Gun battle at Intercontinental Hotel in Rio de Janeiro

By FELIPE DANA | Aug 21, 2010
RIO DE JANEIRO – Gunmen engaged in a shootout with police took 30 people hostage Saturday at a luxury hotel popular with foreign tourists but within hours freed the captives and surrendered to police.

The upscale, beachside neighborhood where the Intercontinental Hotel is located was transformed into a virtual war zone as the 10 suspects — armed with high-caliber rifles, grenades and pistols — exchanged fire with police in a shootout that killed a bystander as she was getting out of a taxi.

Dozens of other suspects fled into a nearby slum where the shootout began. Spent casings from high-caliber weapons littered the pavement in front of the hotel and residents of the neighborhood said they were awakened by the shooting.

"It seemed as if I was in Iraq," Jose Oliveira e Silva, a resident of the Sao Conrado neighborhood, told the Globo television network.

Amateur video aired on Globo showed a group of black-clad police taking heavy fire and returning it as they took cover behind a garbage truck. Sanitation workers in bright orange jumpsuits huddled behind the truck, waiting for the onslaught to end.

Globo also broadcast images of the shooting victim's body, which lay on the street partially covered by black plastic sheeting.

Another witness, Ricardo Valladares, told Globo: "We are all frightened to death. No one is leaving the building because we don't know if there are more criminals nearby."

The police spokeswoman, who could not be identified because she was not authorized to discuss the matter, said that the gunmen held hostages in the hotel's kitchen "but we negotiated with them."

"All of the hostages are freed and 10 suspects are in custody," she said, adding that police searched the hotel for other gunmen but found none hiding inside.

Other television images showed an elite unit of Brazil's military police entering the hotel and evacuating approximately 400 guests, many of whom were staying there for a dentists' convention.

Security in Rio de Janeiro is of great concern as the city prepares to host the final of the 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. Officials have vowed to fight violence, and in the past year started an aggressive program of invading slums where heavily armed drug gangs hold sway, driving them out and creating police posts in those poor communities.

The program has managed to clear drug gangs from about 10 slums located in Rio's rich southern zone.

The Intercontinental is a favorite among foreign tourists, but the nationalities of those taken hostage was not immediately known.

Source: AP

quality and service is in direct relationship to price; NOT always

I am in the mood for a rant.

Earlier this year, I was in Omaha and decided to stay at a Holiday Inn with a very large aquatic park as part of hotel facility. I knew there would be kids and heck, I wanted to swim too but the sleeping rooms were so old and felt so dirty that I wore my socks to walk on the carpet. Haven't hotels every heard of steam cleaning carpets... maybe once a quarter would be good. I dont even want to think about what was spilled or the amount of dead skin we all shed.

On my current trip I first stayed at the Four Points at Chicago Ohare. I realized quickly there was a reason that room was so cheap. Maybe in bottom 10 of all Four Points.
Then on to a Doubletree in Little Rock. Wow, that property rocked; new renovation and property was fresh and up to date even though it was build in early 70's. I can certainly tell that more than 60% of its business is corporate. Very friendly staff, horrible breakfast; just no passion and flavor (eggs were so old they were green! which is the reaction they have with the aluminum chaffing dish. Not harmful as we ate green eggs all the time in Navy but not appetizing). I cant wait to go there again in 3 weeks. I will just eat breakfast elsewhere.
Then to Sheraton Atlanta Airport. Rooms are fine (only so much you can do with really small bathrooms; just part of construction and this building is at least from 70's) but, the public space carpets and bar & restaurant are in desperate need of a face lift renovation.
Lastly, I have a client at Ritz Carlton Maui. Not a cheap place; $1000+ a night for the residential suite. I arranged for hotel to pick him up at airport in a limo. I get a call that no limo is there and he is sitting there waiting. I call the hotel; took 5 times before they answered. I called Carey Limo in Maui (this is the vendor the hotel uses); they run on Island time, closed after 7:30pm! So, after 30 minutes of trying, the hotel manager on duty, Chris, said he will call the guests mobile and tell him to take a taxi. Seriously!? Ritz Carlton service?!?!?!?!!? Take a taxi when a limo was booked? I suggest they have a frank discussion with Carey Limo (their preferred vendor) and the PBX at hotel at 9:30pm Maui time.
Geez!

Troubled Mexicana Airline bought by business group

Here was a news piece about Mexicana andtheir Bankruptcy from the other day, but newest info is they have hored a nw CEO.... however, analysts dont expect them to survive. What amazes me if one of the expenses to control is labor. I thought labor was cheap in Mexico!?
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Aug 21, 2010

A consortium of Mexican businessmen has bought a 95 percent stake in the holding company that controls troubled Mexican airline Mexicana de Aviacion, a spokesman for private equity group Advent International said on Saturday.

Advent International helped put the deal together, but the U.S. private equity firm is not participating as a shareholder in the consortium, called Tenedora K, according to a statement obtained from Advent's Mexican public relations office.

Mexicana, one of Mexico's two major airlines, has halted more than a dozen international routes and stopped selling tickets after requesting creditor protection earlier this month under Mexico's insolvency law.

The consortium bought 95 percent of Nuevo Grupo Aeronautico, which controls Mexicana as well as domestic airlines Mexicana Click and Mexicana Link, the statement said.

"Tenedora K is a company formed by a group of Mexican businessmen as a vehicle to capitalize the mentioned airlines, with the aim of rescuing them from the critical financial and operating situation they are in," the statement said.

Grupo Industrial Omega and Grupo Arizan are among the shareholders of Tenedora K, the statement said.

Mexican hotel operator Grupo Posadas (POSADASL.MX) said on Friday that it had sold its 30 percent share of Nuevo Grupo Aeronautico.

The remaining 5 percent state in the holding company is held by the pilots union, the statement said.

Source: Reuters

Entry Fees for the U.S. will be collected from tourists in September

The Department of Homeland Security announced that it will begin collecting fees on travellers from Visa Waiver countries beginning Sept. 8, 2010. Travellers will be charged a $14 fee when applying for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). A portion of the fee will go toward funding the Corporation for Travel Promotion, created by the 2009 Travel Promotion Act. “This is an important milestone in the implementation of the Travel Promotion Act,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “Creating a tourism promotion program to encourage international visitors to vacation in America will help spur economic growth and create more jobs.”

Travel and tourism is the top services export for the United States, totaling $120 billion and supporting more than one million American jobs.
Overseas visitors spend an average of $4,000 per person per trip in the United States.

Oxford Economics estimates the travel promotion program under the Travel Promotion Act will generate $4 billion in new visitor spending and 40,000 new jobs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the program will reduce the federal budget deficit by $425 million in the next 10 years.

President Obama signed the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (TPA) into law earlier this year, putting into place a new public - private partnership between the U.S. government and the nation’s travel and tourism industry. Under the TPA, Commerce Secretary Locke will appoint the board of directors for the Corporation for Travel Promotion. Commerce will work closely with the board to ensure the Corporation achieves its goals.

Southwest Airlines: God now has a hand in carrier's mechanical problems

I think this article has GREAT importance for all of us to be aware of
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If there's a God who controls floods and earthquakes, does the deity also have a hand in an airline's mechanical problems?

Apparently so, according to Tucson's most popular airline, which recently added "mechanical difficulties" to the list of acts of God and other events for which the carrier will not be liable if travel is delayed.

Southwest Airlines quietly made the change a few weeks ago, to the puzzlement of some industry analysts.

It appears on page 11 of 32 pages of fine print called a "contract of carriage," which many passengers don't read, but which spells out their recourse in mishaps such as flight interruptions or baggage loss.

Mechanical difficulties - what type is not defined - now appears on a list of events such as wars, riots, storms, earthquakes and other acts of God that are "outside of (Southwest's) control."

In such cases, the contract says, passengers are entitled to refunds only on the used portion of their tickets. Southwest has no obligation to provide compensation for "any type of special, incidential or consequential damages."

Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz downplayed the significance of the change.

Mainz said Southwest would continue to assist passengers just as in the past, for example by putting them up in hotels if they are stranded during travel.

Asked why Southwest would change its contract if it doesn't intend to change its practices, Mainz said in an e-mail that the modification was made to "limit our exposure to liability."

Mainz also said the change would make Southwest "more consistent with the industry standard." However, when the Arizona Daily Star reviewed passenger contracts for four other major airlines - Delta, American, Continental and United - none included "mechanical difficulties" as an event outside the carrier's control.

Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst based in Port Washington, N.Y., called it "surprising" that Southwest, which has a reputation for stellar customer service, would make a change that puts passengers at a legal disadvantage if an aircraft breakdown delays their travel.

Keeping a fleet mechanically sound "is certainly within the control of any airline," Mann said. "Putting mechanical issues in the same category as an act of God - I don't think that's what God intended."

Even if Southwest sticks to its current level of customer aid, Mann said, the new contract wording sets a bad industry precedent.

"While I take Southwest at their word to do the right thing for customers, there are others in the industry who will adopt this on a 'me, too' basis and hold to the letter of that language, really disadvantaging customers on an issue that is absolutely within a carrier's responsibility and control."

Industry analyst Michael Boyd of Evergreen, Colo., agreed other airlines are likely to follow suit.

"The way the industry is today, airlines are sitting around watching each other," he said. "If the other guy does something that makes money and the consumer doesn't revolt, they're going to do it, too."

"I can see (carriers) saying, 'It wasn't our fault the airplane broke down,' and I also can see customers saying, 'I bought a ticket from you and I have reasonable expectation that the airplane is going to work,' " Mann said.

Southwest is the top choice of passengers at Tucson International Airport, used by nearly a third of the 3.6 million travelers who flew into or out of TIA last year.


By Carol Ann Alaimo Jul 25, 2010

Rabid dogs create serious problem for Bali, prompt US travel warning

By Mary Papenfuss | Aug 02, 2010
At least 78 people have been killed over the last two years by bites from rabid dogs roaming Bali, a top tourist hotspot. The island is dangerously short of rabies vaccines for humans, and overwhelmed by more than 30,000 dog bites each year. Officials recently killed some 200,000 dogs instead of initially conducting mass animal vaccinations, as recommended by the World Health Organization. "We are very short of treatment across the island," warned the chief of Bali's provincial health ministry. "We need help." So far no Bali tourists have died of rabies, but a number of nations, including the US and Australia, have issued travelers warnings.

The first case of rabies was discovered in 2008 and the disease has spread rapidly since. It's difficult to wipe out the rabies in part because of the esteem the Balinese hold for dogs. Packs of flea-bitten Bali dogs at beaches, markets and parks are allowed to roam and breed freely as part of the island's Hindu tradition, reports AP. In the traditional Balinese faith, people believe that dogs will take them to heaven. Some 55,000 people a year die of rabies, most of them in Asia. Post-exposure rabies is easily cured with a vaccine, but once symptoms appear, it's too late.

Source: newser.com

Greek extremists threaten tourists

By Helena Smith | Aug 01, 2010
Greek security forces have warned of a wave of violence reminiscent of the terror that stalked Italy in the seventies after urban guerillas threatened last week to turn the country into a "war zone".

"Greece has entered a new phase of political violence by anarchist-oriented organisations that are more murderous, dangerous, capable and nihilistic than ever before," said Athanasios Drougos, a defence and counter-terrorism analyst in Athens.

"For the first time we are seeing a nexus of terrorist and criminal activity," he said. "These groups don't care about collateral damage, innocent bystanders being killed in the process. They are very extreme."

The threats came from a guerrilla group called the Sect of Revolutionaries, as it claimed credit for the murder of Sokratis Giolas, an investigative journalist. Giolas was shot dead outside his Athenian home on 19 July, in front of his pregant wife.

The gang promised to step up attacks on police, businessmen, prison guards and "corrupt" media – and, for the first time, threatened holidaymakers.

"Tourists should learn that Greece is no longer a safe haven of capitalism," its declaration said.

"We intend to turn it into a war zone of revolutionary activity with arson, sabotage, violent demonstrations, bombings and assassinations, and not a country that is a destination for holidays and pleasure."

In an accompanying picture, the group displayed an arsenal that included AK 47 assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols and brass knuckledusters.

"Our guns are full and they are ready to speak," it said. "We are at war with your democracy."

The terror threat comes as Greek authorities endure a summer of strikes and escalating upheaval. Military trucks and petrol company vehicles were employed yesterday to alleviate a fuel shortage as more 30,000 lorry and tanker truck operators ignored a government order to return to work on pain of prosecution. Shortages were reported on many holiday islands and destinations in northern Greece where thousands of tourists are stranded.

The far more serious scourge of domestic terrorism was thought to have been eradicated in 2004, with the disbandment of the 17 November group.

Born out of the turmoil that followed the collapse of US-backed military rule, 17 November murdered the CIA station chief, Richard Welch, in 1975.

For the following 27 years it targeted Turkish envoys, juntists, US military personnel, industrialists and western diplomats, including a British military attaché in Athens, Brigadier Stephen Saunders, who was murdered in 2000.

Unlike 17 November, Greece's new generation of urban guerrillas has not tried to garner popular support.

The Sect of Revolutionaries emerged from the rioting after a teenager, Alexis Grigoropoulos, was shot dead by a policeman in December 2008. The men and women thought to comprise its closely guarded ranks are in their late twenties and thirties and appear to espouse violence almost for the sake of it.

"We don't do politics, we do guerilla warfare," its members announced in the proclamation placed on the boy's grave within hours of their first attack, on a police station, in February 2009. Two weeks later they sprayed the offices of a private television station with bullets. Three months after that, they claimed their first victim, Nectarios Savvas, a police officer protecting a state witness. Six people have died in separate attacks this year.

Last month another group, yet to be named, sent a parcel bomb wrapped up as a gift to the office of Michalis Chrysohoidis, the minister in charge of public security. It killed his chief aide.

The surge in violence comes amid rising social tensions over the austerity measures enforced by the government in exchange for €110bn in emergency aid, the biggest bailout in history.

Mounting social unrest, waning support for political parties and record levels of unemployment among an increasingly radicalised youth are believed to have augmented the ranks of anti-establishment groups.

"The economic crisis has most definitely played a role in aggravating the violence," Chrysohoidis said. "And the violence we are seeing is worst than ever before because society as a whole is more violent than ever before."

To date Chrysohoidis, who oversaw the break-up of 17 November during a previous stint in the same post, has ordered police to tread a fine line.

But anger is growing. Security officials say it is only a matter of time before one of the three groups currently active in Greece strikes again.

More worrying, they say, are their connections to the Balkan criminal underworld that has made access to weapons dangerously easy.

"In other European countries, home-grown terrorism has been on the decrease for years," said Drougos. "But in Greece the situation is not unlike pre-Bolshevik revolutionary Russia or Italy at the start of the terror campaign by the Red Brigades… it's very unpredictable and tourists should be vigilant."

Source: The Observer

Vatican tells tourists to cover up

Jul 27, 2010
Tourists in skimpy summer clothing were being told to cover up before entering Vatican City today.

The ban had previously applied only to St Peter's Basilica but guards manning the official entry point into the tiny, walled state begun pulling visitors aside overnight for sporting "inappropriate" attire, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The new decree, particularly targeting those in shorts and shoulder-revealing shirts, sent several tourists trudging off to local stores to buy shawls, scarves and pairs of trousers.

Immodest clothing has been specifically barred from St Peter's for decades and Vatican officials are seemingly sick of visitors flouting the dress-code.

However, locals just nipping inside the Vatican City walls to use its pharmacy, post office and store were particularity bewildered by the clothing crackdown.

Most are accustomed to treating the Vatican like any other part of Rome, ANSA said.

Source: heraldsun.com.au

Plague outbreak in Peru

Really? The bubonic Plague in 2010?
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Aug 02, 2010
Peru Health Minister Oscar Ugarte says authorities are screening sugar and fish meal exports from the Ascope province, located about 325 miles (520 kms) northwest of Lima. Popular Chicama beach isn't far away.

An outbreak of plague has killed a 14-year-old boy and infected at least 31 people in a northern coastal province.

Ugarte says the boy, who had Down syndrome, died of bubonic plague July 26.
He said Monday that most of the infections are bubonic plague, with four cases of pneumonic plague. The former is transmitted by flea bites, the latter by airborne contagion. The disease is curable if treated early with antibiotics.

Mexicana airlines files for Bankruptcy & stops selling tickets

Although Mexicana states they will continue to fly their scheduled routes, clearly they can not do so for long without selling tickets. The FAA instructed all code share carriers (Delta & Continental) that has sold Mexicana operated flights to immediately reissue the tickets on alternative service.

If you are holding a Mexicana ticket, go to the source that booked it for you for re-accommodation. Your travel insurance (hopefully you purchased some) will cover any out of pocket expenses liked increased airfare on another carrier