There is always some danger of people getting sick when you pack people into a closed space like a cruise ship, but some ships get sicker than others.

At least 340 sickened on cruise ship in Brazil

Hundreds of passengers on a Swiss-owned cruise ship were stricken with severe vomiting and diarrhea caused by a mysterious ailment, Brazilian health officials said Thursday.

At least 340 victims have been sickened on the MSC Sinfonia, now docked in Salvador, Bahia, according to a spokeswoman for the National Agency for Sanitary Vigilance. She spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with department policy.

If you are afraid of flying then the next two stories are for you. Compare this to traveling by car.

2008 was one of the safest years on record

Last year was one of the aviation industry’s safest ever, despite continuing financial troubles.

Airline fatalities worldwide dropped 25 percent in 2008, according to the latest data from Ascend, which provides information to the global aerospace industry.

There were 539 reported passenger and crew fatalities in 2008, compared to 730 in 2007, Ascend said.

The only year in this decade with fewer fatalities was 2004, with 434.

Airlines go two years with no fatalities

For the first time since the dawn of the jet age, two consecutive years have passed without a single airline passenger death in a U.S. carrier crash.

No passengers died in accidents in 2007 and 2008, a period in which commercial airliners carried 1.5 billion passengers on scheduled airline flights, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal and industry data.

Many have been finding it too complicated to come to the United States because of post 9/11 security. New rules make it more complicated because you have to know that you need to fill out your paper work 3 days before you fly.

New travel rules to USA take effect Monday

New rules went into effect Monday requiring people traveling to the United States under the visa waiver program to register online in advance, instead of filling out paper forms in flight or at the airport.

The new program, designed to improve U.S. security, has been voluntary since August but became mandatory Monday. Travelers are being asked to fill out the forms at least 72 hours in advance of travel.

Other articles I enjoyed this week:

1. Prague has 7th largest foreign tourist number in Europe