Rapid Travel Chai

Dateline: Hotel Indigo, Hong Kong

Evil fills the news. The passing of Japanese actress Setsuko Hara, the iconic face of numerous Ozu films, is a moment to reflect on beauty, artistry and family.

The new collection of the late Christopher Hitchens writings brings us back to the intellectual fight.

Just the links this week, huge backlog, skim and see what interests you.

News:

• Inside Massive Injury Lawsuits, Clients Get Traded Like Commodities for Big Money (Bloomberg Business).
• The Strange, True Story of How a Chairman at McKinsey Made Millions of Dollars off His Maid (The Nation).
• Hospital Gear Could Save Your Life Or Hack Your Identity (Bloomberg Business).
• Christmas Island detention centre ‘calm’ after ‘stand-off’ with authorities following refugee’s death: Immigration Department (ABC News).
• Hank Greenberg on his Dealings with China, Take on Financial Crisis (Caixin).
• Beijing Court Clears Newspapers of Defaming ‘World Luxury Association’ (Caixin).
• Collapsing Greenland glacier could raise sea levels by half a metre, say scientists (The Guardian) and Greenland Is Melting Away (NYT).
• The Pacific Ocean Becomes a Caldron (NYT).
• Forward defence (The Economist).
• Not just hand-waving (The Economist).
• Prince: ‘I was right about the internet – tell me a musician who’s got rich off it’ The Guardian).
• California missile test: Social media nightmare or exactly what the Navy wanted? (The Washington Post).
• Russia to Exhume Alexander III as Romanov Probe Widens (The Moscow Times).
• Despite Rocky Start, Rutgers in the Big Ten Is Still Seen as a Big Win (NYT).
• Emirates Secretly Sends Colombian Mercenaries to Yemen Fight (NYT).
• Britain Adopts Black Friday With an All-American Frenzy (NYT).

Comment:

• I watch child pornography to prosecute sex crimes. The kids’ silence is deafening. (The Washington Post).
• Bernie Sanders’s Highly Sensible Plan to Turn Post Offices Into Banks (The Atlantic).
• India is being ruled by a Hindu Taliban | Anish Kapoor (The Guardian).
• The Syrian Kurds Are Winning! by Jonathan Steele (The New York Review of Books).
• Only a real Islamic caliphate can stand up to the sham of ISIL (Quartz).
• How ISIS Spread in Syria and Iraq—and How to Stop It (The Atlantic).
• A France-U.S. Anti-Islamist Alliance (WSJ).
• They Are Us (NYT).
• A New Way to Improve College Enrollment (NYT).
• Being Dishonest About Ugliness (NYT).

Travel:

• Must-Haves of Travel: Calcium Bentonite Clay (Out and Out).
• Google Maps Adds Offline Directions & Why That Matters for the Modern Traveler (Miles to Memories).
• Mobile Passport – better than Global Entry? (‘dem flyers).
• Pratt’s PurePower GTF: Jet Engine Innovation Took Almost 30 Years (Bloomberg Business).
• New Florida train service to whisk passengers between Miami and Orlando (USA Today).
• At Aeroflot, It’s Patriotism Over Profits as Russia Pressures Industry (NYT).
• Are the Canary Islands the UK North’s new favourites for winter sun? (Travel Daily News).
• Verizon Offers High-Speed Global Roaming for $10 a Day (Re/code).
• The Sight You Can Only See In Turkey Every November 10, 9:05am (foXnoMad).
• In the Belly of Byzantium: The Subterranean Spaces of Istanbul (The Bohemian Blog).
• Niger is the most amazing country I never expected to visit and Chinese-built luxury hotel in Niger (both Business Insider).
• Popular Hotel in Somalia Is Bombed by Militants (NYT).
• F.C.C. Sides With Hot Spots, and Hospitality Industry Feels a Chill (NYT).
• The Most Profitable Airlines in the World Aren’t the Ones You Think (View from the Wing).