r/IntlScholars

Excerpt:

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s wife reportedly traveled to China just three days after he received CPR following an apparent heart attack.

Elaine Chao, 73, who has been married to the 84-year-old Republican lawmaker since 1993 and formerly served as transportation secretary in the first Trump administration, traveled to Beijing and met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng just days after McConnell’s hospitalization.

https://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zmgx/zxxx/202607/t20260702_11956191.htm

Excerpt:

America’s two greatest presidents shared an intense conviction: that a republic depends on some measure of virtue in its citizens and some measure of integrity in its leaders. Without them, the temple of liberty will fall.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Dozens of diamonds spell out two giant letter T’s next to the Stars and Stripes and “1776” and “2026.” Dozens more frame the numbers 45 and 47 in the shape of Superman’s logo. A diamond-winged eagle carries a ruby shield and clutches an olive branch of emeralds, below a radiant “250” and atop the phrase “250 YEARS USA” etched in 18-karat gold.

All told, 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds and six rubies encrust the watch-sized gold ring presented this week to Bill White, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, to give to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Being a trusted partner sells products; the opposite is also true.

Lead Lines:

The Spanish government has reportedly begun telling state-backed firms to avoid signing new contacts with US billionaire Peter Thiel’s company.

It comes amid fears that sensitive national security information could be leaked, according to Spanish publication El Confidencial.

Excerpt:

"It's not just his deliberate distortion and destruction of NATO and his choosing Putin over American allies or the fact that he's diminished our standing in the eyes of the world more than any president in history has," Biden said.

"The less traveled path of disciplined inquiry has seldom been the easiest or the fastest. It has often required patience when certainty seemed more appealing, evidence when opinion seemed sufficient, and judgment when emotion demanded immediate response. Yet it remains the path America must follow if it is to remain faithful to the aspirations expressed in the Constitution itself, beginning with its enduring words, We the People."

A thought, please speak up:

This little sub is rather unique in its focus on the international. I hope it retains that focus.

One possibility would be to broaden the available flairs to encourage a wider range of contributions while still viewing them through an international lens. For example, flairs could include education, science, public health, governance, wealth and inequality, demographics, tourism, infrastructure, environment, technology, and culture.

In some ways, this would resemble the old CIA World Factbook, not because we would be creating static summaries of countries, but because it encouraged people to examine nations across many dimensions. Instead of reference entries, however, we would be sharing current articles and discussions that illuminate those dimensions.

The interesting questions often arise at the intersections. How does the quality of governance influence tourism? Foreign investment? Scientific productivity? Educational outcomes? Public health? Population trends? Environmental stewardship? Looking at these relationships across countries could make the sub both broader in appeal and more distinctive in purpose, while remaining firmly centered on international comparisons.