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...Laden's far-flung business dealings have been a tremendous asset to his network. U.S. officials believe he has interests in agricultural companies, banking and investment firms, construction companies and import-export firms around the globe. Says a U.S. official: "This empire is useful for moving people, money, materials, providing cover." Though American authorities did break up two al-Qaeda fund-raising operations in the past year, they have been mostly unsuccessful in finding and freezing bin Laden's assets...
...futures markets were rising before the explosion, and actually continued to creep up as the flames leapt from the tower - initial speculation on CNBC speculated that the plane crash was accidental. Then the import of the catastrophe became apparent, and the futures plunged until the trading day was called off. (The New York Stock Exchange building was unharmed, but dust and debris from the WTC collapses flew far enough to endanger anyone who stood outside.) Perhaps the only reassurance available was the news that Fed chairman Alan Greenspan was on a trip in Switzerland and safe from the concurrent destruction...
Like your critic James Poniewozik [ESSAY, Aug. 20], I am a hipster from the '80s who took pride in my knowledge of alternative rock. I proudly bought import records at the "cool" record stores and knew all about the right bands and songs. And though I genuinely liked the music, I also liked what it wasn't: accessible. People like me are the ones who now get to put that music in movies and commercials. But in doing so, we've taken away the edge, the hipness in simply knowing it. Somewhere, right now, a 15-year-younger version...
...backpackers particularly keen on local cuisines or cultures. Caf?s specializing in the quasivegetarian backpacker diet of banana pancakes, muesli, fruit shakes and vegetable noodles have sprung up from Lombok to Laos. And flying in a DJ from London is all it takes to import wholesale the exploding club culture from back home. Entire Thai islands have become virtual colonies, offering pints of ale at the Bird in the Hand, ecstasy and colonic irrigation. On the island of Koh Phi Phi, a formerly idyllic haven now crammed with dive shops, restaurants and travel agents offering cut-rate tours to see where...
...Still, my first interview gets off to a promising start. Raghava Varrier, a professor and local historian, seems more knowledgeable about Chinese trade. And not just Chinese. "Traders came from everywhere," he says. "This was Asia's most important entrepot." It was the closest thing to a free port in the medieval world: the local rulers, known as Zamorins, charged 6-10% import duty on all items. They provided traders with guest houses and servants - and the odd courtesan, natch - and guaranteed the security of all goods. Varrier encourages me to think of it as a 15th century Hong Kong...