Paul I Jukic  05/08/2009 11:40:33 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Search Results

Cable 
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UNCLAS        NASSAU 00133
CXNASSAU:
    ACTION: AMB
    INFO:   DCM POL ECON

DISSEMINATION: AMB /1
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: CDA:TZUNIGA-BROWN
DRAFTED: ECON:KRABASSA
CLEARED: POL/ECON:JDUBEL

VZCZCBHI259
RR RUEHC RUCNCOM
DE RUEHBH #0133/01 0631824
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041824Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6167
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000133 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD PGOV PREL BF
SUBJECT:  NASSAU MONTHLY - FEBRUARY 2009 
 
¶1.  This is a monthly report on a variety of topics of interest 
which do not merit full reporting cables. 
 
-------------------------------- 
FOOTBALL AND PAGEANTRY = TOURISM 
-------------------------------- 
¶2.  On March 2 Prime Minister Ingraham announced that the 2009 Miss 
Universe Pageant will be held at the Atlantis Resort in August, 
bringing in over 80 contestants and their entourages from around the 
world.  In addition, The Bahamas is set to host the 59th Congress of 
the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) at the 
Atlantis Resort in May/June.  The GCOB is hoping the combination of 
brawn and beauty will bring a much needed tourism boost to the 
struggling island economy in coming months. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
BLOGGING RESULTS IN IGUANA KILLERS ARRESTED 
------------------------------------------- 
¶3.  Two American citizens were arrested in Exuma on February 3 after 
authorities discovered they had killed, grilled, and eaten 
endangered iguanas.  To make matters worse, the pair was also caught 
with undersized conch on their vessel.  Bahamian authorities got 
wind of the story after the visitors posted photos of their barbecue 
on Facebook.  The photos upset many and quickly made their way from 
Atlantis Resort employees to the Bahamas National Trust to the 
Embassy and media in a matter of 24 hours.  The two Americans have 
since been released on bail and returned to the United States. 
 
¶4.  In a separate incident on March 1, American tourists posted 
details of their stay at Hog Cay, including pictures of a plucked 
duck in a roasting pan ready for the oven, to a blog.  They are 
suspected of trespassing on the private island, terrorizing a flock 
of wild ducks and slaughtering a pet duck.  Bahamian police are 
currently investigating. 
 
-------------- 
CLICO MELTDOWN 
-------------- 
¶5.  More than 100 agents stand to lose their jobs as CLICO (Bahamas) 
Ltd, the country's largest insurance company, is liquidated. 
Concerns in The Bahamas were raised when Trinidad-based parent 
company, CL Financial, received a government bail out in January 
after suffering major financial losses.  As the liquidator - Baker, 
Tilly, and Gomez - seeks a buyer, the Prime Minister encouraged all 
policy holders to continue making payments, even as worried peopled 
lined up out the door of the conglomerate to check on their policies 
and, in some cases, cancel existing plans. 
 
------------------------------------- 
FULL HOUSE AT EMBASSY MLK ESSAY EVENT 
------------------------------------- 
¶6.  On February 13 Embassy Nassau hosted a ceremony in honor of the 
winners of this year's Martin Luther King, Jr. essay competition. 
Post received 105 essay nominations from 19 different schools 
throughout The Bahamas.  Two grand prize winners (one representing 
New Providence schools and one representing the Family Island 
schools) each received a laptop computer and books.  The three 
additional winners and four honorable mentions received books on the 
life of MLK and President Obama.  All of the prizes were generously 
donated by local businesses and organizations.  The event was widely 
attended by local media and the two grand prize essays were printed 
in newspapers the following week. 
 
 
------------------------------------------- 
NEWSPAPER DELIVERY TO MOST OUT ISLANDS ENDS 
------------------------------------------- 
¶7.  Outer island readers of the nation's largest circulation daily, 
The Tribune, awoke on February 10 to a front-page story describing 
the end of daily air deliveries of this newspaper to most outer 
islands.  Ironically, the beginning of online access began the same 
day in a PDF version (http://access.tribune242.com) to the relief of 
internet-savvy Bahamians and ex-pats.  According to The Tribune 
story and subsequent editorials, Bahamasair, the much-maligned air 
carrier, suddenly and without previous discussion increased the 
shipping rates to a prohibitive level effective January 1.  Service 
has since resumed to Freeport, the Bahamas' second-largest city, 
under private arrangement. 
 
---------------------------------- 
RASH OF SUICIDES WORRIES BAHAMIANS 
---------------------------------- 
¶8.  A spate of suicides and at least one very public attempted 
suicide - by an unemployed woman desperate for work - have provided 
grist to Bahamian media full of stories of economic hardship lately. 
 Everyone seems to be weighing in on the spike in such acts, which 
are considered uncharacteristic for Bahamians - compared to murders 
or traffic fatalities, that is, which are tallied daily in standard 
radio news openers, dominating the headlines and airwaves on slow 
news days.  In the socially conservative Bahamas, religious leaders 
too have been weighing in on what are regarded as un-Christian acts 
of desperation, with a number of churches banding together to 
provide family crisis counseling and discourage "raw materialism" 
and promote Christian goodwill "at this time of economic scarcity." 
 
 
 
ZUNIGA-BROWN