Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
SIDNEY POITIER COMES HOME: the names of the movies are etched in history. They carry with them pieces of history. Ian Strachan describes the movie business as the most influential medium of the twentieth century. Perhaps that is so because as Sidney Poitier walks around today, he carries with him the reputations of The Bahamas on his shoulders. He carries the reputation of the black community on his shoulders. A hero, one white couple said to him as he walked back to his hotel room. You were our hero when we were kids, they said and now we are not kids, you are still our hero. That is the measure of the man. He is a Bahamian. The Bahamas welcomed him home and named the bridge in his honour. Our photo of the week was the welcome at the airport that was afforded him and he saluted the officer right back. It was taken at the airport on arrival on Thursday 1st November. It comes from the Face book page of
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
TO SIR WITH LOVE
When the flight attendant announced on Thursday 1st November over the speaker that Bahamasair wanted to welcome on board Sir Sidney Poitier, a cheer went up from the crowd on the plane. It was spontaneous and unrehearsed. The photo which we use as the photo of the week was taken at the Lynden Pindling International Airport at the official arrival with the police band and officers of the Force drawn up at the airport to meet him. You cannot see it but looking from above are the people peering through the window, ordinary men and women of The Bahamas waving, smiling clapping as the band played To Sir With Love.
This was the theme of the visit chosen by the government to honour its returned son Sidney Poitier. Mr. Poitier who was knighted by the Queen in 1974 brought the house down. He defied all the naysayers and the critics. In fact, the man who was leading the charge against him Celli Moss on the day in question could be found nowhere. He was shut out of the debate on the date in question, and seemed in the face of all the outpouring of emotion to be an utter irrelevancy.
Sidney Poitier was born and raised in a much different Bahamas in 1927 than the one into which he landed on Thursday last. There was no eight hundred million dollar airport when he was born. The prospects for a child like him looked dim. In fact, he was born in Miami as an accident of history because his parents Cat Island tomato farmers were in the U.S. to sell their crops. As soon as he was well enough they took him back home. He was raised in Cat Island up to the age of ten and then the family moved to Nassau where he stayed until he was fifteen. In order to escape the Boys Industrial School as it was then called, his father shipped him off to his older brother in Miami. From Miami, he moved to New York and by an accident of history became an actor.
The questions at the press conference about his life and what advice he would give young would be actors were nothing more or less than perseverance. He said that his values were taught to him by his parent sand he never ever forgot them.
So the naming of the bride is history now. It is done. The week was filled with emotions. The Prime Minister Perry Christie gave a moving address to the country as the spoke of Sidney Poitier’s life at the Bahaman concert on the Chalk’s Ramp at Paradise Island. The new Performing Arts Centre is to be built in his honour and Jennifer Hudson came to start the fund raising together with Oprah Winfrey who is a great friend and benefactor.
So we add to the chorus: To Sir with Love.
The photo shows Fred Mitchell MP with Sidney Poitier in the Office of the Prime Minister on Friday 2nd November. It is taken by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 3rd November 2012 up to midnight:162,936
Number of hits for the month of October up to Wednesday 31st October 2012 up to midnight: 699,113
Number of hits for the year 2012 up to Saturday 3rdNovember 2012 up to midnight:6,697,617
It was simply a wonderful two day affair. Sidney Poitier and his family came to Nassau and they were welcomed with warm and loving arms by the Bahamian people. Mr. Poitier himself pronounced himself overwhelmed. He was engaged, happy. He danced. He hugged the people. They applauded. Tears welled up in many eyes. His family was openly crying so moved were they. Well once again To Sir With Love in pictures. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
HURRICANE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT PHOTOS
Prime Minister Perry Christie continued his tour of the country following the path of destruction by Hurricane Sandy week before last. The Prime Minister visited Eleuthera on Tuesday 30th October. The photos were taken in Eleuthera by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services. Philip Davis, the Deputy Prime Minister inspected the damage in his Cat Island Constituency. The photos appeared on his Facebook page.
THE TRIP TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs, led a delegation of ministers of the government to the Dominican Republic last week 30thand 31st October to discuss the question ofillegalpoaching in Bahamian waters by Dominicanfishermen. The Minister told the press that the Dominican government committed itself to seeking to lessen the illegal fishing in Bahamian waters from the presidential level. He added that the naval commanders who are responsible for issuing fishing licenses in the Dominican Republic are to come to Nassau to discuss operational connections with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in connection with the poaching issue. The photos are by Eric Rose of the Bahamas Information Services.
BTC AND THE ELIZABETH THOMPSON STANDOFF
We wonder sometimes where the heads of the Union leaders are. Sometimes they can be so bloody minded in their positions which are simply indefensible,unsustainable and untenable. Such is the position with regard to Elizabeth Thompson who was fired and given the proper notice pay by BTC, the Bahamian phone company. We first reported this last week.As we said last week both BTC and Elizabeth Thompson deserve each other but in this case we believe that BTC is correct. Elizabeth Thompson cannot serve two masters. But just as the case was when she wasfiredfrom the government, this is woman who will simply not take no for an answer. She wants to be her own boss and things must go her way or no way at all. You would think that deep down in the recesses of her heart she must be saying to herself how in the world I got myself into this trouble again. Is it that trouble simply likes to follow her or is the fault in herself?Obviously this is not a woman taken with too much self-examination. She is playing the victim card again and the Union leaders are making all sorts of threatening statements which simply do not make sense and have no traction. We think they should simply tell this lady, she has no case and put this matter of her dismissal to bed.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll writes this week from Grand Bahama about Nicole Martin, the Leader of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union. He says that he used to respect her but that recent utterances from her about jobs and her inability to see the larger picture when it comes to the hotel sector and economy in Grand Bahamas have caused him to change his mind.
I had the greatest respect (and admiration) for Nicole Martin after witnessing the stamina and tenacity she exhibited when she was able to survive, successfully, two court-ordered challenges to her election to the post of president of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied workers Union a couple years ago. She seemed determined, resolute and intelligent (in my view) as she met each challenge head-on with the fierceness of a tigress and without wavering or showing any signs of weakness or discouragement. She was indeed an opponent with whom to reckon. After settling in her post, however, cracks in that armor of hers began to show. Some of her decisions have been unbelievably ridiculous and many have shown just how weak and susceptible she is to jumping to conclusions (without exercising prudence) and acting out of emotions to the detriment of her union’s membership. One such incident involved workers, at the Our Lucaya Resort here in Freeport, who were dismissed several months ago when Ms. Martin allegedly advised them to withdraw their labour (abruptly) contrary to the observance of all the rules and normal channels of negotiations. After the 36 workers were fired (for walking off their jobs) appeals by the union for their reinstatement fell on deaf ears and so to save face Ms. Martin dragged the Hotel before the Tribunal apparently for redress. The Tribunal, after hearing the matter however, upheld the firings in favour of the hotel. I was extremely disappointed to see how clumsily the union president handled that matter as (in my view) this seemed a very elementary and basic dispute which she should have handled, more effectively, while the workers remained on their jobs. She conducted herself as would some females (and I said some not all) experiencing that crucial time of the month (no pun intended); she was not the strong, determined, resolute and focused leader I thought I saw in her; she simply made an amateur call which cost 36 of her union members to now be walking the streets, in Grand Bahama, counting light poles; she should have been held personally responsible and charged, by the union, with dereliction of duties. The Tribunal’s ruling against her, and in favour of the hotel, confirms that position. This brings me to the central crux of the matter (involving the Union president’s surprising negative remarks published by the media in the aftermath of the Prime Minister’s announcement concerning the revitalization and pending opening of the reef village, here in Freeport, as a five-star resort providing some 1000 new jobs) which I wish to discuss in this article today.
A quote by “Lao Tsu” says something to the effect that “To lead a people one must walk behind them.” This seems contradictory when we consider that (for all our lives) we have been told (in essence) that one cannot lead from behind; that leaders must take up frontal positions and never, ever, flinch (or backtrack) in the face of danger so as to qualify them effective leaders. Lao Tsu, however, saw good leadership from another angle; he saw the making of a good leader as one who stands behind (his/her troops) and directs matters; that he/she is able to see more clearly the dangers in front (from behind) and is better able to direct the troops to avoid those dangerous pitfalls; Seems to me that this is one lesson, Nicole Martin (and some others of her colleagues), needs to learn and learn quickly.
For about six solid years the Island of Grand Bahama has been languishing, under the burden of the loss of jobs and opportunity, at a far greater rate than any other part of the Bahamas. While the national unemployment rate dipped to a staggering 16%, under the former FNM Administration, Grand Bahama’s unemployed climbed to 22% (Island wide) but reached 34% among the youth. We accepted those official statistics, (for what they were worth), but with a couple grains of salt for we were obliged to consider the source of those stats. At times we, here, were prepared to estimate unemployment, on this island, at around 35% disputing the official figures released by the Ingraham Administration. When one considered that there were more than 400 businesses closing their doors (in this fair city), during the period 2007-2012, releasing all their employees and businesses which did manage to survive the FNM tsunami having to scale back their employee compliment to the bare minimum, one had to conclude that the unemployment rates released by the FNM Administration, at various times, were suspect. Other businesses, as well, reduced the amount of days employees were allowed to work rather than dismiss them all completely further exasperating the precarious situation; the Ingraham government and the Port Authority were at odds, as well, and were not communicating for almost the entire five year period, hence nothing was getting done to lift Freeport out of the economic doldrums; those were really trying times for us.
Finally, thank God, the government changed on May 7th 2012 and a new day dawned in the country. For us in Grand Bahama it was a time for celebration because we just knew things would get better. Now we see, within five short months (of the new PLP Administration taking office), on October 17th, a deal has been consummated for Sunwing Travel Group Inc. of Canada to take over control of the Reef Village (at the beaches at the Our Lucaya Resorts) and establish a five-star, all inclusive, resort projecting the creation of some 1000 jobs and estimated to bring more than 100,000 additional visitors (annually) to Grand Bahama. This and the bonefish lodge project, commissioned by Prime Minister Christie in Bootle Bay West Grand Bahama recently, are the only two job-producing initiatives coming to this island within the past five and one half years; all we’ve been hearing prior to this was about businesses closing. I should note here, for your reference, that this 500 room hotel actually closed its doors in September 2011, while the FNM was in power, citing as their main reason too many months of sustained low occupancy. In other words the FNM government wasn’t able to bring business or visitors to this island and we practically dried up, in the process, during their term in office.
While the whole Island was celebrating the good news and rejoicing over the prospects of a new day in Grand Bahama, however, Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied workers Union’s President Nicole Martin was singing the blues and pouting. It was obvious that her female instincts for taking vengeance, on the very people who fired the 36 of her “dues-paying” union members (months earlier) for walking off their jobs illegally, was so strong that it overpowered her sense of reasoning and caused her to speak the foolishness she did. She bluntly told Nassau Guardian Business that the Reef Village’s re-opening, and the prospects of 1000 new jobs being created (as a result) and the potential of at least 100,000 more visitors arriving here annually, was a “TRAVESTY.” She went on to opine that “The Hutchison Whampoa Group wants to move away from hiring full time employees. They want to engage employees on a casual basis. I said to the minister for Grand Bahama sometime back that that is a concern for the economy because people cannot school their children, qualify for loans and get homes” unquote. This woman’s attitude is unbelievable, to say the least; first of all how does Ms. Martin know the conditions under which employees will be engaged on this project? And if the operators do decide they wish to employ persons on a contractual basis, so what? People working on contracts are not a new phenomenon; banks and other businesses (and even the government for that matter) do it all the time. Employers are not dumb; they know that if you are on a contract and you turn out to be less than a desirable employee that they have the option of not renewing that contract when it expires with no additional consequences to them; but if, on the other hand, you turn out to be a model employee the employer has the option to gladly re-new your contract and retain your services indefinitely; employers know that contract workers will be more motivated, and apt to perform well, than persons who are employed and confirmed, in their positions, after the legal six-month probation period. This method of employing persons seems to be the way the world is going, nowadays, and those who are not willing to be employed on that basis ought then to be prepared to do the next best thing. I am not suggesting, for a minute, that I fully endorse contracts for workers at every level, in the workplace, but like I said earlier it seems to be the trend of the world and we either get on board, with the program, or be left behind; in other words, it is what it is. The world, my friends, will not change for us but it is us who must change with the times. Besides the employer is not responsible for you, your children’s schooling nor your house mortgages; they are simply offering you a job for a specified period (conditionally) and you are free to choose whether you wish to work on the basis of those conditions or not; no one can be forced to sign contracts, or sign up for casual labour as Ms. Martin put it, against one’s will. It is obvious the union president sees this method of employment (somehow) as an obstacle to the payment of union dues and she seems quite willing to condemn the creation of 1000 jobs for her own selfish reasons. I put it to you that Ms. Martin cares not for the interest of her union members but rather it’s the payment of those monthly dues that she cares about. If in fact this is what Sunwing Travel Group intends to do i.e. to offer contracts to all employees then these contracts will be very precise and specific (with respect to the conditions and work periods) so there may be no need at the end of the day, I guess, for union representation; this I believe is what has Ms. Martin all bent out of shape. Notwithstanding the conditions (for the 1000 persons who will be employed eventually) I would have thought that both Ms. Martin and her union would have been pleased to see jobs (finally for a change) come to Grand Bahamians in the hotel sector; she should have given her thumbs up to the announcement and not term it (as she did) a TRAVESTY. Only a selfish idiot (like the president of the hotel union in the Bahamas) would demean any job right now coming on stream in the hotel sector in Grand Bahama as Ms. Martin has done. I am reliably informed, as well, that Ms. Martin snubbed the prime minister and the minister of labour when she point blankly refused their invitation to attend a meeting with the group, and government officials, on the matter. She sent the message that she would not attend and if they wanted to see her they should make an appointment to come to her.
For as long as Grand Bahama has been losing jobs and suffering I’ll be presumptuous and dare speak for the majority of Grand Bahamians (I believe) by saying that we are delighted to take these 1000 jobs, and any more that the government can attract here, no matter what kind of package they come to us wrapped in and so to Ms. Martin (we say) please go and take a hike.
Thank you. Forrester J Carroll J.P Freeport, Grand Bahama November 2012.
Oswald Brown comments on the movies shown on ZNS over the past week of the work of Sidney Poitier, the Bahamian actor, writer and director. His favourite is Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner and here was his take on the film which appeared on his Facebook page on Wednesday 31st October.
• A MUST-SEE MOVIE: If you don’t regularly watch ZNS-TV after the nightly news, tonight is a night when you should. Starting on October 25, ZNS-TV started running 10 straight nights of Sir Sidney Poitier movies, and tonight they are screening one of the best movies that he made, GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER. It is a must-see movie for those of you who have never seen it or if you have, it’s certainly worth seeing again.
When this movie was first released in 1967, it was banned in the Southern United States because it’s based upon the love affair between a black man and a white woman and their efforts to get the “blessing” of both of their parents to be married. Not wanting to give away too much about how the movie unfolds, but given the racist attitudes of that period, both the parents of the white woman and the black man played by Sir Sidney were against them getting married.
It’s hard to fathom just how much this movie and its miscegenation theme did to advance race relations in the United States, but overall that disgraceful period in the history of the United States, when racism was sanctioned by law in the South, no longer is a major factor in that country.
This movie was also the last movie made by Spencer Tracy, and the speech that he delivers near the end of it on race relations is one of the highlights of GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER. As I said, it’s a MUST SEE movie, so tune into ZNS-TV at 9:00 PM and see the most FAMOUS SON OF THE BAHAMAS in one of his best screen performances.
IN PASSING
Renardo Curry Gets A New Job
Barely a week into being a newly elected Member of Parliament Renardo Curry, the MP for North Abaco, is now to be a Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister in Abaco. Mr. Curry’s appointment was promised by the Prime Minister during the campaign. Mr. Curry pledged to work for the people of Abaco. He is to be sworn in at Government House on Monday 5th November.
Where Was Celli Moss?
All last week Celli Moss, the lone campaigner against naming the bridge for Sidney Poitier, was threatening to have a demonstration against it. There was no demonstration when the bridge was named in the glow of the bright Bahamian sunshine Friday 2nd November with Mr. Poitier surrounded by glowing and adoring school children. Later that night there was another opportunity. He changed tack and said that he was against the foreignization of the Bahamian independence celebration whichthe government was doing by bringing in foreign entertainers to sing at the Poitier event. Again, Mr. Moss was a no show. Well all’s well. Democracy is alive. Sidney Poitier himself addressed the issue by saying he does not dwell on the negative. People are entitled not their views but his life is what it is. Well said sir, well said. Celli Moss is eating mud.
BibiWinnans
Well the FNM are all up in arms because Bibi Winnans as he introduced one of his songs at the concert on Friday 1st November said in answer to critics about foreign entertainers that he has been with the PLP for a long time.
FNM Poised To Vote No On Referendum
The FNM is making itself out to be a bit of a national joke now that it has been determined that the referendum date on gambling is set for 3rd December. The Prime Minister Perry Christie made the announcement in the House last week on Thursday 1st November. So we have a month to make up our minds yes or no on the simple question of whether the numbers houses should be legalized. The fact iswhether we vote yes or no nothing is going to change. If we vote yes, numbers will continue only be taxed. If we are stupid and vote no, how is the government going to beany more effective in shutting down the numbers house. They will simply have the impossible task of laying off four thousand people who work for these places. Sharon Turner, the special friend of Hubert Ingraham, who writesa letter a week in the pressthese days was at it again saying that she will vote no on the question. She is more stupid than we thought. What this shows though is that the FNM is setting up for a no vote. All the signs are there. The FNM supporters in the religious community the Catholic Bishop Patrick Pinder, the President of the Christian Council Rainford Patterson are all saying that the matter is being done too quickly and without enough information. Even Rev. Myles Munroe took that curious position. Rev. Patterson says that he is confident that it will be defeated. Then the FNM itself made the ridiculousassertion that Prime MinisterChristie was rushing the matter. This from the same people who criticized him for being indecisive and moving too slowly.The FNM is still bothered by the PLP supporting the referendum that they the FNM tried to move in the House. The PLP voted yesin theHouse, then voted no in the Senateandthencampaigned against it. So look for paybackfrom the FNM on this one.
FNM’s Objections To Referendum Foolish
The FNM’s Chairman Darren B Cash says that he and the FNM oppose the referendum on gamblingbecause it’s too rushed. Mind you this is the same group who ran a whole campaign on Perry Christie the Prime Minister that he was too slow in making decisions. Now he is moving too fast. The FNM wants to have its cake and eat it. The real position isthat the FNM itself wants to be the one to do it. After all, they said if they came to power, they would hold a referendum on the question. So what is the issue? Their argument now is the same as they did for independence in `1972. They were for it but just not at that time. Which means that if they were in power they would do it and take the credit for it. We think all sensible people should vote yes on the question.
The Preacher’s Get On Their High Horse Over The Referendum
The Anglican and Catholic Churches agree that it is not immoral to gamble. The Catholics and Anglicans depend on raffles and bingo for revenue for their churches. These are games of chance. Yet the Catholic and Anglican Bishops are equivocating on the question of the referendum, with Laish Boyd, the Anglican Bishop outright opposed and Catholic Archbishop Patrick Pinder being more circumspect and saying that he wants more information. Rev. Rain ford Patterson, the Head of the Bahamas Christian Council, says the referendum is going to fail. Pastor Myles Munroe says he wants more information as well. Life must be slow these days.
Happy’s Son Devon
They know his father at BTC as Happy. His proper name is Dale Knowles. He has a son Devon who is a horse rider and a student at St. Anne’s School. Guess what. The younger Knowles wants to be a film maker and he was invited to be one of the students to watch Sidney Poitier as he spoke at the official ceremony to name the bridge on Friday 2nd November. He was thrilled and he raised his tablet high above the crowd and filmed Mr. Poitier as he spoke. So look for the name Devon Knowles in the future, appended to a film.
Cleola’s Brother Murdered
MP Cleola Hamilton has had a rough time over the last thirty days. First she lost one brother to natural causes, a relatively young man. Then another brother was murdered last week for reasons unknown. We extend condolences to the MP for South Beach.
Was It Foulkes Who Leaked The Document?
The week was an interesting one in politics. First it started out with an interesting missive in the press which was supposed to have been circulated privately, an e mail by the then Acting Chairman Darren Cash. The e mail said that there were major differences between the then Acting Chair of the FNM Mr. Cash and the Leader of the Party Hubert Minnis. Mr. Cash said he was going to step down as Chair of the Party. That didn’t last as long as Paddy in the army. Within days, yet another e mail surfaced in which Mr. Cash said that Mr. Minnis was the greatest thing since sliced bread. As they say: “Wah going here?” Mr. Cash said that there were people out to destroy the party and were seeking to denigrate Dr. Minnis. Then by week’s end, Mr. Cash surprise surprise was staying on as Chair after all. Who was putting all this stuff in the public domain? It certainly could not have been in the best interest of Mr. Cash to do so. It made him look weak and ineffective. One clue was the proximity of the first leak about Dr. Minnis and how Mr. Cash thought he was taking advice from strangers and not him to the announcement by Dion Foulkes, the former FNM MP and three times defeated FNM candidate, that he was running for Chair of the FNM to replace Mr. Cash. Mr. Foulkes is the country’s modern day Machiavelli. There is no twisted and contortedpolitical plot that this fellow does not like. So fingers point to Dion Foulkes as the leaker.
All The Sand Washed Away
The country was having a big laugh at the FNM’s expense. You will remember that just before the last general election the FNM hurried put together a contract for one its supporters for two million dollars to cover the rocks on Saunders Beach with sand and then build several groins to try to keep the sand from washing into the sea. Nature cannot be defeated. For years the beach was a natural rock formation with sand only accumulated on the western end of the outcrop. When Hurricane Sandy came barreling through week before last, the sand didn’t wash out to sea, instead the two million dollars’ worth of sand all ended up in the public road and in the lots of sand on the other side of the road. You can’t defeat mother nature. The last laugh was on the FNM and we of course have to pay the price for the FNM’s folly. The photo of the sand recovery at Saunders Beach is by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.
Bernie Casey
One of Sidney Poitier’s closest friends is the actor and producer Bernie Casey. Mr. Casey was last in The Bahamas to act in the movie produced by Kevin McClory called Never Say Never Again. The last Bond film in which Sean Connery acted. Mr. Casey came in for the event to honour Sidney Poitier last weekend.
Ian Strachan Presents
Ian Strachan the College Professor presents a copy of an essay to Sir Sidney Poitier on Saturday 3rd November. The subject Sir Sidney's film: Piece Of The Action. Mr. Strachan also organizes a yearly seminar on Sir Sidney's work at the College of The Bahamas. Looking on is Fred Mitchell, MInsier of Foreign Affairs. The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
Sir Sidney has lunch at Balmoral
The photo shows Sir Sidney Poitier on a break from his official routine for lunch at the Balmoral Club in Nassau with the staff that prepared and served him lunch, taken in front of a 1964 portrait of him taken in Nassau just after he won the oscar for Lilies of The Field.
Obama At His Best
The presidential election is to be held in the United States on Tuesday 6th November. Let us hope that the incumbent prevails. The photo shows why we think so. Compassion.
11th, November, 2012 Welcome
to bahamasuncensored.com
How
do you do today? It's great to have you as a reader. We
have the most incisive political news about and from The Bahamas!
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
HE DID IT. We carried last week a single photo of the incumbent U.S. President hugging a woman in distress after she lost her home. We thought he deserved to be re-elected because of the single attribute: compassion. We think that with the victory of the U.S. president, the basic morality and decency of the United States has been upheld. Quite frankly, we could not understand the morality of the people who were his opponents. They simply seemed mean and vindictive. Thankfully the humanity of the country has been upheld. That is an important re-enforcing value for thousands of Black Bahamians looking on and thinking that one day their son or daughter in the midst of this Euro centric milieu can succeed because they work hard and are honest and persevere. So we say congratulations on a magnificent victory on 6th November to President Barack Obama and we say our photo of the week is that released by the U S White House which showed the moment he and his Vice President knew that they had won the election.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
CABLE AND WIRELESS TRIES HARD BUT IS A FAILURE
Cable and Wireless, the British owners of the Bahamian telephone company BTC, are like a desperate man in a sink hole of quick sand. They are still on this PR blitz to try and persuade the Bahamian public that they are a company that should be loved and accepted. This after a deal which people widely believe was corrupt between the government of Hubert Ingraham and themselves. This past week a slew of public relations again on how much they have spent on the next generation internet, how they have to pare down their costs by another 20 per cent to be ready for liberalized environment, how good their profits were. The profits report reveals that if it were not for BTC the company would not have had such a successful year. Geoff Houston who is the face of Cable and Wireless in The Bahamas promises that the lousy service that the company gives Bahamians with dropped calls and intermittent data streams will all drop once they get this investment done. Promises!Promises!
We need to send message once again to BTC. Under its present owners, it is simply a lousy company and no matter what, they need to go and get out of The Bahamas as quickly as possible.We thought it was really a serious Mr. Houston’s comment in the press that they have been able to solve some of the long standing labour problems by promoting many whose promotions had been languishing due to what he described as a culture of putting things off. That’s interesting since the reason no promotions were done was because their collaborators in this farce which now exists Hubert Ingraham and the FNM, ordered BTC not to make any changes including promotions while they were waiting for a buyer. Geez.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 10th November 2012 up to midnight:158,335
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 10th November 2012 up to midnight: 215,540
Number of hits for the year 2012 up to Saturday 10thNovember 2012 up to midnight:6,876,759
We remember the fallen who gave their lives so that we might be free. The officials gathered in Nassau for the annual Remembrance Day Service at the Cenotaph and the Christ Church Cathedral this morning. We will remember those who died in the two world wars and the four men who died in the sinking of the HMBS Flamingo on 10th May 1980. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA!
The incumbent President of the United States defeated his main challenger Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor in the election contest in the United States on Tuesday 6th November. Congratulations were sent to the U.S. by Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill and Foreign Minister of The Bahamas. The following is the statement to the U.S. on behalf of the country issued on 7th November:
On behalf of the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the government of The Bahamas congratulates President Barack Obama on his election victory yesterday and the display of democracy by the American people.
I have conveyed my regards on behalf of the government to the US Charge d'affaires on this victory via diplomatic note and we look forward to our continued friendship and cooperation around national issues of mutual interests.
PLEASE GET YOUR PROSTATE CHECKED
Renowned Urologist Dr. Robin Roberts has called on Bahamian males, particularly Black Bahamian males, to have their prostates checked on a regular basis to save themselves from death and/or the painful challenges of living with prostate cancer.
“Why there are still men in this country who know about prostate cancer, who know that they are at-risk to get prostate cancer and who still refuse to go and get themselves checked is beyond me,” Dr. Roberts said recently.
“Age-for-age we have a disease that occurs at an earlier onset; that when it occurs, is at a more advanced stage than when found in our Caucasian counterparts, and a disease that grows more quickly; spreads more quickly and is more likely to result in death for males of African descent and so there is no denying that it is of major significance for black men,” Dr. Roberts said.
Dr. Roberts said“one of the biggest advances that has happened in prostate cancer” was the introduction of the Prostate Specific Allergen (PSA) Test, which allows doctors to diagnose prostate cancer at a very early stage; yet Bahamian men still refuse to get tested.
“The PSA Test is very similar to what the Pap Smear Test has done for women with Cervical Cancer (cancer in the womb). In the Developed Countries, the introduction of the PSA exam has caused a lot of cancers to be detected and treated that probably would not have been, and have helped dropped cancer death rates by 40 per cent over the last 20 years.
“Because of early detection and diagnosis, the amount of metastatic disease (cancer that has spread to the bone) has dropped by 75 per cent. That is not happening in the developing countries, The Bahamas included, because men are not getting tested as they should.”
Dr. Roberts said healthcare officials “have been trying for 20 years” to get Bahamian males to have their prostates examined, but men have “still not been heeding the call”.
He applauded the work of US Too Bahamas, a men’s Prostate Cancer Education, Awareness and Support Group, that has been working diligently for years with regards to education and awareness.
“If you were to ask a man here, he knows he needs to get his prostate checked; we have the free clinics, and people try to push them to come out and get it done; but they still do not come, so there must be something more to this behavior than we think,” Dr. Roberts added.
Dr. Roberts said the “cultural differences” that exist between Black Males and their Caucasian counterparts with regards to the prevalence and aggressive nature of the disease, will be part of the research local researchers will be undertaking.
“One of the interesting things we do in our clinics is ask the men who do come in, is what was the reason for their being there. One-third say they came because of spousal influence or a friend brought them in; but very few come in on their own. We need to dig into that and be able to exploit that so that we can get the message across and they heed the call,” Dr. Roberts added.
Dr. Roberts said it is “very frustrating as a physician” to see men suffer from the disease when a check-up may have helped save their lives.
“One patient was paralyzed because of his prostate cancer spreading,”
Dr. Roberts said. “You don’t see that in the developed countries. That’s something from the past and so we still are seeing men carrying the burden of this disease whom, if they had sought early diagnosis and treatment, it probably would not have happened,”Dr. Roberts added.
Dr. Roberts, who also serves as the Director of the University of West Indies School of Clinical Medicine and Research, Bahamas Campus, said there are many intangibles associated with the disease.
“We are living in a world where, because of medical advances, people are living longer lives, beyond 70 years of age,” Dr. Roberts said. “You don’t want to get afflicted with something at 50 or 60 that you could have taken care of, and have to live the rest of your life with it.
“Good health is for people to enjoy life. When prostate cancer spreads you don’t want to see that. It is one of the more tear-jerking conditions that you can witness to see someone you have loved; someone who has carried you through life, where they literally waste away in front of you because they cannot eat.
“They cannot move; they have to have tubes put in and in many instances what we are doing is just trying to make them as comfortable as we can so that they can die with some kind of dignity. That is a very painful thing to watch,” Dr. Roberts added.
-
A WALK ABOUT IN ADELAIDE
On Tuesday 6th November 2012 Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works/Urban Development Mr. B. Pratt, Corporal 2195 Garland Miller and Constable 2711 Cyril Walkes led a delegation of Officials from the Department of Social Services /Environmental Health and the Ministry of Works on a fact finding Field Visit to Adelaide Village .
The field visit was a joint partnership between Urban Renewal and local Community Activist and Director of Operation S.O.L.D (Save our Little Darlings)
Ms. Christine Stubbs who invited Urban Renewal to organize a Community Walkabout to assess the Social/ Environmental and general concerns of the residents and to bring immediate help to those in need.
Officers along with the team canvassed the entire Adelaide Community and identified and documented a number of concerns most notably being food, minor home repairs, derelict vehicles, garbage accumulation, contaminated wells/Septic Pits etc.
Officers took the opportunity to encourage residents to continue to forge neighborly relations with each other and to join hands with Urban Renewal and other social stakeholders as they seek to restore the community of Adelaide one person,one family and one block at a time.
The photos are by the Bahamas Information Services.
|
VOTE YES ON 3RD DECEMBER
It is always interesting to us how easily the PLP and its supporters can get destabilized by foolishness. You have only to see the debate as it unfolds over the question of whether people will vote yes or no on 3rd December when the government puts the question of gambling to the country. It was clear from the general election that the whichever party won: PLP, FNM, DNA, there would be a referendum on gambling in The Bahamas. All parties said they would not proceed to allow gambling for Bahamians in law until they had a plebiscite with a yes answer from the people. Now everyone is confessing surprise and feigning that it is unnecessary. Perry Christie, the Prime Minister announced the date, said what the question will be. Now all the push back, and push back from people who are his supporters, and people who are in the numbers houses every day. They do not realize that if they vote no to the question, the government has a moral obligation to close down every numbers house and to start the prosecution of people for going there if they continue to do so. It would be foolish if the Bahamian people and PLPs vote no to this referendum by dabbling in what is a patently dishonest intellectual exercise foisted and designed by the FNM. The FNM simply needs a victory over the PLP and what better way to do it than to use the PLP's own supporters to accomplish it. Some say the question should be broader. Some say the Prime Minister is talking too much. Some say they that the money is going to end up in the hands of a few. None of this has anything to with the price of tea. The simple question is do you want the numbers house to exist in a lawful environment so people can continue in peace to buy numbers if that's what they want. But all over Facebook, led by twits like Sharon Turner, Hubert Ingraham’s special friend, and then joined by some PLPs and some FNM reverends, they are discussing everything but that question; to which the answer is a simple yes or no. This country is really something else. The photo we show was taken on Saturday 10th November at the Catholic Bazaar at St FrancisXavier’s Cathedral. We have a raffle, which is game of chance for which the government has to grant a licence, being held by the Catholic Church which says it can’t support the referendum because it needs more information on gambling in The Bahamas. Yet the church was happy to gamble away on Saturday 10th November. Interesting. Then there is the Anglican Church whose governing synod met just last month and passed a resolution which authorizes raffles as a legitimate means to raise funds for their schools and for the church. Things get curiouser and curiouser.
MORE PICTURES OF SIDNEY POITIER FESTIVAL
The glow of the visit of Sidney Poitier to The Bahamas is still there from last weekend. We thought we would try to recapture some of the magic of that moment by sharing some additional pictures of the weekend that was, the naming of the Paradise Island Bridge by the Bahamas Government after Sir Sidney Poitier, the actor, director, writer and diplomat. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services and on the red carpet by Derek Smith also of the Bahamas Information Services.
A PRESS CONFERENCE ON FISHERIES
The photo shows the government officials at the press conference on Wednesday, 7thNovember 2012, at the Department of Immigration. Pictured seated (from left) are Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government the Hon. V. Alfred Gray, Delegation Head and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell and Minister of Financial Services the Hon. Ryan Pinder. Standing (from left) to right are: Foreign Affairs Officer Mr. Mikhail Bullard, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Cleola Hamilton (who was not a part of the delegation), Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Mr. Carl Smith, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government the Hon. Anthony Moss (who was not a part of the delegation) and Trade Officer in the Ministry of Financial Services Ms. Felicia Woods. Delegation member and Minister of National Security the Hon. Dr. Bernard J. Nottage was out of the country on official business at the time of the press conference. (BIS Photo / Letisha Henderson)
The Bahamas Delegation to the Dominican Republic led by Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell gave a report to the Bahamian public on Wednesday 7th November at the Department of Immigration. Mr. Mitchell was joined at the press conference by Fisheries Minister Alfred Gray and Trade Minister Ryan Pinder. Mr. Gray announced that he is planning penalties of up to $250,000 in fines and 25 years imprisonment for poaching in Bahamian waters. He said he hoped that it would not be necessary to use the law because the Dominican government appears to be serious in its efforts to crack down on their fishermen. Ryan Pinder announced the formation of a Bahamas Trade and Fisheries Council for The Bahamas. The following is the statement issued at the press conference:
Bahamas and Dominican Republic held Successful Bilateral Talks NASSAU, The Bahamas – Bilateral talks between the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Dominican Republican on the issue of poaching were successful, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon Fred Mitchell said, during a press conference Wednesday, November 7, 2012, at the Department of Immigration.
“The visit can be described as generally successful. The purpose of the mission was to convey to the Dominican authorities the seriousness of the fishing issue to The Bahamas and to advise the authorities that The Bahamas would be taking stronger steps to stop poaching in our waters,” Mr. Mitchell said.
Also present and who were on that trip to the Dominican Republic were Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government the Hon. V. Alfred Gray and Minister of Financial Services the Hon. Ryan Pinder.
The purpose of the meeting, held October 30-31, 2012 were to meet with the officials of that country on the issue of Dominican fishermen poaching in Bahamian waters and to settle a technical cooperation agreement on broader issues.
Some of the steps to be taken are a $200 million investment in equipment for the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to better patrol the open boarders surrounding the country and to enact stronger laws to publish poachers.
“The Government of The Bahamas believed that we had an obligation to ensure that we used diplomacy as the first line of defense,” Minister Mitchell said. President of the Dominican Republican Danilo Medina pledged that this problem would be addressed, Minister Mitchell said.
“He gave specific instructions to the naval forces in the Dominican Republic to begin a series of measures which the navy has predicted will result in a drastic decline in poaching in Bahamian waters,” Minister Mitchell said. “We are cautiously optimistic therefore that we will see some improvement in this area.”
Pursuant to these objectives he said there are two follow-up meetings, one being the Bahamas Government sending a mission to the Dominican Republic to follow-up on the draft proposals for a technical cooperation agreement to be signed between the two countries.
These draft proposals include signing onto the Food and Agricultural Organization’s Maritime Port Agreement that mandates countries to check the nature and source of product on board shops entering their ports. Additionally, there is to be a technical meeting between the defence forces of both countries within two weeks in Nassau. “The visit provided an opportunity for our private sector to observe what we do on their behalf and for our Minister of Trade to meet with the Commerce Minister of the Dominican Republic to discuss expanded trade ties,” Minister Mitchell said.
Minister Gray said that his Ministry is moving to ensure that laws “give teeth” to enforcing the efforts of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, when it comes to dealing with poachers. Additionally, the Ministry will look for the Attorney General to amend the Fisheries Act for greater penalties, from $5,000 to $250,000 and 25 years imprisonment, Minister Gray said. He added that talks are set to begin with Dominican Republic to sell the crawfish that they get while illegally fishing in Bahamian waters.
“The Dominican Republic Government agreed to assist in upholding Bahamian laws and the (poachers) will be further punished by their government,” he said. Minister Pinder said both governments are seeking to explore additional trade and economic opportunities between both countries.
-30-
A PLEA FROM GRAND BAHAMA
The situation of one family in Freeport. Grand Bahama is desperate. We print below an exchange between Fred Mitchell MP and Minister of Foreign Affairs with one resident of Grand Bahama. The exchanges have been edited to protect the identity of the sender. If anyone can help, please get in touch with Mr. Mitchell:
My kids and I have nowhere to live the car that I had to take my disable son around in the guy called to say I can't meet the payments so he wants it back most days my kids go to school without lunch and instead of it getting better looks like it’s getting worst I know this is not your problem but ya know what just the fact that you responded I appreciate that a lot I called the government office in Nassau his secretary said she spoke to him about my situation when I called back she said she spoke to him about my situation but he never responded and never advised her on what to say to me that made me feel so bad like do you really believe in me do you hear the cries of the single mother living any and everywhere with her kids on these cold nights its terrible… I'm asking the government for help they [my kids] know I'm not getting any help…My son said to me mummy how come they don’t help us? Is it because we poor? So Mr. Mitchell suicide is not a solution but we won’t be suffering from July I was practically begging for help a job nothing and it’s getting worse I'm trying to hang in there Mr. Mitchell I just don’t know how long I can
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
-----Original Message-----
From: aecchair@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2012 19:01:34
To:
That is not a solution. Hang in there.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
I'm on the verge of suicide that's how bad it is for me and my kids seem like there's no way out. Thanks for your response God Bless
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
-----Original Message-----
From: aecchair@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2012 18:28:49
To:
I am afraid at the moment it is the same sad story.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
Hi Mr. Mitchell how are you? Do you have any opening in the passport office area? I know you said there's no opening in immigration at this time any clerical work?messenger?anything I need a job my son is disable the guy that let me have the car to get my son to and fro called me this morning to say he is coming to get the car because I can't meet the payments so nowhere to live no car to get my kids back and forth and no one to help me believe in me this one time if none of the others help me can you pls help God will forever bless you because you won’t be only helping me but my kids I am desperate I need help
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
-----Original Message-----
From: aecchair@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2012 19:32:18
To:
Re: Help
As I said there are no openings that I know of in immigration.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
I was told that clerical staff is needed urgently at Freeport immigration office and so I took my documents in then they said they just waiting on the government to give the go ahead I felt like help was on the way for me when you emailed me back this morning and said you have nothing in immigration right now I could not help the tears that flowed I feel so helpless after that I called the Prime Minister office I spoke with his secretary but I have not heard anything back I can't survive like this but I'm trying because of my responsibility to my kids my son has cerebral palsy but he's an honor student my daughter is an honor student I don’t want them to live like this they deserve better and more please help me ...if you can't help me please can you find someone that can
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
-----Original Message-----
From: aecchair@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2012 19:10:08
To:
Re: Help
What help are you getting from social services?
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
I was trying to get help from July for me and my kids and I know it may seem like I'm nagging but the feeling of helplessness of my kids saying mummy how come no one can help us? The feeling of having your kids call you from school like today to say mummy I feel like I'm going to fall out I'm so hungry and me having to say just hold on when school out we'll go searching for food I'm not asking the government for help because I campaigned and worked the polls to help make sure we get back in I'm asking for help because I need it desperately I took great pleasure in talking folks into going gold simply because I felt I would get a better chance a better deal for me and my kids….why can't my cry for help be heard and why can't I get help I am desperately seeking help in a job no you may not have anything in immigration but is there any way in any other department where I can work I need help please hear me...I'm not going to email you again I've already asked for your help I will wait and hope that you can and that you will help me if not for me for the sake of my kids
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
-----Original Message-----
From: aecchair@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2012 14:34:29
To:
Re: Help
I do not have anything available in immigration. Have you spoken to [your MP]?
------Original Message------
From:
To: aecchair@yahoo.com
Subject: Help
Sent: Nov 7, 2012 9:39 AM
Hi Mr. Mitchell how are you hope all is well I know you are a busy man but I wonder if you can just take a few minutes of your time to hear me out I am a single mother that needs help very much when I say help a job to help me so that I can help my kids I emailed you last night but so far got no response I have tried to reach numerous persons in the government but so far no results I know that you are the minister for immigration and I have an application in there applying for a clerical position here in Freeport can you please help me? This is my email address is …and my cell … please help
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from BTC.
U.S. ELECTION NIGHT PARTY
United States Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman and his wife, Elizabeth hosted the official 2012 U.S. Presidential Election viewing party at the Ambassador’s “Liberty Overlook” residence on the evening of Tuesday, November 6. Senior Bahamian government officials including the Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government, The Hon. V. Alfred Gray as well as a wide cross section of society attended the highly anticipated event. During the evening, invited guests enjoyed musical entertainment provided by Jazz Etc. and viewed live polling results of the keenly contested race.
Throughout the festive evening, guests were also able to participate in an interactive “2012 Election Center” where they had an opportunity to have their photos taken next to life-size replicas of the two Presidential candidates, cast mock ballots in the “Liberty Overlook” Straw Poll, assist in filling in the U.S. Electoral College map as it was updated throughout the evening and view a dynamic video with an overview of the U.S. electoral process.
In his remarks, Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman highlighted howAmerica’s electoral process demonstrates the lasting strength of its democracy – with its strong civil society, respect for the rule of law, protection of God-given rights, independent institutions, free expression, and a free press. He also noted that regardless of extenuating circumstances – including the Civil War, two World Wars, and the Great Depression –America’s presidential elections have taken place just like clockwork every four years.
Chargé Dinkelman concluded his remarks by stressing the enduring friendship and commitment to democracy that the United States and The Bahamas share.
“Regardless of tonight’s election results the relationship between our two nations will remain vibrant and strong – based on mutual respect, common democratic values and a love of freedom,” Chargé Dinkelman said. “The Bahamas is a shining example of democracy – for the Caribbean, the Hemisphere and indeed, the world. To our Bahamian friends, please know that the United States stands with you as an ally, partner, neighbor, and friend, and looks forward to continuing to build on this relationship in the years to come.”
Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government, The Hon. V. Alfred Gray with Mrs. Elizabeth Dinkelman and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman at the Embassy’s official election night watch party.
Hon. Justice Rhonda Bain; CMDR Louie Parks, Director of Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) and Ms. Missouri Sherman-Peter, Consultant, Ministry of National Security.
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman addresses invited guests at the U.S. Embassy’s official election night watch party as his wife, Elizabeth Dinkelman looks on.
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman addresses the media during the Embassy’s official election night watch party.
Fort Charlotte Member of Parliament Dr. Andre Rollins views samples of U.S. absentee ballots on display at the 2012 Election Center.
The Free National Movement’s (FNM) Deputy Leader, Loretta Butler-Turner casts her mock ballot during the U.S. Embassy’s 2012 election night watch party.
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Forrester Carroll writes from Freeport. This week he is amused and bemused at the internal wrangling in the Free National Movement. He looks at the various statements made by Darron B. Cash, the Chair of the FNM, about whether he will go and whether he will stay and who is supporting whom in the FNM and concludes that they will end up on the dunghill of political rejects as the describes it: “CASH BOWS OUT;” ACTING CHAIRMAN CITES DIFFERENCES WITH MINNIS;” “FOULKES TO RUN FOR FNM CHAIRMAN;” these were all headlined stories in the Nassau Guardian published on Monday 29th October 2012; it was the Monday after the weekend when sassy (SANDY) passed through our archipelago ravaging a number of islands and causing havoc in its wake. Just as SANDY was predicted, by the meteorologists, so it was that my predictions, as to what would happen in the FNM after Minnis would have lost the North Abaco by-election seat, materialized precisely as I forecast they would. The Indians are circling the wagons, as we speak, and are getting ready to move in for the kill; the vultures, in the meantime, are hovering overhead smacking their beaks and getting ready to consume the kill which they know will take place. Darron Cash, the FNM’s actg. Chairman, according to the newspaper report has abandoned the fight citing the fact that he has no stomach for the messy affair he sees approaching on the horizon. I must tell you that my many years on this earth (involved in the game of politics) has taught me one thing about us two-legged Beings-we would never avoid a political fight where we see an opportunity to butcher one another; politics does indeed create strange bedfellows and the damn outcome always ends up the same. You can take it from me that when this fight does subside, in the FNM, that party will be fractured into three or four warring groups and none will give way to reasoning; it is not within our political nature to compromise in situations like these; we take, we don’t give, and we fight like hell to the death.
The Guardian’s report went on to tell about a meeting of the FNM’s executive committee which convened on Tuesday night (23rd October) where, when reading between the lines, there appears to have been much rancor. So much so that the following morning (Wednesday 24th October) Darron Cash, the party’s acting chairman, circulated an email to all senior FNMs informing them of his decision not to pursue the chairmanship of the Organization emphasizing that his decision was final. Interestingly he cited “divergent views” as to how the party should be managed, on the part of him and the leader, as his reason for opting out. “The leader prefers less dialogue with, and leadership from, the elected officers in favour of directives from unknown, outside, persons whom he trusts more and with whom he feels more comfortable speaking; he favours a more EXCLUSIVE approach and I prefer a more INCLUSIVE one; I prefer dialogue and consensus building that starts with party officers; the leader prefers less dialogue and interaction with them.” Cash further opined that the rancor at the Tuesday night’s meeting made it abundantly clear to him that he was fighting a losing battle-a dead horse if you will-and that wisdom dictates that he exit the scene. The situation here tells me that Dr. Minnis just doesn’t know who he can trust in that organization; he knows that there are daggers at his back from every angle but he just doesn’t know where in the hell are all the Brutus’ positioned.
Dr. Minnis’ dilemma is that (except for his faction) he has at least an additional two others, with whom he must confront to fight tooth and nail if he is to survive, ultimately, to take full control of that dying Organization. I submit that apart from Dr. Minnis’ the other two factions, waiting in the wings and wanting to unseat him, are the Ingraham/ Zhivargo Laing’s and the Loretta Butler-Turner’s-both vying for his job. In Ingraham/ Laing’s corner are Dr. Dwayne Sands, Desmond Bannister, Kwasi Thompson and Theo Neely; in Turner’s corner are Tommy Turnquest, Dion Foulkes and Darron Cash; in Minnis’ corner are Fenton Neymour, Hubert Chipman, Edison Key, Neko Grant, Peter Turnquest, Lightbourne of Montague and all the rest of the Cecil Wallace-Whitfield-ites. This is a political mine field through which Minnis is incapable of navigating; he has little qualifications and or experience (if any at all) for dealing with political cut throats like the Dion Foulkes’; my advice to this leader is not to trust Dion Foulkes; he hates and envies you (in that leadership role) and wants the position for himself. The road ahead will not be an easy one Sir-Mr. Leader-with all those cut throat bastards circling your wagon.
Apparently the FNM backstabbers leaked Darron Cash’s email sent to senior members of the FNM and so this morning (30th October) the Nassau Guardian published the essence of an official statement distributed to the press, by the actg. Chairman in response to the leak, blasting “Power Hungry FNMs” (as he described them) who have all boarded the wagon, seemingly, jockeying for positions. In his statement Cash wrote, “As an organization, the FNM will always be wary of persons who believe that the only way for them to gain power and strength is to destroy others and weaken the party they wish to lead.” Well by damn Darron Cash, where have you been all these years joker? This statement of yours describes 90% of those persons in the leadership of your party, don’t you know that? Are you this damn naïve young man? It is a good thing you’ve decided to quit while you are ahead because if you stick around that crew, with that innocent outlook on things, they will crush you to death (politically) without blinking an eye.
Don’t think for one minute that Hubert Ingraham has gone anywhere; if you think that, mister, you are sadly mistaken. There will be no sunset for that Negro until he is lying cold in his grave. He still has an active horse in the race and that horse is Zhivargo Laing. Ingraham knows that Laing has few friends (if any) among those tribal leaders in that party; he knows that they hate Laing just as much as they hate him now; they have hated Laing for a long time but didn’t want to risk showing their hatred for fear of bringing down the wrath of the almighty Ingraham on their heads, but now that the Abaco dragon is sidelined they will have a field day on Ingraham’s blue-eyed favorite; Ingraham gave Laing the best of everything (at their expense) even to the giving of $6000.00 improvement, to his salary, over and above the other junior ministers of State. With 99% of the leadership of the FNM hating Zhivargo Laing’s guts it would be an uphill battle for him (to the leadership) even with Ingraham’s assistance. This is prime time for the many cut throats who are circling the FNM wagon; if I were Dr. Minnis I would make a deal with the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister to immediately reduce the number of Senate appointments, allowed the official opposition, by one to comply with the constitution which dictates that the make-up of the senate should reflect the ratio of members gained by each party (in the general election) in the lower chamber; in that way Minnis would be able to disappoint Zhivargo Laing from the senate and get him off his back once and for all. At least that would be one cut throat artist out of the race.
It appears since Darron Cash’s supposedly secret email was leaked (and I am told he blames one of either Dion Foulkes or Fenton Neymour for breaching the party’s trust by leaking it to the press) which spoke to his and his leader’s divergent viewpoints (as he put it) on critical matters for the party going forward, that the actg. Chairman has now changed his mind, about voluntarily demitting office, and has indicated empathically that he now supports Dr. Minnis, as leader, and will more than likely continue to hold his position and indeed vie for the chairmanship after all. In his recent press statement Cash indicated his full support for Dr. Minnis and as to the question of his continuing in his present or future leadership role he said; “I will discuss my future with the relevant party officers before making any public comments. Any relevant comments with respect to whether or not I will, or will not, be a candidate will come following those discussions. It is the decent and mature way in which mature adults, and established political parties, should conduct their affairs,” unquote. This sounds nice and looks good in print but let “ma tell ya sometin ma brother,” there aint no mature adults in the FNM and there haven’t been any since Ingraham stole the party from y’all in 1990, so you can put that baby to sleep.
This fight will have a sad ending, am afraid, for the Free National Movement; the party will split, I predict, in about three or four factions and none will give in to reasoning. The faction that shows itself more inclined, however, to accede to Bay Street’s dominance (from behind the scenes) will win out leaving the others to merge into the political nothingness of history; they will end up on the dumpsite (the dunghill if you will) provided for all the country’s political rejects and into what will be accepted as the dark side of the nation’s political history-a fitting end, indeed, for a bunch of schemers and cut throats.
Thank You. Forrester J Carroll J.P Freeport, Grand Bahama November 2012.
IN PASSING
Bermuda To Hold General Election
The Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in Bermuda led by Premier Paula Cox has dissolved Parliament and called a general election for Bermuda for 17th December. This will be the PLP’s attempt to get a fourth consecutive term in office in Bermuda. The polls say they are behind by 11 points. The racial cleavage in Bermuda is still quite strong. However, the United Bermuda Party (UBP), the party of the whites, which was replaced by the One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) as the Opposition party presents a new face and a fresh challenge to the traditional racial cleavage.
Turks and Caicos Elections
The British have held elections in theTurks and Caicos Island on Friday 9th November. Although there were only 15 seats and 7,245 voters, they could not declare a winner up to Saturday morning 10th November. The two parties are the PNP and the PDM. The PNP which is the disgraced former Premier Michael Misick's party won 7 seats. The PDM won 8 seats. The British however are still firmly in control and most people think that the elections will mean nothing in terms of returning true democracy to the Turks and Caicos’ Islands. Dr. Rufus Ewing will be named Premier.
It’s Dominique And Not Devonn
A note from his Dad (Dale “Happy” Knowles) causes us to say mea culpa. And correct the story printed last week about one of his sons who wants to be a film maker.
The note said this about lastweek’s story: Thanks for the story. It’s a pleasant surprise. Note that Devonn is in Unv. Dominique is at St. Anne’s.
Happy’s Son Dominique
They know his father at BTC as Happy. His proper name is Dale Knowles. He has a son Dominique who is a horse rider and a student at St. Anne’s School. Guess what. The younger Knowles wants to be a film maker and he was invited to be one of the students to watch Sidney Poitier as he spoke at the official ceremony to name the bridge on Friday 2nd November. He was thrilled and he raised his tablet high above the crowd and filmed Mr. Poitier as he spoke. So look for the name Dominique Knowles in the future, appended to a film.
Mitchell With Oprah
It was posted late last week so we thought we would upload it again, this engaging picture of the Oprah Winfrey hand rub. Ms. Winfrey was in The Bahamas for the naming of the bridge after Sidney Poitier. The tactile Ms. Winfrey wowed the Bahaman crowd. The Foreign Minister seemed a happy dude. The photo taken at Paradise Island on Saturday 3dr November is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
Mitchell On The Red Carpet
Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services took this photo of Fred Mitchell MP for Fox Hill and Minister of Foreign Affairs on the red carpet at the Jennifer Hudson concert on Saturday 3rd November at Paradise Island. The concert was held in honour of Sir Sidney Poitier after whom the ParadiseIsland Bridge is named.
New Archbishop Of Canterbury
Justin Welby has been named by Queen Elizabeth II to be the new titular head of the Anglican Church as Archbishop of Canterbury. The announcement was made on Friday 9th November. He succeeds Rowan Williams in that job. The job which doesnot have the power of the Pope but has tremendous moral suasion is not an easy one. The Anglican Church is on a fault line over the ordination of women bishops (which he supports) and supporting same sex marriages (which he does not support). He is to be enthronedon21st March.
Barry Malcolm Taking A Hard Line
There is a company called Quality Services in Grand Bahama which is locked in a fierce battle with the union there, which has beenrecognized as the bargaining agent for the workers. The company is talking a hard line and some employees have complained that the company tries to thwart the Bahamianization policy and is seeking to dismiss people because they have joined the union. What is hard to believe is that the President of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, Barry Malcolm, onceanFNM Senator and former head of Scotiabank in The Bahamas is the consultant to the company. The union believes that he is responsible for taking the hardline and giving bad advice to the company. The company might do well to choose another advisor if that is the case. The union has appealed to the government for help.
A Groveling Apology To Louis Bacon
One thing you can say about the billionaire Lyford Cay inhabitant Louis Bacon is that he is not shy about protecting his reputation. He is quite litigious and seems to go to then ends of the earth no matter how small a reference in what small publication to get his lawyers to stop people saying unkind things about him. He even had his lawyers write this site threatening to sue one time. Flattery will get you everywhere. The thing about libel is that it doesn’tmatter whether it is withdrawn or there is a successful libel action, it’s in thepublic domain anyway and people will say and think what they want. Reputation is a funny thing. The latest salvo though was forcing Wendell Jones, publisher of the Bahama Journal,to speak a groveling apology in the courts of The Bahamas for an alleged injury to Mr. Bacon’sreputation. Mr. Jones blamed Earlin Williams a writer for taking him in that direction and said whatever was said was not true and Mr. Bacon is after all a clean, great guy. Praise the lord. He paid $100 for to Mr. Bacon as damages. Gee! This is all part of the larger feud with Mr. Bacon’s neighbour Peter Nygard who has been on the losing end of one legal battle after the next with Mr. Bacon. We thought there was a report saying that Mr. Bacon was packing up and leaving The Bahamas. We had better be careful before he sues us for that too.
Roy Bowe Is Buried
Roy Bowe, the Exuma boy, who left Rolleville, Exuma and rose to be the owner of Jiffy Cleaners and the developer of Emerald Bay which is where Sandals is today, wascremated following a service at Salem Baptist Church on Thursday 8th November. Mr. Bowe was a pioneer in the golf world in The Bahamas. Attending the service was Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis, Ministers Fred Mitchell and Allyson Maynard Gibson, PLP Chair Bradley Roberts, former Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson and Brent Symonette and former Ministers Phenton Neymour and George Smith.
Imagine Resigning For Keeping Sweetheart
General David Petraeus, the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and former head of the US Armed Forcesefforts in Iraq and in Afghanistan, resigned from office on Friday 9thNovember. He said that he had acted improperly by engaging in an extra marital affair. This is incredible. Imagine a Bahamianpoliticianresigning because of sweet hearting. Seems a bit over the top.
World War II Vets Get A New Home
At last the government has fulfilled its promise to fix up the new place set aside for the use offices of World War II veterans. The buildingsits on the western edge of the Southern Recreation Grounds in Nassau on Thursday 7th November and was formally re-commissioned on Thursday 8th November. Today is Remembrance Day and the older set are wearing poppies, the flower that populates the fields in France where the first world war was fought. Services are being held at the Christ Church Cathedral in honour of those who served in the World Wars and for the four Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers who died in the dinking of the HMBS Flamingo in 1980.
Curry Is Sworn In
Renardo Curry, the MP for North Abaco, who was elected to office on 15th October, is now a Parliamentary Secretary. He was sworn in by the Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes at Government House on Monday 5th November. The photo is by Peter Ramsay. The deal was sealed by a kiss of the wife a Government House.
Zhivargo Laing Resigns
A note posted on Saturday 10th November on his twitter account, and with the news first broken by ZNS reporter Kendeno Knowles, Zhivargo Laing, the FNM Senator and former Minister of State for Finance in the Ingraham government has announced he will leave the Senate as at 31st December. In Mr. Laing's letter he pledged support for the Leader of the party Dr. Hubert Minnis with whom he has reportedly had a stormy relationship. The back chat is that his mentor Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister, has arranged a directorship for him which is quite lucrative and the requirement is that he must be out of active politics. Mr. Laing would only say that whatever he is going to do will require lots of travel and so he will not be able to commit his time to the Senate.
Sharon Turner Spreads Even More Confusion
Sharon Turner who has been on a writing campaign in the press and in the social media since the general election in favour of the FNM is at it again. She is widely believed to be the voice of Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister. This time she says that she is voting no because the government is not including a constitutional amendment to prevent discrimination against Bahamians in gambling. Of course that discrimination was put there to please the church when gambling was first widely extended in The Bahamas back in the 1960s. The hypocrisy is incredible. Ms. Turner is a twit of the first order. The FNM also now says that unless the government amends the law to give the Parliamentary Commissioner the power to superintend a plebiscite then what transpires will be unlawful. They are planning to go to court to stop it on the grounds that the Parliamentary Commissioner as a creature of statute does not have the power to do what he asks. Anything to spread confusion. The PLP should be beware and get its duck in a row on this. Bottom line is though whenever it comes, in whatever form, vote yes.
18th, November, 2012 Welcome
to bahamasuncensored.com
How
do you do today? It's great to have you as a reader. We
have the most incisive political news about and from The Bahamas!
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
FORTY THOUSAND FOR FORTY YEARS: down below we present a photo spread of the announcement made by Franklin and Sharon Wilson ( she the President of the Senate, he the former MP and Senator) of a gift of forty thousand dollars to mark the occasion of their 40th wedding anniversary. Mr. Wilson likes to say that God is good. Indeed, he has much to be thankful for. The ceremony presenting the gift to the Urban Renewal Commission headed by Co Chairs Cynthia "Mother" Pratt and Algernon Allen, took place on the historic Southern Recreation Grounds on Wednesday 14th November. The Prime Minister attended and pointed to the symbolism of the presentation of the monies which will help to refurbish the Grants Town district out of which came Mr. Wilson and so many of today's national leaders. And so our photo of the week is that of Franklin and Sharon Wilson with the Co-Chairs of the Urban Renewal Commission as they announced their gift.
The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
LORETTA BUTLER’S RUDE BEHAVIOR
It is a gargantuan task to wrap your heart, mind and hands around what the hell Loretta Butler Turner is up to in a political sense. In the old parlance that is one rough broad; there are some other words like the word Eddie Murphy would add to the word big which rhymes with rich to describe her. Last week though, she simply carried on like a jackass, a maniac. Her colleagues sat there are she babbled, and interrupted and intervened and grumbled and rowed like she was off her meds and lacking in therapy as the Prime Minister gave his communication on gambling to the House. Her's was simply a disgraceful performance from her seat in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 14th November.
The problem was this: the FNM got caught flat footed because under the Dr. Hubert Minnis team the expectation was that the PLP would continue on with 3rd December as the date for the referendum and the FNM's campaign “if you don’t understand vote no,”; it was to be the pay back for the PLP and what it did successfully to the FNM in 2002 in their referendum campaign. They simply did not know what to do. The Minnis wing of the party gave a statement later in the day of congratulations to the government for postponing the vote. Obviously that did not sit well with Loretta ButlerTurner and her allies. The only way for them to dissent from the FNM’s decision was to act like a jackass in public shutting and interrupting the Prime Minister during his communication. She made herself look silly.
People constantly ask how someone as ample as she is, as rotund in her imagination, as plump in her business success, could be so obviously and plainly foolish in politics. No Loretta Butler Turner, no matter how hard you try, you are no Milo Butler. That era is done and what is required is a new politics, a fresh look.
How does someone who you are used to seeing cooing around the graveyard in dulcet tones to the grief stricken and those in mourning suddenly convert into this animal that we know not? No manners. No broughtupcy. Everything that she shouldn’t be.
Meanwhile down in Long Island, the people are complaining that they can’t get the proper hurricane assistance that they need because she is not paying attention to her constituency.
It was quite interesting looking at the FNM side during her display in parliament last week. They sat there. No one could quiet her. No one said a word. The hope was one suspects that she would make herself look foolish by herself but if she succeeded in derailing the PLP, then they could also share in the credit for her success. They could have their cake and eat it too.
But that’s politics, one guesses.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 17th November 2012 up to midnight: 145,292
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 17th November 2012 up to midnight: 373,863
Number of hits for the year 2012 up to Saturday 17th November 2012 up to midnight: 7,035,082
Prime Minister Perry Christie announced in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 14th November that he has postponed the date of the national referendum on casino gambling to 28thJanuary, later than the original date of 3rd December. This came, he said, in response to cries from the community that the matter was proceeding too quickly and should be postponed to give the public more time to digest what the matter was about. What the public needed more time for on a matter which is so plain and obvious on its face is quite something but that is water under the bridge. The irony of it is that they accused him of dithering before, now when he acts decisively they say he is moving too quickly. The new date and its announcement came with new information. The fact is that there are 5000 people employed in the numbers business. The fact is that the business grosses some 400 million dollars each year. The fact is there are 172,000 odd customers every year.The fact is that the international best practices demand that that the sector be regulated. The fact is that therevenue potential is something like 40 million for the government. All of this points in the direction of a yes vote. Mr. Christie pointedly removed any reference to the PLP not having a horse in the race. That was wise. We in this column are encouraging people to vote yes. This argument is tiresome. We have a tiresome opposition party that is simply trying to be all thingsto all men at this stage. Now let us get on with the business of the country. You may read the Prime Minister’s full statement below:
If you can't view the plugin below, please click here
Dr. Hubert Minnis, the leader of the Free National Movement and Leader of the Opposition, did look quite pathetic as he tried to make his case but make it he did. He got up after the Prime Minster Perry Christie’s communication in the House on gambling in The Bahamas and sought to give a communication of his own. Except that there is no provision in the rules for Communications by Members. The correct thing to have done was to have sought to speak on the adjournment on a matter of public importance or sought through the consent of the House or theSpeaker after the Prime Minister sat down. He tried to argue his way and in the end he lost as the House was suspended and with the Speaker insisting on the rules he and his members sans the Member for South Abaco who remained in the chamber, read his statement to the press in the Committee room below. The problem for the PLP was this. Knowing the FNM, no one could be sure that Dr. Minnis was not seeking to use the cloak of Parliamentary immunity to change the story of the day and say something which was scandalous and salacious in his communication. You may read what he had to say below.
FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis Communication to the Honourable House of Assembly By Dr. the Hon. Hubert A. Minnis, M.P. for Killarney 14th November, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I rise in order to make a Communication to this Honourable House on a matter of critical National Importance, namely the Government’s proposed Referendum on Web-shops.
I wish to congratulate the Government upon having bowed to the overwhelming concerns of ordinary Bahamians that the timing of the proposed Referendum was too rushed, and that the legal right of the Government to hold a non-Constitutional Referendum had to be addressed by legislation before such a Referendum could be lawfully held. I also wish to congratulate the Government upon having, in one respect, moved closer to the position of the former Free National Movement administration, which had also proposed and drafted legislation for a National Lottery, which question would have been ‘put to the People’ for approval in a Referendum.
The Rt.Hon. Prime Minister will now have to explain the inherent inconsistency between a National Lottery, which is ordinarily owned and run by the Government, and privately-owned web cafes. Surely they will not be able to sell competing numbers from foreign lotteries? And what will be the Government’s position on possibly illegal Internet casino gambling, under International Law? No doubt the Government will be able to answer these questions as persuasively and reliably as it has dealt with the issue of the legality of a non-constitutional Referendum prior to today.
In any event, I wish to assure the Rt. Hon. Member for Centreville that the position of the Official Opposition in this emerging National Debate is consistent and has always been consistent, and principled! The position of the Free National Government was clearly that the question of any change in the gambling laws would be put to a vote in a Referendum. It has always been our policy in government, and now in opposition, that there should be a consistent insistence upon due and appropriate public consultations in advance of any vote, that there should be full and frank disclosure of exactly what the government would do in the event of a “Yes” vote, and that ordinary Bahamians should have as much information as possible in advance of them being advised to make any decision on the matter.
The events and contradictory public pronouncements of the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister over the past several weeks fell woefully short of the standards that an FNM Government would have demanded of itself; and which leadership deficit compelled me to publicly take issue with the faulty legal process proposed by the Government, the lack of any reliable or impartial information on critical issues such as Fairness, Due Diligence, Ownership and full public disclosure of all relevant issues.
Mr. Speaker, the issues of Fairness, Due Diligence, Ownership and Full Disclosure are of critical National importance as they go directly towards answering the important and overriding question: “exactly what are the Bahamian People voting for, or against?”
Fairness has become a very pressing concern due to the announcement by the Rt. Hon. Member for Centreville that, of the eight established web shop operations, only “two or three” would eventually be licensed. Operators would naturally be concerned to know exactly what the fair, transparent and objective standards would be in determining whose businesses would be permitted to continue and whose businesses would be forcibly closed down. Hence the Opposition requested and the Bahamian People would expect that those fair, transparent and objective standards, to be contained in subsidiary legislation, would be published well in advance of any vote on the matter.
Further, the Government should consider whether or not a better course of action would be to design a more inclusive legal regime which would not be open to any criticism or any possible suggestion of favouritism and special treatment for some, but not others. You see, Mr. Speaker, ordinary Bahamians would want to be assured that they or their children would receive the same, fair, transparent and objective considerations as others who now appear, rightly or wrongly, to be in a more privileged position.
Due Diligence is a very important matter since the advent of the Internet has enabled not only complex Internet based Casino gambling operations and cross-border money flows, but also, with the use of ATM machines and the performance of quasi-banking operations in virtually every major web shop, raise very serious issues related to anti-money laundering of the proceeds of crime and the potential abuse of such systems by criminals in The Bahamas or terrorists abroad. The government needs to provide carefully considered information as to exactly how it proposes to prevent money laundering of the proceeds of crime and/or any other criminal abuse of the quasi-banking facilities of web shops.
Mr. Speaker, the Government throughout its pronouncements over the past several weeks has seemingly assumed that the ownership of web shops would remain in private hands. In this apparent presumption the Government has failed to address the long-established and entrenched Public Policy first enunciated in 1973, established with the passage of the Hotel Corporation Act in 1974, and brought into full legal force and effect in 1978 with the amendment of the Lotteries & Gaming Act, which policy and law mandates (Section 33 of the Lotteries Act) that “the Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas shall be the only person entitled to the grant of a licence… to carry on the business of gaming on any premises.” Existing casino operators are mere managers on behalf of the Government.
We note that the Government has moved an amendment to the Constitutional Referendum Act, but it must be said that merely amending the Law to allow a non-constitutional Referendum is not enough to surmount the legal challenge posed by an existing law which specifically prohibits private licences. Again, the Government appears to be hurriedly rushing through a process without having fully considered all the legal ramifications. We trust, Mr. Speaker, that this Government is not about to again embark on another bungled up process which is tripped up by un-considered legal obstacles.
The question of who will own these legalized gambling businesses is a critical one, since ordinary Bahamians should be fully informed of whether they are being asked to vote to grant tens of millions, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars each year in legalized profits to go to a small handful of people. The question of whether the Government will pursue an “All for the few” policy, perhaps as a reward for past and possibly future financial political donations, must be answered to the comfort of the Bahamian People.
This is important because of the fact that it is an inescapable fact that gambling is an activity which is dependent upon human frailties, the consequences of which usually have to be borne by the wider society. Why should the few retain perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars in windfall profits, while the wider society is left to pick up the costs associated with generating these large profits for private owners? Surely Bahamians should be given the opportunity to determine this question, as well; namely, who should be the ultimate owner or owners of such businesses. This issue is all the more important now in light of the Government’s expressed intention, after some flip-flopping, to go ahead with proposals for a National Lottery. Who will own that?
Mr. Speaker, the need for full disclosure of the intentions of the Government in this matter is paramount. Full disclosure of those who may have made monetary donations to political Parties is also important. I can unequivocally state that the Free National Movement as an organization did not accept any donations of money from any web shop owners. I cannot speak for individual candidates. But the Policy of the Free National Movement on this matter was inflexible, that as an organization we would not solicit, or accept any political donations from web shops. And we did not. Mr. Speaker, we would confidently expect the same forthrightness from the Governing Party. It is critically important that it is made abundantly clear to every Bahamian that whatever the Government proposes to do in connection with web shops, it does so with clean hands.
Mr. Speaker, the concern of my Party is to ensure that the process is legally correct and respectfully addresses the concerns of Bahamians, and that these overriding issues of fairness, due diligence, ownership and full disclosure are appropriately dealt with going forward.
THE WILSONS IMPORTANT GIFT TO URBAN RENEWAL
Franklin and Sharon Wilson celebrated their 40th wedding anniversarylast month. We reported that fact in this column. Now they have gone further and given a generous donation of $40,000 to the Urban Renewal programme as a gift to mark their anniversary. There was a full blown ceremony on Wednesday 14th November to mark the presentation of the cheque. Present was Cynthia“Mother” Pratt, the Co-Chair of the UrbanRenewal Commission and Algernon Allen her co-chair, together with the Prime Minister Perry Christie. The presentation took place on the Southern Recreation Grounds. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
NIB DIRECTOR ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE
Last week, the website bahamaspress.com published a 22 page letter written by the Board of Directors of the National Insurance Board which savaged the Director of National Insurance Algernon Cargill. Mr. Cargill is a controversial figure. He was believed to be PLP but PLPs watching his performance as National Insurance Director during the Ingraham years were shattered by his treatment of PLPs on the NIB payroll, and his actions which they allege denigrated the PLP and its policies on the job. Advisories were sent to him during that time from friendly PLPs that he may have been overstepping the mark but to no avail.We did not publish the letter which was also supplied to us. The question we wanted to ask is who has a stake in leaking such a letter and should such a letter be published without giving the individual an opportunity to answer the case against him? The niceties of these kinds of dealings no longer exist in the kind of media world we have and in the jungle of politics in which Mr. Cargill now finds himself enveloped. He has hired Alfred Sears, the former Attorney General as his lawyer and plans it appears to take legal action against the Board for libel. His side believes that the letter was leaked by the Board to the press in a deliberate attempt to defame him. The Board has not commented but the Prime Minister told the press that he trusts his Board and he trusts his Minister Shane Gibson, who is the Minister responsible for National Insurance. Whatever the case, it appears that Mr. Cargill is in some deep do do. The allegations were serious enough that the Minister allowed the Board to proceed by the end of the work week to send Mr. Cargill on administrative leave until a forensic audit is completed. Mr. Cargill’s friends say he has a complete defence in that he had the sign off and support of the then Chairman of the Board Patrick Ward. They claim that he has done nothing ultra vires the act and nothing criminal. He has not a care in the world. Their side is threatening mayhem against the Board and its members in return and are said to be happy to join battle. It would have been better it seems for the sides in this matter to have each agreed to go their own way, quietly paid out, and with their public dignity intact. Sadly that again is not the kind of jungle in which we live. The public awaits the outcome.
REMEMBRANCE DAY IN PHOTOS
The country marked Remembrance Day last Sunday. It was the day that marked the end of the First World War but has been used since that day to commemorate all those who have fallen in war in defence of the freedom of the western world. As the soldiers of the first and second world wars have died and have become fewer each year, the observance has become less and less well attended. The last two Prime Ministers have never attended any of the ceremonies, sending instead their deputies. The crowds that used to be there no longer come. The police have become too aggressive in their security arrangements around the parade and frighten people from coming around. What is more important on this point is that the policy makers have not made the observance relevant to today. For example, four men died in the sinking of the HMBS Flamingo in the waters off Ragged Island on 10th May 1980. There was no mention of their names, even though their names appear on a brass plate on the cenotaph monument in the Garden of Remembrance just above the names of those who died in the world wars. The names of the fallen four are: Fenwick Stirrup, Edward Williams, David Tucker, Austin Smith. The photos of the event are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
POLICE PASSING OUT PARADE
The Royal Bahamas Police Force held its passing out parade for its newest class of recruits in the presence of the Minister for National Security Bernard Nottage and the Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade. The photos are by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services. The passing out took place on Friday 16th November.
GOVERNMENT PRESENTS CHEQUE TO REGATTA COMMITTEE
Pictured from left are Dwayne Higgins (National Sailing Association), Stafford Armbrister (Bahamas Boat Owners Sailing Association) owner/skipper ‘King’ Eric Gibson, Sindy Gray (Regatta Desk), Permanent Secretary Camille Johnson, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V Alfred Gray, Danny Strachan (National Family Island Regatta) and Gerard Moxey (Commonwealth Sailing Association). (BIS photo/Kristaan Ingraham) The presentation took place on Friday 9th November at the Minister’s Headquarters.
RYAN PINDER ON THE INSURANCE SECTOR
- International insurance products could play a key role in the Bahamas’ financial services industry, the 22nd annual Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA) conference was told.
Financial Services and Investments Minister L. Ryan Pinder saw it as “a significant contributor to The Bahamas going forward.”
“It is time that we as a dominant international financial services centre, develop insurance products and promote the sector as a significant component of our financial services industry,” he said.
Mr. Pinder, a certified tax attorney, was the keynote speaker at the three-day conference which opened Thursday at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Hotel.
Headed by Neil Dingwall of Trinidad, the CAA was formed in Jamaica in 1991 to create an actuarial body whose primary focus would be issues of concern to the region. It is a member of the International Actuarial Association. Lisa Wayde of Barbados is the president-elect. Marcus Bosland of The Bahamas is a board member.
International insurance products, he noted, has historically been a lesser sector of the Bahamas’ comprehensive financial services centre.
But jurisdictions such as Bermuda, he pointed out, have embraced insurance as a dominant part of their industry.
Mr. Pinder argued that the focus of The Bahamas’ financial services industry should be on Latin America, from a geographic point of view.
“The Bahamas is the gateway to the Americas,” he said. “We are a dominant financial services centre in the same time zone as many of the Latin American countries, and who have invested real capital in elevating the profile of the jurisdiction.
“The private sector in many areas in financial services is already adjusting their business models to be consistent with this policy – to create hubs here in The Bahamas to access Latin America.
“And if one would carefully look at the Latin American market for financial services, insurance products must play an important role in our development of the market as a country.”
Recognizing that financial services is now a global business, he said, there are Latin American countries that are facilitating legislation to permit international insurance products to be purchased by their citizens
“If we grasp this opportunity in international insurance products, identifying and integrating products into new markets that we pursue as part of a comprehensive financial services strategy, the industry has nothing but growth in its future,” said Mr. Pinder.
As The Bahamas is not the only financial services centre in the region to identify this opportunity, he said, the Government will need the cooperation of the private sector to further define offerings.
“Gone are the days when a single niche can support a country’s financial services centre,” said Mr. Pinder. “We now need to be all inclusive - a viable market for all parts and products in the industry.”
The future of financial centres, especially in this region, he said, is in their ability to offer comprehensive and all-encompassing product lines to international clients.
“Insurance is looking for new frontiers for international financial centres who are looking to expand their industry,” said Mr. Pinder. “The Bahamas must not only keep pace with this but we must get ahead of these developments and ensure that as we expand our industry as we develop new geographic markets, we ensure that insurance offerings are key components of that offering.”
He pledged his commitment to work with industry stakeholders “to ensure that the future is bright, one of growth.”
(The story is by Gladstone Thurstone of the Bahamas Information Services.)
FIXING THE FISHING HOLE ROAD
The Government has signed a $45,000 contract with Waugh Construction to repair the Fishing Hole Road in Freeport, Grand Bahama, which was extensively damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Minister for Grand Bahama the Hon. Michael Darville and vice president of the construction company, Godfrey Waugh, are pictured in a discussion at the Fishing Hole Road. (BIS Photo / Vandyke Hepburn). The photo took place on 16th November.
COURTESY CALLS ON THE GOVERNOR GENERAL
Teachers and Students of Grand Bahama's Bishop Michael Eldon School make a courtesy call on Governor-General Sir Arthur Foulkes on Wednesday, November 14. They are pictured with Sir Arthur in the Ball Room at Government House. (BIS Photo / Derek Smith)
Author Elizabeth Munnings (left) presents a book, "Short Stories to the World From My Treasure Chest In the Bahamas" to Governor-General Sir Arthur Foulkes (right) on Wednesday, November 14. They are pictured in the Drawing Room at Government House. (BIS Photo / Derek Smith)
CARIBBEAN CHALLENGE INITIATIVE ANNOUNCED
CAPTIONS
CCI CONFERENCE – Minister for Environment and Housing, the Honourable Kenred M.A. Dorsett is pictured here with other senior officials attending the opening of the CCI conference at the Our Lucaya Resort November 8. Pictured from left: Mrs. Eleanor Phillips, Director, the Nature Conservancy (Bahamas); Daniel Galan, Puerto Rico; Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister for Grand Bahama; Minister Dorsett; Mrs. Lorraine Armbrister, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Housing; S. Sally Anne Bagwhan Logie, Permanent Secretary Minister of the Environment, Foreign Trade and Export Development, Grenada; Hon. George Prime, Minister for Environment, Foreign Trade and Export Development, Grenada; Pastor Keith Meadows, Vice President, Grand Bahama Christian Council; and Mr. J. Anthony McKinney, Under Secretary Ministry of Housing and the Environment. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – Environment and Housing Minister, the Hon. Kendred M.A. Dorsett officially opened Caribbean Challenge Initiative’s Second Senior Officials Meeting on Thursday, November 8.
The two-day conference was being held at the Our Lucaya Resort and aids in the preparation for the Caribbean Summit of Political and Business Leaders. The CCI focuses on leadership to provide for the sustainable use, conservation and effective management of marine and coastal resources.
In addressing the opening session at the Our Lucaya Resort, Minister Dorsett noted that the Caribbean Challenge is an initiative that The Bahamas and Grenada launched in 2008 at the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (UNCBD) 9th. Conference of the Parties Meeting in Bonn, Germany.
The Bahamas, he stated, exemplifies what will be lost to world ecological heritage and the beauty of our natural environment if the objectives of the Convention on Biodiversity are not achieved.
Addressing participants from 10 Caribbean countries attending the conclave, Minister Dorsett expressed that the environment is the very foundation of our economy and that Grand Bahama Island is an example of how the environment sustains lives and livelihoods.
“This island is blessed with an abundant supply of freshwater, a vibrant natural ecosystem, blue holes, a fringing reef system, mangrove and pine forest making it unique, special and in need of preservation so that we balance economic activity with environmental sustainability.
“However, in order to develop industry, sacrifices have been made to create a deep water harbour and expand it to accommodate the Post Panama vessels which ply the high seas.
“Grand Bahama is thus blessed with attributes which have enabled it to become a port of regional significance serving as a natural conduit between and among the Americas and to Europe and a larger extent to Africa and Asia,” he explained.
The Environmental Minister pointed out, however, that national development has come at a price. He said that the once pristine, undisturbed pine forest, mangrove creeks and wetlands have been disturbed in pursuit of economic development, an imperative for social and economic well-being and the expansion of economic opportunities for Bahamians.
“The CCI, nevertheless, through its innovative partnership of public, private, scientific and civic collaboration offers an opportunity to prove to the world that aspiration can become reality. The contradictions and sacrifices between business and preservation can be reconciled and man can finally become a prudent steward of nature,” he said.
Mr. Dorsett went on to challenge delegates to find the best mechanism to harness the collective wisdoms and skills of each partnering sector, to quantify, adapt, fund, self-finance, refine and prioritise the ambitions in the strategic proposals in their plan of action annex to the draft leader’s declaration.
“By so doing, the political stamp of the summit will move our region from aspiration to sustainability, and therefore, the conservation of our natural heritage for generations to come,” he stated.
Minister Dorsett also informed that The Bahamas has not stood idle when confronting the combined threats of global warming, climate change, sea level rise, more frequent and intense hurricanes and the many threats to biodiversity and the conservation of the marine environment.
He told participant that the effects of the recent passage of Hurricane Sandy could be witnessed just outside of their meeting rooms.
“The impact in The Bahamas and across the region, and in our principal tourism marketplace the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, is a stark reminder that we will continue to face the challenges that climate change will visit upon us. It is becoming increasingly more important for initiatives such as the Caribbean Challenge to be successful,” he stated.
The Minister also advised that The Bahamas has enacted legislation to foster the sustainable use and management of ecosystems, through better land-use planning, and that action has been taken to ban long line fishing, to protect sea turtles, establish The Bahamas as a shark sanctuary and to establish and expand national parks and marine protected areas.
He said that those actions are all in support of the objectives of the Caribbean Challenge Initiative. Further, he reminded delegates that they are here to promote and make significant progress on the Draft Leaders Declaration to be delivered at the Summit of Caribbean Political and Business Leaders to be held in the British Virgin Islands, May 17-18, 2013.
The Environment and Housing Minister went on to tell participants that the Government of The Bahamas, through the Caribbean Challenge, has committed to protecting 20 percent of the near shore marine environment of The Bahamas by 2020.
Also, that the Government is committed to other components of the Challenge which include development and implementation of ecosystem based projects aimed at adaptation to climate change and development of sustainable finance mechanisms to provide sustainable funding to protected areas.
“In The Bahamas, we continue to work toward achieving our 2020 goal by declaring new protected areas and in some cases expanding existing national parks.
“However, for us to truly achieve our goal of effective protection of natural resources, the next major step after declaring a protected area, is putting in place the resources needed for these areas to be properly managed.
“One way of doing this is to ensure that protected areas are properly resourced, financially and otherwise. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has identified that globally protected area financing needs to be improved at both site and system level, and that developing long term financing systems is a key element for protected areas sustainability,” he added.
He went on to tell the gathering that as they move towards achieving their goals under the Caribbean Challenge, the need to explore sustainable finance mechanism grows, bearing in mind that sustainable finance refers to a steady and appropriate flow of financial resources that will ensure that the full cost of a protected area system is met, both now and into the future.
HALL OF FAME
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture the Hon. Daniel Johnson (at podium) along with the Members of Class of 2012 Sports Hall of Fame (seated on stage) in attendance at a Special Assembly at R.M. Bailey Senior High School, Robinson Road, on November 14. The Minister addressed the students in order to emphasise the stories of the members of the class and to let the youth know that sports is another avenue through which they can achieve their goals. (BIS Photo / Raymond A. Bethel)
Director of Sports, in the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture, Tim Munnings, speaking to the students of R.M Bailey Senior High School during a Special Assembly November 14 as part of Sports Heritage Week. The ministry will hold an induction ceremony for Members of the Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2012, also as part of the week. (BIS Photo / Raymond A. Bethel)
Class of 2012 Honouree, Lorenzo "Doni" Lockhart, speaking to the students of R.M Bailey Senior High School November 14 to share his appreciation for being honoured and to make them aware that they should take advantage of their opportunity to advance themselves. (BIS Photo / Raymond A. Bethel)
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR Forrester Carroll writes from Freeport about the upcoming referendum on gambling in The Bahamas. He attacks the Bahamas Christian Council and accuses them of straying into political matters. The column is in two parts. The first is published this week and the second instalment will give the reasons why he proposes to vote yes when the question is put to the country on 28th January 2013. “I shall, on all subjects, have a POLICY to recommend but none (policy i.e.) to ENFORCE against the WILL of the people,” unquote; President Ulysses Simpson Grant, United States of America 1869-1877.
Have you been anticipating my opinion on the proposed decriminalization of the web shop, “numbers-selling” business? Well here it is; I am in full agreement with the proposal and will (Lord willing) vote in favour of the same on 28th January or whenever the government decides to schedule the vote. Here is something else you may wish to know about me; I am a Christian (I am not talking about a perfect Christian (there are none) just a born-again believer pressing daily toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus) who has never engaged in the business of buying numbers, or lottery tickets, inside nor outside the Bahamas and one who have no intentions of ever doing so. I know (right about now) you are asking yourself, well what kind of contradictory position is this that Forrester J Carroll has taken on this matter? A Christian who has never bought numbers, and have no intentions of ever doing so, yet would wish to see the decriminalization of the business? Yes, indeed, and I can assure all you hypocrites out there that by the time am through with this article you will know for sure why my position is what I’ve stated it to be.
The biggest cop-out answers you will continue to hear from now until “D” day (from those who’ve assumed, by themselves, the task of speaking on behalf of all Christians; their various places of worship and the Nation) when they are asked their reason (s) for their opposition to the idea of legalized web shops, will be the same old tired regurgitated generic answers like; “because it’s not Christian to do so;” or that “too many people will become so addicted to buying numbers that they will neglect their financial obligations at home;” or “that the nation will become more doomed than it is right now while it is being done illegally.” I’ve even heard another silly excuse lately when a Christian council member (I suppose he was) said that if the government goes through with its plans, in the event of a majority “YES” vote, that the country will go straight to hell. Do these guys know how stupid they sound (to the average person on the street) when listening to them trying to qualify their opposition with such silly indefensible responses? Most of those who comprise that “council of pretenders” I label them (the Bahamas Christian Council) could hardly spell “C.A.T” but wish to engage themselves in these intellectual conversations when they know they are incapable of taking the discussions beyond those silly answers? We (the intelligent public) are forced to sit and listen to this unlearned bunch while they pretend to make their case (they say) on sound Biblical data when in fact they spew out utter nonsense. They cannot qualify their stance, with any degree of intelligent dialogue, so we (the public) are supposed to just sit here subjected to their stupid regurgitated generic responses? My view is that the council’s position is not an honest one at all but that they feel it their bounden duty and obligation, to whomever, to be seen to oppose matters of this kind; they feel, I guess, that the religious world expects them to register their objections and so they concur. I say to the council and to all those others reading these writings that no one person group or organization holds the monopoly on Biblical truths. As I understand Biblical truth God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, hears and answers just one prayer of the unsaved and that is the prayer of confession of his sin nature and his surrender to Him (Jesus); He hears no other prayer from the unsaved until that one is genuinely prayed. After that unsaved sinner genuinely utters the sinner’s prayer for salvation the Holy Spirit comes to live within him and then the warring of the two spirits begins. The devil spirit continues to fight to get the saved person to sin and the Holy Spirit urges him not too; this fight will continue, as I understand Biblical truths until the death of the saint. The Holy Spirit will not win all the battles and neither will Satan. The apostle Paul told us to “work out your (our) own salvation (daily) with fear and trembling.” To me this means that I don’t need those Christian council hypocrites (and we all are at times) or anyone else, to tell me what is wrong or not wrong to do; that is the function of the Holy Spirit who lives and abides in me “to do of His good pleasure;” He it is who guides me into all truth. These guys, who lead the council, remind me of the Jewish Sanhedrin Council (with whom our Lord Jesus Christ had to contend); the group comprised such a bunch of hypocrites that the Master, in rebuking them for their hypocrisy, likened them to Sepulchers-beautifully painted on the outside but inside (Jesus told them) were nothing but dead men’s bones. There is a price to pay for stupidity no matter who tells you otherwise.
Having said what I said in the foregoing permit me, please, to hasten to say (as well) that I fully endorse the role of the individual local church pastor who, if truly called to the ministry by Father God Himself, has a pastoral obligation to feed and lead his local flock in the way the Holy Spirit directs; it’s a mandate from God Himself (I believe) and no man, nor the State, should dare to dictate to the “called of God.” Presumably the “called of God” is led by the Holy Spirit and so it would be sacrilegious for the State or anyone else to hinder and or frustrate, in any way, the will of God for His people. Conversely, since Church and State are separate (as they should be) the Church has no business (and should desist) interfering in the business of the State except, in the circumstances, to give council if and or when it is sought after by the State; in other words the “Great Commission” given the Church, by Jesus Himself, defines succinctly its mission on earth; it is to preach the Gospel (in season and out of season), reprove, rebuke and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest. Trust me, God’s Holy Spirit is quite capable of directing me, and all the other saved ones, into the way of truth and right and I would know when something is wrong or not wrong for me to act upon. The point am trying to get across here is that things are not wrong to do simply because your pastor or the Christian council tells you they are wrong to do; pastors, and the individuals who lead the council, need to manage their own individual lives and be reminded of what the apostle Paul admonished; “He who thinketh he standeth; take heed lest he falls.” The Bahamas Christian Council has no mandate from God to govern the State and ought not to be waging national campaigns, and or convening press conferences, of the kind they are doing; you, Sirs/Madams, are called to preach Christ and Him crucified and leave the HOLY SPIRIT’S work of regeneration and guidance to the HOLY SPIRIT. You guys are missing the boat completely as usual; I am personally sick and tired of hypocritical, mediocre, unlearned, disingenuous and sloppy spiritual leadership in this country and just think that if I am a Christian who has critiqued you guys like this; what do you think the UNSAVED thinks of you?
To be continued next week.
Thank you. Forrester J Carroll J.P
IN PASSING
BJ, Wife Portia And Fred Mitchell
The two politicians Minister of National Security Bernard Nottage and his wife Portia with Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs at Remembrance Day Services on Sunday last. In the background the Secretary to the Cabinet Wendell Major and his wife Andrea. The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services.
PM Signs An Exigency Order
NASSAU, The Bahamas - Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie signed an Exigency Order that will allow residents who have been hard hit by Hurricane Sandy in October to bring in certain goods duty free for a period of three months.
The order came into effect Thursday, November 15, 2012. It is pursuant to the provisions of item 12 of Part B of the Fourth Schedule to the Tariff Act, and Item 5 Part B of the Second Schedule the Excise Act.
The urgent need for goods specified in Schedule A, which the minister is satisfied are intended for the relief of residents in the islands of Abaco, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Exuma & Cays, Grand Bahama and Long Island who suffered loss as a result of the storm, and whose claims/applications in respect of such goods are certified by the Director of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, or any of his duly appointed agents.The following is the list of goods permitted by the Minister of Finance to be imported duty free commencing November 15, 2012.
Such goods are: Building materials, electrical fixtures and materials, plumbing fixtures and materials, household furniture fixtures, furnishing and appliances, freezers and heaters, materials for clean-up or repairs to property including fences, fishing boats, gear, parts and apparatus, farming equipment and utensils and motor vehicles.An individual located anywhere in The Bahamas who suffered hardship or loss to property as a result of Hurricane Sandy may also apply for duty free relief which shall be certified by the appropriate official prior to granting of any such exemption.And, where any abuse or misuse of goods allowed under this declaration is observed, the goods may be seized and disposed of in accordance with Section 83 of the Customs Management Act.
PLP Voices Catch Themselves On Facebook
The voices of the PLP on Facebook seemed to have caught their breath or senses as the case might be. No more equivocating in the face of the withering dishonesty of the Free National Movement over the gambling issue. The FNM launched a no campaign in disguise which seemed to have the PLP off balance on the web, with all its various spokesmen either silent or not quite knowing what to say. Thankfully that all seems to have turned around. And ditto for the gambling sector itself, that seemed not to know how to grease the squeaky wheel and silence these talk show hosts who were also seeking to confuse the issue. The date is now set for 28thJanuary and we are still encouraging a yes vote.
Sharad L
The photo artist Shard L has a new set in the National Art Gallery. We thought you would like to see it. Brilliant!
Kishan Munroe
And equally as brilliant is the spectacular presentation commissioned by attorney Wayne Munroe, that is on display in the national art gallery. By Kishan Munroe. Brilliant young man!
Photo Of The New Chinese Leadership
We thought that you might appreciate knowing who is leading the world’s number two power. China rolled out its new leadership including the new President of the country, the head of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. The name Xi Jinping. He is from the left. All things being equal they are our rulers for the next ten years.
Sharon Turner Disagrees
Well Hubert Ingraham’s lady had a bout of conscience the other day. Her usual diatribe against the PLP was turned on her own forces on Facebook following the House of Assembly meeting on Wednesday 14th November. During that meeting the Leader of the Opposition Hubert Minnis sought to speak at the time on the agenda called Communications by Ministers. He did not speak to the Leader for Opposition business in the House to ask for the consent to speak after the Prime Minister. He tried to insist and nosily so which led to a suspension of the House and the Opposition refusing to return to the House instead reading his prepared text to the press. See story above. Sharon Turner said that this was wrong. She claimed wrongly that the PLP used to do it when they were in Opposition and she opposed it so she had to be consistent and oppose it by the FNM. Interesting. Well she always tells us what Hubert Ingraham thinks.
As We Thought Darron Cash Won
Now this is the Darron Cash we remember. Smart, crafty, artful. He has brought his acumen to the politics of the FNM and hopefully he will earn himself a nomination in aplace where he can win aseat in Parliament. It is a great pity that it is not in the PLP. He and Zendal Forbes and Raynard Rugby all belong as House membersof the PLP. But alas it is not so. We are happythat he has defeated Mr. Machiavelli himself, the crafty and politicalequivalent of Dr. Evil Dion Foulkes. Mr. Foulkes is in now 0 for 4. Phenton Neymour who was a Minister in the government and ran for Deputy Chairman of the FNM was defeated by former Parliamentary Secretary Brensil Rolle. Mr. Neymour told The Guardian sometimes the best people don’t win. Ah well. The vote took place on Wednesday 14th November.
Exuma Outlook Seminar
Joan Albury’s Counsellors is holding its annual Exuma Business Outlook seminar at the Sandals Resort on Wednesday 21st November. The annual event looks at the future for Exuma. This year no doubt it will be all about what is to happen to Sandals.
The Contest Between Mike Sands and Iram Lewis
Two generations of Olympic athletes are competing against each other for the honour of heading the Bahamas Association of AthleticAssociations (BAAA). This is the same body that was once headed by Dr. Bernard Nottage, the now minister of thegovernment. The incumbent Mike Sands from the 1976 Olympic and Iram Lewis from the 1996 and 2000 Olympics faced off against each other. The next generation PLPs seem to be pulling for Mr. Lewis but each side has admitted it would be close. And the winner is: Mike Sands
TCI Government Named
The new government of the Turks and Caicos Islands has been chosen. The new government will be headed by Dr. Rufus Ewing who heads the PNP and won the election with 8 seats and 7 to the opposition PDM. The House will open on 28th November.
Courtesy Calls By Barbados' New High Commissioner
Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie (right) receives a Letter of Introduction from His Excellency Robert Livingstone Morris, High Commissioner of Barbados, at the Office of the Prime Minister, November 15. (BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay)
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell (right), welcomes His Excellency Robert Livingstone Morris, High Commissioner of Barbados, during a courtesy call, November 15. (BIS Photo / Kristaan Ingraham)
U.S. Marine Ball
The United States Marines celebrated their 237th anniversary as a corp in Nassau on Saturday 17th November with their annual
ball at the Britsih Colonial Hilton. The U.S. Charge D'affaires John Dinkelman and Mrs. Dinkelman were the special guests. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell and the Minister of State for the National Security Ministry Keith Bell attended on behalf of The Bahamas government. The first marine landing outside the continentalUnited States took place 2 miles east of Ft. Montagu in 1776.
Dion Foulkes Is Pissed
Dion Foulkes is now 0 for four, haiving lost every contest which he has entered for the last four occasions. Perhaps it is time for him to hang up his gloves. This is the Dr. Evil of Bahamian politics. Hubert Ingraham still very much the power behind the throne pulled out all the stops to be sure that Darron Cash won the contest for Chairman of the party held last Wednesday 14th November. Mr. Foulkes was defeated three to one. At the end of the contest Hubert Minnis, the new leader of the party, tried to reach out to Mr. Foulkes in a gesture of friendship, only to be told " I'd like to take you in the back and tear up your ass." Uh oh!
Tom " The Bird" Grant Dies
The first inetrnationally certified Bahamian volley ball official died on Friday 16th November after falling into a diabetic coma. He was 71 years old.
25th, November, 2012 Welcome
to bahamasuncensored.com
How
do you do today? It's great to have you as a reader. We
have the most incisive political news about and from The Bahamas!
Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return
to the top of the page.
PRIME MINISTER DOES THE HONOURS: On Friday 23rd November Prime Minister Perry Christie joined the Governor General and Lady Foulkes at the premier screening of the film Womanish Ways, Freedom, Human Rights and Democracy, the Women’s Suffrage Movement In The Bahamas 1948-1962. The film tells the story of how women got the vote. The women's movement began with a complaint by Rufus Ingraham, the husband of the late Mary Ingraham in 1948 when he lost the election to the House. He commented that if women could vote he would have won. She plunged into the effort which saw women like Dame Doris Johnson, Dame Albertha Isaacs, Georgiana Symonette and Mable Walker becomes the heroines of the revolution. The photo of the week then is that of the Prime Minister congratulating Marion Bethel, the producer and director of the film along with Maria Gorvan and Kareem Mortimer at Government House on Friday 23rd November. The photo is by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
LORETTA GOES BALLISTIC
LORETTA GOES BALLISTIC
Last week in this column there was an extensive commentary on the behavior of the MP for Long Island Loretta Butler Turner in the House of Assembly on 14th November. She was simply out of order the week before in the House with her behavior during the statement on gambling by the Prime Minister. The commentary last week was harsh but justly so.
Mrs. Butler Turner did not take kindly to it and attacked who she thought was the author of the commentary. She sat in her seat and said across the floor: “Do not look at me. You are a coward. You are unethical.” She then turned her FNM colleagues and said” he called me a jackass on bahamsucnensored.com” She continued to hurl insults across the floor.
A member had enough. Someone said sotto voce: Loretta f... you.
She replied: Did you hear what he said? Did you hear what he said?
Where upon she descended further into the gutter with her accusing the member of engaginng in various crimes of moral turpitude.
Then it got uglier. Ultimately with the Deputy Speaker in the chair, Mrs. Butler Turner was little too loud when she said in a voice that the Deputy could hear her saying the words: “Talking a bunch of shit.” Whereupon she was asked to stand and the Deputy Speaker asked her to quiet her voice so that the speaker on the floor could not be interrupted.
This is the second time that Mrs. Butler Turner has accused someone of on the government benches of serious moral offences from her seat and of course the usual accusations about sexual orientation. This is the last resort of someone who has simply lost all reason. They are serious allegations and the criminal acusations are damnable lies and would be laughable if not so serious. Here is the champion for women’s equality descending not only into something which is untrue but something which is clearly discriminatory. The very same thing that she says women have suffered over the years and which she opposes for women. The week before she accused another member on the government benches of being a cocaine addict. This is another lie for which she apologized later to the member privately. Mrs. Butler Turner ought to be formally censured by the Parliament for simply being silly.
The other point is that if you don’t want unfair commentary then you should keep your damn mouth shut and behave in public. You are in a public forum and the House of Assembly no less and behaving as if you are in a bar room. Whatever is said in the public light and air is fair game for reporting and commentary.
As for this column, there is an easy solution to the heartache which it causes to some, do not read it. As Christ said, if your right hand offends you, cut it off.
Oh yes, the word that rhymes with rich and joined with the word fat were thrown across the floor. “Yes I fat,” she could be heard saying. The others sat by during the mess and said nothing.
This is a tough time for the Opposition party. They are not unified. That is clear. They are being blamed for the economic mess in which the country finds itself. They are not in a position to do anything about it. There is a shaking out period which takes place before an Opposition party, recently defeated find its footing. It is not pretty and not neat. But a word to her Mrs. Butler Turner is not to take her frustrations about who she is and where she finds herself on other people. She must also learn that not only one woman “born a crazy child.” That if she can play crazy, the other fellow can play crazy too.
The Tribune carried a version of what happened if you don’t believe us and we print it In Passing below. With MPs carrying on with such apparent hatred for one another, is it any wonder that 17 year olds are being shot dead as one was on the same day as the MPs row for a pair of shades?
The behavior of Loretta Butler Turner is simply unbecoming and yes, if she continues then people will only come to the same conclusion which this column came to when the words were written last week. The calypsonion Harry Belafonte used to sing a song: Jackass will prance and bray. Let him bray let him bray.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 24th November 2012 up to midnight: 180,676
Number of hits for the month of November up to Saturday 24th November 2012 up to midnight: 565,875
Number of hits for the year 2012 up to Saturday 24th November 2012 up to midnight: 7,227,094
The back channel chatter is beginning to emerge, giving shape to the picture of what is happening inside the FNM as it relates to their future as a party. The party elders are adamant that for now Hubert Minnis is their best hope to hold things together until they can find someone with a kind of lightning like presence to illuminate the faithful and attract the Bahamian people. Right now they are simply trying to calm the situation. Hubert Ingraham had to be called back to the backrooms to ensure that the recent attempt by Dion Foulkes to become Chairman of the party did not succeed. The party elders made it clear to Dr. Minnis that Dion Foulkes was not be to be trusted and that it would be a step backwards to have him in a seat of power in the FNM when he had been thrice rejected by the people of the country. Ultimately they prevailed upon Mr. Ingraham and the force of that ensured the Darron Cash victory. The elders know that this cannot guarantee anything except to keep the party together. Under Mr. Foulkes they believed that the infighting would have been incessant. Right now the wild card in the equation, the fly in the ointment so to speak is Loretta Butler Turner. They consider her an embarrassment but the fact is she has in her head that she is leadership material in the mold of her grandfather the late Sir Milo Butler. She also believes that the FNM’s base is in love with the nastiness that she practices in the House and that this is the ticket to the leadership of the party ousting the mild mannered Dr. Minnis. The party elders are not convinced. One said that he believes that the FNM should only be in for a settling period for now because everyone knows that the country is in the mess that it is in because the FNM put it in that mess. Instead, the party elders are concerned that the party appears to be thrashing about when they should be settling down. The party elders told Dr. Minnis when he was contemplating supporting Dion Foulkes for Chairman that the Council cannot get him elected Prime Minister, the people can. They told him in no uncertain terms that with Dion Foulkes at the helm it would be an electoral disaster. Dr. Minnis has a lot to learn. In one of his interventions in the House on Wednesday 21st November, he took issue with Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald saying that contrary to what Mr. Fitzgerald had said, he, the Leader of the Opposition had never met any of the web shop owners, had never been in any web shop and does not know who they are. Mr. Fitzgerald withdrew the remark but insisted that Mr. Minnis had in fact met with them. But also added though with which we agree: so what if he did meet with them? Later, Fred Mitchell said of Dr. Minnis why does he think that you have to hide from ones friends. The Bahamas is small and everyone knows everyone. The assertion of Dr. Minnis on the face of it then was simply fatuous. Dr. Minnis made a poor case in the House of Assembly and even worse they voted in the House against the right of Bahamians to be asked by their government what a policy on gambling ought to be. Unbelievable! Unthinkable! All except Edison Key, the MP for South Abaco, who voted with the PLP. Late news is that Tommy Turnquest, the former National Security Minister who lost his seat at the last election was seen with the former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham at a funeral in Exuma where they also reportedly spent the night. Tongues are wagging. is another come back on the way?
MITCHELL ON THE NUMBERS HOUSES
Fred Mitchell MP made it clear years ago that he has no problem with gambling and will vote yes whenever the question is put to the country. That much should be clear. The question before the House though was whether or not the Constitutional Referendum Act should be amended to include formal legal provisions for the conduct of a non-constitutional referendum. Mr. Mitchell said that the issue was quite simple. People will be asked to vote yes or no. He said quoting the late Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, the issue was impatient of debate. He accused the Opposition of trying to sow confusion on something which is quite simple. He said their latest attempt to shift goal posts was to say that holding a constitutional referendum was unconstitutional. Mr. Mitchell scoffed at the idea. He said the government could find anyway to take a poll. It could have chosen to put people on Clifford Park and the Prime Minister could ask the yes votes to line up on one side and the no on the other and say “ the ayes have it”. The reason for the legal framework is to make sure that the resources of the Parliamentary Commissioner can be used and also to be sure that the process is seen as open fair and transparent. The photos show the reception of the remarks by Mr. Mitchell by members on his side. It seemed that it was pure delight. The photos are by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services. The video was captured by Apostle C. Allen Johnson.
MITCHELL AT EXUMA
Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, substituted for Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe at the 7th annual Exuma Business Outlook Seminar held at Sandals in Emerald Bay, Exuma. Mr. Mitchell spoke about the challenges and the opportunities of tourism in Exuma. Among the issues raised is the cost of electricity which Sands claims challenges their business in Exuma. Other issues include infrastructure and the training of the work force, cleanliness of the environmental and opportunities outside the Sandals property. You may click here for the full statement.
MARION BETHEL’S FILM ON THE SUFFRAGETTES
Let us say this from the beginning. Congratulations to Marion Bethel, who happens also to be the wife of Alfred Sears, the former Attorney General, for her excellent work with film director Maria Govan and Kareem Mortimer on the film Womanish Ways, Freedom Human Rights and Democracy The Women’s Suffrage Movement in The Bahamas 1948 to 1962. It was quite an engaging work. It was moving. It concretized the work of the ruling elites of The Bahamas that formed out of the dispossessed Africans who lived in The Bahamas in the 1940s, together with the mulattoes in the 1950s and ultimately the whites in the 1960s. The group was gathered at Government House, all now fully ensconced in power. Ms. Bethel is the daughter of a former Member of Parliament and grandniece of the first Bahamian Governor General Sir Milo Butler. In the audience were Glenys Hanna Martin, now a Minister of the government, daughter of a former Deputy Prime Minister and Governor General, Melanie Griffin, daughter of a former Senator and civic leader, now a Minister; Allyson Maynard Gibson, daughter of a former Deputy Prime Minister and granddaughter of the one of the leaders of the fight for women, and now she is a Minister of the government; Hope Strachan, granddaughter of Mary Ingraham, the acknowledged founder of the women’s movement, now she too Hope Strachan is a Minister of the government. They sat in a House which is the formal house of the replacement of the British colonial governor, now called the Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes. In his previous life, he fought to remove colonialism and racial inequality and now he is at the top of the heap. Throughout the room there are stories of the individuals who fought and won the fight for women. Effie Walkes, the Chair of the Women’s Branch, and the only woman to be there when the Black Tuesday events of 1965 were decided which led to Sir Lynden throwing the Mace out of the window of the House, was also in the screening room. It was simply a nice feeling of a job well done. Meanwhile though, the reality of life in The Bahamas sits right outside the gates of Government House. Do the ruling elites of today have a feel for what is transpiring in their own country and are they taking the steps to ensure that the social mobility which was possible under the old regime is still possible under their regime? Sitting at the back of the room during the screening of the film was Godfrey Kelly, now 84 years old. He is one of the last of the old white guard left. He participated in the film. One can be philosophical now. Change had to come. Mr. Kelly can tell you though how you lose power when you do not remain relevant to the times. Our task ahead is where we go from now building on what the suffragettes have done. Part of it Ms. Bethel says is to tell the story of what has been done so that it will inspire others. She has made an excellent beginning. The photos of the event are by Derek Smith and Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services. For more on the women’s movement in The Bahamas click on to www.womensuffragebahamas.com
By Derek Smith :
By Peter Ramsay :
P.M. TOURS BAKER'S BAY IN ABACO
Prime Minister Perry Christie went to Abaco on Monday 19th November to tour the Baker's Bay development on Guana Cay in Abaco. The development attract the very rich and homes go for ten million dollars or more. The development is going full steam ahead. The photo is by Peter Ramsay of the Bahamas Information Services. Later in the week tragedy struck during bad weather when a helicopter crashed killing one passenger and injuring three others.
ANTONIQUE STRACHAN WINS RISING FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AT IAAF
Congratulations to Antonique Strachan is the IAAF Risiging star athlete so named in Barcelona, Spain on Saturday 24th November 2012
The video is provided by the Ministry of Tourism.
TOMMY ROBINSON DIES
We were saddeded to learn of the passing of a national icon Thomas Augustine Robinson aka Tommy Robinson. The Prime Minister has issued a statement of condolences. Mr Robinson captured the public imagination when he represented The Bahamas at the then British Empire games in the 1950s and later at the Olympics. The national stadium was named after him. We extend condolences to his family. The Prime Minister's statement says:
I AM VERY DEEPLY SADDENED BY THE PASSING OF THOMAS AUGUSTUS ROBINSON. TOMMY DIED EARLIER TODAY AFTER ENDURING A LONG ILLNESS WITH ENORMOUS COURAGE, GRACE AND DIGNITY.
THIS IS A GREAT PERSONAL LOSS FOR ME BECAUSE TOMMY ROBINSON WAS ONE OF MY OLDEST AND DEAREST FRIENDS. FAR MORE THAN FOR ME, HOWEVER, TOMMY’S PASSING IS A GREAT LOSS FOR OUR NATION. AS THE PIONEER OF INTERNATIONAL TRACK COMPETITION FOR THE BAHAMAS, TOMMY WAS THE ELDER STATESMAN OF BAHAMIAN ATHLETICS. HE WAS A SPORTING HERO OF TRULY LEGENDARY STATUS. HE WAS IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF, REVERED BY ALL.
ALTHOUGH TOMMY HAD MANY STELLAR MOMENTS IN HIS CAREER AS A SPRINTER, HIS FINEST MOMENT CAME IN 1958 AT THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND COMMONWEATH GAMES IN CARDIFF, WALES WHERE HE WAS THE SOLE ENTRANT FROM THE BAHAMAS, CARRYING IN THE FLAG FOR HIS COUNTRY AT THE OPENING CEREMONIES ALL MY HIMSELF, WITHOUT EITHER COACH OR MANAGER. TOMMY WOULD GO ON TO WIN THE GOLD MEDAL IN THE 220 YARDS AND THE SILVER MEDAL IN THE 100 YARDS SPRINT. TOMMY’S PERFORMANCES AT THESE GAMES REPRESENTED A SINGULAR MOMENT IN OUR LIFE AS A PEOPLE. WHAT HE ACHIEVED HAD NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. IT FILLED US ALL WITH TREMENDOUS PRIDE AND UNITED US ALL IN JOY.
OF MORE ENDURING CONSEQUENCE, TOMMY’S VICTORIOUS PERFORMANCE AGAINST OVERWHELMING ODDS IN CARDIFF INSPIRED SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS OF YOUNG ATHLETES TO COMPETE ON THE WORLD STAGE. TOMMY PROVED NOT ONLY THAT WE WERE GOOD ENOUGH TO TAKE PART BUT THAT WE WERE GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN.
IT IS ALSO HISTORICALLY NOTEWORTHY THAT TOMMY WAS THE FIRST BAHAMIAN TRACK ATHLETE TO EVER PARTICIPATE IN THE OLYMPICS. HIS PARTICIPATION AT THE ROME GAMES IN 1960 WAS FOLLOWED FOUR YEARS LATER WHEN HE AGAIN MADE HISTORY BY BECOMING THE FIRST BAHAMIAN TO MAKE IT TO THE FINALS OF AN OLYMPIC TRACK AND FIELD EVENT.
IN ALL, TOMMY TOOK PART IN FOUR CONSECUTIVE OLYMPIC GAMES, BEGINNING WITH THE MELBOURNE GAMES IN 1956, FOLLOWED BY THE ROME GAMES IN 1960, THEN THE TOKYO GAMES IN 1964, AND FINALLY THE MEXICO CITY GAMES IN 1968.
IT ALSO A MATTER OF GREAT PRIDE FOR US AS A NATION THAT THE FIRST WORLD RECORD EVER ACHIEVED FOR THE BAHAMAS WAS SET BY TOMMY ROBINSON WHEN HE SET THE WORLD RECORD IN THE 300 METERS AT AN INDOOR TRACK EVENT IN CANADA.
TOMMY ROBINSON, IN WHOSE HONOUR OUR NATIONAL STADIUM IS NAMED, WAS ALWAYS SO SELFLESS IN HELPING TO GUIDE THOSE WHO CAME AFTER HIM. HE TOOK GREAT PRIDE IN THE ATHELTIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS THAT FOLLOWED HIM. HE WAS A TRUSTED AND ENTHUSIASTIC MENTOR AND GUIDE FOR THEM, AND BECAUSE HE HAD ACHIEVED SUCH GREAT SUCCESS LARGELY ON HIS OWN, HE WAS AN INSPIRATION TO THEM AS WELL.
THOMAS AUGUSTUS ROBINSON IS AN ICON FOR THE AGES NOW. HE WILL CONTINUE TO STAND AS A SINGULAR EXAMPLE OF THE GREATNESS THAT CAN BE ATTAINED IN ANY AREA OF HUMAN ENDEAVOUR, BE IT ATHLETIC OR OTHERWISE, WHEN NATURAL TALENT IS HARNESSED TO DISCIPLINE, COURAGE, DETERMINATION AND PATRIOTIC RESPONSIBILITY. I MENTION THIS LATTER QUALITY IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE WHEREVER TOMMY WENT IN THE WORLD AS THE STANDARD BEARER FOR THE BAHAMAS, HE ALWAYS DID US EXCEPTIONALLY PROUD. HE WAS A MODEL OF FIRST-CLASS DECORUM AND EXEMPLARY BEARING BOTH ON AND OFF THE TRACK. HE CONSISTENTLY REFLECTED THE VERY BEST OF THE NATIONAL CHARACTER AND, IN SO DOING, SET THE STANDARD FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
ON BEHALF OF MY WIFE, BERNADETTE, AND ALL MY FAMILY, AND ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF THE BAHAMAS I EXTEND DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY OF THOMAS AUGUSTUS ROBINSON, A GREAT BAHAMIAN HERO.
IN RECOGNITION OF TOMMY ROBINSON’S UNIQUELY IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF SPORTS IN OUR NATION, THERE WILL BE A STATE-RECOGNIZED FUNERAL FOR HIM, DETAILS OF WHICH WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN DUE COURSE BY THE CABINET OFFICE.
---------
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR Forrester Carroll writes this week from Freeport in the second of two parts on the proposed referendum and gambling in The Bahamas. This week he tells the country why he intends to vote “yes” when the question is put to the country by way of a national referendum on 28th January 2013.
Now here is why I intend to vote “YES” when the referendum is held on 28thJanuary 2013, and one thing for sure the Holy Spirit has not convicted me that my decision should be otherwise. First and foremost, with the sophistication of this type of betting nowadays (where it can be done from the comfort of one’s castle) it is simply impossible to be policed; secondly betting is conducted nowadays from one’s computer or cell phones; thirdly it is estimated that there are about 5000 persons employed in the industry (at present) and are we prepared to put them all out of work and in jail? Fourthly the act of decriminalization will not do any more harm (or damage) to our society or to individuals’ lives, as is being advocated by the hypocrites in their campaign against, than is happening already; but as a matter of fact those persons who may become victims and prey to the habit will have some hope of getting help given the rules and conditions under which the numbers houses will be required by law to operate. Fifthly, as it stands now, all this activity is done, for the most part and for all intents and purposes, underground and as a result both employers and employees are restricted when conducting their own personal business transactions daily; when it comes to their banking and other financial matters those involved feel obliged to remain mute, or lie, when they are faced with having to say from where their funds are derived. The sixth good reason, for saying “YES,” is the estimated revenue which is projected to be gained from the decriminalization of the business; it is obviously far too much to ignore and not seriously consider the matter. Seventh should it not be legalized, where will the 5000 persons employed in the business presently (and make no mistake about it-it is an industry) find other employment, especially the kind which would pay them comparable to what they are earning presently in the trade? I am not suggesting that any illegal activity we find which seems too difficult to control by the police that we should arbitrarily succumb to it’s legalization simply because it’s too difficult to police; I am absolutely not suggesting such a harsh dastardly cop-out at all; I am maintaining, however (in this particular case only), that since spending a dollar to purchase a raffle ticket is no different from spending the same dollar to purchase your chances on a web shop number (both are done with the hope of winning something far more valuable than the dollar spent) is no big deal and ought not to remain an illegal activity. If the Christian council maintains that there is a difference then I wish them to explain the difference to me; in both cases we are giving a dollar in the hopes of winning something more valuable than the dollar itself and it is hypocritical for the council to maintain a position otherwise.
There is separation of Church and State, here in this country, under our Constitution; the State crosses the line when it purports to subject the Church to its Stately Authority; conversely the Church crosses the line, as well, when it purports to subject the State to its religiosity and authority. There should always be mutual respect for each Institution’s role in our society; the Church, for its part, ought to adopt, as part of its mission, the giving of moral and spiritual guidance whenever State Authorities request them to do so; the Church’s role is not to infringe, in an authoritative manner, on the State; there are boarders and both should observe them. The Bahamas Christian Council is out of line, in my view, when it purports to mount an organized public relations campaign for or against any proposal by the State; they may wish to concern themselves, instead, with the conduct of their respective congregations and that of their clergy colleagues; from my observations, and my vantage point, there is a great need for their attention in that regard.
The Council promised that they will employ their secret weapon (prayer) in their struggle to have this measure defeated; well that’s fine because that is how they should have approached the matter in the first place. I should tell them, though, that they are not the only ones privy to this secret weapon and its power. I wish to say to the Council also that it is possible to pray amiss (or use this weapon incorrectly) and I put it which would pay them comparable to to them that they pray amiss all the time. God is not the author of confusion and He will not be mocked; He is not a puppy-show that His name should be used for nonsense anytime they feel like doing so; “for whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap.” Press conferences; demonstrations; verbal threats and holding up placards should not have been the council’s first plan of attack; prayer should have been their first priority and then maybe-just maybe-God would have led them in a different direction; but it’s like them to put the cart before the horse, always. The Council’s approach and their behavior is certainly flawed; it is inconsistent with what the conduct of the Church should be; their lack of performance, in similar cases, in the past makes one wonder if these leaders ever employ common sense and or wisdom before doing some of the foolish ungodly things they do. When Ingraham took the decision to use national insurance money to purchase shares in the beer producing Commonwealth Brewery this same council, which has a lot to say about the web shops, had nothing to say about it; they did not utter a word of objection so what, exactly, is motivating them now? I wish to remind the Council of a little lesson Jesus was obliged to teach his followers when, during His ministry on earth, He reminded them of the little matter of the separation of Church and State; “render unto Caesar (Jesus told them) the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things which are God’s.”
As a believer I have long since (in my mind) relegated the Bahamas Christian Council Organization to the dunghill of ignorance (no matter who the leaders were from time to time); the issues on which they ought to have hung their hats, and exerted their energies over the years, they didn’t. I would like to know (since they are so concerned about this trivial matter for which they are willing to fund a national campaign to defeat) why haven’t they seen the need to wage warfare against all those, within their own ranks, who are walking around with those collars around their necks, pretending to be Holier than thou, while playing games with their congregants’ children?
The FNM has indicated its intentions, as well, to oppose the measure; however we all know that their opposition is steeped in political partisanship; no matter what the PLP proposes-good or bad-they will oppose and so I rest my case on what they have to say.
I believe that (under the circumstances) it would be in the country’s very best interest to have the web shops licensed and paying much needed taxes (to the State) for the overall good of the country; as it stands, now, the country doesn’t benefit from the millions of dollars being generated daily and the reality of our experience is that the authorities are helpless to police the trade; we would be better able to control the activities when it is licensed and operating, legally, under the watchful eye of the State, governed by a strict set of rules and regulations and so, like I said, my vote (Lord willing) will be “YES, YES, YES.”
“Watch out for the people who put the cement shoes on your feet; they will be the same ones to blame you when you sink to the bottom of the ocean;” someone once said.
“Church and State should be separate; not in form only but in fact; religion and politics should not be mingled;” President Millard Fillmore, United States of America 1850-1853.
Thank you
Forrester J Carroll J.P Freeport Grand Bahama November 2012
IN PASSING
New Rector For St. Agnes Miami
Canon John Marquis Barry is retiring as the rector of St. Agnes Church in Overtown in Miami come Saturday 1st December. His last mass as rector will be held on that evening. The next day the new Rector Rev. Fr. Denrick Rolle, a Bahamian will be installed as rector. Fr. Barry is of Bahamian descent. The church has a congregation largely of people of Bahamian descent as members, some 3000 strong.
Why Did Dr. Minnis Refuse To Take Questions
There is an interesting political side note to Dr. Minnis' presentation before the Constitutional Reform Commission on Friday 23 November 2012. In his brief remarks to the media before the closed session, the opposition leader mentioned the current gambling referendum and the removal of discrimination relative to land based casino gambling.
As the Commission's Chairman Sean McWeeney introduced him and indicated to the media that Dr. Minnis would entertain questions from the media afterwards (as is the normal practice), Commission Member Carl Bethel whispered to the Chairman that Dr. Minnis was on a tight schedule and had to leave immediately afterwards. This struck us as odd because Dr. Minnis was there to discuss the views of his party with the commission - a process that takes several hours, so why was he leaving after addressing the media without meeting with the commission? Our take is that Carl Bethel made a decision not to subject his party's leader to further media scrutiny on this gambling referendum, given the incredible flip flopping and contradictory positions taken by the FNM on this wedge issue. Everybody was polite about it and the Commission Chairman played along, but Dr. Minnis is the only guest of the commission who refused to entertain questions from the media after addressing them. Dr. Minnis did better than the former Prime Minister though who refused an invitation to appear before the commission. Carl made a whimsical quip about fishing being somehow more important to Ingraham than appearing before the commission. Again our guess is Mr. Ingraham must still be smarting from May7th, Aug 31st, and Oct 15th of this year.
Joint Sitting Of Parliament
There will be a joint sitting of the Parliament on Monday 26th November to mark the occasion to the day of women exercising the vote for the first time on 26th November 1962. It will have been fifty years to the day. The speech that Dr. Doris Johnson attempted to read to the House of Assembly in 1959 but had to read in the Magistrate’s Court instead will be read by all female Parliamentarians on Monday 26th November. Congratulations to all women on a stellar accomplishment.
Raynard’s Birthday Happy birthday to Raynard Rigby, the former Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party. He celebrated his birthday on 22nd November. Having been born in 1969, that makes him 43 years old. Congratulations.
Helicopter crash in Abaco on Wednesday
Lance Valdez, a American who renounced his citizenship and lived at Lyford Cay, worth in the billions, is dead after a helicopter belonging to his logistics company crashed with him it in high winds at Baker’s Bay in Abaco. The crash took place in plain sight of the guests gathered there for the American Thanksgiving weekend on Wednesday 21st November. In the midst of life is death. Three others survived.
Edison Key Votes With The PLP
If this had happened to the PLP, the headlines would have been blaring all over the newspaper but instead only The Nassau Guardian recorded the fact that when the vote on the amendment to the constitutional referendum act was passed, it was passed with the FNM voting against it all save and except for Edison Key, the MP for South Abaco and FNM MP. Mr. Key said he will also be voting yes when the vote takes place. Deputy Leader of the FNM Loretta Butler Turner dismissed the political speculation saying that the party was aware of Mr. Key’s position. She told the Nassau Guardian that Picewell Forbes of the PLP was absent for the vote and he had indicated that he did not support gambling. She said that if the whip were on, she would have been concerned but since it was a conscience vote, nothing of significance turned on it.
Michelle Pindling’s Birthday Party
Michelle Pindling, the second child and oldest daughter of the late Prime Minister of The Bahamas Sir Lynden O. Pindling, celebrated her 50th birthday at her parent’s home Lynmar on Friday 23rd November. Joining the celebrations were her husband Robert aka Sandy, her mother Dame Marguerite Pindling, Prime Minister Perry Christie and another birthday lady Anne Davis, wife of the Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis.
Butch Stewart Seen With Ingraham In Exuma
The report is that Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister, was seen having lunch with Butch Stewart the owner of Sandals down at the Exuma property on Wednesday 21st November. They were said to be meeting with the Johnson and Johnson toiletry company that owns an island in the Exuma chain. No word on the subject. Mr. Ingraham is said to have gone back into the law business. Sandals are in the middle of fractious negotiations with The Bahamas government for marketing support. Sandals while having pumped tens of millions of dollars in the Exuma community remains at odds with many of the citizens of Exuma.
Minnis Before The Constitutional Commission
Hubert Minnis, the Leader of The Opposition, appeared before the Constitutional Commission headed by Sean McWeeney Q. C. on Friday 23rd November. No specific word on what he said but the FNM previously announced that they support the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women that now exist in the constitution of The Bahamas. The Prime Minister announced on Friday 23rd November at the showing of the Marion Bethel film Womanish Ways in honour of the 50th anniversary of women exercising the vote that the referendum will be held in June to settle the question.
Catholic Schools Are To Close
The Roman Catholic Archbishop Patrick Pinder announced on Thursday 22nd November that the primary schools St. Bede's and Our Lady’s will close at the end of the school year. It appears that financial issues are the main problem. The government has announced that it will lease the school properties in order to preserve their use for the community. These two schools serve two depressed communities: Kemp Road and Grants Town in New Providence.
Closed Season For Groupers
The Bahamas National Trust (BNT), the conservation organization in The Bahamas, has welcomed the government’s decision to close the season for the harvesting of groupers during their spawning time from 1st December until 28th January. The Bahamas is said to have the last aggregations of schooling groupers and the BNT has been encouraging a fixed ban in law to avoid the yearly argument with fishermen who want the banned time reduced. We welcome the government’s decision and we encourage the government to put in place a fixed period in law like the crawfish season.
Another Ingraham Sighting
Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was present at the Pictect Banka and Trust cocktail reception on Wednesday 21st November. Mr. Ingraham is said now to be practicing law. The present Prime Minister Perry Christie attended along with his Minister for Financial services Ryan Pinder.
How The Tribune Reported What Happened In The House On 21st November
How The Tribune Reported What Happened on Wednesday 21 Nov.
THE House of Assembly’s proceedings yesterday turned into a brief heated argument with some members swearing at each other.
Deputy Speaker Dion Smith was forced to intervene reminding parliamentarians that debates ought not to contain “unparliamentary” language.
The row erupted between government MP’s and a representative seated in opposition benches during Agriculture and Marine Resources Minister V Alfred Gray’s contribution to the second day of discussions on the Constitutional Referendum Amendment Bill.
The opposition MP, who was seated, shouted across the House floor that she was angered by statements published on a local website about her intelligence.
Another seated Minister replied speaking of the member’s physical appearance. The opposition MP responded snidely of the other representative’s sexual preference.
Speaking again, the opposition MP turned her sights on another MP and responded this time swearing loudly enough that the Speaker and other seated parliamentarians expressed disappointment. They said that proper language had to be used in the House.
Deputy Speaker Smith then asked the member to stand, but the MP did not. He repeated his orders, but was told by the member that his order would not be followed.
“You can’t order me to stand,” the member said.
Mr. Smith replied: “I am ordering you to stand because I am speaking to you. Can you stand please?”
“Member,” the Deputy Speaker said, “I am only asking you to keep your comments low enough that I do not hear. It came loud enough of some very unparliamentary language just now. I am asking you to keep your comments to a minimum. It’s interrupting.”
Just last week, the House had to be adjourned for 15 minutes after opposition MPs were several times chastised for unruly behaviour.
The break in proceedings came after Opposition leader Hubert Minnis stood in the House to respond to Prime Minister Perry Christie’s address on the referendum. The night before, his administration announced that the initially planned December 3, 2012 referendum would be postponed to January 28, 2013.
However, Dr Kendal Major interrupted Dr Minnis. He said he was not aware that the Opposition would be responding as the request had not been listed on the House’s agenda.
Dr Major then asked Dr Minnis to take his seat, but he remained standing.
Government MPs shouted that the Opposition was quite aware of House rules. He said they should wait until their allotted time to speak.
Speaker Major then called for a brief suspension to speak with Opposition members.
Just before the call for adjournment, an opposition MP who was seated, disrupted the Prime Minister’s communication.
Come Now Mr. Leader
The Leader of The Opposition Dr. Hubert Minnis ought to be shame of himself for putting into the public domain nonsense about a West African crime cartel that is putting money into the Bahamian banking system through the numbers business. That is utter rot. He should be more responsible. If he has evidence he should go to the police but not spread idle propaganda which will hurt this country just to score political points. Shame! His statement was made on 21st November.
Minister Of Tourism Welcome New Carnival Ship
NASSAU, The Bahamas - Minister of Tourism Obie H. Wilchcombe brought welcome remarks on board the Carnival Breeze ship as it made its inaugural call to Nassau, Bahamas on Friday, November 23, 2012 at Prince George Dock. (BIS Photo Derek Smith)
Bahamian Delegation To Travel To Turks And Caicos
A delegation of Bahamian officials are expected in the Turks and Caicos Islands for the swearing in of the new House
of Assembly in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday 28th November.
Commemorative Stamps Issued To Honour Suffragettes
The names Mary Ingraham, Eugenia Lockhart, Georgiana K. Symonette, Dame Albertha Isaacs, Dame Doris Johnson, Mabel Walker.were the names of the leaders of the women's movement in The Bahamas that brought about the vote for women in The Bahamas. They were honoured all posthumously with a commemorative stamp issue by the Post Office on Thursday 22nd November. Speaking on the occasion was the Minister responsible for the Women's Bureau Melanie Griffin. The photo of the event is by Derek Smith of the Bahamas Information Services.
Bishop Simeon Hall's Retirement Service
Deputy to the Governor-General Dame Marguerite Pindling, Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie along with Cabinet Ministers attend the Thanksgiving Service for Rev. Simeon B. Hall on Sunday, 18 November at the New Covenant Baptist Church, Independence Drive. (BIS Photo / Derek Smith)
When the flight attendant announced on Thursday 1st November over the speaker that Bahamasair wanted to welcome on board Sir Sidney Poitier, a cheer went up from the crowd on the plane. It was spontaneous and unrehearsed. The photo which we use as the photo of the week was taken at the Lynden Pindling International Airport at the official arrival with the police band and officers of the Force drawn up at the airport to meet him. You cannot see it but looking from above are the people peering through the window, ordinary men and women of The Bahamas waving, smiling clapping as the band played To Sir With Love.
Oswald Brown comments on the movies shown on ZNS over the past week of the work of Sidney Poitier, the Bahamian actor, writer and director. His favourite is Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner and here was his take on the film which appeared on his Facebook page on Wednesday 31st October.
Renowned Urologist Dr. Robin Roberts has called on Bahamian males, particularly Black Bahamian males, to have their prostates checked on a regular basis to save themselves from death and/or the painful challenges of living with prostate cancer.
|
We were saddeded to learn of the passing of a national icon Thomas Augustine Robinson aka Tommy Robinson. The Prime Minister has issued a statement of condolences. Mr Robinson captured the public imagination when he represented The Bahamas at the then British Empire games in the 1950s and later at the Olympics. The national stadium was named after him. We extend condolences to his family. The Prime Minister's statement says:
