Rapid Travel Chai

Let’s start with the preposterous, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and representative of the banks that nearly took down the world economy and want the flexibility to give it another go, resorted to the China bogeyman in fighting a breakup of his bank (FT):

“America has been the leader in global capital markets for the last 50, 100 years. It’s part of the reason the country is so strong. I look at it as a matter of public policy,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to see the next JPMorgan Chase be a Chinese company.

Travel  selections for the week:

• Google Flights Launched for India (Live from a Lounge). Dethrones ixigo.
• Fire damages Addis Ababa hotel made famous by Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop (The Guardian).
• Terrorist Attacks and Travel Plans (Live and Let’s Fly).
• ISIS Targets 2,000-Year-Old Ancient Nineveh Walls in Iraq (Breitbart).
• Why TripAdvisor Sucks for Restaurants (Map Happy).
• How to travel to Antarctica (Gunnar Garfors)

News:

• Interview with Ziauddin Sardar on The Monocle Weekly about his book Mecca: The Sacred City, see The Economist review.
• Malawi floods kill at least 176 people, displace 110,000 (ABC News).
• How a Facebook Fakery Fooled Africa Reporters (WSJ).
• Russian and Turkish conspiracy theories swirl after Paris attacks (FT). Nothing has changed there and there.
• China linguist’s 109th birthday wish: democracy (Yahoo News).
• When Hitler Looked East (WSJ). Fascinating look into Hitler’s admiration of Turkey and even Islam.
• Dueling Mosques and an American Beacon in Afghanistan (WSJ). Saudi Arabia and Iran are building mega-mosques and schools in Kabul. The American University in Kabul is providing education and opportunities for Afghan youth but lacks funding.