Disney is launching a great program in 2010 to encourage people to volunteer in their communities. Way to go Disney!

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day

BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2010, when you sign up here to volunteer a day of service with a participating organization

(and your service is completed and verified) you’ll get one day admission to a Walt Disney World® or Disneyland®

theme park, FREE! We want to inspire one million people to volunteer a day of service.

Among the things you don’t want your cabin crew to do at 30,000 feet is brawl.

Air India pilots, crew come to blows at 30,000 ft

The Maharaja witnessed his first in-flight Mughal-e-Azam at 30,000 feet above sea level on Saturday, as two members of the cabin crew—one male and one female—slugged it out with the pilot and co-pilot.

Endangering the lives of 106 passengers and grossly violating safety norms, the airline staffers came to blows in the cockpit and galley of the Indian Airlines Airbus A-320 as the aircraft cruised over Pakistan en route to Delhi via Lucknow from Sharjah.

First, I did not write the headline. Second, the Chinese press will apparently believe anything.

Chinese media finger Swedish lesbian enclave

Chinese media have confirmed what we in the West suspected all along: that concealed in the northern Swedish woods is a city of 25,000 women, many of whom have turned to Sapphic love to satiate their natural Scandinavian sexual desires.

According to news agancy Xinhua, the all-female enclave is called “Chako Paul City”, and was founded in 1820 by a “wealthy widow”. The city is guarded by two blonde sentries who prevent men from entering. Those chaps who do unwisely attempt to force the issue risk being “beaten half to death” by Nordic gender police.

Claes Bertilson, a spokesperson for Sweden’s Association of Local Authorities and Regions, similarly described himself as “doubtful” that such a place could have escaped the authorities’ attention.

This story was no surprise to me as we had talked on This Week in Travel how stupid this campaign seemed to be.

Danish tourism official quits over ‘promiscuous’ video

A senior Danish tourism official resigned on Friday after a row over a promotional video aimed at attracting visitors which critics said promoted promiscuity.

The short film was posted on the Internet and showed a pretty, blonde Danish woman clutching a baby in her arms.

She is searching for the father of the child called August. The father is supposedly a foreign tourist she says she met and drank with while he was on holiday in Denmark.

After recalling how she met the man, the young mother says: “I don’t remember where you are from… I don’t even remember your name.”

This story is good news for fans of life-long learning like me. It used to be that you had to wait until you were old to take advantage of the wonderful programs of Elderhostel, but no longer.

Tour operator Elderhostel changing name, expanding offerings

The travel organization Elderhostel is changing its program name to Exploritas and opening up tours and activities to all travelers 21 and older.

The rebranding will help emphasize a focus on lifelong learning and exploration, and less on age, as new programs and services are introduced to appeal to baby boomers and even younger travelers.

Carnival drops Antigua from seven-night Southern Caribbean cruise itinerary

Is there bad blood between Carnival and the island nation of Antigua?

Industry giant Carnival has dropped Antigua from the itinerary of the Carnival Victory, effective with the voyage of Jan. 3, 2010.

The change comes just three weeks after Antiguan police arrested six Carnival Victory passengers in an incident that made international headlines, but Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen tells USA TODAY the decision to pull the ship from the island is unrelated to the arrests.

Among other things the new guidelines form the FTC say that bloggers have to be truthful about what they get for free. I am completely willing to be truthful, lots and lots of truthful.

Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

Other interesting stories:

• The Flu Factor
• Conventions seek lower-profile cities
• Cockpit chatter cited in six crashes
• EU to end airline ban on liquids in carry-on bags