The Department of State warned U. S. Citizens not to travel to Mexico in April, and those already in Mexico should return home at once.  Schools and commercial venues in Mexico closed.  They reopened on May 7th and 11th.  By the end of May, most museums, bars, discos, night clubs, movie theatres and convention centers were up and running.

Consider what happened to Mexico’s tourism industry which helps to support much of the population directly and indirectly.  Their “tourism stimulus package” initially cost approximately $165 million dollars.  The World Health Organization is not restricting travel, and noted that it’s unfair to accuse Mexico for overreacting.

There are great bargains on tour packages, hotels and resorts across Mexico.  Check out the travel offers with your travel agent.

www.visitmexico.com or www.mexico

Am I an alien?  It didn’t bother me because most of the members of my family were more than “mere” mortals sailing fleets of ships, climbing tall mountains (I got half ‘way up Mt. Kenya), building mansions, painting and writing.  They were fascinating.

My father didn’t blink when I blew up the chemistry lab at boarding school.  He was secretly delighted as a chemical engineer, because I was developing a new formula for bleaching hair.

Yes, I admit that I gave normal birth to my son and daughter.  However, as soon as I could, I turned my son’s interest toward sci-fi.  I always had someone with whom to go to  alien movies!

Yes, I am deeply concerned about preservation of our natural resources and “the greening of the planet”.  I also consider what will happen if we wake up one day and find that our planet can no longer support human life.  The endless debris floating in space concerns me, and I want to find a “nasty” black hole out there and dump it all in…

When I flew on the Concorde (alas, no more) I got a taste of flight at mach speeds, and wondered what I might see in the blackness beyond my tiny window.  Fortunately, Sir Richard Branson will soon offer “space” flights to folks like me who can afford the price tag.

We have come so far with our journey into space.  What next?  I’m ready.

Heon Joo Jung, assistant professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and a native of South Korea, pointed to strong statements issued in late June by North Korea’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland about South Korea’s attempts to join Cyber Storm, a full-scale cybersecurity exercise led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) considered joining the Cyber Storm program this year,” Jung said. “North Korea on June 27 heavily criticized their efforts and (said) that was one of the provocative actions by South Korea.

“South Korea is one of the most wired countries in the world,” Jung said, adding that a cyber attack eventually had been expected by intelligence agencies and lawmakers as a result. “The South Korean government and the ruling party have been suspicious, but this kind of massive attack is unprecedented.”

Broadband access to the Internet is available in more than 90 percent of homes in South Korea.

Citing Pyongyang’s recent actions to test nuclear weapons and launch missile tests, the cyber attacks could be a further attempt by North Korea to get the United States’ attention. “North Korea has not been a top priority of the Obama administration so far. They’re trying to be a focus of the Obama foreign policy, because they have been feeling neglected,” he said.

While it is logical to believe reports coming out of the NIS, Jung said it would not be implausible that the Internet attack could have been launched by anti-conservative forces within South Korea to oppose the current administration’s policies, including tightening of Internet restrictions.

“The tension in the cyberspace in South Korea is growing,” he said. “That’s where many of the progressive people are really active. The ruling conservative forces in South Korea tried to pass a law called a ‘cyber terrorism law’ to strengthen censorship and strengthen the monitoring of the Internet, because they think the cyberspace is dominated by the progressive forces.”

Among the targets in the attacks were the ruling party’s official Web site and another site belonging to the country’s most influential conservative newspaper. Tensions between the two sides have been especially heightened since the suicide of former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in late May.

“The key is that regardless of who launched the attack, implications might be very similar in the domestic politics of South Korea,” Jung said. “Already the major conservative newspaper has published editorials that call for strengthening of anti-terrorism efforts in cyberspace that has been regarded as anti-democratic by progressive forces.”

While doing research this summer in South Korea, Jung was able to interview some recent defectors from North Korea a few weeks ago. They told him that few North Koreans were aware of Kim Jong-il’s health condition and the possible anointing of his youngest son as Kim’s successor.

“Having said that, I think that the leadership change (in North Korea) will be very secretive,” Jung said. “If the Obama administration is still waiting for the leadership change and adopting a ‘wait and see’ strategy, I think North Korea may keep initiating provocative actions. There might be further danger to regional security and stability in East Asia as well.”

“Sometimes it is hard for people to admit that there are good, ordinary, sane Muslims living in Iran, because it feels as though they are supporting the actions of the government,” said Fatemeh Keshavarz, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures in Arts & Sciences.

“But I think we have to overcome that. There are good Muslims — ordinary, peace-loving people — out there, and we have to let them come into the picture.”

Keshavarz, professor of Persian and of comparative literature and the author of a recent book on women in Iranian society, has been posting daily updates on election-related turmoil in Iran as part of her long-running electronic newsletter on cultural, political and social issues in Iran.

Her postings, filled with cell phone videos and firsthand anecdotes from friends and academic contacts within Iran, are available at the Windows on Iran Web site: http://windowsoniran.wordpress.com.

In her most recent posting about what she has referred to as “a peaceful movement that is seeking a repeat of the election in Iran,” she writes on June 22: “There seems to have been relative calm in Iran today. If there were clashes, they have remained unreported. All my personal attempts to dial numbers in Iran remained unsuccessful. The general mood seems to be that of waiting and reevaluating the situation among the people.”

However, the scene was quite different the night before when she wrote:

“Dear All, ?If you believe in praying, it is time to pray for Iran. Things are getting worse and worse.

* Riot police has blocked all the streets to the Azadi Square. People are being arrested in large numbers.

* After dark, shotguns and cries of Allaho Akbar from the rooftops are heard.

* On the streets, the chants have now changed to ‘Down with Khamenei.’”

Keshavarz is available for media interviews on the day-to-day news reports she’s receiving from contacts within Iran and for broader discussions of the cultural context of these events, including the role of women, art and literature in modern Iranian society and the unique ways that this protest is being shaped by the use of cell phones, instant messaging and other online social media.

Countering negative images

Raised in Shiraz, Iran, Keshavarz earned a bachelor’s in Persian language and literature and a master’s in library, archive and information studies from Shiraz University and a master of arts and a doctorate in Near Eastern studies from the University of London.

She also takes interest in the broader implications of cultural education for world peace, and in May 2007, she spoke on this topic to the United Nations General Assembly.

Keshavarz has not resided in Iran since leaving for college abroad just prior to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, but she returns to her homeland for long visits almost every summer.

Although she continues to wear a headscarf on these annual trips, she strongly favors freedom of choice for women in the way they dress.

Her most recent book, “Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran,” offers warm stories about ordinary, peace-loving Iranians who share the hopes and aspirations of us all, a perspective intended to counter the negative image of Iranian society that is so often portrayed in Western news coverage and in popular books, such as Azar Nafisi’s “Reading Lolita in Tehran.”

Americans don’t know this side of Iran, she says — and don’t realize that it still exists today.

All ships and boats have a “soul”, and when you understand the spirit of a ship, it opens doors.  When does a ship receive that soul?  On its christening, of course.  And so it was June 5, 2009 that two Costa Cruises’ ships were christened at what was called “a massive party”.  The 114,500 ton Costa Pacifica and the 92,000 ton Costa Luminosa (the fleet’s first flagship) were christened together on a moonlit night in Genoa, Italy which has been Costa’ homeport since 1854.

That morning Costa VIP’s, along with dignataries from the area made speaches.  By cocktail time 9 planes of the Italian Air Force put on an airshow.  The piers were filled with residents and guests.  Red, green and white plumes were released skyward amidst cheers.  The sounds of the voice of the late Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma filled the air.  In Italy, forget the champagne.  They toasted the event with prosecco.

4,000 guests attended a gala dinner prepared by two of Italy’s finest chefs.  The christening started at 11 PM with a show, “An Italian Portrait in Music and Light” starring Noa, an Israeli singe – he christened the Pacifica.  Valentine Vezzall (an Italian Olympic fencing gold medalist) christened the Luminosa.  Despite the fact that some questioned two ships being christened at one time, it was certified.

There were circus acts, cutting of the ribbons and two bottles of prosecco completed the celebration.  The ships are not twins, but both breathtaking.  The Costa Luminosa has more streamlined decor, but each is understated luxury and pleasure at sea.

Many thanks to Theresa Norton Masek, editor in chief of Vacation Agent Magazine for all of the information.  When are you going to run away to sea?

The research, forthcoming in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, expands our understanding of the correlation between happiness and democracy — and whether economic concerns outweigh political reforms in their impact on subjective well-being.

“Although one might suppose these questions are of interest — some might even say fundamental interest, considering that they involve comparing capitalism and socialism — they have received little attention in the voluminous literature on transition economies,” says Richard Easterlin, USC University Professor and professor of economics in the USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences.

Easterlin examines life satisfaction in thirteen countries in the so-called communist-bloc using self-reported data from a range of sources, particularly the World Values Survey. Communist-bloc countries first appeared in the large-scale Survey in 1989, when a representative population in each country was asked to rate “life these days, as a whole” on a scale of 1 (dissatisfied) to 10 (satisfied).

Other surveys before and after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 asked similar questions about specific aspects of life — such as work, health, and standard of living — and about “the way democracy works in (your country).”

“The dissolution of the police states and increase in political and civil rights in many of the transition countries might have been expected to increase life satisfaction,” Easterlin says. “The sharp decline that initially occurred suggests that adverse economic and social conditions trumped the political in their impact on subjective well-being.”

Indeed, the study finds that the trend in overall satisfaction with democracy is actually slightly negatively correlated to the trend in reported happiness after the fall of the Iron Curtain. This correlation is not statistically significant, according to Easterlin, but undermines the assertion by some scholars that democratization in these countries significantly increased happiness.

“There is evidence that, when asked about their sources of well-being, people rarely mention political circumstances,” Easterlin explains. “Rather, they put foremost those concerns that principally occupy their time, most notably making a living, family life and health.”

Satisfaction with work, childcare and health all decreased significantly during the transition from socialism to capitalism, reflecting a marked rise in symptoms of social stress such as divorce rates, suicide rates, domestic violence and increased alcoholism and drug use, Easterlin finds.

However, people were much more satisfied with one particular aspect of their lives after the fall of the Soviet Union: their material circumstances, including standard of living, goods availability and the environment.

“The positive contribution of life satisfaction to improved material living was outweighed by losses in employment security, health and child care, and provision for old age,” Easterlin says.

Disparities in life satisfaction also increased after the fall of the Soviet Union, particularly along the lines of age and education. Those older than 30, who had already established careers under the socialist system, were far more likely to be dissatisfied with life under capitalism than younger adults. Older people also faced the deterioration of old-age pension support and rising unemployment rates.

Men and women had about equal declines in life satisfaction, Easterlin finds.

“The human cost of the transition was enormous, with the lives of millions turned upside down,” Easterlin says. “The impact of these changes on people’s personal lives and their well-being is almost totally missed by GDP per capita.”

While life satisfaction had rebounded somewhat by 1999, there is evidence to suggest that even by 2005 it had not yet reach pre-transition levels, according to the study. By this time, GDP in the countries studied had increased 25 percent on average since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“The life satisfaction measure, which reflects not only material well-being, but the everyday concerns and worries of women and men about work, health and family, is more indicative of the far-reaching changes that were taking place,” Easterlin says.

He continues: “Life satisfaction is not an exhaustive measure of well-being. But if, in formulating transition policy, some consideration had been given to this measure, perhaps there would have been fewer ‘lost in transition.’”

Richard A. Easterlin. “Lost in Transition: Life Satisfaction on the Road to Capitalism,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (2009: 71:2).

“The agreement opens the door to the largest single transfer of Guantánamo prisoners and is the first major deal on detainees since President Obama pledged soon after taking office in January to close the prison within a year….But the United States had not been able to persuade any country to take them, despite contacting about 100 governments. Washington had said it would not hand them over to China, which has demanded their return, because it feared they would be persecuted or even executed.”

The U.S. goverment has promised $200 million in aid to Palau, but denies that the aid is linked to Palau’s acceptance of the Uighur prisoners.  Whether this is true or not, it is a relief that these persecuted men finally have a place to go.

“The previous oldest-known example of pottery was found in Japan, dated to an age between 16,000 and 17,000 years ago, but debate has raged in the archaeological community as to whether pottery was first made in China or Japan.”

Pottery and ceramics have a long history, and archaeologists have relied upon shards as insights into ancient cultures. According to Wikipedia, “The study of pottery may also allow inferences to be drawn about a culture’s daily life, religion, social relationships, attitudes towards neighbours, attitudes to their own world and even the way the culture understood the universe.”

Recently I dreamt that I stole a car and careened off across the states, visiting all manner of crazy sites before the police caught up with me thanks to credit card receipts. In just such an insane spirit, then, here are a few places that are on my list…

The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California, features 110 different themed rooms, including “Caveman,” “Fabulous Fifties,” “Kona Rock,” and “Safari.” The tacky appeal is endless.

The Amargosa Opera House, founded, designed, and performed in by the multitalented 84-year-old ballerina Marta Becket, is located in Death Valley Junction, California. Get tickets sooner rather than later.

Mitchell, South Dakota’s Corn Palace, originally established in 1892, is made of corn. I first saw the Corn Palace at 2 a.m. one morning, falling asleep in front of the Weather Channel, and thought I had hallucinated it. It would certainly make a great setting for a creepy, corn-themed horror film.

Carhenge, in western Nebraska, is a reproduction of Stonehenge, but made with gray-painted vintage automobiles. Check out its eerie power…

South of the Border, located in Dillon, South Carolina, is a complex of shops, restaurants, and other attractions (a dozen weddings performed every weekend in the summer!). SOB combines the best of the old South and old Mexico. I think.

Finally, I had to include York’s Wild Kingdom, in southern Maine, for old time’s sake. It’s a rather grimy little amusement park and zoo that only a child might love – or at least this child. Wild Kingdom was also home to my imaginary childhood tiger-friend, Tigerolly – another story entirely.

So, there are a lot of wild places to visit in this enormous country. Go out and find some, and let me know all about it.

I have been to countless beautiful beaches in my life. I have visited various coastal spots in the United States, as well as Mexico (Mazatlan, Cancun, Tulum, and Cozumel) and the Caribbean area (Bahamas and U.S. Virgin Islands). But despite the icy water and summer overcrowding, my favorite beaches are those in my home state, Maine. Boothbay Harbor is gorgeous. Ogunquit features some of the best sandy stretches on the coast. But I always go back to York Beach.

Most of us carry some amount of nostalgia for our childhood homes. I am uplifted by the harsh salt tang in the air, the punishing breezes and shrieking gulls and dark, glittering water that sends the sun’s dazzling rays straight into my eyes. I can wander along Long Sands for hours, or frolic in the tiny shelter of York Harbor. But Short Sands, with its summer skeeball and old cliffside hotels and homemade fudge in nearby shops, cannot be topped.

If you get a chance, visit sometime. And tell them I sent you because it’s wicked cool.

Yahoo! Green reported on rising sea levels and associated environmental dangers from the World Ocean Conference in Manado, Indonesia.

“Dealing with environmental refugees will have a much more serious impact on the global economy and global security in fact than what wars have ever done to this planet,” said Rolph Payet, a presidential adviser from the African island nation of the Seychelles. Other nations under threat from even small rises in sea levels include the Pacific island states of Kiribati and Tuvalu, while heavily populated low-lying areas such as Bangladesh’s coastline would also go under.

The Associated Press reported on a new study of Mexican mestizos’ genetic diversity.

Using mathematical analysis, the researchers produced a map of the genetics of the different groups. They found that the mestizo genome includes variations that stretch from Indian to European….They found genomes closer to Europeans in northern states and closer to American Indians in southern areas. Indications of African ancestry were low in most areas, though a few individuals had high levels of African genes. Mestizos from Yucatan were the only ones with a detectable Maya influence.

“The work revealed the continent to be the most genetically diverse place on Earth, and identified descendents of our earliest human ancestors….The research also located the origin of modern human migration in south-western Africa, near the coastal border of Namibia and Angola. This is based on the widely-accepted theory that the highest level of genetic diversity is in the oldest population – the one that has had the longest to evolve.”

Previous genetic studies of Africa have focused on smaller areas and populations.  This time scientists studied genetic material from 121 different African populations, involving the collection of over 3,000 samples and the identification of 14 ancestral population clusters, led by Sarah Tishkoff of the University of Pennsylvania.  “Our goal has been to do research that will benefit Africans…I hope this will set the stage for future genomics research there, and future biomedical research,” Dr. Tishkoff reported.

One interesting result is the identification of the San people (also known as Bushmen), located in southwestern Africa near the coastline border of Namibia and Angola, as possibly “the desendants of a population ancestral to all modern humans,” based on genetic diversity and lineage.

Costa’s cruise begins and ends in Tianjin (Beijing), China.  Ports of call include Chejhu, South Korea, Kagoshima and Kobe, Japan (you’ll spend 2 nights in Kobe).  If you want optional tours at an additional cost there’s an overnight bullet train excursion to Tokyo or an overnight to Kyoto with tours planned for Kyoto and Osaka.  Want the ultimate?  There are optional tour extensions including Beijing, Shanghai and Xian.

Pricetag?  Per person cruise only based on double occupancy from $2,599 inside cabin or $3,643 per person, cruise only based on double occupancy of an outside cabin.  The charter dates are July 16-29, 2009 and special airfares are available in addition from your home airport

On the day of the eclipse, yours will probably be the only group in the world to see this at the Point of Longest Duration.  For fun they are going to use the forward motion of the ship along the center line of the eclipse to push the length of totality to 6 minutes and 40 seconds … because they can.

There are 3-7 day tour extensions in China, and all tours are escorted with English speaking guides.  Somewhere along the way I’ll be waving to you…

http://www.astronomyvacations.com/Classicaltinerary.html, Astronomy Vacations by Mayhugh Travel, Inc.

Years ago I was invited to tour one of Crystal Cruises ships.  The ship was scheduled to leave Miami in the early evening.  I visited the bridge, spa, theatre, dining rooms, work out facilities, library, pools and ended in the Crystal Penthouse with veranda (the ultimate suite on the ship at 1,345 square feet).  I felt it would fit my needs from the living room, dining area, personal butler service, a devine sound system, pantry, library and all the bells and whistles that one could wish.  There were enough acitivities on the ship to keep anyone busy from dawn to dusk!

After the ship leaves Miami (the World Cruise sails January 11, 2010) it heads to St. Lucia, Castries and on to my favorite island in the Caribbean, Barbados.  January 18th it reaches Devil’s Island, Giuana, continuing to Fortaleza and Rio de Janiero, Brazil.  Stops are made at Buenos Aires, Montevideo and then we cross the South Atlantic Ocean to Cape Town, South Africa.  You can take any one of 7 portions of the Cruise with the first one ending in Rio, the second one ending in Cape Town.  Continue to Pt. Elizabeth and on to Durban, Zanzibar, Mombasa, the Seychelles, Mali and Cochin and Mumbai, India.

Before returning from London, you’ll stop in the Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Italy, Portugal, Spain and France.

“Madam, are you leaving the ship?” the steward asked.  I wondered, for a second, if I could stow away.  But, I smiled and left the ship reluctantly.  It had been the voyage of a lifetime…and I’d only spent just over $300,000 including taxes and my single occupancy of the suite.  The memories were worth every penny. www.crystalcruises.com

Truly, for me the Seine is the heart of Paris and I’ve enjoyed dinner on the Bateau Mouches (boats) where the views and not the dinner are outstanding.  Having cruised on the Rhine River in Germany, I enjoyed the ease of getting off at Cologne and Heidelberg (no long motorcoach rides) – right in the heart of town.  River travel is tops!

Peter Deilmann Cruises have a 7-night “Parisian Romance” cruise including a 2-night pre or post stay in Paris at the Concorde St. Lazare Hotel which departs in July or August.  Transportation between the ship and hotel is included.  An afternoon tour of Paris is part of the package with the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde among other sights.

Your ship is the MV Cezanne with single seating dining, award-winning cuisine, one crew member for every 2.5 guests, onboard physician and it’s a 5-star floating hotel.  All interiors are smoke-free.  The 7-night cruise includes Monet’s gardens in Giverny, Louis XIV’s palace at Versailles and the medieval harbor at Honfleur.

All meals on-board are included as well as the Captain’s welcome and farewel champagne receptions plus nightly light entertainment on board including traditional and folklore performances.  These are special cruises, and you may want to check out www.deilmann-cruises.com/theme for prices and availability.

Don’t forget your camera as it’s going to be 24/7, and the lady at the table across from you who is waving could just be me falling in love with Paris all over again.

My curiousity got the best of me, and I finally asked if they had relatives throughout Europe whom they visited.  “No,” Pat said, smiling  as if  hiding a great secret.  I felt that I may have been rude.  “We swap homes…”  At that point Pat explained that they belonged to an organization with whom they had their four bedroom beachfront home in Florida listed.  Pat and her husband indicated to the organization when and where (giving several desired locations) they would like to stay.

The organization “matched them up”.  Their family had stayed in a charming, large apartment in the center of Paris, a seaside villa in Italy, a large condominium in Spain and a home with a view of the Rhine River in Germany.  Aside from the cost of their airline tickets, food and an occasional car rental, it was an affordable vacation with they could not otherwise have had.

Membership in home-exchange websites runs $55-126 a year approximately.  They need a full description and pictures of your home and neighborhood.  Sometimes members contact you, sometimes you contact them.  Car access is possible and vice versa.  If pets are involved, care and information is passed along.  It’s been compared to online dating 10 years ago.  Checkout www.HomeExchange.com, www.HomeForExchange.com or www.Digsville.com.  AARP mentions www.Craigslist.com which has a “Housing Swap” section where you can list free.

Whether it’s a month-long or a weekend stay in this country, try it out.

Since my first visit, almost 8 years ago, the number of luxury resorts, condos and town homes built for investment by foreign visitors, has soared.  Many desireable waterfront and residential properties have been gobbled up by contractors.

My flight landed in San Jose.  Dowtown traffic was clogged and hundreds of people crowded the streets.  The city is charming from the five museums, the historic small opera house (built by coffee barons to attract world-famous performers) to former grand baronial homes converted to bed and breakfasts.

Once out of San Jose (2-3 days covers everything from butterflies to a coffee plantation), the ecological adventure begins.  My favorite?  Tortugero National Park!  After almost a full day by motor coach, we boarded a launch and cruised along canals.  I suspected that a prehistoric creature would peek out between the lush greenery any minue as it’s alive with wildlife from a 3-toed sloth that was relaxing after coming down from his hiding place for his monthly potty visit below his tree, 5 crockodiles happily swimming along with 6 turtles to the tiny, poisonous red frog I’d wanted to see (no bigger than my thumb nail) and a Jesus Christ lizard running over the water at high speed.

We flew back to San Jose continuing on to Dundee Ranch Hotel near Puntarenas (7.5 miles from Puerto Caldera).  There, we mounted horses (modified Western saddles with no buck, a coarse rope for reins and closed-footed stirrups).  We soon found ourselves at a huge broccoli tree full of colorful birds and families of holler monkeys – so named because they “holler”.

At Manuel Antonio we stayed at Si Como No (“Yes, why not?) and relaxed overlooking the valley below and the Pacific Ocean beyond.  In the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, we boarded an aerial tramway (4 passengers per carriage) moving quickly like a magic carpet over the verdant paradise below.  The abundance of flora and fauna beneath us took our breath away, and it was as though time was standing still…Costa Rica can be like that, and so much more. www.visitcostarica.com

I was fascinated by the charming paintings on the sides of the buildings, but most of all by the residents – men growing beards and women with magnificent long hair.  The Passion Play was only a month away, and you could feel the excitement building.  I wished we could have stayed longer as the Passion Play is held only once every ten years.

This is one of Europe’s most unique events, the fulfillment of a promise made in 1633 and faithfully preserved for centuries.  A play of life and death, promised in a moment of mortal threat.  In the midst of the 30 years’ war, after months of suffering and death from the plague, the townspeople swore an oath that they would perform the “Play of the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ” every ten years.  2010 will mark the 41st year’s performance.

More than 2,000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and stage technicians will portray the events Christians regard as their central source of life and hope.  Obviously, the tickets for this world famous event sell fast, and one of the main tour operators who has provided tours for years, does have some tickets.  It is a moving experience one will remember long afterward.

www.imagetours.com

However, this is an eco-resort in Belize, the Machaca Hill Rainforest Canopy Lodge which opened this January.  They are giving guests a gilmpse “into the world of exotic nocturnal animals” with its new after-dark wildlife viewing tours.

I’d been at Treetops in Kenya where we sat on a balcony in ancient movie theatre seats and watch an astonishing collection of wild animals at the water hotel below spotlighted in soft flood lights to which they had become accustomed.

Many years ago, I’d visited Belize at the recommendation of Dr. John Miller who was one of the Flying Doctors’ group that flew into remote areas to provide medical attention.  On a wall in my home are two Mayan replicas I brought back along with memories of the pyramids at Lubaantun.  The Lodge uses the quiet Polaris Ranger vehicles and equipped with night-vision goggles and LED spotlights, local guides uncover night’s mysteries and point out “creatures with nocturnal tendencies”  These include the kinkajou (honey bear), tapir, jaguar and more.

Set in 11,000 acres the lodge is at Laughing Falcon Nature Preserve, so you’re right in the midst of the action at all times.  Each of the resort’s 12 treehouse lodges have floor to ceiling windows, so you’re sure to see howler monkeys, toucans and iguanas.

This location provides many ecotours.  The nearby Caribbean Sea provides diving and snorkeling, regular fishing and fly fishing.  It’s an all-inclusive resort with meals and adventure included.  See you there!

www.machachill.com

Tour companies, hotels, cruise lines, resorts and airlines are scurrying to stay alive through creative marketing techniques and sales.  They are offering new insurance to protect you in case of job loss, being aware that one in three Americans sustained a job loss or pay cut within their own home. 

Some international tour companies are giving special airfare discounts for the second person travelling, discounts if you prepay your trip a certain number of months prior to departure, free airport transfers on arrival/departure at your destination (again, depends on tour comany) and some are offering a complimentary sightseieng tour.

New hotels and renovations were already started on on the books two or three years ago.  As a result, many hotels are lowering their nightly prices.  Sandals Resorts in the Caribbean are offerng (for a limited time) savings up to 60% on select resorts on specific dates.  You could get 3 nights free on some packages, but you have to book before March 31, 2009 and travel now through December 26, 2009.

Holland America Line has a “Vacation Stimulus Plan” suspending their fuel supplements and offering 50% off your deposit on any of their cruises departing after May 1, 2009.  In their Mariner flyer (you qualify if you’ve cruised with them previously, and registered as a Mariner) if you book one of their Asia, Australia and South Pacific cruises by March 31, 2009 the cruise plus airfare starts from only $150 per day per person (double occupancy) flying to or from Sydney aboard their new Quantas A380 aircraft.  Carnival, Costa, Royal Caribbean, NCL and others have special “sales” and travel benefits, but you must be aware of the restrictions.

Airlines are beginning to include some of their former amenities and most fuel supplements are dropped.  Airline consolidators have kept international flight costs reasonable, but make sure you deal with a well established company.  Travellers are returning to professional travel agents to do their shopping and find real bargains.

Travel Impressions, a tour company offers a 4 night land only (no airfare) trip to New Orleans including round-trip airport/hotel transfers, hotel accommodations and tax from $289 per person double occupancy at the W New Orleans.  Their Quebec City, Canada package starts at 3 nights (land only) from $239 with round-trip airport/hotel transfers and accommodations at the Delta Quebec including thrid night free and hotel tax.  Upgrades are available.

The bargains are there.  If you have frequent flyer points with airlines, what better time to use them?  Please be aware of restrictings, booking and prepayment dates and have a great vacation this year.  You deserve it!

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In February, 1959 I was hired to be a travel agent in a very upscale travel agency. My first clients were the families of girls with whom I had been at school.

Anne and Zoe’s father had, after their mother died, married their governess who promptly became a grand dame. Her main travel instruction to me was, “If I can’t go first class, I don’t go.” Obviously, planning for them was a joy! Anne called me at the office one day to rave about the hotel in Aspen, Colorado where I had booked her. She was in the hotel’s sauna, and said, “Darling…Rudy is right here beside me. I’ve told him all about you. Do talk with him.” I hesitated, and found myself having a very interesting chat with Rudolph Nureyev.

Mrs. Norcross traveled with another lady with whom she had been at college. They were in their 60’s and, when she came into the office, Mrs. Norcross would ask if there were any place new on earth to which she had not gone. I mentioned my last trip to Mexico City, the charm of the city, the folklore ballet, the shopping and the excellent hotels. She and her friend were off. I made reservations for them at the Des Cortes in an older section of the city. The rooms were built around a courtyard, and in the evening there was entertainment. When they returned to see me they were all smiles and told me what a wonderful time they had. “It was very strange, the second day, two men stopped us and said that we had to have some sort of a tourist license. They took us to a police station, and we paid a small sum for the licenses, but our Spanish is not very good. What kind of licenses are these?” I began to translate, and realized that these were licenses to be prostitutes…

Once again, I sent Mrs. Norcross and her friend where they had not been – Easter Island. Mrs. Norcross loved orange juice, and took several cans with her as she understood that they were difficult to find on Easter Island. The group was entertained by one of the island’s leading tribes. As a gesture of gratitude for a lovely evening, Mrs. Norcross presented the chief of the tribe with one of her cans of orange juice. According to her, his eyes lit up and he began to dance around the fire in the center of the village with her. After the dance the escort, pale faced, explained that Mrs. Norcross was married to the chief. She was never quite the same.

RELATED LINKS Politicans Rethink Ethanol Business Week Journey to Forever Food and Fuel America Food Anxiety Daily Revolution Archives

There’s a brewing conflict over the use of “food-based” ethanol. Last week, a couple dozen American senators said they wanted to ease the congressionally mandated ethanol blend of thier nation’s gasoline supply. A Wall Street Journal article noted that:

“The move by the Republican Senate group is the latest sign that Washington’s support for turning corn into motor fuel is wavering in the face of soaring food prices, despite the popularity of ethanol subsidies in farm states critical to the November election?. There are also signs of anti-ethanol backlash at the state level. The governors of Texas and Connecticut have requested that the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] issue waivers from the mandate, arguing that the ethanol impact on food prices is too onerous.”

Such concern has become global. The World Bank has estimated that corn prices rose by more than 60 percent from 2005 to 2007, largely because of the US ethanol program, combined with market forces. The United States is the world’s biggest biofuel producer, overall.

Is current worldwide food anxiety the result of policy-makers’ lack of attention to the food system and the relationship between food, global warming and fossil fuels? A member of the national American Planning Association’s (APA) Steering Committee on Food Systems Planning, Samina Raja, Ph.D., thinks so.

“The current food shortage and rising prices of agricultural products are very serious problems and are going to get worse now that the use of agricultural land is encouraged for ethanol production,” says Raja. “Although food insecurity in the world isn’t a new phenomena, what is new is that the press and many policy makers — the very people who did not attend to the crisis as it developed and therefore contributed to it — are now alarmed by food shortages, riots and soaring prices.”

Raja notes that in the past, vegetables, flour, meat, fruits and dairy products Americans consumed came from family farms located in local rural areas outside of our cities. “Today’s conventional food system,” she says, “requires the same products to travel roughly 1,500 miles from farm to fork. The transportation of food over long distances requires enormous quantities of fossil fuels, and causes severe damage to the environment and contributes mightily to global warming.”

Raja lays blame for the international food crisis at the door of agricultural policy makers at the World Bank and international development agencies who continue to promote a deeply entrenched industrialized corporate mode of food production, processing and delivery sustained by the use of massive amounts of fossil fuel.

“In our desperation to find alternative forms of energy, we are using vast amounts of farmland for fuel production,” she says. “Land that once grew food or grazed cattle or sheep is now called upon to produce vast amounts of corn and other grains to be turned into ethanol.”

Business Week says “In the most optimistic scenarios, the world will move smoothly to biofuels through increased farm acreage, higher yields, and new crops and technologies. Farmers already plan to seed 10 million more acres of corn this spring. … llinois farmer Steve Pitstick (is) shifting most of his soybean field to corn.”

Corn is poor raw material for fuel because producing 10 gallons of ethanol consumes the energy of 7 gallons of gas, “and greenhouse gas reductions are minuscule.” But there are other options.

Georgia Tech’s Roger P. Webb sees pine groves in the south as a potential fuel sorce. Stanford University biologist Chris Somerville calculates that, with the right plants, 3.5% of the earth’s surface could supply all of humanity’s energy needs, compared with 13% now used for agriculture.

Prarie grasses have deep roots that store carbon captured from the air, improve soils, and require little water. 49 million acres could supply 139 billion gallons of ethanol a year by 2030, according to venture capitalist Vinod Khosla. “Farmers will be better off, the world will be less dangerously dependent on the Mideast, and we will take a giant step in greenhouse gas reductions,” he argues. “There is little downside.”

Journey to Forever has a Food or Fuel page and they have this take. “Food shortages and price increases in Brazil have resulted from a combination of policies which were biased towards commodity export crops and large acreage increases of such crops, hyper-inflation, currency devaluation, price control of domestic foodstuffs etc. Within this reality, any negative effects that bioethanol production might have had should be considered as part of the overall problem, not the problem.”

“The food shortages and price increases that Brazil suffered a few years ago, were blamed on the ProAlcool programme (fuel ethanol). However, a closer examination does not support the view that bioethanol production has adversely affected food production since Brazil is one of the world’s largest exporters of agricultural commodities and agricultural production has kept ahead of population growth: in 1976 the production of cereals was 416 kg per capita, and in 1987 — 418 kg per capita. Of the 55 million ha of land area devoted to primary food crops, only 4.1 million ha (7.5 per cent) was used for sugarcane, which represents only 0.6 per cent of the total area registered for economic use (or 0.3 per cent of Brazil’s total area). Of this, only 1.7 million ha was used for ethanol production, so competition between food and crops is not significant.”

JTF concludes “it is important to mention that developing countries are facing both food and fuel problems. Adoption of agricultural practices should, therefore, take into account this reality and evolve efficient methods of utilising available land and other resources to meet both food and fuel needs (besides other products), e.g., from agroforestry systems.”

But local decisions are often pushed by global interests, reminds Dr. Raja. The World Bank and international development agencies have pushed many developing countries to move from traditional food production systems, to industrialized agricultural systems like the one that is producing the problems we see today. So now farmers are more and more likely to produce cash crops like corn, soy beans and so on for export, instead of fruits, vegetables, grains and animals that can be consumed by the family.”

“To eat, these families now have to purchase what they once grew. When things go awry on the unregulated world commodities mark ets as they have, the price of that food rises so high that people with limited means, including farmers, go hungry,” she says.

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