Rapid Travel Chai

Dateline: Jersey City, NJ, returned from Western Canada swing through Banff, Jasper, Victoria and Vancouver.

News:

• Avalanche Rescue Needs a Revolutionary (Outside Online).
• Key to Opting Out of Personalized Ads, Hidden in Plain View (The New York Times).
• Zimbabwe’s adoption of Chinese yuan not what it seems (Toronto Star).
• Why Can’t China Make a Good Ballpoint Pen? (China Law Blog) and Zhejiang villagers not happy with new villas, might have something to do with troublesome giant electrical cables (Shanghaiist).
• With College Football Playoff, ESPN Plans to Reinvent New Year’s Eve (The New York Times).
• Not-so-happy returns (The Economist).
• Master of Emergencies and Let me hear your khoomei ringing out (The Economist).
• Who Runs Algeria? Many Doubt It’s Ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (The New York Times).
• Guns are now killing as many people as cars in the U.S. (The Washington Post).
• The Typical American Lives Only 18 Miles From Mom (The New York Times).

Comment:

• The 2015 Sidney Awards, Part 1 and Part 2 (The New York Times).
• Charles Woodson will retire as perhaps the NFL’s best defensive player ever (The Washington Post). Overstating the case, though his Michigan State interception is unforgettable.
• Shut up, food snobs. Chain restaurants are awesome. (The Washington Post).

Travel:

• Japan’s Hidden Gems: Kyushu, Hot Springs, Tea Ceremony and Sumo Wrestling (Huffington Post – David Code).
• Visiting Nassau and Nassau to Baltimore in United Biz/First (Jason Around the World).
• All About Anguilla: How To Get There & Where to Stay (Angelina Travels).
• In the Caribbean, Cricket is About More than Just the Game (Afar).
• Iran’s Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Has Been Hiding One of the World’s Great Art Collections (Bloomberg Businessweek).
• The Azores: An untamed island paradise only a few hours by air from North America (The Washington Post).
• A Little Noticed Improvement to Google Flights (The Frequent Miler) and Use Google Flights to Search for Train Times & Prices in Europe (Travel with Grant).
• Because it was there (The Economist).
• 9 Travel Gadgets I Have In My Carry-On (One Mile at a Time).
• Refusing to Transport Israelis, Kuwait Airways Suspends New York to London Flight (Live and Let’s Fly).
• Argentina Becomes a Normal Country Today! (MileValue).
• Marriott Still Thinks Removing Desks is Brilliant & Innovative (Point Me to the Plane).
• United Airlines Ends Dubai Route (Global Traveler).
• Reader Brian Greco shares his year in travel in 7 minutes:

https://www.facebook.com/geckogreco/videos/10153462943616731/