A group of US researchers at Cornell University have identified a novel approach to conservation called Pleistocene wilding.  They have developed an initiative that involves placing lions, cheetahs, elephants and camels in some parts of North America.

The plan would help endangered African animals while offer ecotourism and land-management jobs to help the struggling economies of the Great Plains and Southwest as well as helping to maintain ecosystems and boost biodiversity.

During the Pleistocene age, between 1.8 million to about 10,000 years ago, North America was home to a wide range of mega fauna.  When man arrived around 13,000 years ago he hunted the American cheetah and a type of camel to extinction.  The disappearance of these extinct creatures has left gaps in the ecosystem.  The pronghorn, for example, which exists today, an antelope-like animal for example has lost its natural predator. 

By introducing living counterparts to the extinct animals, the researchers say, these voids could be filled. So, by introducing free-ranging African cheetahs to the Southwest, strong interactions with pronghorns could be restored, while providing cheetahs with a new habitat.  Other living species that could “stand in” for Pleistocene-era animals in North America include feral horses, wild asses, Bactrian camels, Asian and African elephants and lions.

“Obviously, gaining public acceptance is going to be a huge issue, especially when you talk about reintroducing predators,” said lead author Josh Donlan, of Cornell University. “There are going to have to be some major attitude shifts. That includes realising predation is a natural role, and that people are going to have to take precautions.” Dr Donlan said that large tracts of private land are probably the most promising place to start, with each step carefully guided by the fossil record and the involvement of experts and research.

“We are not advocating backing up a van and letting elephants and cheetah out into the landscape,” he said. “All of this would be science driven.”

Need a vacation but don't want to stay around town?  Want to go somewhere exotic, somewhere different?  Want to fly but worried about the airfare?  Sourcing the cheapest airfare available has been made easier with competition growing between travel agencies as people realize that a vacation need not be all that expensive.  With so many travel companies vying for your business, securing a cheaper airfare is a given!

The airline companies set airfare prices, with travel agents adding a mark up to the wholesale price. You should always check whether the advertised price of an airfare includes government taxes or duties, so you may need to add these into your airfare budget.

Aside from the airline companies and travel agencies setting the price, it is important to be aware that many things determine airfare prices, but the most important influence on price is the final destination. Other influences include but are not limited to:

• The type of airline class you prefer; do you want comfort or are you ok with being a tad squashed
• The location of your seat; window seat or inside
• The time of day you are prepared to travel; day or night
• How close you book to your departure date – booking closer to your departure date may increase your airfare unless you secure a last minute deal
• Whether your airfare is part of an all inclusive holiday package; more often than not for these all inclusive packages the airfare has been given with a huge discount as a deal between the resort or hotel, the airline and travel agent.

Therefore, being the money savvy person that you are, you should take into consideration all of the above points before you start searching for an airfare that fits within your budget.  Researching airfare is critical to securing the cheapest rate and these days, research is made a good deal easier thanks to the internet. 

Increasingly, last minute deal websites are being developed and there are some great bargains to be had particularly with regard to airfare rates. Checking often and subscribing to these last minute deal web sites will ensure that your vacation is one to remember without the added burden of over spending on airfare!

Corsa Dirfes is the owner of http://www.airfareson.com which is a premier resource for Airfares information.  For more information, go to http://www.airfareson.com

I can totally understand why people rave about Bali – a truly wonderful place – loved it – so serene – and very quiet. I took a flight from London to Singapore that took 12 hours, then a 2 hour wait in Changi – could be far worse places to wait! And off to Bali, on a low cost airline, Australian Airlines. It only took 2 hrs 5 mins, so only a hop and a good airline experience.

We were met at Depensar airport around 10pm by a very good natured man from the resort I'd booked and we transferred in an air con'd jeep that had seen better days to the north part of Bali, cutting through the mountains, past dark reflective lakes and rice terraces, past lush rain forest and neat houses adjoining the road and the silhouettes of Hindu temple after temple. Even in the dark, it all looked very clean and fascinating. It took two and a half hours, but we were later to realise that this was a very good time to do the transfer as during the day, the roads are unbelievably congested with men on motorbikes, men and whole families concertina-d on motorbikes, men and women riding side saddle on motorbikes, small stall holders with their wares on motorbikes, ancient lorries dripping with all manner of contents churning to get up hills and the odd short mini bus, but no tourists.

Got to the hotel about 1am, full of beans and explored the grounds, saw the sign saying do not feed the monkeys, dipped my toes in one of many hot springs and was up early the next day to sort out diving.

The place we stayed in had several natural hot spring pools: some really, really hot, some just very hot and some varying between just right to cold – total bliss. After 2 nights of staying in a very nice room, with a semi open air bathroom surrounded by tropical plants, I came back from diving and was met by a very excited friend, Marian, who told me that we had been upgraded to our own villa with its own hot spring tub kind of thing. It was very posh, and we spent hours in our own little natural spring hot tub in our own courtyard surrounded by tropical flowers and banana, mango and papaya trees – total bliss!

Very good diving, all drift diving, some strong currents, including down currents – hhhmm – oh, and dynamite fishing whilst we were in the water! This was a little scary. The previous day we'd been out diving around Menjangen Island when we unexpectedly came across several men diving along side us, breathing in compressed air from an umbilical cord leading from a boat on the surface. They had a couple of weights wrapped around their waist but no other safety equipment, like a gauge to tell them how deep they were or how long they'd been in the water.

This is extremely dangerous, as they were doing hideous dive profiles, see-sawing up and down is a great way to get air embolisms, not to mention the bends if you are in the water too long. Not only were they carrying spear guns, but they were stealing tiny baby colourful tropical fish – for sale in aquariums. The three pictures show a baby puffer fish and a clown anemone fish, both the type these pirates were trying to catch.

They had long metal rods and were poking around behind coral and in the crevices, they knew exactly what they were after – baby lion fish and butterfly fish, but very, very small ones. They coaxed or frightened them out from their hiding places, caught them in a butterfly kind of net and then put them into plastic bags and tied them to themselves. It was not a good sight.

This was not quite in the protected WWF marine reserve where I mostly dived, but they most definitely should not have been doing this. They were no more pleased to see us than me and the dive instructor I was with, were to see them. They knew they were 'in the wrong' and it was a very awkward situation under water, a little aggressive and certainly very threatening. When we got back to our dive boat, and were returning to our hotel, the Japanese instructor (a tiny little thing, with the strength of Goliath) said in Indonesian (which I picked up a fair bit of!) to the guys on the pirate boat that she was going to call the police. They were not impressed.

The next day we dived in a different part of the same marine sanctuary, when we heard this massive boom. There is only one sound, that, even under water sounds like that – explosives. I was rather scared, to put it mildly! Someone close by was dynamite fishing. It was not a good feeling, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, my time was up, and this is how it was all going to end – making enemies with Indonesians stealing tropical fish who dynamited us out of the water for revenge. But, as you can see, they did not dynamite us, but there were four explosions on that dive and they were further away than I first thought, but it was still very scary, the whole water and landscape seems to vibrate and shake, almost as if it was crying.

Apart from the dynamite fishing, I can whole heartedly recommend the unvisited northern and north east part of Bali, it's beautiful, the people serene, friendly and a privilege to have spent time there.

Ryanair, always on the look out from generating new sources of revenue including charging passengers for food, drinks, car hire and hotels, was also looking at gambling and property ventures for ‘other’ sources of non-ticket revenue. They recently announced that they were in talks with telecoms network operators about launching its own UK mobile phone business. Ryanair, which recently banned its staff from charging their mobile phones at work, said it may sell mobile phone connections via the Internet under the plan.

Ryanair Deputy Chief Executive Michael Cawley told reporters the carrier was talking to potential partners for the business, which may not necessarily use the airline’s branding. Ryanair had initial talks with 3UK, owned by Hutchison Whampoa, but failed to reach agreement, the source said.

EasyMobile, which is linked to Ryanair rival easyJet, launched its own-brand mobile phone service in Britain in March, while airline entrepreneur Richard Branson’s Virgin Group also has a mobile phone business.

“Currently we are looking at some gambling products. That is very much at an embryonic stage,” Cawley said.

That’s not the only way Ryanair increases its income, writes Brian from the UK. The airline charges Euro 7.00 per kilo for excess baggage. At Treviso (Italy) airport recently, the scales showed between 1.5 and 3.5 kilos when empty – before any baggage was put on. Protests to check-in personnel were in vain. Pay the excess or leave your luggage behind. When contacted, Ryanair denied responsibility claiming scales were owned and maintained by Treviso airport authorities. It was a Ryanair agent,however, who demanded payment and who issued a Ryanair receipt. The same luggage deemed overweight by Ryanair was later weighed at another low-cost airline at Gatwick and found to be 3.0 kilos below the limit.

I sent Ryanair a request for a refund of the unjustified charges by snail mail, including a copy of the receipt. Their reply came by email. When I tried to respond by email I received a message saying I would have to fax or mail my message. Deliberate effort to make communication difficult for customers, easy for them. I faxed it anyway: here is the text:

Thank you for your prompt email reply to my letter of June 4th.

I regret, however, having to inform you that the response of Ryanair is less than satisfactory. I have no objections whatsoever for being charged a fee for luggage which weighs more than the amount allowed. However, as I stated in my letter, my luggage was found on three other occasions to be well within the limit set by your airline.

The fact that the scales are owned and operated by Treviso airport authorities is really not relevant in this case. The fee was collected by Ryanair agents and was paid to Ryanair over my objections at the time. Ryanair clearly has a responsibility to its passengers to ensure that the excess baggage fees it charges are not based on inaccurate measurement, the ownership of the scales is simply immaterial.

Since I cannot accept your effective denial of responsibility for this incident, I anticipate contacting the Treviso airport authorities and the Transport Department of the Government of Ireland for their opinion on this matter and their advice on how to proceed further.

I am in contact with other passengers on the flight who had a similar experience and can confirm my account of events.

Yours sincerely,

Can anyone help me write the letter to Treviso airport in Italian? Or maybe the Guardia di Finanza if that would be appropriate – sounds promising? My hope is that it will cost Ryanair more than the 30 euros it owes me to respond to all the correspondence I will generate for them.

If you can help Brian, please let the Beetle know.

Recently Suspended Armed Conflicts

1. Peace agreement signed May 26, 2004.

Sources: Centre for Defense Information, www.cdi.org, Project Ploughshares, www.ploughshares.ca , and news sources.

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

June 2005: our first speaker today was John Gimlette, whose talk was entitled “Theatre of Fish” and was about Britain’s first colony, Newfoundland. John showed us the capital, St John’s which is largely made of wood and has been known to burn down occasionally! The houses, some of which are known as Saltboxes can literally be picked up and moved. Fishing is still one of the mainstays of the area, though locals are now restricted to catching 15 cod each per year, though most seem to get “stuck” on 14 for some reason!

Our second speaker was Tim Mackintosh-Smith, who is based in Yemen and came to tell us of his travels in the footsteps of Ibn Battuta. Battuta made his journey over 670 years ago, leaving his Moroccan home to travel the Middle East into Asia and eventually beat Marco Polo to China. On his return he explored Muslim African lands such as Mali. Tim is hoping very much that one day the finance will be available to turn Ibn Battuta’s journey into a television series.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

We are sorry to say that for the time being, New York meetings are suspended as Laurie really needs a helper. If you have some time to spare and are based in or near NYC, please contact Laurie on the e-mail address below.

For details of forthcoming meetings email newyork@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates, click here at our website.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

Due to bereavement in Christina’s family, we regret to say that Texas meetings have stopped pending further notice. If you have time to spare and would like to take over Texas meetings, please contact the Beetle on: beetle@globetrotters.co.uk