Ukraine War SitRep, Part 2
Who is winning the war in Ukraine? Everyone knows the answer, right? The Situation Report (SitRep) is that Ukraine is losing, correct? Maybe. Let’s figure it out. To do this,… Read More
Lew Toulmin, PhD, FRGS
Lew Toulmin, PhD, FRGS, is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and of The Explorers Club. He has worked in 30 developing countries and traveled to 145 of the world’s 196 nations. He and his wife Susan live in Silver Spring.
Good, Bad and Surprising News from the War in Ukraine, Part 1
This past month the war in Ukraine passed five important but terrible milestones: two years since the war began; 400,000 Russian soldiers killed or very seriously wounded; about 180,000 Ukrainian… Read More
The Ligon Family History, Part 3
A Royal Refuge, Brideshead Revisited, and a 170-Year-Long Lawsuit Recall from two earlier monthly columns that Thomas Ligon/Lygon, the progenitor of the American Ligon line, is my proven great-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-grandfather, and… Read More
The Ligon Family Reunion at Madresfield Court, Part 2
In July 2023 I was privileged and lucky to be able to attend the reunion of the Ligon/Lygon family at the astounding Madresfield Court, in Worcestershire, England. As described in… Read More
Col. Ligon’s Adventure Travel and Family Reunions
Today “adventure travel” usually means getting on a plane, flying for a few hours to an exotic location like the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, and watching wildebeest migrate while sipping… Read More
Into the Tunnels Under Gaza
History of Tunnels Under Gaza The tunnels under the Gaza Strip originated in the 1980s as smuggling routes between Gaza and Egypt, and expanded dramatically after the 2007 Egyptian-Israeli blockade… Read More
The Tragedy of the Commons, the Climate Crisis, and Where to Move
In 1833 the English economist William Lloyd published a pamphlet in which he described the hypothetical over-use of a parcel of grazing land, held in common by village farmers. Each… Read More
UK Travel Tips from Travel Tales
My wife and I just returned from a five-week trip through England. We had a super once-in-ten-years US-UK family reunion at a moated manor house, a week in a Cotswold… Read More
Buc-ee’s: Coming Soon to a Gas Tank and a Stomach Near You
Never heard of Buc-ee’s? You will. Soon. It’s another Southern phenomenon that is slowly moving North, taking over the country. Is it a Southern phenom like voter suppression, fire ants… Read More
Ukrainian Combat Vehicles You Never Heard of Could Save American Democracy — Maybe
Tanks! Tanks! Tanks! F-16s! F-16s! F-16s! If you read the world’s press, you would think that numerous main battle tanks and F-16 jets, largely withheld by the U.S. and NATO… Read More
Alabama Lawyers Hall of Fame Inducts Unjustly Disbarred Black Lawyer
This past month I had a gratifying but shocking experience down in my native state of Alabama. I traveled to the state capital of Montgomery, having been invited to attend… Read More
Mask and Vax Up for Summer Travel
When you go on that neat summer driving vacation this summer, you’re going to wear your seat belt, right? Of course. You are smart and good at risk assessment, and… Read More