Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Lawsuit Questions Searches of Travelers’ Laptops, Digital Devices*
by Michael Yessis | 02.13.08 | 3:49 PM ET
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Asian Law Caucus filed suit in a California court last week to seek the release of Department of Homeland Security records concerning searches of personal property, including computers and other digital devices, by the DHS’s Customs and Border Protection agents. From CNN: “The suit accuses customs agents of ‘lengthy questioning and intrusive searches’ and seeks clarification on the law that allows such searches.”
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Yahoo! BuzzWhat Would Grizzly Adams Do?
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.13.08 | 3:03 PM ET
As a little kid I used to watch Grizzly Adams and Ben tear through the forest, chewing my braids as I strained to sense the scents and sights. So when my parents finally took us to the Black Hills one summer, I ran through the real forest, breathing in the pine and earth and windy scents of wildflowers. It was so much better than watching it on TV. Alas, since my favorite television show in my little girl days went off the air in 1982, our connection to nature has been steadily weakening, NPR reports. Participation in outdoorsy activities such as hiking, fishing and camping has dropped 18 percent since the 1980s, according to a University of Illinois study.
Worldometers: A Real-Time Look at the What’s Going on in the World
by Frank Bures | 02.13.08 | 12:33 PM ET
It’s impossible to watch the numbers spin at Worldometers without getting a concrete sense of just how fast the world is changing. The site features real-time counters for dozens of world stats, including the size of the world’s population; how many cars have been produced, books published and computers sold this year; and the fast-rising price of a bottle of beer in Zimbabwe—almost Z$4 million. It’s all terrifying and mesmerizing.
An Expat in Athens: Hitting the Polls in Greece
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.12.08 | 1:37 PM ET
There was no way I was going to miss voting in the most exciting Democratic primary in my lifetime. The Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama race is making major headlines in Greece, even knocking a tedious government sex scandal from its nightly takeover of the news.
JetBlue to Launch LAX-JFK Service
by Jim Benning | 02.12.08 | 1:25 PM ET
It’s about time JetBlue began operating out of Los Angeles International. Starting in May, the budget carrier with excellent entertainment options will offer three daily flights from LAX to John F. Kennedy International and one daily flight to Logan International in Boston. Even if you’re not as big of a fan of JetBlue as I am, it’s good news: It could lead to a fare war among other airlines at LAX. JetBlue is expanding service at other Southern California airports, too.
Paris: ‘A Delicate Pale Blue’ No Longer?
by Eva Holland | 02.12.08 | 11:11 AM ET
Photo by kla4067 via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Plenty of cities have imposed smoking bans in bars and restaurants by now, but it’s rare that they chip away at a world-renowned image in the process. In Paris, on the other hand, where the city’s identity seems more intimately connected with smoking, the ban that came into force Jan. 1 has the potential to alter more than just the air quality.
EU May Begin Fingerprinting Travelers to Europe
by Michael Yessis | 02.12.08 | 9:05 AM ET
Tomorrow the European Commission will propose fingerprinting all travelers to Europe, according to the Washington Post. The Post also reports that the EU wants to take facial scans of some travelers.
Monte Carlo in Las Vegas to Reopen Friday
by Michael Yessis | 02.11.08 | 2:13 PM ET
Three weeks after a three-alarm fire broke out on the top floors of the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas, the hotel and casino will reopen on a limited basis Feb. 15. Most of the rest of the hotel will reopen the following week, according to Reuters.
Introducing Tenzing Hillary Airport
by Jim Benning | 02.11.08 | 11:54 AM ET
The airport closest to Mount Everest, previously known as Lukla airstrip, will now be called Tenzing Hillary Airport in honor of the first climbers to summit Everest, the Nepalese government announced. Sir Edmund Hillary died last month; Tenzing Norgay died in 1986. Most visitors to Everest land at the airstrip. “It is a dramatic introduction,” the BBC notes, “as the plane has to drop steeply between the mountains and then lands on a runway which slopes steeply upwards.” YouTube has some great video.
Fire Destroys Seoul’s Namdaemun Gate
by Michael Yessis | 02.11.08 | 10:23 AM ET
“People’s hearts will ache,” South Korea’s President-elect Lee Myung-bak said. Namdaemun was a South Korean national treasure, a 610-year-old wooden gate located at the center of Seoul. Police have arrested a suspected arsonist, a 70-year-old man identified only by his family name, Chae. Before the fire, Namdaemun looked like this:
‘Live for Nothing, Die for Something’
by Eva Holland | 02.11.08 | 9:47 AM ET
That’s the tagline for the latest Rambo movie, and according to Reuters, the people of Yangon are “going crazy” for it.
World Hum’s Most Read: Feb. 2-8
by World Hum | 02.08.08 | 5:11 PM ET
Our five most popular features and blog posts this week:
1) Starbucks vs. the Traveler (pictured)
2) Traveling While Texan
3) The Road to Happiness
4) Super Tuesday Abroad: Obama Takes Jakarta
5) Under the Banyan Tree
Shanghai Starbucks photo by c a m i l o via Flickr, (Creative Commons)
U.S. Customs to Amy Winehouse: No, No, No*
by Eva Holland | 02.08.08 | 12:39 PM ET
Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse has been denied an American visa for this weekend’s Grammy Awards, reports the CBC. Winehouse, who is two weeks into her latest rehab stint, will be up for six awards at Sunday’s ceremony, including Album of the Year—but for this year at least, she won’t go, go, go.
*Update, Monday, Feb. 11: Winehouse got last-minute approval to travel to the U.S. but performed live via satellite from London—at 3:41 a.m. local time. Here’s video:
The Man Behind the Bells of Notre Dame
by Michael Yessis | 02.08.08 | 10:57 AM ET
The Traveling Paperback: ‘Currency in the Land of the Transients’
by Eva Holland | 02.08.08 | 9:13 AM ET
Over at Brave New Traveler, Rachel Friedman wonders about the impact of Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader on the traditional paper book—and most importantly, on the traveling paperback. I’ve been tuning out the e-book debate for several years now, but this story caught my attention thanks to its loving reminiscences about that essential backpacking rite: the hostel book swap.
