"Greek Revival" by Eleni Gage, March 30, 2008 issue of the New York Times T magazine.Ms. Gage visits several organic farmers, ecolodge and agrilodge owners and others working on related eco-agritourism programs in Crete (most of which CCS collaborates with).http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/03/30/...ageName=30crete
Hector Ceballos-Lascurain, the man who coined the term ecotourism shares his thoughts as we approach the 25th anniversary of this concept. He worries that ecotourism is being confused with adventure travel and some of ecotourism's benefits are being lost. To read more visit http://www.borneoecotours.com/ecotourism/
So, it had to be a Monday, late Monday, yesterday when Jules Dassin quietly passed away at the age of 96 in Athens after a short illness. Blacklisted by McCarthy's HUAC, but listed forever in the hearts of Athenians, for his 1967-1974 campaign for the restoration of democracy in Greece and the still awaited return of the Parthenon Marbles, a passion he shared with his late wife and muse Melina Mercouri. He died 5 years after his colleague & 'compatriot', the gigantic but controversial Elias Kazan who infamously named names at the HUAC and went to to win 21 Oscars through his films (compared to just 2 Oscar nominations for the equally talented Dassin), and a few months before the full opening of the new Acropolis Museum, the child of Melina and Jules.
History's first email spammer was an engineer of now defunct computer company DEC, trying to inform EVERYONE that their new computers could handle the Arpanet protocol. Equally amusing, with the benefit of hindsight, was the rebuke by the then government-managed Arpanet, the precursor to the Internet: QUOTETHIS WAS A FLAGRANT VIOLATION OF THE USE OF ARPANET AS THE NETWORK IS TO BE USED FOR OFFICIAL U.S. GOVERNMENT BUSINESS ONLY. APPROPRIATE ACTION IS BEING TAKEN TO PRECLUDE ITS OCCURRENCE AGAIN. Full 1st spam message and reaction details
The Circus has an long and illustrious history, all the way to the decadent stages of the Roman Empire, with the famous Circa of Rome - Circus Maximus, Flaminius, Maxentius and of course that of Nero (Neronis). However, today horror stories about maltreated, starving animals in circuses around the world often make headlines, with cities and countries such as Austria introducing bans of circa featuring wild animal performances. Yet there is fresh proof, if it ever was needed, that circus misery is not confined to animals: Italian police have just rescued two teenage Bulgarian sisters who had been forced to swim with piranhas....a clear link between human and animal trafficking. Circuses are not just a matter of bad taste but a matter of violation of human and animal rights. Time to pull the plug!
Greetings,FYI, news from our fields in our *Greens* Report.http://www.cookingincrete.com/CCS-Newsletter-Lent-2008.htmlBest regards,Nikki
Italian Minister of Agriculture's proposal to name 'Mediterranean diet' as a World Heritage may sound a bit surreal but the underlying forces may be a contest between bodies such as FAO (based in Italy) UNESCO (based in France) the EU and the World Trade Organisation. A lot of money to be made in the protected 'appelation d'origine' industry...There is also a danger that if we are to recklessly expand the definition of world heritage beyond natural areas and cultural relics to include commercial products, the whole concept may become discredited. Meanwhile it is already hard to manage and protect existing world heritage sites with 30 such sites being officially in dangerHowever, traditional food making facilities can indeed be recognised as part of a country's heritage, but they have to be something truly spectacular to acquire world heritage status.
“I’ve never touched a whale before,” said Fred, our guide. I thought I’d misheard! The tour brochure had several pictures of people touching grey whales. How was it possible that an experienced guide hadn’t gotten close enough to touch a whale? “Usually I’m on the other side of the boat, balancing it when people rush to one side to see the whales,” Fred continued. In that instant, I knew my trip was going to be great because my guide was focused on his clients’ experiences.Unfortunately, there are many situations where a guide wants to be in the center of the action. They take the best seats or have the best photo-taking angles. I’ve never understood; do these guides think their worth depends upon being front and centre, or are they so carried away with enthusiasm that they push everyone to the side? Regardless, the result is often frustrated customers, and that’s bad for business.My recent experience with Baja Airventures (see this issue’s Spotlight Article) was memorable because of the quality guiding. Fred, and the other guides, Scot and Andrew, were safety-minded and customer-centered. Travelers expect the first and demand the second. With more people traveling independently, convincing them to pay for...
Ever noticed how many travel brochures don’t show the hordes of people you’ll be sharing the beach with? The water is inviting, the sand looks free of bugs (they don’t show the chemical sprays that make it so) and there are few people in sight. Just sign up for your all-inclusive holiday and you’ll find yourself in beach bliss! Well, I’ve tried those trips and been bored to tears. Fortunately, there is a better way to experience the ocean.I recently took a trip with Baja Airventures. I stayed at a yurt camp where the only neighbors were the ten people who arrived with me on a private air charter (no need to worry about security line-ups here). We finished the week off with some mind-blowing whale watching and made sure our spending stayed with locally-run businesses. This was a week at the beach worth writing home about. To see the difference, visit my You Tube video at http://www.14dd5266c70789bdc806364df4586335-gdprlock/watch?v=0bTa3XTsZ-M and http://www.14dd5266c70789bdc806364df4586335-gdprlock/watch?v=KwwJJ9h9GhMCarol
ever wondered why you have to *pay* an intermediary to 'offset' your emissions? Offset them yourself without paying, by walking to work, not eating meat, by not buying useless items, by giving directly to a green cause of your choice!It seems it is getting harder for them to sell these days: we received a spam email which offered us to "create an offsetting product of our own"... Which means that these folks are propagating themselves like geraniums, pyramid-scheme like. So next time you try clicking n offsetting at a website, imagine how many irrelevant profit margins and administration costs you will be covering. (see, if you spam many people what happens? you may end up annoying the wrong person). Oh, yes, and the funny part is when the spammers mention you must keep the email content confidential Don't worry, don't worry.
