If you think Detroit’s auto industry is in serious danger of losing jobs just because some pompous idiots in DC want to shore up their power after the elections, then what would you say about the plight of the Channel Island of Sark (www.sark.info/) in Europe, 80 miles off the south coast of England, where 140 of its less than 500 residents have lost their jobs as a direct result of recently held elections.

You see, the Barclay twins - Sir David and Sir Frederick (73) - own a lot of land and businesses in Sark. And the Isle of Sark has a feudal system in place, with nutty posts like a seigneur, as well as the seneschal who acts as both chief judge and the speaker in the island’s government, which is the ‘Chief Pleas’.  And cars are not allowed. People go around on horses. Photo copyrights - Sark Tourism.

So anyway, the Barclay brothers were supporting candidates for elections in Sark who would have pushed through a radical reform of the island’s governance towards a more democratic system. And their candidates took a a thumpin’.

So out of sheer pettiness and a desire to make the good people of Sark pay for their intransigence and love of feudalism, the evil capitalist twins have now pulled the plug on all their businesses in Sark, which include hotels, shops, estate agents, building firms and restaurants. They didn’t sell their assets, just closed them down and mothballed them. So suddenly, 140 of the people of Sark (nearly 25% of the population), employed by the Barclays, no longer have jobs.

Speaking about closing down hotels, the St. Petersburg Times reports that small Tampa Bay hotels and other tourism service providers are in serious danger of being shuttered, considering that the impact of the recession on the Tampa Bay area is much worse than that in the rest of Florida and the nation. About 101,000 Tampa Bay workers are already unemployed, with 33,000 more set to join them in 2009.

And speaking of tourism in a recession, the Govt. of India has come up with a novel way to boost sagging tourism and a negative graph of foreign visitors in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. According to the Times of India, the offer includes free air travel and accommodation to foreign tourists who visit India for the third time. “This move, if approved, will mean encouraging genuine Indophiles and is in line with our effort to encourage repeat travellers,” an official said. The ministry is also considering footing the bill for travel and accommodation of tour operators promoting domestic travel and medical tourism.

What happens if you’ve been to India more than three times? Article doesn’t say, but I assume they wouldn’t want to penalize people for visiting them more than thrice. And I hope this novel promotion catches on in the U.S., and we end up enjoying free vacations on the Eastern seaboard with free flights and free stays in New York hotels.

Posted on December 15th, 2008 by Thomas
Filed under: News