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Capt_Nemo...thanks..didn't see that. eom
Skeena..what's driving that? I don't see any news? thanks
if you look closely at KKRW income they had several columns of figures....the 2 that I paid attention to were the 3 months ending 3/31/03 and 6 months ending 3/31/03...
most of their income looked to me was earned in the 3 month ending 3/31 period...
anyone see anything different? I'd say that is a company on the right track.
Now they had a couple of PR's in May so I would think with so many websites off their main website we could possibly see more activity in 6/03 (just a thought)...the Spanish connection I believe was a company they purchased in January 03...and let's not minimize the impact of the Spanish market today...very, very big...
so my little under .02 stock I think is on the right track...
http://www.CinemaPop.com
IMO
Art2...
did Viva get this yet?
To obtain required D.O.T. and F.A.A. certifications on or before May 1,2003
thanks
interesting read/airline financing...
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/030530/airlines_financing_1.html
Reuters
US airlines embrace convertible debt to raise cash
Friday May 30, 1:59 pm ET
By Meredith Grossman Dubner
CHICAGO, May 30 (Reuters) - With huge expenses and limited financing options, more and more U.S. airlines are turning to convertible bond sales to raise much-needed cash.
Investor appetite for convertible debt has picked up recently, boosted by the end of the war in Iraq and lessening worries about airline bankruptcies. The mood marks a shift from an environment where airlines were unable to raise money by selling unsecured paper backed only by their promise to repay.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The convertible market is pretty hot right now," said William Warlick, airline analyst at credit rating agency Fitch Ratings (News). "It's one of the few vehicles for financing that the major airlines can still use."
Convertible bonds -- stock-bond hybrids that usually offer current income and can be converted into company stock -- are also popular because interest rates are at record lows and stock prices are rising. The latter makes companies less fearful that by selling convertibles they might eventually have to issue shares at prices they consider too cheap.
At least four airlines have sold convertible bonds this year, including Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - News), AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AAI - News) and Northwest Airlines Corp. (NasdaqNM:NWAC - News). This week, Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL - News) sold $300 million of 20-year bonds that can only be converted to stock if Delta shares more than double in price.
"You've had a firming equity market ... and a little more optimism on the part of the investors that the shares might ultimately be worth something," Warlick said.
Spokespeople for several airlines declined to comment on how convertibles fit into their financing strategies.
ASSETS ALREADY TIED UP
Convertibles are a departure from the usual way airlines raise money -- by pledging their aircraft as collateral. Issuing new stock is out of the question because few investors would want the risk and the value of existing shares would be diluted immediately.
"They obviously need to raise cash to provide some stability in a difficult operating environment," said Joel Denney, fixed-income airline analyst at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray. "Most of them have already fully leveraged their collateral as much as possible, so now it's, What's next?"
In the late 1990s, airlines financed equipment using Equipment Trust Certificates (ETCs) and Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (EETCs), or debt backed by aircraft. With fewer new aircraft being delivered now, airlines have tried raising money by offering secured bonds backed by less attractive assets such as spare parts or aging airplanes.
Analysts said some carriers might also choose to sell assets and spin off subsidiaries. But airlines are more keen to save billions of dollars a year by dramatically cutting costs, such as by negotiating lower pay with unions.
"Long term, you can't just keep raising more money or selling assets to cover losses," Denney said. "You have to stop the losses."
F. Barry Nelson, who helps run a convertible fund at Advent Capital Management in New York that bought Alaska Air and AirTran convertibles, said a window has opened for riskier corporate borrowers to sell convertibles. The last cycle of airline convertibles occurred in the mid-1990s, he said.
But Nelson was hesitant to suggest that the rush of convertible sales means the airline industry's prospects have improved.
"What we're just generally seeing is an appetite for higher risk, higher yielding bonds -- an appetite that was conspicuously absent for several years," he said. "It more reflects market conditions being much more receptive to lower grade credit, rather than any peculiar enthusiasm for airlines."
emit....
great article. Thanks for posting it.
Art2...
did shareholders write and request the r/s be cancelled or reconsidered? If no, ok. If yes, were there many shares represented in that request?
It sounded to me like they were trying to respond to shareholder requests? The note was poorly written I think.
Name pps Friday vol 10 day avg vol
GRLZ .009 12,000 870
BYCC .015 0 500
CDKX .024 29,000 5,350
DSTG .015 0 1,100
ECTC .011 0 0
ECEC .019 20,100 65,500
EGND .015 500 148,220
MAXZ .02 0 35,320
NTTRF .025 0 200
OBTVE .001 0 10,800
PBOKE .02 0 1,050
QRUS .01 0 0
RHWY .015 0 1,230
SPNT .025 7,000 520
SPCIE .004 0 870
ISUME .001 0 0
TSLU .015 0 0
VILWE .0275 10,100 510
ZPCM .025 0 220
jcradio...we need to wait and see what happens. I'm still hoping they pull it off...and for all of us time will tell.
jcradio...I'm not worried about anything! I am a TTN supporter! eom
foxy...I can access the website with no problems looks like.
Is this Queen Air or a different one? thanks
http://www.thedominicanrepublic.net/AirlinesDirectory.html
if yes, is that schedule current?
guellen,
could it be to lower the shares to get attractive financing? It may have been a requirement of the bank if they are going that route? If you have 800mil shares the pps isn't attractive to banks I don't think....1mil shares and a pps that demonstrates to a bank that the loan can be supported. I know if the value of the shares in companies go down the banks holding the notes start negotiations because their investment is in jeopardy....I'm thinking it's this plain and simple. (I'm hoping)....
My thinking then goes to what kind of conversion will he give to shareholders? to preferred then back to common stock....I think you can conclude in one year he doesn't want 800 mil on the market and in one of the companies I read the converted from pfd to common and then immediately r/s 1 for 7 to reduce the float...but think about this.....if currently shareholders are going to lose 799 for each 800 they own without conversion....conversion has to be attractive or he wouldn't go through that exercise. He would simply r/s like so many others and say see you later. Now with a 1mil or so float what do you think the pps will look like in 12 months? and even if we only ended up with 25% of our shares...this could end up being not so bad.
Bottom line to me is no one will take him seriously with a .0076 or .0021 stock price so I can see (while I'm not happy) why he did this and I really want to think that sentence on the conversion is to tell the rest of us that in one year you may be better off if there is a decent share price....
just my thinking
dneighnay...what chatroom? eom
rorosch....we need to see the conversion offering from AXGI..and I'm hoping they put out a PR to stop the free fall....
Cash...
re: the 2 reponses you posted.....
since Viva has not been heard of according to this guy and Queens can come into the US only through a wetlease (and he emphatically said Queens could not sell the right to come in to anyone else)...
Viva---> no
Queens -----> yes through wetlease
Falcon ------> vehicle for wetlease
what will the name of the plane be when it goes to US?
Viva's been eliminated from the equation unless this guy
can respond to *can a company that owns 49% of a company
that has the right to come in through wetlease be allowed
to do so?*
Viva---->via Queens operating rights------>Falcon being wet lease vehicle
or.........
are they going to change the name to Viva/Queens?
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030416/165554_1.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
what's your thoughts or anyone elses?
Thanks
Art2..thanks for posting the article. Are there any other owner's of Queen? Also, do I understand this right...that Queen is waiting for cert to fly to US...that in it's background it had a cert to fly one year, then renewed for 2 years and now looking for renewal again? And....is this the certificate we are waiting for?
Thanks
Ruellit...let me try the response again..
taking it in sequence...
Red flag 1 - NYC Port Authority finally replied to me. They know nothing of a Viva Airlines starting up operations at JFK. They checked with the DOT and they say Viva Airlines is not in the system.
The questions here are multiple
a) if Viva is flying under Falcon Express and Queen Air...then wouldn't those be listed instead?
b) before even that is VIVA planning on JFK right now or focusing on Miami first?
Red flag 2 - I finally talked to someone in the DOT. Never heard of Auxer or Viva Airlines.
Does any administrative process happen if/then after the Queen Air certificate is renewed to fly in US...to identify VIVA at that point and not before therefore the explanation of why VIVA is not known to anyone now?
Red flag 3 - Finally talked to Evergreen. They have never talked to Auxer/Viva or Fina about working on DC-9s. They
Have not worked on DC-9s at all. Called Hamilton on their suggestion. They never have talked to Auxer/Viva either.
someone over at RB pointed out that they may be worked on at another company...and that was my first thought also
Red flag 3 - Wasn't there a meeting a this week in Miami missed by Auxer? Someone here said they missed the appointment without saying a word. Red flag to me.
no clue
Red flag 4 - No pr this week. Very strangely quiet. No one can get hold of anyone at Auxer.
could just be what most businesses experience, a delay!
these are just my opinions....
Ruellit...
taking it in sequence...
Red flag 1 - NYC Port Authority finally replied to me. They know nothing of a Viva Airlines starting up operations at JFK. They checked with the DOT and they say Viva Airlines is not in the system.
The questions here are multiple
a) if Viva is flying under Falcon Express and Queen Air...then wouldn't those be listed instead?
b) before even that is VIVA planning on JFK right now or focusing on Miami first?
Red flag 2 - I finally talked to someone in the DOT. Never heard of Auxer or Viva Airlines.
Does any administrative process happen if/then after the Queen Air certificate is renewed to fly in US...to identify VIVA at that point and not before therefore the explanation of why VIVA is not known to anyone now?
[b}Red flag 3 - Finally talked to Evergreen. They have never talked to Auxer/Viva or Fina about working on DC-9s. They
Have not worked on DC-9s at all. Called Hamilton on their suggestion. They never have talked to Auxer/Viva either.
someone over at RB pointed out that they may be worked on at another company...and that was my first thought also
Red flag 3 - Wasn't there a meeting a this week in Miami missed by Auxer? Someone here said they missed the appointment without saying a word. Red flag to me.
no clue
Red flag 4 - No pr this week. Very strangely quiet. No one can get hold of anyone at Auxer.
could just be what most businesses experience, a delay!
these are just my opinions....
cash..thanks for posting the emails. eom
quellen, thanks for response. I was thinking that also but if there's fuel there's fire...and I wanted to know if it were just little stuff or surmountable bigger ones. Frankly I think the management of this organization is qualified and experienced...and couldn't imagine they didn't know those
*underlying issues* before....but who knows...I'll wait and see if Cash sends the emails, if not I'll email the person and ask for an explanation.
Communications good on this stock. Thanks to all.
dwiz5...
There appears to be many underlying issues regarding this "new airline."
interesting.....that tone did not come out of any PR's released by the Auxer Group....did the issues just all of a sudden come up? This sounds like a key element in VIVA's ability to move forward. All that's been written is plans...this is actually an action that can't seem to get off the ground? I read RB all day today and folks kept saying
they were waiting for the PR...doesn't sound like an action PR can come out if this statement is true until the underlying issues get resolved?
Am I missing something in the interpretation?
Art2Gecko..thanks and thanks for the great info on AXGI you provide. I appreciate it.
Art2Gecko...who is Falcon Air? Thanks
Interesting 11/02 PR on Northeast Airlines/Eric Paillet as president and managing director....
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2002/11/prweb49490.php
JC....the origin of that post was posted on willy's board after being verified with Jack....so I don't have a problem at all talking about it....
Victor Melfi...looks impressive and when I did a search on Victor Melfi I also found this name associated with manager of LA Dodgers...since the first one is Jr, I'm wondering if the LA Dodger manager is related?
now look at Victor's education btw...
http://www.prairielaw.com/company/press/press13.asp
I direct your attention to this paragraph:
"Melfi earned his MBA from the Yale School of Management and did
undergraduate and graduate work at Oxford University"
News Center
About Us / Contact Us / News Center / Prairielaw Team
Consumer Legal Site Prairielaw.com Names New CEO
Former Virtual Spin CEO and Yale Graduate Victor Melfi to Take Helm
SEATTLE, April 26, 2000 - Prairielaw.com, a consumer-based legal
information site dedicated to taking the frustration out of the legal
process, today announced the appointment of Victor J. Melfi, Jr. as
Chief Executive Officer. Melfi will lead corporate and marketing
strategy, capitalization, business and product development.
Melfi comes from a strong marketing background in both traditional
and e-commerce businesses and brings the executive skills required to
drive Prairielaw.com's aggressive growth strategy. Most recently, he
was CEO of Virtual Spin, Inc., a Bellevue, WA developer of e-commerce
software solutions. Prior to Virtual Spin, Inc., Melfi was President
and CEO of Multiple Zones International, a direct reseller of
computer products.
"Having Victor on our team will help us further strengthen and
deliver on our mission of bringing compelling information, resources,
and community together so that people can get the legal guidance they
need," said Kevin O'Keefe, founder and President. "Victor has a great
depth of experience and is widely-known for his strategic business
skills."
Melfi earned his MBA from the Yale School of Management and did
undergraduate and graduate work at Oxford University. His
professional accomplishments include the successful IPO of Multiple
Zones International and the acquisition of Virtual Spin by QSound
Labs. He also sits on the boards of several Seattle-area technology
companies.
"Providing consumers with information and tools to help them make
better use of the law is a perfect application for the Internet,"
said Melfi. "Prairielaw.com is uniquely positioned to deliver real
value to both consumers and lawyers, versus being just another ad
revenue model. That's exciting."
About Prairielaw.com
Prairielaw.com is the dominant law site for the common person
bringing information, resources and community together in an every
day manner so that people can make smarter use of the law. It was
established in 1998 as an online community that provides consumers
with easy access to legal resources. Its law channels and its message
boards have attracted hundreds of thousands of consumers and
professionals with similar experiences to help each other with legal
issues online. For more information about Prairielaw.com, please
visit http://prairielaw.com.
For more press information, please contact Greg Hoeth or Lisa
Espiritu of The Silver Company at 206-624-0388 or
greg@t... / lisa@t...
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emit...I'd say this one was a fit too...
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Bragman,+Howard
Look at the film info.....
Hi John,
I'll take the mini palace(*s)...thank you! Yes this is a high risk stock...but if the launch happens I'm hoping I'm in the right place at the right time.....I want just one stock I can say....................yowser!!!!! to!
Take care....
and gay coffee....
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Feb/02092003/sunday/27025.asp
Coffee Company Brews Up Cash for Gay Charities
Female impersonator Jon "Flo" Koop is pictured on bags of coffee marketed by GayCoffees. (Charlie Riedel/The Associated Press)
BY STEVE BRISENDINE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- The name -- GayCoffees -- seems certain to cause some controversy.
So do some of the slogans and promotions attached to the company's custom-roasted blends. After all, when was the last time you walked down the supermarket aisle and saw a bag of Fetish Beans, complete with the flag of the leather pride movement?
"The tag line for that one is, 'Whipping the charity out of you,' " said GayCoffees co-founder and president Catherine Kelly. "People in the leather community just love it."
Kelly isn't trying to shock people. She's just using coffee and an edgy marketing campaign to do her part for charity, in particular, causes that benefit the lesbian, gay and bisexual community.
"This is just a way to raise money," said Kelly, who founded GayCoffees in June 2002 as an offshoot of the public relations company she owned with Kevin Powell. He's GayCoffees' vice president.
GayCoffees' beans are custom-roasted in Topeka, Kan. Fund-raising groups and charities order bags from the company, which gets between $1.75 and $2 per bag while the roaster gets $4.
When the coffee is resold, the rest goes to the charity.
GayCoffees also sells its beans online and at a handful of retail outlets, with 40 percent of the $10 sale price going to designated charities.
"I don't know of very many businesses who give that percentage of their proceeds to charity. Usually, it's 2 percent, 3 percent" said Jon "Flo" Koop, a female impersonator from Kansas City, Mo., who is the namesake for the blend called "Flo's Joe" and whose picture appears on the bag.
GayCoffees' target charities include the American Foundation for AIDS Research, the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, Kansas Pride and the Kansas City Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
"It's been a slow process, but we're operating in the black," Kelly said.
The company, now based in Kansas City, Mo., has its roots in Lawrence, where Kelly and Powell met in the late 1990s while working at a public relations firm. Kelly later recruited Powell to join a dot-com in Kansas City before the two struck out on their own.
Powell, who isn't gay, said he could sense Kelly's passion for the project from the outset.
The company got a boost before the holidays when Out magazine featured GayCoffees' Freedom Beans in its holiday gift guide.
The only catch, Kelly said, is that some people only buy -- or are given -- just one bag, treating the coffee as a collector's item rather than a consumable product.
"We don't want it sitting around," she said. "We want people to use it."
GayCoffees will soon wrap up its first "Miss GayCoffees" competition, in which female impersonators in Kansas City, Mo., Seattle and Wichita, Kan., vie to sell the most bags of "Flo's Joe" for the American Foundation for AIDS Research.
The winners will have their pictures displayed on bags of coffee for one year and be able to designate which charity receives proceeds from the next competition.
"I had my doubts at first, because I didn't realize the scope of what it was going to be," Koop said. "The name GayCoffees kinds of throws you off, but it's not just for the gay community."
GayCoffees also did a special limited-edition blend last year to benefit a shelter for battered women, and proceeds from bags of the decaf "Pink Ribbon Roast" will benefit breast cancer research.
First, though, GayCoffees must find a charity willing to accept money from the sale of Pink Ribbon Roast.
Turned down by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the company is now conducting a "May the Breast Charity Win" campaign.
A spokeswoman for the Komen foundation said it turns down most requests for affiliations, and GayCoffees' request was rejected because the company does not have a national retail presence.
That doesn't deter Kelly.
"We'll just keep collecting money until we find a charity that does our community the most good," she said.
interesting gay travel article....2/9/03
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/02/09/TR242339.DTL
Gay, lesbian travelers outward-bound
More countries, companies put out welcome mat for same-sex tourists
David Swanson, Special to the Chronicle Sunday, February 9, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the Cayman Islands yanked the welcome mat away from a group of gay cruise ship passengers five years ago, they didn't realize they were bucking one of the biggest trends in the travel industry.
Apparently they do now. Independent gay travelers and those who support them boycotted the Caymans, heading instead to the dozens of countries actively courting them. Recently MacKeeva Bush, the Caribbean nation's current tourism minister, offered an olive branch of sorts: "The incident . . . happened during a prior administration," he said. "As a country, the Cayman Islands does not discriminate against any social group and receives all visitors to our shores."
It was a tacit acknowlegment of what most of the world has already discovered: Increasingly, gay and lesbian travelers are venturing far beyond the traditional "safe havens" of Provincetown, Key West and Palm Springs, the resort towns long known for their gay-owned lodging and gay-tolerant attitudes.
Travel agents, airlines, countries and cities are lining up to identify their products as "gay-friendly." American Airlines, Avis car rentals and W Hotels are just a few of the mainstream outfits spending money to advertise to the gay audience.
The lure: a piece of the estimated $54.1 billion that American gays and lesbians spend annually on travel.
A recent study by Community Marketing, a San Francisco market research firm specializing in the gay community, found that 91 percent of those questioned had taken a trip in the previous 12 months, compared with a national average of 64 percent. Those surveyed were 10 times as likely as heterosexuals to have taken a cruise, and 84 percent of gays and lesbians have a valid passport, compared to 29 percent of mainstream adult travelers.
Traditionally, gay-specific tours and cruises have been the most visible type of gay tourism. Atlantis Events (www.atlantis
events.com), which organized the gay cruise to the Caymans, puts together eight or more gay-specific vacations annually, ranging from a 40-person Kenyan safari tour to 2,000-passenger cruise trips through the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Atlantis president Rich Campbell reports that last year, which was bad for travel as a whole, his business was up 40 percent.
Business was also up last year at Olivia Cruises and Resorts (www.olivia. com), which offers tours to Alaska, Tahiti and Scandinavia for lesbians.
"People like to travel in like-minded groups," said Robert Wilson, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. "There are gay groups going into Tibet, to Turkey, everywhere."
Independent travel by gays and lesbians is also on the rise.
"Every tour operator and travel agent I've interviewed in the past year has said that their gay clients are increasingly less interested in just seeking out gay-specific accommodations and experiences, and going more toward overall experiences in a comfortable environment," said Mark Chesnut, author of "The Gay Vacation Guide." "They are more interested in exploring new places, (such as) Asia, Africa and South America."
Great Britain, one of the first countries to actively court the gay travel market, operates a gay Britain info line (877-857-2462) and a gay-specific Web site, www. gaybritain.org.
Following suit, France (http://us. franceguide.com/publi_gay friendly.asp), Germany (www.
visits-to-germany.com, www.ber lin-tourism.de), Switzerland (www. myswitzerland.com/gay), and Austria (www.austria-tour ism.com/gay) are touting their appeal to gay and lesbian travelers.
Australia has been a top destination for gay travelers for about two decades, in part for its largely tolerant attitudes, according to Samantha Collins, spokeswoman for the Australian Tourism Commission.
Sydney's Gay Games were attended by 30,000 last November, and Sydney's annual gay Mardi Gras celebration (www.mardi gras.org.au) in February draws upwards of 700,000 attendees (including local and non-gay revelers). In addition to gay-friendly accommodations, nightlife and festivals, there's even a campy but educational motor coach tour of the city's gay landmarks, led by a drag queen in full regalia (www.sydneybydiva.com). Tourist officials operate their own Web site for gay travelers, www.gay. australia.com.
"You can do almost anything in Australia," said Collins, "from trekking through Tasmanian wilderness, to wine country tours, to diving the Great Barrier Reef, to camel safaris in the outback."
South Africa doesn't maintain a separate Web site for gay visitors, but its main tourist Web site (www.southafrica.net) offers this statement: "We are proud to say that we have one of the most progressive constitutions in the world with regard to human rights. So, unlike some of our neighbors, gay rights are protected by our constitution and we are a very gay-friendly country."
As destinations and suppliers identify the economic value of gay outreach, insiders say it's important that they not lose sight of what makes a place desirable to the gay or lesbian traveler.
"A destination is gay-friendly when it is able to make these visitors feel comfortable," says author Chesnut. "Gay and lesbian travelers don't want to go somewhere that will make them feel threatened, or unwelcome. It's not so much about just being in a 100 percent gay environment. Like any minority group, we would prefer to be somewhere we feel safe, comfortable and relatively welcome. Other groups, like African Americans, can be sensitive to this kind of need as well, and it's no different for us."
The destination needs to understand the special needs of this segment of the travel industry, says Wilson of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. "That people walking around holding hands or being affectionate will not feel embarrassed or uncomfortable; that a couple of same gender requesting a single bed will not feel awkward. And that applies to the straight person selling the room, as well."
Not every country welcomes, or even tolerates, gay and lesbian travelers. Perhaps the most famous incident was the one involving the Cayman Islands in 1998. The nation revoked docking privileges on Grand Cayman Island for a cruise ship chartered by gay tour operator Atlantis Events. "Careful research and prior experience has led us to conclude that we cannot count on this group to uphold the standards of appropriate behavior expected of visitors to the Cayman Islands," wrote then-tourism minister Thomas Jefferson at the time. And while his successor has repudiated the statement, the Cayman Islands has never officially retracted or clarified the earlier position.
"If they changed their policy we would go to Grand Cayman tomorrow," said Rich Campbell of Atlantis Events. "It's conveniently located (and) it has a lot to offer."
But as a whole, the Caribbean is not the most gay-friendly region in the world. "Some of the islands are extremely homophobic," said Wilson of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. The former British colonies, particularly Jamaica, are especially resistant to homosexuality. The tag-line "couples-only" at all-inclusive resort chains such as Sandals means heterosexual couples only, and same-sex couples are not allowed to check in.
But attitudes vary greatly from one island to the next, and several -- notably Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands -- have ties to the gay community and actively market to it. Gay-friendly lodgings are found in Jamaica, the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic, and an accepting atmosphere prevails throughout Dutch Caribbean islands such as Curacao, Saba and St. Maarten.
Although South Africa encourages gay and lesbian visitors, two neighboring African countries -- Namibia and Zimbabwe -- have leaders that actively dissuade them. In a speech at the University of Namibia, President Sam Nujoma said: "See to it there are no criminals, gays and lesbians in your villages. Namibia does not allow homosexuality and lesbianism -- police are ordered to arrest you and deport you and imprison you."
Countries with a strict Muslim orthodoxy are not particularly welcoming, although several -- particularly Morocco, Turkey and Egypt -- have been popular gay destinations for years. However, Egypt came under fire from human rights organizations for the arrest, torture and trial last year of 52 suspected homosexuals for "contempt of religion."
"In general, there are few places that I as a gay man would completely avoid," Chesnut said. "I've been to Europe, Africa, Asia and throughout the Americas, all with few problems related to being gay."
Gay travel insiders say one shouldn't define a place solely by reputation. "You can have a homophobic encounter in San Francisco and the most welcoming experience in a place like Syria," said Ed Salvato, editorial director of the gay travel newsletter Out & About, which is produced in San Francisco.
In some destinations, gay and lesbian visitors have become so common that they're now part of the mainstream. Case in point: the Netherlands, which was one of the first countries to heavily promote itself to the gay market, no longer does so.
"We have discovered that within that market segment, everyone has heard about Amsterdam being the gay capital of Europe," said Conrad Van Tiggelen, director for the Netherlands Board of Tourism. "Everyone knows Holland for its tulips, too. So I'm not going to spend money to promote our tulips."
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IF YOU GO
PERIODICALS
-- Our World is a destination-oriented gay and lesbian travel magazine, published 10 times a year; subscriptions are $25 (or $12 as an on-line subscription); (386) 441- 5367; www.ourworldmagazine. com.
-- Out & About is a newsletter that covers destinations and industry topics, published 10 times a year; subscriptions are $39 ($20 on-line); (800) 929-2268; www.outandabout.com.
-- Passport is a newer magazine dealing with gay and lesbian travel, including tips for businesspeople, published eight times a year; subscriptions are $19.95; (800) 999- 9718; www.passportmagazine.net.
-- Gay Travel News is a free gay destination Web site, updated quarterly. The site links visitors to 200 gay-friendly travel agents and hotels around the world; www.gaytravel news.com.
BOOKS
-- The Damron library of gay and lesbian guidebooks includes "The Women's Traveler" (2003, Damron, $16.95), "Men's Travel Guide" (2003, Damron, $18.95), "Damron Accommodations" (2003, Damron, $22.95), "Damron Road Atlas" (2003, Damron, $21.95); (800) 462-6654.
-- "Fodor's Gay Guide to the USA" covers travel and places to stay throughout the U.S. and Canada (2002, Fodor's, $21.50); (800) 733-3000.
-- "Frommer's Gay and Lesbian Europe" deals with transportation, lodging, sightseeing, nightlife options and cultural expectations (2003, Wiley, $24.99);
(800) 434-3422 ext. 23987.
-- "The Gay Vacation Guide," by Mark Chesnut, concentrates on gay travel activities including tours and adventure vacations (2002, Kensington Books, $15); (888) 345-2665.
Jan 28 ENGY PR.....
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030128/280124_1.html
Hi Ron,
Good summary and..along with...
http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/041402/14divgayads.html
foxy...
if it works and on TWC I think it's going to be great. TWC isn't wasting this amount of time on a station they feel is going nowhere...so one can conclude they think TTN has something going for it (if the rumored launch on TWC is true).
I agree....the website is very nice!
gees John....we got to pay for that phone call? LOL!
Was NPCT mentioned in an IBM patent? If yes, can someone direct me to it?
Thanks
ferrgus...
the only difference now may be we don't know who they have financing them...and therefore the $$$'s to pursue this may be available to them
Interesting....
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/021231/312040_1.html
I wouldn't be surprised if TTN didn't go after some of the folks over at RB. It's one thing to say they aren't moving fast enough for us...it's entirely different to say some of the accusations they have made over there.
GO QBID!!!!!!!!!
Sirius Setting Up Gay Radio Outlet
http://www.backstage.com/backstage/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1790071
ferrgus...
again, what is the role of an assistant of an IH board...is there someplace I can find that information?
Thanks