I am in the early, fumbling stage of a book on the politics of drink
in Britain and the United States during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, so I certainly am interested in international, comparative
perspectives.  I am not much of a linguist (e.g., have forgot most of
my French and nearly all of my college German and have neglected the
Swedish grammars and dictionaries that I once optimistically
collected), so as a comparativist I have remained within the
English-speaking parts of the world.  Yes, a conference would be a
great idea.  Anybody volunteering to organize it?