis companies is a headache. (Marijuana Moment) | Luckily, Congress is on the cusp on actually doing something about it. Reminder that these shifts are only possible because white folks can make money on the plant now. Which is why the industry agrees: equity must be prioritized in cannabis.
Greed is a hell of a drug. (Axios) | āā¦ we may be in for three more decades of flat wage and productivity growth and a shrinking middle class, conditions that are behind much of the [global] populist anger.ā
More Americans like this, please. (Twitter) | We cannot adequately love the United StatesĀ without acknowledging both constant, intertwining strands in our DNA: liberty, and racism. The latter is rooted deep enough it is impossible to rip out. So I am not surprised in the slightest at our nationās treatment of Rep. Omar, but this homecoming video touched my heart.
Empires
Things to Know (links in headlines):
Care about democracy? Follow whatās happening in Hong Kong. (CS Monitor) | The post-Cold War trend of an ever-increasing democratic world is over. In its place, we have the geopolitical equivalent of a WWE series: authoritarianism vs democracy. And, Hong Kong is putting up quite a fight.
The US kicked Turkey out of its F-35 program. (Reuters) | This is a major win for Russiaās long-term goals. Removing Turkey from NATO (the natural conclusion of these events) will be one of Putinās most significant achievements.
China posted its slowest growth since 1992. (CNBC) | This will only invigorate Trump and his chosen tactics. The Trade War wonāt end anytime soon.
2020 Democrats have yet to articulate a foreign policy (Foreign Policy) | The world will be looking for a strong reversal of āAmerica Firstā and, short of a few Medium posts, āthe Presidentialsā have left much to be desired.
The US canāt win the wars it starts. (The Daily Beast) | If youāre born 1992 or later, āvictoriesā are a historical concept. Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Context
Formally, the US designates China and Russia as its sole āGreat Power competitors.ā I understand why from an international relations (re: ego) standpoint but I find it more realistic to think of the following as todayās power players: the United States, China, the European Union, India, Japan, and Russia.
These are the nations others look to in order to protect whichever silo of the world economy they see themselves in most. This is most challenging when dealing with the interventionist military powers of the US, China, and Russia. The EU and Japan are more economic and regulatory powers than mighty sticks. Whereas India is still developing what kind of power itās going to be (spoiler alert: itās not looking great). Most nations try to straddle a happy medium between the behemoths, but there are many determined to strike their own path(s).
Those āregionalā or ārisingā powers include: Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia + Gulf States, Turkey, and (in the coming years) the African Union / African Continental Free Trade Area. This is by no means a perfect grouping or stratification. We could add / remove nations until we were blue-in-the-face ā and we might! ā but letās go with this for now.
Further reading (links in pub names):
After Rupture with U.S., Turkey Looks to Russia for Fighter Jets | Foreign Policy
Mercosur bloc leaders meet to fast-track EU trade deal | Al Jazeera
Economic 'game changer'? African leaders launch free-trade zone | Reuters
America's War Plans for China, Russia Will Not Work, New Report | Military.com
Japan still leads in Southeast Asia infrastructure race, even as China ramps up belt and road investments: report | South China Morning Post
Philosophy
Things to Know (links in headlines):
North America embarrassing itself in high-speed rail, mobility (SFGATE) | Even when California had a friendly federal administration, building HSR (or any transit) in the United States is a guaranteed boondoggle. There are projects showing promise but the fact weāre holding out hope in 2019 that Cascadia or Texas can complete a route when China has completed thousands in the past 10 years, and 20 other countries have already completed HSR, is disheartening.
āThe modern American city is not a microcosm of life but a microslice of it. (The Atlantic) | Itās impossible to ignore the impact the Internet had of humans. We havenāt stopped spinning since it came around the corner, and humanity wonāt get a real idea of whatās going on right now until all of us are long gone (or at least gray-haired). However, we do know the āproblemsā amongst the Liberal worldās educated young adults do not start or end with handheld supercomputers. I donāt think itās a problem if the educated and secular have less children. The oneās who fret over this are the same people who oppose immigration of all kinds.
