BahamasUncensored.Com Archive

THE COURTS
There is a certain demeanour and content that one expects in the pronouncements of Judges. The Court is not the straw market. One expects that comments will be made that are constructive and that cannot stray into the political realm. Recently, it appears that some judges have decided to throw caution to the wind and dispense with this convention. Their comments seem to directly enter the political fray. You have seen our comments about the pronouncements of John Lyons, an Australian judge working in The Bahamas, who has decided that he will not hear any cases because he says his independence has been compromised because he has not been given raise in pay according to the method that he wants. At the moment he is reportedly on vacation in Australia, and happily so for us. We trust that when he returns to The Bahamas, he will resile from his position and begin to work again in the courts just as his fellow judges are doing.

On Wednesday 3rd January within the Court of Appeal, at the opening ceremony for the year and in the presence of the Chief Justice of Canada Beverley McLachlin, Wayne Munroe the President of the Bahamas Bar stood up to talk about judicial independence. He hung his hat on a well reasoned statement by the U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts about the independence of the Judiciary and the connection with the pay of judges. That is all Mr. Munroe needed to hear; any excuse so they can beat up on the system in The Bahamas and undermine its independence by talking the judiciary down. You know that we constantly disagree with this man Wayne Munroe who for our money talks too much and does not understand what the role of the Bahamas Bar President is supposed to be, that of protecting and supporting lawyers, not protecting and promoting Judges to the apparent exclusion of supporting lawyers.

There is a further concern about the remarks in the Court on that same day. It appears that the President of the Court of Appeal also has concerns about the independence of the Judiciary. She added that a Court cannot be a department, that it cannot be controlled by anyone. Well said and we agree; but why the comment? Who, pray tell, is trying to make the Court a Department and who, pray tell, is trying to control the Court? Reasonable minds would not have to wonder in which direction these comments seem to go. The fact that there is no evidence to suggest that the Government is in any way compromising the independence of the Judiciary does not seem to stop these comments from coming. In isolation therefore the comments do not make sense.

Then there was the frightening suggestion that there is evidence of vigilante justice in The Bahamas: “because we cannot be controlled by anyone and we must not even appear to be controlled, because when the perception is that the independence is gone vigilante justice takes over.” The Tribune then continued in its piece on page nine of Thursday 4th January that Dame Joan said that she had already seen evidence of vigilante justice in The Bahamas. The comment seemed to be that if the respect for the independence of the judiciary is lost then citizens will take the law into their own hands. Again, this begs the question, where is the evidence of this? Her evidence according to The Tribune is the funeral of several men who died while on bail. Hmmm!

All the branches of Government have a responsibility to ensure that this country runs properly. There is no value in talking down the value of our own institutions. The problems have to be fixed and it took the more reasoned language of the visiting Chief Justice of Canada who reportedly said in her brief remarks that there is great stock in a good relationship between Bench and Bar (Judges and lawyers). Well said but that cannot happen where there is a feeling within one party that they are charged up on some religious basis, infected with divine inspiration, have all the answers and appear to despise the elected leaders. There has to be a constructive attitude present in all of our institutions.

We salute the Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson for staying in the Court room in the face of the comments that we quoted above and more. The unfortunate drama would have been complete if she had simply left the room or not attended at all.

The Judiciary in The Bahamas has a lot of improving to do. Part of it is the salaries, part of it the quality of decisions on the bench, part of it is solving the lack of civility to lawyers when they appear before courts, part of it is the timely disposal of cases that the police bring before the courts, part of it is the bail issue, part of it is training and abilities of lawyers. Some of it has to play itself out in the public domain. Much of it does not have to play itself out there.

Next Wednesday the Supreme Court formally opens the judicial year. The Court of Appeal President will no doubt be reminded by this ceremony that the Head of the Judiciary is in fact the Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall. No doubt Sir Burton may have similar comments to make. No doubt they will be appropriately circumspect but we will get the point. The country knows for example that there has to be a new judicial complex built. The price tag last time anyone checked will be near to 70 million dollars. That has to be done no doubt but the Royal Bahamas Defence Force also needs new sea craft to defend the country. The price tag on that last time we checked in closer to 100 million dollars. While we are at that there is a need to radically improve the prison with a new state of the art building for maximum security. Last time anyone checked that was another 12 million dollars at least. And oh yes, the politicians that we hire to work for us have seen their own salaries remain static for over a decade. They continue to work to administer this unruly system and no one has yet addressed how the degrading of salaries affects whether or not you can attract the quality of politicians that you need to run this ever more complex country. And oh yes Wayne Munroe wants the salaries of the Judges to go up.

Loftus Roker, a former Minister of National Security, used to say in the face of all the complaints and the threats by various groups to demonstrate and protest and destroy the fabric of the country and its institutions in his time, his voice tinged with sarcasm: “Break it up. It’s your country. You can do what you like.” That comment goes to everyone from Dame Joan to the ordinary man on the street. No problem – let’s break it up since obviously there is no better way to deal with this problem of forging a better Bahamas. In the end we assure you, all of us will suffer for this exemplary selfishness.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 6th January 2007 up to midnight; 90,229.

Number of hits for the month of December up to Sunday 31st December 2006 at midnight: 321,956.

Number of hits for the year 2006 up to Sunday 31st December 2006 at midnight: 4,772,565

PM SPEAKS ON THE FLIGHT SERVICES ARRESTS

    All week long the anti Government newspapers of The Bahamas have been running on and on with this business of the five persons who were arrested in Ft. Lauderdale on suspicion of being involved in drug trafficking into the United States. The Attorney General Allyson Gibson spoke to the matter on one of the radio talk shows to say that the Government did not know about the arrests of the men. This position is one that is rejected by many critics of the Government. You have a man who is supposed to have sense like former President of the Senate Henry Bostwick going on the radio to say that the men had been kidnapped. There is no evidence to suggest any such thing.
    The facts seem pellucidly clear: the men went to attend a course in Ft. Lauderdale and were arrested on the suspicion that they were involved in drug trafficking. Their employer denies any foreknowledge of the arrest. It was a real course, with real people attending. But in this day and age never let the facts get in the way of a good story. The matter keeps being resurrected because the Americans and their representatives refuse to be quiet and keep getting up in the mix and inflaming the matter further. Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell confirmed that here is no evidence to suggest collusion of any government agency. He said that the Government was working to ensure that the matter of the security at the airport does not become a foreign relations problem.
    Prime Minister Christie has also spoken on the issue. He was attending a luncheon for the senior officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and he was widely quoted in the newspapers of Saturday 6th January on his take of the matter. Here is what was reported in his own words:
    “On behalf of the Government, I have made it a decided effort to enquire fully into all the details as it has become an important point of public interest. For me, as it involves the various agencies including private sector agencies, it has taken some time and I am now receiving reports that I need to. And hopefully, I will be in a position shortly to speak comprehensively and in detail to the subject… The Commissioner of Police has in writing advised me that he and his Force will never attempt to evade Bahamian law… For me it involves various agencies, including private sector agencies like Spirit Airlines. [Nassau Guardian Saturday 6th January 2007]
    “There are some agencies of the Government that ought to know [about the particular arrests of the five] if they are part of a joint investigation. I would be surprised is such an agency was not informed. I have made a salient effort to enquire fully into all of the details because it has become an important point in public interest that I think I should respond to as prime minister…
    “On the face of it, persons committing criminal offences in The Bahamas should be charged according to Bahamian laws and heard before Bahamian courts.” [The Tribune Saturday 6th January 2007]
Prime Minister Perry Christie at lunch with senior police officers in this BIS photo by Peter Ramsay

THE US AMBASSADOR RESPONDS

    In a signed piece appearing in The Tribune on Saturday 6th January 2006, here is what the U.S. Ambassador John Rood had to say in his own words in defence of the actions of the United States Government:
    “…The answer is quite simple and straightforward. The individuals were arrested under Title 21 U.S. Chapter 13, Section 841 and 846 under which it is “unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to manufacture, distribute or dispense a controlled substance or attempt to conspire to commit such an offence…
    “Many have asked why the individuals were arrested in the United States. The short answer is the individuals were arrested in the United States because they violated US law and were subject to arrest upon entering US territory. They entered the US territory on their own volition, and were not kidnapped, whisked away or any of the other vivid but inaccurate descriptions I have seen in the media. In fact, prior to the most recent arrest seven other Bahamians were arrested between March and November for trafficking drugs to the United States on flights originating in The Bahamas...
    “I also would like to address a serious and unsubstantiated allegation that has been raised in some quarters suggesting that the individuals arrested in the United States will not enjoy due process of the law or a presumption of innocence. The reality is that these individuals will have the same rights as any American citizen—they will be presumed innocent until proven guilty, they will have the right to an attorney, and they will receive a fair trial. As I noted in the media last week: “If they are found guilty they will serve time; and if they are found not guilty they will be set free.
    “Any suggestion that there is no presumption of innocence in the United States is simply wrong... All co-operation between the United States and The Bahamas on this matter has taken place within the ambit of law and with full respect for Bahamian sovereignty. The only people who have not respected national sovereignty are the drug traffickers…”

IN PASSING
Henry Bostwick Wrong As Usual
When you leave the political scene you should leave it and not try to pollute public policy issues that you don’t understand with a mishmash of intelligent sounding talk that is all sound and fury signifying nothing. No finer address could be made than to the statements attributed to J. Henry Bostwick, described once by Paul Adderley, the former Attorney General as a peripatetic political jack in the box, published in The Tribune Saturday 6th January. Mr. Bostwick claims that Bahamian law enforcement agencies are complicit in the US authorities abducting the five Bahamian men arrested in the U.S. He claims that this was an offence to the rule of law and a violation of the human rights of the individuals. He said the same thing applied to the manner in which Samuel Knowles was extradited from The Bahamas. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Bostwick knows anything abut the matters in question. He even has the basic facts wrong. But given his former position as Senate President and Leader of the Opposition some people might lend weight to what he says. The record should be straightened out by the Government.

The Prime Minister on Elections
Prime Minister Perry Christie told the press following a luncheon with senior police officers on Friday 5th January that he plans to call the elections in The Bahamas on or before the 2nd May 2007. He said that he is almost complete with his agenda and that the candidates for the PLP are almost chosen. This was reported in The Tribune Saturday 6th January.

FNM Set To Name Candidates
Rumours have it that Hubert Ingraham, the now Leader of the Opposition and head of the Free National Movement plans to name his candidates on Wednesday the 10th January 2006. He plans to use this as a distraction from the celebration for Majority Rule Day which he sees as a PLP celebration. Hmmm!

Carlton & Audrey Wright's Daughter Married
Congratulations to Carlisa Waters (nee Wright) who was married to Ashley Waters of Baton Rouge, Louisiana at a ceremony today, Sunday 7th January at the Centreville 7th Day Adventist Church. Congratulations also to the parents of the bride, Bahamas Ambassador to Cuba Carlton Wright and his wife Audrey

Bishop Nathaniel Beneby Buried
Church of God Bishop Nathaniel Beneby who died at the age of 81 was buried yesterday after a funeral service at the big Church of God in East Street. He was praised by both civic and religious leaders as an extraordinary leader. He is survived by his wife and nine children (two predeceased him) amongst whom are Nathaniel Beneby, the Head of Royal Bank in The Bahamas and Sheldon Beneby; a Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Margaret Palacious Dies
Mrs. Margaret Palacious, mother of Archdeacon James Palacious, has died. The Anglican community has been asked to pray for the Reverends James and Angela Palacious as well as the rest of the family.

Guardian Writers Should Know Better
We take issue with Guardian writers who in the last week have made some elementary faux pas. One of the writers, we really expect would know better and do better. She is female. The other is male, does not have a finely honed sense of journalistic ethics so nothing that he does surprises us. But we point out that in the case of the female, you should not say that a government minister “broke his silence” on a matter when in fact, you quoted the government minister within days of the first report on the arrest of the five men from Nassau Flight services in Ft. Lauderdale. Interesting, in the first story within days of the event you quoted a government minister. Then during the past week, you quoted that same government minister, but talked about his breaking his silence. How do you figure that? Than there’s the other fellow who does not know that when someone is knighted, a female, the correct address is Dame Joan as in Joan Sawyer, the President of the Court of Appeal, not Dame Sawyer. His editor apparently does not know any better. Not only did they not spot it in the man’s story but repeated the error themselves in an editorial. Further, it is simply unethical to use material from this site whether it is a “political blog” or not without attribution. It is simply the decent, ethical thing to do.

Careful of Fish Poisoning
The chat in the back channels around town is that if you are going out for dinner in The Bahamas these days be careful if you are being told that you are being served grouper. Grouper has been banned from being fished in Bahamian waters until the end of February. The talk is that rock fish which looks and tastes like grouper has been substituted but rock fish that is black finned is seriously poisonous and will leave you with a lot of shall we say trips to the bathroom or even worse. There have been reportedly several reports of this kind of fish poisoning. The yellow finned rock fish is fine but the black finned rock fish is bad for you. Grouper is distinguished by its inner red mouth. The rock fish has a white mouth. The problem is with a fillet of grouper you cannot know what fish you are actually getting.

A DIRECT U.S. LINE TO THE TRIBUNE?
    Paul Turnquest is a good writer and it now appears that he has even better sources. With the public very much against the incursion of the American Ambassador into the public debate on the matter of the arrest of the Nassau Flight Services men, the U.S. strategy seemed to go underground with anonymous sources providing what appeared to be inside information on what is happening with the developments at the airport. In what was billed as a Tribune exclusive, Mr. Turnquest reported on Wednesday 3rd January that the baggage handlers from Nassau Flight Services are being questioned in Miami by US interrogators to get the names of the persons in charge of a drug trafficking ring at the Lynden Pindling International Airport. Where does that come from and who would have an interest in getting it into the public domain?
    U.S. Ambassador John Rood has tried to frame the political debate in The Bahamas by shifting the emphasis to security and the fight against drugs. Last week we reported on this site that he alleged that the men who were arrested were drug traffickers. (Click here) This is something that the newspapers should not have published given the fact that there is a presumption of innocence and they would not have done so had the men been charged in the courts of The Bahamas. There are criminal penalties against newspapers for doing so.
    The Ambassador wrote a letter to each of the newspapers this past week in which he defended the presumption of innocence in the United States and said that each of the Bahamians will get all the rights under the constitution that a U.S. citizen would get. But he defended the fact that there was an operation to stop trafficking and to address the security concerns that continue at the Lynden Pindling International Airport.

MAJORITY RULE DAY
This Wednesday 20th January 20 will mark 40 years since the exercise of full adult suffrage in The Bahamas on the basis of one person one vote. That election led to the victory of the Progressive Liberal Party over the United Bahamian Party, the racial minority oligarchy that had run the country for the better part of the 20th century. The date is often seen as the time when the African majority in the country asserted its independence and rights over the minority white group.
In recent times, however, in an effort to broaden the appeal of the day it has been pointed out that it was more broadly based than race. In fact it is argued that whites were freed as well. The result of the change in the Government was unprecedented growth in the economy and the independence of the country. Sir Lynden Pindling now dead was the country’s first Prime Minister and is credited with leading the country to majority rule in 1967. Special observances will take place on the Southern Recreation Grounds, the home of the political revolution that took place 40 years ago this Wednesday.

RBC CHIEF SPEAKS ON LIQUIDITY

    Ross McDonald, the Head of Royal Bank of Canada for the Caribbean region, must have settled some nerves this week when he was quoted in the Nassau Guardian Thursday 4th January as saying that the liquidity problem is not about the poor lending practices of banks. There has reportedly been an 11.3 per cent surge in the growth of credit in the first 10 months of the year drawing down significantly the reserves to 400 million dollars. The Central Bank had asked banks to be careful how they are lending.
    The PLP should have been concerned and should be concerned about crimping credit as it faces a general election. James Smith, the Minister of State for Finance was quoted in The Tribune of Wednesday 3rd January as saying that the liquidity problem should have bottomed out in the first two weeks in December. He said that he expected that it would begin to stabilize in January and February.
    Ross McDonald said: “Many people believe undisciplined lending practices in The Bahamas are to blame for the liquidity problem, but that is not true about us (Royal Bank). The rate of delinquencies and defaults is the lowest it’s been in the last three years. This really is a temporary liquidity problem. As the investments now in the pipeline come on stream the situation will improve.” Mr. McDonald pointed out that the liquidity situation is exacerbated by the fact that there were large foreign exchange transfers out as a result of Bahamians buying assets formerly foreign owned and the high price of oil.

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM
Bank of The Bahamas Helps Junkanoo

Prime Minister & Minister of Culture Perry Christie (centre) and Junkanoo officials accept a copy of the programme for New Year's Day Junkanoo from Bank of The Bahamas Managing Director Paul McWeeney, left, sponsors of the booklet.

Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return to the top of the page.

MAJORITY RULE DAY

It is time to make 10th January a national holiday. The National Cultural Development Commission appointed by Prime Minister Perry Christie and headed up to last year by the late Winston Saunders made a recommendation to the Government that falls short of that. They believed that the 10th January should be a day of solemn reflection. The question is; what would we be solemnly reflecting?

The answer to the question should of course be obvious to any Bahamian. This was the day when at long last the descendants of the slaves became the masters of their fate. The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) the party that represented the progressive, nationalist movement in the country took the reins of power on their behalf. The significance of that date remains clear in the minds of those who lived it, and the dwindling number of those who were actors in it, but not so clear it appears to the rest of the population who now make up the majority. They have other fish to fry.

One informant of this site reported a conversation that he had on the day in question with a forty-ish Bahamian professional. He asked him whether not he was celebrating “Majority Rule”. The professional in all seriousness asked: “Is that some kind of Junkanoo group?” When he was told what it was, he replied “Oh! Okay, Yeah!” It didn’t seem to make much impact.

The PLP itself has only been half hearted about this matter. While trotting out the mantra ‘those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it’, the Party itself does not remember 10th January until they are right up on it. It shows in the planning for events. The event this year while more national in scope did not get the numbers it ought to have gotten. That really appeared to be a function of planning. The run up should have been from the last quarter in the previous year, and the event itself should be incorporated in some form in the schools. The younger people have to embrace this if there is to be some traction in the national memory.

One thing that this year’s celebration seemed to capture is the bipartisan note that this is a matter that belongs not just to the PLP but also to the FNM. In fact, the Leader of the Opposition went to great pains to point out that of those who are left alive who were MPs on the day of the victory itself, who were all PLP at the time; most of the survivors are today FNM. The nationalist movement split in 1970, three years after the victory. So men like Sir Arthur Foulkes, Maurice Moore, and Warren Levarity were PLP and today they are FNM. They all take pride in their work in the struggle. Even the fringe groups seemed to be united in the universality of the theme for all Bahamians.

Of course, Mr. Ingraham can never quite stay on track. He represents the rump of the United Bahamian Party which though it had a large number of black supporters was an entirely white party in its leadership. The son of the first Premier Sir Roland Symonette under the United Bahamian Party is now the Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement. Mr. Ingraham walks on egg shells on this matter. It is clear from the press that he is trying to bring the FNM and its rump UBPs along to accept the fact of black majority rule as a fact that must be accepted. Strange that it is still a problem today and that it is still a problem for certain of the descendants of the old UBP. They want “their" country back.

It was remarkable to see these words printed in a story in The Tribune of Friday 12th January. It should explain to the PLP what the FNM is up to. A source, described as an FNM insider, said: “The thing is no one believes that Majority Rule or even Black Nationalism is solely a PLP thing anymore. You can be an FNM and celebrate Majority Rule and Emancipation just as well as the PLP… This has been part and parcel of the FNM strategy heading into the next election.”

The article went on to say: “The PLP has lost steam with the National Health Insurance issue because it is supported by the FNM a well as the celebration of majority rule.”

The strategy then is to seek to become more PLP than the PLP and to paint the PLP like it was the FNM. The PLP came to power in 2002 shifting to the right. It appealed to Bahamian nationalism, including the nationalism of white Bahamians. It was not a black nationalism. Now the FNM taking a page from the PLP's book is shifting to the left. The gamble is that the young people will not see the FNM as the purveyor of our nationalism but the protector of it.

Thus the FNM is seeking to be seen as the protector of the five Nassau Flight Services baggage handlers. They are seeking to say that they would have protected the handlers from getting arrested in Miami. This is a lot of nonsense. There is a lot of fiction going around on the whole event. The intelligentsia is busy feeding the fictions and not listening to the truth of the story. The truth can only be what it is, not what we want it to be. The FNM would have made no different decision, if indeed it was the Government’s decision to make on the matter.

What is all this round about talk for? Clearly the PLP should watch it on these issues. Secondly, we think that Rev. Fr. Sebastian Campbell, the outspoken Anglican cleric who is Chair of the National Heroes Day Committee is quite right that 10th January should become a holiday. He argues that all the other days in the march of the African majority for freedom are holidays and this one should also be a holiday. Emancipation Day is a holiday. Independence Day is a holiday. He thinks Majority Rule Day should join them. Only the PLP will do it, can do it and we should do it without delay, before the end of the month of January. A simple bill making it a holiday will end the debate about how it will be institutionalized or become national in its effect and not just PLP. If you make it holiday then there is no doubt that the whole nation embraces it.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 13th January 2007 at midnight: 81,132.

Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 13th January 2007 at midnight: 158,752.

Number of hits for the year 2007 up to Saturday 13th January 2007 at midnight: 158,752.

National and PLP leaders are shown at ecumenical services on the historic Southern Recreation Grounds held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Majority Rule;
Ministers of Government with Dame Marguerite Pindling outside St. Agnes Church after a special Majority Rule service there.
Bahamas Information Services photos by Peter Ramsay

MAJORITY RULE DAY IN THE HOUSE
The House of Assembly met this past week on the day of Majority Rule itself. Members all held forth on the day and the debate was led by Bradley Roberts, Minister of Works and Utilities, who made and extensive presentation tracing the roots of the day. Please click here for Minister Roberts' full address.

INGRAHAM TALKS NONSENSE
    The things that public figures say when they get up on a platform, or have a microphone in front of them. Hubert Ingraham, the Leader of the FNM, has had his share and each week he gets more ridiculous as his campaign for reelection gets more difficult. Mr. Ingraham has been shocked at the defections in Freeport and elsewhere in the FNM and he has been desperately calling up various defectors from his cause throughout Grand Bahama to come to the party’s aid. The answer is, no can do.
    Hubert Ingraham took his parade of FNMs or shall we say his charade of FNMs down to a rally in Long Island on Thursday 11th January. He talked more fool down there than enough. How the PLP is losing ground in Nassau and Nassau is FNM. How he has chosen his candidates with great efficiency and this has shown how the FNM is better than the PLP. But it is interesting that while he claims that he has chosen the candidates, he did not announce the names. Then he said how he is going to revamp the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), something he failed to do in the ten years that he was in office. He says that he will put a Port of Entry in Deadman’s Cay, Long Island, something he failed to do in ten years in office. Then he says that he will return service to Stella Maris by Bahamasair. He just neglected to mention that it was his administration who in ten years allowed the airport to run down to nothing and become a safety hazard. They knew about it and did nothing about it. It was Transport Minister Glenys Hanna Martin who brought the thing to a head by fixing the runway.
    The only thing that stops Bahamasair from flying into Stella Maris is that the buildings are too close to the tarmac and safety rules do not allow it. The buildings will be moved and the airport will reopen to Bahamasair.
    Now let’s switch to Hubert Ingraham in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 10th January. Mr. Ingraham spoke about majority rule. He started off by giving a definition that was fatuous. He said that by talking about majority rule, he meant the majority of Bahamian voters who caused the change in Government and not the majority based on race. This is clearly stupid. Later in this address he said that the minority and their policies caused Bahamians to seek change. Who was the minority if they were not a racial minority? Strange and silly man! As Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell pointed out, the facts are the facts. Let’s not try to rewrite history. The Government was a white minority Government and the majority of people were black. No amount of legalisms can change that fact. Talking fool is indeed a very serious thing.

THE CHIEF JUSTICE HAS A LOT TO SAY

    The heads of public policy in The Bahamas often seem to be conducting a dialogue of the deaf. Nowhere is this more the case than in the Judiciary. They seem to like to use public occasions for remonstrating one another, the public and our country for its present state. All is complaint and woe is me. This is wrong and someone should put a stop to it.
    The official opening of the legal year got started on Wednesday 10th January with the usual pomp and pageantry of a church service at the Christ Church Cathedral and the march down the public street to the court to hear the Chief Justice announce his year in review. As they passed by in their different coloured gowns, their differently shaped wigs, one had the urge to boo them as they moved along the road. The Judiciary and its leaders are not high on the list of anyone’s favourites these days: lawyers are not, the Judges are not, the Bar Council is not. Each is saying that it’s not their fault that things are the way they are. Little progress is being made in getting it going.
    The Attorneys General under the PLP have been labouring to get the system to move but in return all they have gotten from the Judiciary is one complaint after another about longstanding issues that during the days of Hubert Ingraham none of them had the temerity to even raise. Now it appears it is all the PLP’s fault, even as the PLP tries to fix it. These days the Chief Justice and his counterpart in the Court of Appeal are sounding more and more like the now Foreign Minister when he was the critic under the fig tree in front of the Supreme Court with his own review of the Judiciary each year.
    The heads of the legal bodies are not to be critics of it. They are supposed to be solving the problems not attacking one another and the institutions. What ends up happening is that you have series of monologues from the executive, the judiciary and the verbose Bar President Wayne Munroe. The monologues all talk past one another, and then they adjourn for cocktails. Next year this time, we will hear the same thing again.
    The Attorney General Allyson Gibson was able to say that a site for the Judicial Complex has been identified on the site of the existing Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She defended the swift justice programme and made the point that it has the support of the Bahamian people. You may click here for the full address. Mrs. Gibson has done an excellent job amidst a sea of hostility.
    The Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall said that the government had ignored what he and Justice Jeanne Thompson said after the last election court case that the legislature needs to further define what “ordinary residence” means in the statutes before another petition to set aside an election comes about. Then he went on we think to attack the executive for inaction. His language was so tortuous that is one is often not quite sure what he is saying but presumably he was attacking the Attorney General because she smacked down the silly ruling of Justice John Lyons that there is no judicial independence in The Bahamas because Justice Lyons can’t get the raise that he wants in the manner that he wants it. Perhaps you can understand and interpret this: “It is regrettable that persons within and outside the legal system had abandoned the intellectual and communal fecundity toward which their education, training and experience should impel them and had instead succumbed to the temptation to the smug self satisfaction and the cheap popularity of the rhetorical onanism.” Now onanism is a just a fancy word for masturbation. Presumably most people know what that is and as far as we can tell the only words that come close to that would be the ruling of Justice Lyons. But you go figure!
Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall is accompanied on the march by Dame Joan Sawyer, President of the Court of Appeal in this BIS photo by Peter Ramsay

THEY ARE JUST PLAIN WRONG
    Let’s start from the top and say the public debate over the sovereignty of The Bahamas is a healthy debate. Everyone welcomes the debate. What is not often understood is that it is only by means of the adversarial that we can often develop good public policy. One of the critics during the week that has passed was able to cause a headline in the local press that the Prime Minister should have kept quiet in the matter of the arrest of he Nassau Flight Services Baggage handlers. You may click here for previous comments on this matter. We stand by all earlier comments made on this matter.
    It is always curious how a government gets a demand to act in both directions. When the matter first began, the demand was when was the Prime Minister going to speak. Now the demand is that he should keep quiet. The comment was made in response to the Prime Minister’s comment that an investigation is being conducted to find out what happened.
    So far, what we know on the public record is that Spirit Airlines were informed by the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) of the United States who are responsible for security of US airlines and the pre clearance facility in the Bahamas, that its baggage handlers were not certified by the TSA. That the airline would face substantial fines if they did not come into compliance. This matter was communicated to the company Nassau Flight Services and as there has been in the past for other persons a course was organized to certify the handlers. Twelve travelled to participate in the course. Five were arrested and charged for conspiracy to import cocaine. All five have been indicted and arraigned and have pleaded not guilty in a court in Miami. The critics say they do not believe that.
    The critics say that Nassau Flight Services had to know that this was a trap. There is no evidence to suggest that this is true. They say that Nassau Flight Services gave the men one way tickets. The evidence suggests that is not true! They say Nassau Flight Services did not really have a course. The evidence is that is not true! They say because it was an undercover operation, and the Bahamian police were working with the US authorities, that the Bahamian police knew that this was a trap and that they colluded to have the men go on a false course in the US to avoid the inconvenience of extradition from The Bahamas. The evidence again suggests that but for the fact that police are often involved in joint undercover operations; the police were not involved in a sting operation. Then they say that while they are all against drug trafficking the men should have been arrested in The Bahamas if the Bahamian police were aware that crimes were committed here. That is of course “if”. The Commissioner of Police has gone on record to say that it is not true to say that the police evaded the laws of The Bahamas or that they knew about the arrest in advance.
    Someone said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs should have known and done something about it. Again: false! One can only know what you know and the evidence is that the Minister did not know and neither is he responsible. They are asking why the silence of the Minister of National Security? But these are the same critics who are saying that the PM, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the AG and the Minister of Transport should have remained silent. So they should be praising the DPM for her silence to follow their logic. The truth is in this dispensation: never let the truth interfere with a good story. The facts are what they are. They are stubborn. The Prime Minister has ordered an investigation. Presumably he will report to the country at the appropriate time. Now actually is a good time for all to be silent on this matter. All the rest now would be sound and fury signifying nothing.
    Certainly any governmental action is ultimately the responsibility of the Government but knowledge means, did you know? Not, ‘are you responsible’. The state of the former is clear in the matter. On the latter, the conventions are clear. The facts are what they are and the devil take the hindmost. As for whether the Bahamian people are stupid or not as has been suggested; the only ones to suggest that are the critics. The government never said that and it is counter intuitive to think that they would support such a sentiment. Presumably the Prime Minister has to make difficult political judgment between what the facts actually are what the public is being led to believe. Not an easy job. We agree the Bahamian people are not stupid and the Prime Minister being one of the Bahamian people is not stupid either.

IN PASSING
No Uproar In The PLP
The Tribune’s stories have become more and more unreliable. The stories have become more and more anti PLP without any worries about being balanced or truthful. In their rush to compete with the down market Punch newspaper they have scarified the truth. They carried a story on Wednesday 10th January. The headline: PLP UPROAR OVER SMITH REMARKS – FORMER MP’S COMMENTS STUN MANY SENIOR PARTY MEMBERS. The comments that Mr. Smith made on the Jones and Company Show last Sunday this time were reportedly that some members of the PLP had a disconnect between themselves and their constituents and also that many had come to office only for their glamour and power. First hardly anyone heard the show. Secondly the comments are not earth shattering or revolutionary. Thirdly, there was no uproar in the PLP about it. The story was simply made up by The Tribune.

Mitchell on Sovereignty

    Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell spoke in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 10th January addressing the issue of sovereignty of The Bahamas. The subject has come up in criticisms over the handling by the Government of the arrest of the five Nassau Flight Services in Ft. Lauderdale. Mr. Mitchell was furious. He said that he told some persons who had asked him about it that if The Bahamas declared war one day and started a draft to go fight the United States, he was certain that when he looked around saying “Forward!” not a soul would be behind him. Here is some of what he said in his own words:
    “There is no one in this government that is afraid to stand up for Bahamians. I have heard some of the most outrageous statements, libellous statements. A libellous statement was in fact made against the Member of Parliament for Englerston accusing her of something that carries the death penalty in this country, simply because people disagree with the manner in which a matter of public policy was handled. People have to be very careful about the accusations that you make about those who come to public service. This is not a joke! I am prepared to go to any lengths, to bear any burden, pay any price to defend this country.”
    Later Minister Mitchell spoke at the Rotary Club filling in for the Prime Minister on the subject Majority Rule. Click here for the full address.
Bahamas Information Services photo by Tim Aylen

George Wilson Speaks
George Wilson who was arrested and tried in the United States for certain fraud offences and was acquitted has come to the defence of the United States in the matter of the arrest of the five men from Nassau Flight Services. Mr. Wilson believed that they would get justice in the United States.

Rodney Moncur Clowns
The class clown is at it again seeking daily headlines in the matter of the five persons arrested in the United States from Nassau Flight Services. Mr. Moncur called on the Foreign Minister to resign or be sacked. This call is made in a matter that has nothing to do with the Foreign Ministry. Trust Mr. Moncur to get involved in something that is not his business that he does not understand. His track record is that of getting it wrong at every turn.

Condolences To Keod Smith
Prime Minister Perry Christie attended the funeral of the mother of Mt. Moriah (PLP) MP Keod Smith on Saturday 13th January. Condolences to Mr. Smith and his family.

Clearing Mechanism To Be Chosen
The Clearing House Banks have announced that they might finally be close to choosing a vendor to supply the automated machinery to clear cheques in The Bahamas. Cheques are still cleared by hand in The Bahamas and routinely local cheques take four days to clear.

The Bahamas In International Trade
Reports indicate that the Government is moving to develop a policy toward relations with the European Union. It appears that an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is to be signed with the EU before the end of the year to protect the markets of Bacardi, Polymers of Freeport and Paradise Fisheries in the European Union duty free. The EPA requires The Bahamas to open its markets on a duty free basis as well.

PUBLIC HEALTH SCHOLARSHIPS

Minister of Health and National Insurance Sen. the Hon. Dr. Bernard J. Nottage on January 12, 2007, with recipients and stakeholders during a scholarship presentation by Keiser University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA). The two scholarships are the first awarded from the institution for Bahamians to study in the field of Allied Health. Pictured in the front row, from left, are PHA Managing Director Mr. Herbert Brown; Mrs. Frances McPhee, mother of recipient Mr. Jeremy McPhee; Community Relations Co-ordinator for Keiser University Mr. Ben Shank; recipient Mr. McPhee; Minister Nottage; recipient Ms. Ebony Bullard; Ms. Montrae Drammeh, Ms. Bullard's mother and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health and National Insurance Mrs. Elma Garraway.
BIS photo: Derek Smith

JUNKANOO MEMORIES

Government Ministers Fred Mitchell and Bradley Roberts are pictured among the audience at the recent Boxing Day Junkanoo Parades. Bahamas Information Services photo by Peter Ramsay

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Performance of the PLP is second to none
    Thanks for the opportunity to comment on issues of national importance. There is compelling evidence that the performance of the Christie administration is second to none and represents promises fulfilled in Our Plan. Any number of comparative analyses with the Ingraham led FNM government can easily verify these salient facts.
    The much heralded economic policies and performances of the FNM produced only $4 billion in Direct Foreign Investment during 10 years of governance and reduced the unemployment to single digits to December of 1998, a full six years and second term into office. Further, economic growth did not reach or eclipse 4% until at least 1998. It is important to note that the FNM entered the 1997 election with a national unemployment rate of 11.5%.
    The PLP by contrast attracted more than $18 billion in direct foreign investment in four short years, $13.6 billion of which are in various stages of construction and more than $528 million have been awarded to Bahamian contractors. This has resulted in the reduction of the unemployment rate to 7.6% and more than $3 billion being pumped into the Bahamian economy to date. Additionally, tourism revenues are at record levels (more than $2 billion) and government revenues are at record levels (in excess of $1.18 billion). Even though this level and quality of performance dwarfs that of the FNM, they continue to insult Bahamians by describing these achievements as “foul” and “off track”
    The fiscal discipline of the PLP government has resulted in the reduction of the GFS deficit to 2.4% of government budget in 2005 and has contained inflation to within 1.74%. When one considers the fact that the FNM left more than $325 million in unpaid bills when demitting office in 2002 and the economy contracted in 2001 (by 1.5%) and again in 2002 (by 0.5), this achievement is all the more remarkable. The Ingraham led FNM deferred payments to creditors for an astounding 8 of the 10 years they were in office. 1999 and 2000 were the only years that this practice of “fiscal perversity” was discontinued. That’s an appalling record by any standard.
    The monetary policies of the PLP resulted in external reserves reaching some $US 850 million, the highest in the country’s history. This is significant because it not only secured the Bahamian dollar, but it allowed the National Insurance Board to diversify its investment portfolio into international securities markets and it allowed Bahamians to own a larger share of the Bahamian economy through the purchase of foreign owned companies such as Shell Bahamas Limited, City Market food store chain, and the Caribbean Bottling Company. This government pushed for further Bahamian economic ownership by creating both the Venture Capital Fund (CVF) and the Domestic Investment Board. The CVF received a capital injection of $3 million and has used up about $2 million to date. The Domestic Investment Board has approved more than 32 projects.
    This focus on Bahamian participation is also evident in public works. The New Providence Road Development Project was decentralized and Bahamianized where the government separated this massive project into several “slices” and issued contracts to local Bahamian companies. This was after the initial foreign company suffered bankruptcy and abandoned the project. The redesign and reconstruction of breached seawalls in Nassau, Cat Island, and Eleuthera further underscore this government’s commitment to Bahamianization where Mr. Roberts convinced the Inter-American Development that Bahamians were qualified to execute the entire scope of this project. This is in stark contrast to the FNM hired the WSP International Consultants to design and supervise the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in Nassau, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama, Abaco and San Salvador after hurricane Floyd visited us. This focus on greater Bahamian participation, ownership in this economy, and an abiding respect for indigenous talent, underscores the relevance of the populist policies of this government. Prime Minister Christie understands that public policy must necessarily and accurately reflect the collective will, aspirations, desires, and sensibilities of the Bahamian people and his government continues to deliver in that vein.
    These populist policies are again evident in the government’s aggressive housing initiative. The FNM is of the view that the private sector should provide for the housing needs of the Bahamian people. This is a stated policy in the face of a waiting list at the Ministry of Housing of more than 8,000 applicants. This FNM policy is decidedly irrelevant as it places the dream of home ownership beyond the grasp of a significant number of Bahamians. The PLP by contrast believes that the government should intervene to offer relief for the weaker among us and has constructed just under 1,500 housing units in the past four years; this initiative has also fueled and stimulated the construction industry. The government has gone further in waiving the stamp tax for first time home buyers and doubling real property tax exemption from $100,000 to $200,000. In purely statistical terms, 826 building permits were issued during the first 5 months of 2006 totaling $313.4 million compared to just 680 approvals for all of 2001. Clearly the policies of the PLP are more relevant, compassionate, and palatable and its performance more impressive. Those on the side opposite insist that nothing is going on in this town and that the achievements in construction are “foul” and “off track”. This creates a serious conflict and problem for the FNM as they would have to explain to the Bahamian people why the vast expansion in the construction industry and the government’s effective housing initiative is a “double-edged sword” and clearly not in their best interest.
    Investor confidence in our country remain at an all time high, not only in the more popular destinations of New Providence, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Abaco and Exuma but also in other islands like Mayaguana, the Berry Islands, Crooked Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador and others which are still in the pipeline. The country is being transformed one island at a time. BTC has connected 14 islands with a 10 gigabyte fiber optic cable that is the Bahamas Domestic Submarine cable System. It provides internet connectivity and 200 channels of cable television. With the construction of 11 reverse osmosis plants in many family islands, this government has both modernized many family islands and reversed a trend of family islanders migrating to Nassau in search of jobs and better economic opportunities; the government has brought those opportunities to them. Kudos to the Christie administration for their transformational leadership and I fully expect this administration to be returned to office based purely on the strength of their record of achievement to finish the transformational effort.
Elcott Coleby

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM
New Port Development Signing

Prime Minister Perry Christie (right) this past week attended the signing of a contract between a Dutch firm and the Ministry of Energy and the Environment which provides for a study on the development of the new container ships port facility on the southwestern tip of New Providence. Mr. Christie earlier said that the project can now be seen to be full speed ahead. The development of the port facility is closely linked with the major redevelopment of downtown Nassau, which will be facilitated by the movement of container facilities from Bay Street.

Sir Baltron Bethel

Minister of Financial Services & Investment Vincent Peet last week held a gala luncheon in honour of newly knighted Sir Baltron Bethel, who is a senior advisor to the Ministry. Sir Baltron is shown greeting Prime Minister Christie who attended the luncheon. BIS photo: Tim Aylen

Bahamas Information Services photos by Peter Ramsay [Except where noted]

Click on a heading to go to that story; press ctrl + home to return to the top of the page.

THE MOTLEY CREW
Hubert Ingraham, the FNM Leader and his band of pilgrims, came into Fox Hill and put on quite a show on Thursday 18th January. By the estimates there were some 200 to 400 people there. The newspaper said that there were a thousand there. Whatever the number, you can expect that in a country where the Opposition has some 35 per cent of the support of the country regardless of how the cat jumps, there will be crowds following them. This was their best shot. They will not have another opportunity to come to Fox Hill again in these numbers to support a novice candidate who is set to lose and who they are putting up as canon fodder in order to tie the Foreign Minster Fred Mitchell down in his constituency.

The Free National Movement has now announced that it has three candidates. They are a certain Jacinta Higgs (excuse us we should say Doctor Higgs and don’t you forget it) for Fox Hill, Elma Campbell Chase for Elizabeth, and Pauline Nairn, their candidate for Yamacraw. The three are expected to go down to defeat.

Having said that, no one underestimates the nature of the task that is before the PLP. The interesting thing was that the campaign appears to be focused around Fred Mitchell. The rhetoric was quite pathetic. They raised Juanianne Dorsett, the discredited previous representative, up from the political dead. Let the dead bury the dead. She was defeated in 2002 and on the platform on Thursday last she engaged in the most slack and scurrilous attacks on Mr. Mitchell. It appeared almost like she was a scorned lover, the extent to which she carried on.

The candidate herself: Jacinta Higgs (excuse us Doctor Higgs and don’t you forget it). What can you say about her? First, she can cause her subject and verb to agree. Kudos to her. That means she has an education. Secondly, she dresses well but somehow the African garb that she wears; well juxtapose that against Brent Symonette, the Protestant European archetype – it just does not seem to mesh together. There is nothing more you can say about her. It appears from all else that she said that she is living in a complete fantasy world and not in touch with the reality of what has happened in Fox Hill where she claims to have lived over the past four years. She keeps talking about computers and more computers. The lady obviously does not have a clue what the PLP has done in Fox Hill over the past four years to computerize Fox Hill. Doctor Doctor! She is quite simply a lost soul.

The silliest of all was Carl Bethel. When you read what Carl Bethel has to say, you have the quick urge to call up the London School of Economics from which he got his degree and ask them how did this happen. He ran on and on and on like a stuck record about visas being issued he says by Fred Mitchell to illegal immigrants. Just think about that for a moment. Does a Minister of the Government issue visas? The answer is no. Secondly, if an immigrant has a visa, then he is no longer illegal. He has presumably entered the country lawfully. But let’s not play word games. This man is lost. It is he who interfered with the visa issuing process and caused the predecessor of Mr. Mitchell to issue visas to Haitians who were either his clients or his constituents.

As for Mr. Ingraham, he stuck to his carefully prepared script of the do nothing, incompetent PLP. He claimed that he will make one earth shattering innovation when he becomes Prime Minister and that is he will take all the answering machines out of the Government so that you can complain to people and not machines. That got a big cheer from his crowd. However, one wonders if he actually thought how a huge bureaucracy like the Ministry of Education is going to manage if the voice mail is taken out of the Ministry. You go figure!

The rally in Fox Hill was the best attempt by the FNM to intimidate Fox Hill voters. It did not work. Through the live radio broadcast, you could hear the PLP’s supporters shouting “PLP ALL THE WAY!” When Mr. Ingraham went to speak, the microphone went dead and people started to shout “The PLP pulled the plug”.

The other report was that there was hardly a Fox Hill person to be found in the rally. There were lots of people from out of town in Fox Hill that evening. This is the typical rally crowd that follows the FNM and its leader everywhere that he goes. The rally failed to intimidate anyone in Fox Hill.

Then what is also worth mentioning is the appearance last week Tuesday 16th January on a radio talk show on More FM. On that talk show Michael Pintard, a former FNM candidate and a still FNM activist who works on behalf of Montagu FNM MP Brent Symonette to get him re elected had a let’s bash Fred Mitchell session for two hours. A radio station has to ask itself how it can say that two FNM politicians talking to one another on the show makes it a fair show. Then you had orchestrated calls like Henry Bostwick and Janet Bostwick, both FNMs , both former MPs, both of whom have gone down to defeat calling into the show to predict what is going to happen in Fox Hill, the two of them equally as lost as the other about the real facts of what is going on in The Bahamas. The amusing part though was the time that they all spent talking about what was said on bahamasuncensored.com about her and about her campaign. To our knowledge the name of Jacinta Higgs (excuse us again we mean Doctor Higgs and don’t you forget it) has never been printed on this site before today. She and they have a vivid imagination.

So if that is the best that the FNM can bring to Fox Hill, the PLP should know that their job now is to press ahead. They should not look left or look right. Fox Hill is a PLP seat. The candidate that they have brought to Fox Hill is weak. She has an ugly aggressiveness that has to be stamped out. The FNM is running the same campaign that they ran in 2002. They are trying nastiness and innuendo. They are playing to a cult of personality. We think that it is instructive the comment that Fred Mitchell made to the press last year on the matter of the Fox Hill seat. He told the press that it is not about him. It is about the PLP. He expects that the PLP will win the government and he is running not as Fred Mitchell but as a PLP.

For our money, the PLP is the better party, the stronger party and the PLP should be and will be re elected in Fox Hill and around the country.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 20th January 2006 up to midnight: 95,844.

Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 20th January 2006 up to midnight: 254,596.

Number of hits for the year 2006 up to Saturday 20th January 2006 up to midnight: 254,596.

INGRAHAM’S ATTACKS ON CHRISTIE

Of all the criticisms that Hubert Ingraham could come up with about Perry Christie and his government, the best he could do was to say that Perry Christie has no white people in his Cabinet. This comment came as he went up to Fox Hill to launch his Nassau campaign on Thursday 18th January. He said that Sir Lynden had a white man in his Cabinet and so did he but Mr. Christie does not. Now isn’t that interesting.
We did not know that the decision on whether you went into the Cabinet was based on whether you were white or not. So one supposes that there were some deserving black men or women who could have gone into Mr. Ingraham's cabinet but because they were not white they did not end up there. Interesting thing Hubert. Let’s remind him of another fact: he fired the white men in his Cabinet before they could finish their terms. Wonder how that adds up. Martin Luther King said he longed for the day when people would be judged not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. Remember that Hubert! We long for that day as well.
FNM leader Hubert Ingraham is pictured in the background behind Prime Minister Perry Christie at the recent ecumenical service for Parliamentarians. BIS photo: Peter Ramsay

ELECTION SEASON COMING

The cartoonist Stan Burnside of the Nassau Guardian is usually a good barometer of what is happening in The Bahamas. We have been saying that this is the silly season in The Bahamas, a kind of second Christmas as voters get the impression that they can use the threat of their vote or votes as the case may be to get favours from Members of Parliament. There is no request that is not too outrageous to make. We present a sample of the cartoons on the subject from the past week by Stan Burnside and published in the Nassau Guardian: Thursday 18/01; Friday 19/01; Saturday 20/01.

THE HONORARY CONSUL IN INDIA

Asish Saraf is the first Honorary Consul appointed by The Bahamas to India. Mr. Saraf is an Indian businessman who runs the family’s steel business in India. He is well connected, well travelled and well schooled. He has served as host to the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell in India and to the wife of the Prime Minister Mrs. Bernadette Christie. He is well connected in Indian society.
The Foreign Minister reported that over the past months several Bahamians have travelled to India on scholarships offered for short courses by the Indian government. The Minister said that he hoped that with Mr. Saraf's appointment that this will lead to the expansion of trade and investment opportunities with India. The photo of the presentation of the Commission and the Letter of Appointment was made on Thursday 18th January at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bahamas Information Services photo: Raymond Bethel

AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON EU VISAS

The Bahamas government and its Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell were pleased as punch this week to announce that the European Union and its Schengen Visa group have decided that The Bahamas should be taken off the list of countries that will require visas. This is to be done once the countries Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados and St Kitts and Nevis conclude visa abolition agreements with the EU on a bilateral basis. Knowing the European Union this probably means months and months if not years of further jumping through hoops to actually see the fruits of the decision but the Minister in making the announcement at a press conference at the Ministry on Monday 15th January indicated that this was significant progress. During the press conference he also discussed the public service and the five baggage handlers of Nassau Flight Services arrested in Ft. Lauderdale just before Christmas. You may click here for his full opening statement.
Minister Mitchell is shown briefing the media in the diplomatic room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. BIS photo: Eric Rose

CARL BETHEL – SUCH A DULL BOY
You can see it now, the silly supercilious grin on his face as he speaks. What he speaks is usually trash, and a hodgepodge of intelligent sounding phrases that really are mumbo jumbo and garbage. He suffers terribly from the syndrome of someone who wants to be important but just can’t be taken seriously. And no wonder why. Carl Bethel has continued this stupid, asinine campaign on the question of the issuance of visas to non nationals coming to The Bahamas. The evidence is that nothing improper has been done in the issuing of visas. Yet he persists.
Carl Bethel came to Fox Hill at the FNM’s political rally to claim that Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell was responsible for issuing visas to illegal migrants to enter The Bahamas. Let’s reacquaint him with some facts. In a statement issued to Parliament Mr. Mitchell told the country that he has not issued one single visa since he became a Minister of the Government. Never interfered, or in any way directed that a visa be granted to any particular individual. Carl Bethel cannot himself say that. The evidence is that when he was a Member of Parliament and Cabinet minister, he wrote the then Minister responsible for visas his colleague Janet Bostwick to request that she grant visas to six Haitians at the behest of constituents. So the real culprit in helping to get visas in The Bahamas for Haitians is Carl Bethel not Fred Mitchell. So perhaps Mr. Bethel ought to give whatever information he has on any illegal activity in this area to the police and then go get a life.

A GIFT FOR FOX HILL
Barclays Bank PLC is withdrawing from The Bahamas after 60 years. They used to be a clearing house bank but then shut down their store fronts and invested in First Caribbean with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Now they have withdrawn from the Caribbean all together. As a parting gift to The Bahamas, they have donated $100,000 to the Ministry of Health. The money is to be used in the promotion of primary health care at the Fox Hill Clinic in the constituency of Foreign Minster Fred Mitchell. The presentation was made by the Vice Chairman of Barclays Bank to the Minister of Health Dr. Bernard Nottage. The MP for the area Fred Mitchell thanked the Minister and Barclays for the gesture and said that it was an investment in the future of The Bahamas. You may click here for Minister Mitchell’s full remarks.

IN PASSING
The Christian Council’s Message

Dr. William Thompson, the President of the Bahamas Christian Council, in his message to politicians at the special service on Wednesday 17th January (see photos of the week) admonished the political leaders to keep it out of the gutter and not to engage in mudslinging. We are certain that this is right. However, the chances are no one will observe it. Case in point: the FNM sat in church on Wednesday and the very next day, their now candidate Jucinda for Fox Hill, their former MP Juanianne engaged in the most virulent and nasty set of personal remarks about the now MP for Fox Hill. Should anyone be surprised then if his supporters are not inclined to answer back? The Christian Council has not condemned the FNM for their remarks in Fox Hill.
Schoolchildren clasp their hands in prayer as they perform during the parliamentary ecumenical service at Evangelistic Temple on Collins Avenue. BIS photo: Peter Ramsay

The Anglicans Meet in Nassau
Archbishop Drexel Gomez, the head of the West Indian Anglican Church, has been appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to head a Committee for the Covenant in order to find a way forward for the Anglican communion worldwide to find a way to stick together after the disagreements over same sex relations including marriages and blessings and the ordination of homosexual priests and the consecration of homosexual Bishops. The Archbishop went to great pains to explain that homosexuality was not central to the remit of the Committee but that did not work with the press. The headlines said that the Anglican Church was at a crossroads. Meanwhile, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance in The Bahamas headed by Erin Greene spoke out asking the Anglicans to make a decision that respected the right of all people. Later she advocated that the proposed new legislation on domestic violence be extended to protect partners in same sex unions. These remarks all brought condemnation from established quarters although, the Archbishop did admit that no one would be turned away from the church. Rex Major, the retired pastor of Grace Gospel has announced that he is leading another rally in the public square to call for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Don’t Abuse Larry Wilmott
Doctor Doctor Jucinda said in her address in Fox Hill that she now has Larry Wilmott, a former Chairman of the Progressive Liberal party’s branch in Fox Hill, with her. It is true that he could be seen walking with her up to the podium. But the FNM ought to be ashamed of themselves using an innocent young man for their nefarious purposes. We believe that Larry Wilmott is still a PLP at heart. We believe that he is being used by the Higgs family for whom he works. It is quite shameful for them to use their employee in that way to force political choices which if he could do better he would not choose. Mr. Wilmott knows that he has a job waiting for him at a good salary with full benefits whenever he is ready to leave the Higgs Family employment.

Why Juanianne Is So Vex?
Just before the last election a relation of the former Member of Parliament Juanianne Dorsett in Fox Hill for the FNM was seen distributing some pretty nasty pamphlets about the now representative in the homes in Fox Hill. It was four o’clock in the morning. Caught red handed. Later in the day, he was desperately trying to put a walking track around the park in Eastwood. Too late. But when he saw the now representative coming, he threatened Mr. Mitchell with physical violence only to find that Kendal Demeritte aka Funky was in the car and he went running back with his tail between his legs. Late that night at a public meeting Mr. Mitchell responded. Mrs. Dorsett has been smarting ever since. But no one can point to any particular thing that was done during her term as representative. So why would the FNM drag her out of the political grave to the rally on Thursday night in Fox Hill? We go no further, but to warn Jucinda (aka Doctor Doctor) and her rabble rousers that there is only so much of this nastiness that PLPs will take before they strike back and strike back hard. Be warned and act accordingly.

Major Bahamian Investment?
Back channel talk is that a group of Bahamians is planning an groundbreaking project in mariculture to farm conchs, crawfish and grouper in one of the islands. Our sources tell us that Bahamian marine scientists now working overseas are to be encouraged to return home and maximise the educational and scientific benefits for The Bahamas. The group is also said to be studying how to access speedy inter island transport to support the project. It would definitely be a boon in both areas. Closed season on conch, crawfish and grouper? No problem. A quick weekend in another island? Solved. We live in hope.

The True Story on Jucinda – Doctor Doctor
The nomination for the FNM in Fox Hill was obtained on the back of Danny Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson was nursing the constituency and was being told by the same doctor doctor that he should run for the constituency and she would support him. Without a word, things changed when she received a call from Hubert Ingraham, FNM leader. She left Danny Ferguson in the lurch and accepted the nomination without even a thank you sir. That is just one example of how she behaves. There are others and over time, we will tell the story.

The Fox Hill Community Centre
Jucinda (excuse us Doctor Doctor) the FNM candidate in Fox Hill said on Thursday 18th January that the present representative Fred Mitchell took up the foundation that was left by a previous committee that wanted to build a community centre in Fox Hill. Yes indeed. The foundation had trees growing through and through it and was useless. In its place, the present representative Fred Mitchell has put a two million dollar structure. Not bad eh, doctor doctor. Noticeably absent were any funds from the doctor doctor in the community project.

Giving Out Job Applications
Jucinda (excuse us doctor doctor) the FNM candidate for Fox Hill told her mainly out of town audience that the now representative for Fox Hill Fred Mitchell PLP was seen giving out government job applications in Fox Hill. How silly can you get? First, no one can seriously believe that a minister of the government was giving job applications? What is known is that the public pays for a constituency office in Fox Hill. At that office it is possible to get forms of every kind that are public forms, not private forms and so are available to any member of the public from any government office. Jeesh! That is supposed to be a political point? Get a life woman!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Hubert Ingraham
Dear Editor,
It always amazes me when you accuse Hubert Ingraham of representing the “rump” of the now defunct UBP. [See last week's comment on Majority Rule Day - Ed.] History will record that the Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham was a former chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party, a former member of parliament under the banner of the same party and a cabinet minister in the Pindling led PLP administration for the term 1982-1987. History will also record that until Ingraham’s removal from the cabinet in 1984, he was a member of the PLP’s inner circle and a member in good standing. It never ceases to amaze me the immature approach that you take when someone doesn’t support the PLP’s point of view. I would have hoped that at this point in our political development that political punditry would have been elevated to a higher level.
Vaughn N.P. Scriven

Here are the facts: the FNM was formed out of the eight so called dissidents led by Cecil Wallace Whitfield who were PLP up to 1971. They amalgamated with the United Bahamian Party, then headed by the now Sir Geoffrey Johnstone. They called themselves the Free National Movement and went into the election as such. When the results came in in 1972, only the seats held by the UBP members were saved. All the seats held by the former PLPs went down to defeat. That remained the case until 1977 when two seats were won by the FNM in Grand Bahama. The seats that the FNM has today; and the support that they have today comes still from the remnants of the UBP. Thus he represents the rump of the UBP. Now, he was also a PLP, but the fact is the FNM and Ingraham today represent the rump of the UBP. – Editor

Baha Mar Signing

Sir Baltron Bethel, Government negotiator, joins Prime Minister Perry Christie and top officials of Baha Mar at Cable Beach for the announcement of its major partnership with Starwood Hotels and Harrah's Casino. Baha Mar principal Sarkis Izmerlian gestures toward a scale model of the multi billion dollar multi use tourism facility.

North Andros High

Minister of Financial Services and Investments and Member of Parliament for North Andros and the Berry Islands Vincent Peet takes Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie on a tour at the North Andros High School, walking past the new three-classroom block nearing completion, as they arrive to attend the school's Agriculture Science and 4H Club Rally and Exhibition on Monday, Jan. 15, 2007 in Nicholl's Town, North Andros. BIS Photo: Tim Aylen

Goat Pepper Hot!

Prime Minister Perry Christie holds up a goat pepper at the Agriculture Science and 4H Club Rally and Exhibition on Monday in Nicholl's Town and explains to students that along with good farming techniques, they must have a proper marketing campaign to succeed in the global market. BIS Photo: Tim Aylen

Mayaguana Welcome

Prime Minister Perry Christie travelled to several Family Islands in the south and southeast of The Bahamas this weekend. On Saturday, schoolchildren turned out in Mayaguana to welcome the nation's chief executive in fine style.

Financial Services Industry Potential

In the island of Exuma, Prime Minister Christie attended the annual retreat for industry stakeholders in the financial services sector held by The Bahamas Financial Service Board. Mr. Christie is shown as he graphically demonstrates the potential of the industry to raise its contribution to the gross domestic product of the country.

Bahamas Information Services photos by Peter Ramsay [Except where otherwise noted].

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THE INGRAHAM PLAYBOOK

Stan Burnside's 'Sideburns' cartoon is from The Nassau Guardian of Monday, 22nd January, 2007

A confidential briefing to this site by sources closes to the Hubert Ingraham campaign has given us an insight into the thinking of the Free National Movement as it goes into the General Elections. They have hired again their foreign consultant from Trinidad and Tobago, fresh from his success in St. Lucia’s general election. This man who was here before and who was expelled after complaints from Ministry of Tourism employees is back again and he has supplied the Free National Movement with his same old playbook. It has now become the playbook of Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister who comes naturally to its adoption because all he knows is smear, scam and scandal. The idea is to dispense with the truth and get down into the gutter and make charges and allegations, and with the help of the anti PLP media, he hopes that it will stick.

The consultant works for the ruling party of Barbados; the ruling party of Turks and Caicos, where elections are being held on 9th February; the ruling party of Bermuda; the Opposition party of Trinidad and Tobago; the ruling party of St. Lucia. Everywhere he goes the playbook is the same: dispense with the facts and seek to smear, scam and corrupt the legacy of the party in power. Say it enough and people will believe it. He has had two defeats: one in Trinidad and Tobago, the other in The Bahamas. He will be defeated here in The Bahamas again.

It is important though for the intelligentsia who read this site to get a clear set of descriptions about what is in the playbook. You can imagine already as you see what has been happening over the past weeks in The Bahamas that the modus operandi is apparent. Look at the issues that have been manufactured and distorted by a combination of the slanted press and Free National Movement operatives at work: the arrest of the baggage handlers in the United States; the extradition of Ninety Knowles, the saga of Anna Nicole Smith, the money stolen from a Government Minister; and this past week talk about visa selling. In each case, the allegations of impropriety have been false, misleading and downright lies. But in each case, the Free National Movement and its operatives repeat the story over and over again. That is why the Progressive Liberal Party that has suffered from a lack of a co-ordinated response over the past four years needs now to move.

This is important because the recent feedback coming from the public is that when faced with questions as to whether any of these events will cause a change in the vote of the voter who voted last time for the PLP, the answer has been no. In other words after four years of a relentless attack on the PLP and its leaders for being corrupt, indecisive and anything but a child of God, the effect has been negligible on the voters and whether they will vote PLP.

Someone once pointed out that a day is a lifetime in politics and it is clear from the result that we now see that may not always be the case as voters get right down to the moment and have to make the decision about who will govern them for the next five years. The PLP must fight back and fight back hard.

For example, on the question of who should you trust to run the country and to protect The Bahamas, the answer is clearly the Progressive Liberal Party. Can you imagine Hubert Ingraham having the temerity to suggest that he is more trustworthy than Perry Christie? Let us examine just this one story. You remember it was Hubert Ingraham who called Tommy Turnquest, then Leader of the Free National Movement and Dion Foulkes who was then vying for Leader of the Free National Movement, the day before their leadership elections for that party. Mr. Ingraham assured both men that he was not running and that he was indeed out of politics. That was Sunday night. On Monday morning, Mr. Turnquest learned to his great embarrassment and chagrin that indeed Mr. Ingraham without so much as a by your leave had entered the race for leadership and Mr. Turnquest discovered that all along Mr. Ingraham had been undermining him from the day he became the leader of the Free National Movement.

As we write this, we are sure the Bahamian people can remember in 1992 the Prime Minister; one Hubert Ingraham at the time, told them that once elected to office, he would only serve two terms or ten years. The two terms and the ten years went too quickly and the sweetness was too sweet and he wanted to stay. At the risk of breaking up his entire party which he did, Mr. Ingraham tried to stay but was forced out. His party lost with his handpicked successor at the helm. Tommy Turnquest took the defeat like a man. Mr. Ingraham took the pension of a Prime Minister and the salary of a Member of Parliament. So he sits; supposedly retired, collecting the big fat pay checks of an MP, Leader of the Opposition and retired Prime Minister and then says we can trust him and trust his word as he collects both a fat salary and a fat pension. Trust is not a word that you can nor should connect with Hubert Ingraham.

These are just two reasons that any well thinking Bahamian has to think about in the face of the question of who to vote for in the next general election. Hubert Ingraham is clearly and demonstrably not a man of his word. He cannot be trusted in politics, he cannot be trusted to run The Bahamas. It is as plain and simple a decision as that.

So his fancy Trinidad consultant can come into the country with his nasty playbook all he likes. They can come to smear and scam and corrupt all they like. The PLP is going to fight back and fight back hard to hold on to the dream of the Bahamian people to build a successful nation. It is most important that the PLP turns back this tide of negativism and wins the next general election again in 2007 whenever that election is held.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 27th January 2007 at midnight: 102,165.

Number of hits for the month of January up to Saturday 27th January 2007 at midnight: 356,761.

Number of hits for the year 2007 up to Saturday 27th January 2007 at midnight: 356,761.

MITCHELL SLAMS CARL BETHEL

    As we went to press last week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell was holding a press conference on the park in Fox Hill. He was answering the yet again spurious charges by one Carl Bethel, former Attorney General and now an FNM Senator, who claimed that there was a visa scam at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He produced no evidence and was unable to make any fresh allegations other than those he made in September of 2005. You may click here for the full response of the Minister to those 2005 allegations;2 . If you read today’s Comment of the Week you will see that this is part of the FNM’s smear campaign. Mr. Ingraham himself returned to the theme when he opened his candidate’s headquarters in Exuma on Friday 26th January (See Ingraham Shows His Hand in Exuma below).
    During the week, Carl Bethel again responded that he had in his possession a ledger from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showing that the Minister had approved visas for Chinese nationals to come to The Bahamas. The Minister told the Bahama Journal that anything could be put down on paper and that in fact he himself had released the ledger into the public domain back in November 2005. The fact is no one could produce one shred of evidence that the Minister ever directed anyone to issue any visas. Further, even if the Minister did, Mr. Mitchell argued, it was in his discretion to do so and a complaint would arise only if something unlawful or improper were done in exercising the discretion. He said that as a matter of practice he did not interfere with the issuance of visas at all.
    The Minister had charges of his own to make. He said that in responding to his press conference of last week, Carl Bethel indicated that he had indeed helped a blind constituent and did him a favour to enable the granting of visas for six Haitians to enter The Bahamas. The Minister said that in the circumstances where it turned out the individual was on a stop list for being involved in human smuggling at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was Carl Bethel who wrote in support of the application of the individual who ought to go to the police and explain his actions. Mr. Mitchell said that until Carl Bethel went to the police he would have nothing further to say on the matter. You may click here for the full statement of the Minister in the House of Assembly.
File photo of Hon. Fred Mitchell MP

A VIOLENT INCIDENT IN FOX HILL
    The Member of Parliament for Fox Hill and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell is expressing concern about a violent incident that took place in the Fox Hill community on Thursday 25th January. The incident left a young boy in hospital with a gash in the head and another under arrest with the police looking for a number of adults.
    The police reported that two students, one from the Doris Johnson High School and the L. W. Young Jr. High School, were engaged in a fight that ended with bodily harm and then adults set upon the alleged aggressor. When the fight was over and the family of the young man charged had gone to secure his release, the home of that family was set on fire and burned beyond use.
    The Minister said that the community had reported to him that they knew who burned the house down and that as a result of concerns in the community, he had asked the Urban Renewal office and the Police to increase surveillance and patrols in the area and to seek to intervene on the social side to avoid any further tensions. This is the same area which experienced death under similar circumstances some two years ago. The Urban Renewal Programme came to Fox Hill in an attempt to end the cycle of violence that seemed to be occurring. (See the photo of the week)

PUBLIC MEETING IN FOX HILL

    The Fox Hill Branch of the Progressive Liberal Party is to hold its monthly branch meeting outdoors this week on Monday 29th January at the Fox Hill parade. The meeting that begins at 8 p.m. and which will be carried live beginning at 8 p.m. on GEMS Radio (105.5 FM) and Love97 FM (97.5 FM) for three hours will feature: Ministers Shane Gibson, Allyson Maynard Gibson, Glenys Hanna Martin, Leslie Miller, Melanie Griffin and Fred Mitchell; MPs Frank Smith, Michael Halkitis and Ron Pinder and Senator Yvette Turnquest. The meeting will be chaired by Branch Vice Chairs Charles Johnson and Tammy Ferguson. The meeting is open to the public.
    Last week we reported how Hubert Ingraham brought his entire FNM leadership and entourage up to Fox Hill to introduce three of his candidates, but the press was mainly interested in Jacinta Higgs, (sorry we should say Doctor Higgs and don’t you forget it, she has a Ph D you know). The FNM’s candidate made certain spurious allegations that were refuted on this site last week. The PLP has advertised the meeting as telling the truth and speaking the facts. There are also ads running on the radio advertising the meeting. Click here for what it sounds like.
    Party Leader Perry Christie is not billed as a speaker but he may make an appearance as a surprise guest. This is designed to test the PLP's war machine to see just how ready it is to get going when called upon to do so. It is not billed as a rally but it will be interesting to see just what numbers turn out to a branch meeting when compared to the FNM’s show and tell in Fox Hill the week before when they fired their best shot, used all their ammunition and missed.

INGRAHAM SHOWS HIS HAND IN EXUMA
    Joshua Sears who was the PLP’s last Ambassador to Washington is now officially a candidate for the Free National Movement. Hubert Ingraham is spending enormous resources seeking to get Mr. Sears elected at the expense of other campaigns that are winnable. For example, Zhivargo Laing who was thought to be his blue eyed boy is not to get the financial resources that Mr. Sears will get.
    Mr. Sears up to last year when he resigned in August was denying to Prime Minister Perry Christie that he would be a candidate for the FNM. It means that he was holding on to the bitter end for the contract to come to a natural end to collect a salary and all the while he was speaking about running for the FNM with the other side. What else did he tell Mr. Ingraham while he was Mr. Christie’s Ambassador? That is again why it is laughable for the FNM to advertise that you can’t trust the PLP but you can trust them. How can you trust Joshua Sears to be faithful to the cause of Exuma?
    Mr. Sears did not have an auspicious beginning on Friday 26th January when he officially opened his headquarters; his speech was slow and halting and fell flat. There were 200 people at the meeting; at least 40 of them were flown in by Larry Cartwright, the FNM’s MP in Long Island. He asked the Long Islanders who are doing most of the construction in Exuma to register and to vote FNM. Noticeably absent from the opening in Exuma was the mother of Joshua Sears. Mr. Sears comes from a well known PLP family.
    It appears that the Deputy Speaker of the House Anthony Moss, also known as Jomo, is on his way to a second term in the House of Assembly. What with water in Rolleville, water coming to Williams Town and the cable going into Rolleville by the end of March, the major infrastructural work is done and Mr. Moss can now concentrate on honing his people skills to get the youth vote.

THE ISSUE OF AIRPORT SECURITY
    During the past week, you had the spectacle of the perennial class clown demonstrating in the streets for the resignation of the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. On Wednesday 25th January, Rodney Moncur led a group of 16 people with placards saying that five men who were arrested in Ft. Lauderdale when they went to attend a course were kidnapped. Ever since this arrest, the Government of The Bahamas has insisted that they were not a part of any effort to spirit Bahamian citizens out of the country to the United States, flouting the extradition laws.
    Mr. Moncur continues with his campaign despite the evidence to the contrary. He, like Hubert Ingraham, seems to have this visceral hatred of Fred Mitchell that is quite interesting and says much more about their inner insecurities than it says about the Foreign Minister. We start from that point because the arrest of the Nassau Flight Services men is integrally tied up with the story of the security at the Nassau International Airport.
    Bahamians would be surprised if they saw the list going into five pages of Bahamians who have been arrested for trafficking drugs through the airport over the past year. It must stop.
    The United States Ambassador John Rood has had a relentless campaign over the last year about the security at Lynden Pindling International and the Grand Bahama International Airport. These are two gateways to The Bahamas that have what are called pre clearance lounges. This means they have facilities that allow the United States Customs and Border Patrol to clear passengers and flights to go into the United States without further formalities into the US upon landing. But if you get a chance to read The Bahamas’ police briefs you will see that with alarming frequency baggage handlers and others have been able to get bags with cocaine and huge amounts of cash on to the airlines after they have cleared for take off. In some cases, the planes are turned back on the Bahamian ramp, and passengers are taken off and searched. In other cases, the plane is allowed to go on its way and passengers searched secondarily in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale and in most cases drugs are found on the plane.
    This is not just an issue for the United States; this is an issue for The Bahamas. The main industry of this country depends on the security of the international airports. Drug trafficking is one thing and that is bad enough but what happens if an explosive device gets on board the aircraft and something catastrophic occurs as a result? Where would The Bahamas be then? So that is the nub of the problem.
    Rodney Moncur can make all the noise he wants about sovereignty and kidnapping, but really he is only providing cheap entertainment for the public. The real problem is security at the airport and stopping the flow of drugs on to the planes leaving this country. Glenys Hanna Martin, the Minister of Transport has been working with teams at the Airport Authority and with the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) of the United States to address comprehensively the problems. The holes are being plugged and The Bahamas Government is clearly committed to solving this security issue at the airport.

DPM Honours Police In Eleuthera
Cynthia Pratt, the Deputy Prime Minister, was in Governors Harbour, Eleuthera on Friday 26th January to present awards for good service to those who serve the Royal Bahamas Police Force in Eleuthera. Also attending were the Minster for the Public Service Fred Mitchell, the Speaker of the House of Assembly Oswald Ingraham, the Commissioner of Police Paul Farqhuarson and the Chairman of the Police Staff Association Inspector Bradley Sands.

House Chaplain in Hospital
Pastor Tom Roberts, lead Pastor at the East Street Gospel Chapel and the Chaplain of the House of Assembly has been hospitalized. He underwent a triple by pass operation on Wednesday 24th January. He is said to be recovering satisfactorily.

Sir Sidney Poitier Book is Oprah’s Choice
    Sir Sidney Poitier’s book ‘The Measure Of A Man’ has been chosen as Oprah Winfrey’s book of the month. Congratulations to Sir Sidney on this accomplishment. It will mean significant sales for the book. Published originally in the year 2000, the book rose to the New York Times best seller list at the time and is now likely to return to the best seller lists.
    The book tells the story of the first fifteen years of Sir Sidney’s life in The Bahamas before he left for the United States. The actor was born in Miami to parents from Cat Island and became the first black African American; and the first and only Bahamian to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in the film ‘Lilies Of The Field’.
    We encourage everyone, especially Bahamians, to go out and buy the book. It is worth the read and is a ‘must have’ for every Bahamian home and library.

Ingraham Losing Control?
    Hubert Ingraham is not having such an easy road within the FNM’s Council. People are getting tired of his petulant behaviour. The Council believes that he has lost faith in the ability of the party to win the next election and is refusing to debate the issues that are relevant to the country.
    Down in Inagua there has been a dispute between the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the community over the behaviour of Defence Officers at a night club. The Council demanded to know why he has not commented on the matter. Mr. Ingraham’s retort was that it was a PLP problem. He said that if he commented on it one side or other would get upset and he was going to leave it to the PLP to solve. That upset the Council because it is yet another example of how he refuses to debate the PLP on public issues.
    Down in Exuma where he introduced his candidate Joshua Sears on Friday 26th January, deposed Leader Senator Tommy Turnquest spoke and told people as he spoke that Larry Cartwright, the MP for Long Island, was a man you could trust and Joshua Sears was a man you could trust (Hmmm!) but in listing others, most people noted how he left Hubert Ingraham off the list of men you can trust.
    In the House of Assembly on Wednesday 25th January, Mr. Ingraham got himself tied up in a row with the Speaker on the time running on the clock for question time in the House. He picked up his papers and walked out saying that he did not have time to waste. None of his other members followed him. They just continued with question time. All from the PLP side thought he was gone. But a few minutes later he came back acting as if nothing had happened and resumed the questions as his members had been doing in his absence.

To Have A Passport Or Not
    On 23rd January 2007, all U.S. citizens were required by law to have a passport if they are returning by air from the Caribbean region including The Bahamas and Bermuda. The hotel sector has been concerned about the advantage that this gives to cruise passengers who will not need to do so until 2009 and have been lobbying for the effort, which is known as the Western Hemisphere Passport Initiative, to be postponed. The Foreign Ministers of the region were able to negotiate the present implementation date which is one year later than originally planned. Tourism Ministers took over the issue following that.
    There was confusion in Nassau last week when it was announced that a waiver had been granted for The Bahamas that would no longer require passengers to travel to the US with their passports. The US Embassy has clarified the issue saying that the passport initiative is still in place and that there has been no waiver.
    What has happened is that in their regulations there are two phases of implementation of the initiative. The first phase requires a flexible approach. You will not be stopped if you don’t have a passport but told you must get a passport once you produce proof of citizenship. In the second phase there will be strict enforcement of the rules. However, before that phase can be implemented, there must be 30 days notice given to the airline carriers that strict enforcement is coming.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
This letter to the Editor of The Tribune was also forwarded to us:
    Your hypocrisy knows no end. It is amazing that John Marquis, who claims to be an Englishman, would ridicule and savage the British Honours system as he did in his lead article of Monday, 22nd January. The position of your newspaper is particularly shameful when one considers that the longest serving Publisher and Editor of your newspaper, Sir Etienne Dupuch (1919-1972) held not one, but two British Honours; the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) and a Knighthood (Kt.). The Editor, “in sede’, Mrs. Eileen Carron Dupuch is the recipient of a C.M.G. To my knowledge neither of them sought to demur or refuse the award of these honours which under the protocol for the granting of these awards, they had the right to do.
    It follows, therefore, that John Marquis’ article is at variance with his employers personal position on this issue and should have been preceded with the disclaimer: “this article does not reflect the views or position of the owners or management of the Tribune’. If I were the employer of Mr. Marquis I would have to ask him to resign for his derision of the status and dignity of his employers.
    Finally, as smart as he thinks he is, John Marquis has gotten it wrong again. Queen Elizabeth is Queen of The Bahamas as she is of Canada, Barbados, New Zealand; Australia, etc., through the Constitution, by the wish of the people of The Bahamas. The honours granted, while British in origin, are for services rendered by Bahamians for service in The Bahamas. It has nothing to do with Great Britain. In ridiculing the current British Government led by Tony Blair for the manner in which it might have recommended some of his countrymen for national honours, Mr. Marquis is showing utter contempt for his own Government and the traditions of his country.
    Try and get it right, please.
Lorenzo Davis-Cooper

The real Visa Scandal involves Carl Bethel
    Senator Carl Bethel continues with his fabrication of a visa scandal within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These baseless attacks are consistent with the strategy of the FNM leading up to the 2007 general elections: Attack, attack and hope that some of the mud sticks. Never mind the production of substantiating evidence to defend ones claims, just arbitrarily attack and use hints and innuendoes to create confusion in the public domain. This is the action of a desperate FNM party that is hard pressed to identify a substantive issue with which to rally the electorate around, so they are forced to resorting to fabrications, hints, and innuendoes.
    The increase in non-immigrant visas issued by the PLP is a matter of public policy and is a function of and credit to the dynamism of the Bahamian economy and is not even suggestive of a scandal. If Mr. Bethel has credible evidence of a scandal at the Ministry, then he should present that information to the police and cooperate with their ongoing investigations by submitting to an interview. He may very well have valuable information that can put an end to this so called “scandal” once and for all and help bring those “violators” of the law to justice.
    Mr. Bethel’s claim, that Foreign Minister Mitchell personally issued visas or instructed his staff to do so is without merit because he failed to produce any substantiating documentation. Releasing a document that he said was a page from a ledger in the visa section of the Foreign Affairs Ministry is hardly proof of direct involvement; some unidentified, nameless, faceless person wrote “Minister” in the approval space on the document. For all we know, anybody, including the accuser in this instance, could have written the word “Minister” in the space provided. Further, it is perfectly legal, proper, and well within the discretion of the Minister to personally approve visa applications, so what is Mr. Bethel’s point? I repeat: Where is the scandal?
    This preamble brings me to the central point of my letter. It was reported that Mr. Bethel, who served as the Attorney General in the Ingraham administration, allegedly wrote a letter to the then Foreign Minister Janet Bostwick, requesting her personal intervention in the approval of some visas for one of Mr. Bethel’s constituents in Holy Cross. The visas were personally approved by Mrs. Bostwick and the documented proof is now a matter of public record. The scandal in this episode is that the individual that Mr. Bethel represented or wrote on behalf of, was found to be involved in the trafficking of human cargo and is therefore on a stop list at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Our Royal Bahamas Police Force has reason to believe that this individual is involved in some nefarious criminal enterprise. Mr. Bethel’s association and involvement with this person is scandalous by any standard. Further, given the fact that he was the Attorney General at the time makes it even more serious as it raises questions of ethical conduct by a public official, it speaks to the breach of public trust by a public official, and questions Mr. Bethel’s respect for and commitment to the preservation of the rule of Bahamian Law. His unwitting and ill-advised decision to associate himself with this alleged criminal makes Mr. Bethel unfit for public office. This, my fellow Bahamians, is the real scandal surrounding the issue of non-immigrant visas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and not the PLP government’s decision to legally issue more visas than Carl Bethel thinks they should have. If there is anybody who has serious questions to answer to both the Police and the Bahamian electorate, it is Senator Carl Bethel.
    It is clear that Senator Bethel sought to dig a grave for Fred Mitchell with his baseless claims of a visa scandal, but the evidence shows that he, Carl Bethel, behaved scandalously and improperly. There is a popular Bahamian proverb that admonishes us that when you dig a grave for someone, be certain to dig two because what you are trying to do to another person may come back to haunt you. A word to the wise is sufficient.
Elcott Coleby

PM Celebrates with Junior Junkanoo Winners A.F. Adderley

A.F. Adderley High School held a celebration Friday to mark their victory in the recent Junior Junkanoo parades; and who better to help them celebrate than Prime Minister Perry Christie, perhaps the most celebrated Junkanoo of all. The Prime Minister joined in the joyous spirit of the occasion, dancing with the students.

200 Home Community Launched

This past week saw the rise of another Bahamian investment in the burgeoning economy. Former banker Pauline Allen Dean and her brother, former Cabinet Minister Algernon Allen have launched 'Coral Breeze Estates' a 50 acre, 200 home private development in the Coral Harbour area. In officially launching the project, Prime Minister Perry Christie expressed pride that the stewardship of his government had so improved the economy of The Bahamas that such ventures were now possible and attractive to Bahamian investors. Pictured from left are Paul McWeeney, Managing Director of the Bank of The Bahamas, financiers for the project; Mike Lightbourne, real estate broker; the Prime Minister; Pauline Allen Dean and Algernon Allen.
BIS photo: Patrick Hanna

Bahamas Information Services photos by Peter Ramsay [Except where otherwise noted].

7^th January, 2007 *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!* *Please tell all your friends about us.* ...THE COURTS...
PM SPEAKS ON THE FLIGHT SERVICES ARRESTS...	THE U.S. AMBASSADOR DEFENDS HIS SIDE...
IN PASSING...	A DIRECT U.S. LINE TO THE TRIBUNE?...
MAJORITY RULE DAY...	RBC CHIEF SPEAKS ON LIQUIDITY...
ONE MORE LOOK...	THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...









The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PLPs On The Web...	Interesting Places...
Bradley Roberts / PLP Grants Town	Bahamas Government Website
Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte	Bahamians On The Web
Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw	Bahamian Cycling News
John Carey / PLP Carmichael	FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...
Grand Bahama PLP

14^th January, 2007 *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!* *Please tell all your friends about us.* ...MAJORITY RULE DAY...
MAJORITY RULE DAY IN THE HOUSE...	INGRAHAM TALKS NONSENSE...
THE CHIEF JUSTICE HAS A LOT TO SAY...	THEY ARE JUST PLAIN WRONG...
IN PASSING...	PUBLIC HEALTH SCHOLARSHIPS...
JUNKANOO MEMORIES...	LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...
	THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...








The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PLPs On The Web...	Interesting Places...
Bradley Roberts / PLP Grants Town	Bahamas Government Website
Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte	Bahamians On The Web
Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw	Bahamian Cycling News
John Carey / PLP Carmichael	FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...
Grand Bahama PLP

21^st January, 2007 *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!* *Please tell all your friends about us.* ...THE MOTLEY CREW...
INGRAHAM’S ATTACKS ON CHRISTIE...	ELECTION SEASON COMING...
THE HONORARY CONSUL IN INDIA...	AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON EU VISAS...
CARL BETHEL – SUCH A DULL BOY...	A GIFT FOR FOX HILL...
IN PASSING...	LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...
	THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...








The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PLPs On The Web...	Interesting Places...
Bradley Roberts / PLP Grants Town	Bahamas Government Website
Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte	Bahamians On The Web
Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw	Bahamian Cycling News
John Carey / PLP Carmichael	FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...
Grand Bahama PLP

28^th January, 2007 *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!* *Please tell all your friends about us.* ...THE INGRAHAM PLAYBOOK...
MITCHELL SLAMS CARL BETHEL...	A VIOLENT INCIDENT IN FOX HILL...
PUBLIC MEETING IN FOX HILL...	INGRAHAM SHOWS HIS HAND IN EXUMA...
THE ISSUE OF AIRPORT SECURITY...	IN PASSING...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...	THIS WEEK WITH THE PM...









The Official Site of the Progressive Liberal Party...	The Official Site of the Free National Movement...
PLPs On The Web...	Interesting Places...
Bradley Roberts / PLP Grants Town	Bahamas Government Website
Neville Wisdom / PLP Delaporte	Reg & Kit's Bahamas Links
Alfred Sears / PLP Fort Charlotte	Bahamians On The Web
Melanie Griffin / PLP Yamacraw	Bahamian Cycling News
John Carey / PLP Carmichael	FredMitchellUncensored.Com ARCHIVES...
Grand Bahama PLP

Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.

Volume 5 © BahamasUncensored.Com 2007

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