BahamasUncensored.Com Archive

IL PAPA EST MORTE
The last time that the Italian newspapers were able to carry that headline was in 1978. After only 33 days as Pope John Paul I died in his sleep. The Catholic Church had to choose a new leader. That time they made an unusual choice. He was Polish. This was the first non Italian Pope in almost five centuries. He was also a staunch conservative theologian but an ardent supporter of the anti communist cause in his native Poland. Soon after he became Pope, Poland fell from under the vice grip of the communists.

The man who became Pope then embarked on a rapid fire series of trips across the globe, using the power of television, the media, the mass events and air plane travel to make his presence and that of the Catholic Church felt throughout the world. Who can forget the sight of the Pope standing at the international airport in Havana, Cuba as he said in his stern voice and with Fidel Castro next to him dressed in a suit: “You must find Christ! You must find Christ!”

This was a powerful man indeed, and made powerful simply by the power of his moral rectitude. He had no armies. He stood up to the world and declared that the weak and powerless have a right to exist, and that their right was equal to that of the rich and the powerful. He was a powerful soldier in the army of the Lord.

The Pope leaves a special touch in The Bahamas. He first came here one brief evening, just before midnight on his way back from Mexico to Rome. He stopped off and there was a mass at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. Who can forget that as he ascended the steps of his Alitalia chartered DC 10 jetliner the wind blew is cap from his head, and he was simply going to leave it on Bahamian soil. A young Bahamian constable ran after it, captured it and then ran up the steps to give it back to the Pope who waved good bye and said thanks.

Secondly, he left a church that is now headed by a Bahamian. In the history of the Roman Catholic Church in The Bahamas there had never been a Bahamian head. Archbishop Patrick Pinder is one of us. He came out of the social circumstances of the Bahamian sociology, and is an example that God lifts up the humble and the meek.

The world and The Bahamas mourn the passing of this great man. Prime Minister Perry Christie extended his condolences to the Catholic world. There will be a special mass in the coming days to mark the occasion of his passing. A new Pope will be elected within 30 days.

There is plenty about which one could disagree with this last Pope, but it cannot be argued that he ever wavered. The great importance of moral rectitude is that while you may not agree with the position, at least you have a point which is fixed in moral certainty and from which you know that you can depart if you wish but once you keep your eye on that moral point of certainty, you will always know where you are.

He leaves a church in much better shape than when he met it. God’s work on earth was truly his own. We salute this fallen soldier of Christ and pray that Almighty God will forgive him all the sins which he may have committed in this life and welcome him into his everlasting kingdom.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 2nd April 2005 at midnight: 84,505.

Number of hits for the month of March up to Thursday 31st March 2005 at midnight: 356,101.

Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 2nd April 2005 at midnight: 19,307.

Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 2nd April 2005 at midnight: 975,387.

POLICE PROMOTIONS
The promotions of subordinate police officers (that is those below the rank of Inspector) have been announced. It is not certain whether the Government actually approved these promotions. While it is said by The Bahama Journal that nearly 300 people have been promoted, the largest such exercise in the history of the Force, there is reportedly widespread disgruntlement that persons who have not had promotions in decades on the Force have still been overlooked, while others appear to be on a fast track. Needless to say, if the reports of disquiet are true, the Government may have to take a second look at this. But as we said at the start, the question is did the Government actually review this before the results were out?

A ROW AT COLINA

    Tongues were wagging overtime in the financial sector as a row amongst the partners of Colina broke out into public view. The ink is barely dry on the approval by the Government with its 21 conditions attached for the purchase by Colina of Imperial Life insurance company and its assets in The Bahamas. The Tribune ran a story on Friday 1st April in which they said that there was an attempt to oust the Managing Director of Colina James Campbell who is the brain behind the Colina Financial Group. By Saturday 2nd April that was officially denied in the Nassau Guardian, the mouthpiece of the Colina group that is owned by them. But some say it will take a miracle to keep this group together except that money may force them to be strange bedfellows. Each side was busy putting the same story but from their point of view.
    It was like the Japanese play ‘Roshaman’. Each side says that the other was morally unprincipled and that they were trying to line their pockets with various tied associations to law firms and rental properties. In other words Colina was being directed to send its business to law firms tied to their principals and to rent buildings tied to the principals.
    The Bahama Journal published a more detailed story in which it said that James Campbell would be ousted by a combination of the majority of shares in Emanuel Alexiou at 45 per cent and Anthony Ferguson at 10 per cent. The problem is that both the regulators and the market would be unhappy about that and so should the shareholders generally because bad management would mean a reduction in shareholder value. However, the majority team was said to have been waiting in the wings, the team that recently led Imperial Life. So out would go James Campbell and his team and in would come the Imperial Life team to take over the new company. The announcement in the Nassau Guardian seems to put that aside for the moment.
    The principals were said to be in meetings with the regulators. This is all a great pity. The whole Colina Financial Group purchase brought about major headaches for the government and just when it seemed that a new group of Bahamians was finally getting into some wealth enhancing opportunities comes this. But one guesses that that’s life.

CSME BACK IN THE NEWS

    The Caribbean Single Market and Economy is back in the news. Brent Symonette, the Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs felt the need to attack the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the press on Thursday 31st March. In his statement Mr. Symonette said the following in his own words:
    “Despite the fact that they say that there has been wide dialogue I don’t think that there has been enough discussion in the sense that the persons in the street can understand where we are going.
    “I am nervous about the pressure being brought on The Bahamas to join the various trade groups. You see the government, particularly the Minister of Foreign Affairs saying that it is right for The Bahamas to join the CSME.
    “We have to realize that we are in terms of wealth and GDP and the pure dynamics of our country, fairly high on the totem pole and people want to come here so the movement of labour is not a good thing.
    “Recent rumblings suggest that customs duty should be replaced with VAT. I think that we are running into dangerous water and unless someone convinces me otherwise, we are not going to collect in VAT what we are currently collecting in import taxes, even with all its imperfections…
    “I question how much of what Minister Mitchell has to say about The Bahamas participation in the CSME was a reflection of his own views, as opposed to the official position of the government.
    “A Minister should not have a personal view. It is only the view of the Government that matters, so is he dragging the government along or is he offering the Government’s considered view? A Minister loses his personal views when he becomes a Minister.”
    The Minister of Foreign Affairs answered Brent Symonette. Pointing out that there was no reason for Mr. Symonette to be nervous of about the trade protocols since it was the Government of the FNM who signed us on to all of them. The PLP was simply trying to clean up the situation in which we now find ourselves. You may click here for the full text of the Minister’s remarks.

THE PRESS GET IT WRONG ON CHRISTIE

Last week this column dealt extensively with the false allegations made against the Prime Minister (pictured in this Bahama Journal photo) about a visit made to a basketball game between the Miami Heat and the L.A. Lakers on 17th March 2005 in Miami. Based on information on this site, The Tribune had a field day with a full scale attack on the Prime Minister claiming that he had compromised his integrity. It turns out that the tickets for the event were provided by the Miami Herald and that he went to the event on the advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that is trying to have outreach to the Florida community. We said many times last week that it appears for some people that they will never let the truth interfere with a good story. In this week’s column in the Nassau Guardian by Craig Butler, Mr. Butler is again including in his column that the Prime Minister accepted gifts from Florida Power and Light and that the company had an active application before the Government. That too is a lie. The decision with regard to Florida Power and Light had already been made.

BRENT LAUNCHES HIS CAMPAIGN

    The FNM leadership race appears to have been joined again. They are not content to have three leaders: Senator Tommy Turnquest, the leader outside the House of the FNM; Brent Symonette, the Leader for Opposition Business in the House and the Member of Parliament for Montagu; and Alvin Smith, the Leader of the Opposition, a hapless gentleman if you have ever seen one.
    It appears that Hubert Ingraham is seeking a comeback. The rumblings are there. But the man who walked right up to the brink during the last leadership contest for the FNM following elections in 2002 says that he may be trying his hand again. But before declaring that he figured he had to fool with the PLP by claiming in a front page article in The Tribune of Wednesday 30th March that the Prime Minister is not in control of his Cabinet. In the article he goes on to say that the Prime Minister is intimidated by his Cabinet.
    First, one should ask Mr. Symonette why would the Prime Minister want to control his Cabinet, control them for what? The fact is that Cabinet ministers are equals around the table and they act within their areas of competence and within the directions of Cabinet, there is no need to control them. Or does he want to get to a situation where you have a control freak like Hubert Ingraham in whose Cabinet Mr. Symonette refused to stay because he tried to control his Cabinet. Mr. Symonette should really stay out of the PLP's business and stick to his own party.
    Now, back to the leadership race. Mr. Symonette said: “Numerous people are asking me, wherever I travel, and I do not feel that the colour of my skin is any impediment and I hope we don’t have to raise that issue ever again.” Funny that! It is only the FNM that raises that as an issue. Paul Adderley was once asked the question about Brent Symonette, can a white man be Prime Minister of The Bahamas? He answered that there was no problem about a white man being Prime Minister, but not that white man.
    Mr. Symonette also put distance in the interview between himself and his father who led the racist United Bahamian Party government up to 1967. He told The Tribune: “I am not going to apologize for something I had nothing to do with. I can’t do it. That’s like asking Sir Lynden Pindling's family to apologize for things he did. It’s absurd. The UBP was defeated in 1967 when I was 13 years old. I have never voted UBP in my life, so am I to be held responsible for that government? That’s like saying that I am responsible for the fact that blacks could not go into the Savoy Theatre.”

AND HUBERT TOO

Meanwhile over on Croton Avenue, the boys were obviously meeting to plot the strategy of the man who was king and who apparently wants to be king again. As Brent Symonette, the scion of the United Bahama Party’s old Boss Sir Roland was plotting his future; Hubert Ingraham was thinking the same thing. The scuttlebutt around town is that Mr. Ingraham is seeking to get Brent Symonette to stand down in favour of being Deputy Leader to Mr. Ingraham as Leader when the convention comes up in November of this year for the Free National Movement.
But the makings of a political launch surely seemed to be this week when on Wednesday 30th March the Nassau Guardian published another instalment in its series to mark 160 years of being a newspaper. This supplement they called ‘The Ingraham Years’, and it was filled with FNM business ads and others praising Mr. Ingraham in one advertisement after the next. Surely looked like the second coming to us!

AND WHAT WAS TOMMY SAYING?

    As you know from this column last week, Tommy Turnquest the Leader outside the House of Assembly of the Free National Movement was eclipsed on Sidney Stubbs Day at the House of Assembly on Thursday 24th March. While he was busy reading his press release, the class clowns of the Bahamas Democratic Movement (they could be the genuine article) were busy blocking the entrance to the House of Assembly and getting arrested. They were making themselves an attractive catch for the FNM. What is Tommy to do? You have Brent Symonette wanting his job (see story above). You have Hubert Ingraham plotting Tommy's downfall (see story above). Senator Turnquest has responded. He told The Tribune on Friday 1st April that he is confident that after the next General Election he will be the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and that within 100 days of becoming PM he will show the Bahamian people that the FNM means business. Yes, we know what kind of business. It will be a return to the same old comfortable cronyism that existed prior to 2002. The PLP responded in kind, labelling Tommy Turnquest a 'crybaby'. Please click here for the statement of PLP Chair Raynard Rigby on the matter.
    Tommy Turnquest wants the PLP to call a bye election in Holy Cross. This is remarkable since the election of Carl Bethel (not likely) would mean the end of Tommy Turnquest’s chances as leader of the FNM. The fact is that there are plenty of sharks in the water of the FNM. Senator Turnquest too defended the legacy go his father, the former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest. (See story of Brent Symonette who defended his father). He said of former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest: “My father was involved in opposition politics for a very long time. He left the PLP in 1965 and he never looked back. He left on a matter of principle. He continued to fight and I believe he saw while he could have challenged for the leadership of the FNM back in the early nineties he saw the need for a more youthful type of leadership.”
    Mr. Turnquest attacked the Prime Minister, saying that people must stop calling Perry Christie a nice guy. He said: “He [PM] called his detractors laughing hyenas and vultures, and at another point he said he would stomp them and mash them up like cockroaches. People seem to forget these things.” Our comment is a little truth spoken by the PM never hurt anybody!

CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR TO LEAVE

You saw the story here weeks ago on this site first. It is now official. Central Bank Governor Julian Francis is to leave the Central Bank as Governor on 31st May after working at the Bank since 1st July 1993. An announcement this week also confirmed that Mr. Francis is to become the new Co-Chair of the Grand Bahama Port Authority. We wish him well.

SUCCESSFUL DEAL AT CABLE BEACH

That on again off again dance with Phil Ruffin, the quizzical owner of the Crystal Palace Resort (pictured) and the Nassau Beach Hotel is now on again. The Baha Mar Development Company Ltd. has signed an agreement with Phil Ruffin to acquire the Crystal Palace and the Nassau Beach Hotels. Baha Mar is planning a 1.2 billion dollar development on the Cable Beach strip. The Government is reviewing the project. It will mean reconfiguring the roads and selling off some Government land to the developers but it will also mean a massive job creation exercise. The Prime Minister pronounced himself pleased that the deal was finally coming to some fruition. Mr. Ruffin was quoted in the press as saying the developers had put down 10 million dollars in hard money, which means if they don’t complete by May they will lose their deposit. We don’t like this deal but we hope that the on again off again dance comes to completion.

PLP CONGRATULATIONS
The PLP has issued a statement congratulating the government on bringing the Cable Beach deal closer to fruition, saying the party is "proud of the numerous accomplishments of this administration", and "excited about the thousands of job opportunities, the provision for young Bahamians to excel in quality careers and vocations and oiling of the domestic investment entrepreneurial interests." Party Chair Raynard Rigby notes confidence that the PLP is "on course to deliver even further the fuller impact of the ambitious programmes and industry as outlined in Our Plan". Please click here for the full statement from the PLP.

KERZNER ANNOUNCES THE THIRD PHASE
Vincent Peet, the Minister of Labour and Immigration announced with the Kerzner Group on Thursday 31st March that there is to be a job fair and a contractor’s pre qualification forum from 5th April to 7th April. This is the lead up to the start of the big project at Paradise Island by the Kerzner group which will see the construction of a brand new condominium hotel with construction employment of 2600 people by 2006 and permanent jobs of 2000 people by 2007. Sounds like a good year to hold a General Election.

NETTLEFORD AT PINDLING LECTURE SERIES

Professor Rex Nettleford, leading Caribbean intellectual has delivered a lecture in the Sir Lynden Pindling Memorial Foundation series, co-sponsored by the College of The Bahamas and the Foundation. We will try to get a copy of the lecture for presentation on this site. Photo of Professor Nettleford at the lectern by Peter Ramsay.

LYDIA SIMMONS DIES
We wish to express our heartfelt condolences for a friend of this column on the passing of a friend who was near and dear to him. Lydia Simmons Dames was struck down by a hit and run driver as she was walking in the early morning hours of Wednesday 30th March. Her lifeless body was discovered just after 6 a.m. on the grass verge just opposite Burger King on East Mall Drive. The question that one asks in these circumstances is how could someone be so cowardly as to leave a human being lying on the side of the road to die without so much as stopping to report the accident. The police are asking for information which would lead to the identity of this coward. Ms. Dames was the popular owner of Lydia’s Hat and Bridal Store in Freeport. Words cannot express the outrage that we feel at this and at the same time the impotence in the face of this inexplicable event.

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

DEFENCE FORCE IS 25 - Prime Minister Christie assists, Mrs. Davy Rolle, wife of the Commodore of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in cutting the ceremonial ribbon to officially open an exhibit commemorating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Force. At right is Commodore Rolle and at left, Mark Wilson, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security.

AHH, THE BEAUTY OF IT ALL - This was the theme used by Prime Minister Christie as he shared his experience of the exquisite ecological beauty of the island of Eleuthera over the Easter weekend. Mr. Christie is shown against a backdrop of flamingos in Inagua speaking during a reception of The Bahamas National Trust this past week.

THE INTRICACIES OF SPELLING - During the week, Mr. Christie visited with expert student spelling B participants. In this photo, the Prime Minister seems to be giving a lesson in the time honoured tradition of the spelling bee to the students.

PLEASED WITH CABLE BEACH PROGRESS - The Prime Minister shares news of positive progress in the government's negotiations over the tourist plant at Cable Beach. (See story above).

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

WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH ZHIVARGO?
Zhivargo Laing is a scholar of the Bible and a supposed born again Christian who knows the Bible and still reads the Bible. Someone should refer him to the book of Proverbs. The bit that says there is a time for every purpose under heaven. One of those times is a time to be quiet. And someone should tell him to be quiet.

There is another saying, it is better to stay silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and people begin thinking that they have proof of it.

All of those things came to mind this week, when the public read in The Tribune what seemed to be a gratuitous and silly attack on the Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell who had spoken earlier on the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). CSME which is a concept that the FNM supports but can't bring themselves to say so. It is a matter that the Minister of Foreign Affairs has been charged with seeing to completion. If you click here, you will Mr. Mitchell’s previous statement on CSME. Mr. Mitchell was not talking to or about Zhivargo Laing. He was responding to the thoughts of Brent Symonette, the FNM's spokesman on Foreign Affairs. But Mr. Laing just can’t help getting up in big people’s business. So be it. What he looks for he gets.

The Minister got the opportunity to speak on a platform at the Mt. Tabor Baptist Church. He answered Mr. Laing. In effect, Mr. Laing accused the Minister of lying to the Bahamian public and of misleading the Bahamian people not once but twice. The Minister responded by calling Mr. Laing's remarks hair splitting, idle sophistry. We think that he is being too sophisticated and too kind to Mr. Laing. Mr. Laing is simply politically dishonest. There is no other thing to say. He cannot be as self-defeating as it appears. There must be method to the madness.

So the question we ask this week: what is the matter with Zhivargo Laing? Why can't he simply sit back, try to get a seat in Parliament, try to win friends and alliances, try to consider his views before rushing into The Tribune's print. No such luck we would guess. Politics has become such an anxious business in this country that you say and do anything to get elected. C’est la vie.

Mr. Laing had his turn when he was the Minister for Economic Development. He was such a failure at it that he became known as the Minister of Uneconomic Development. He did not complete the job of putting The Bahamas in the position where it could favourably compete in trade circles. It left all of the decisions to the present administration. Now that he is suffering from not being in the headlines, his stock in trade now seems to be to try to confuse the general public with his fancy dancy language in a way that they think that it is intelligent commentary.

Mr. Laing reminds us of another critic that we know whose stock in trade is great sounding words, turning phrases, but using his intelligence to spread fear and misinformation to the Bahamian public on this issue. We think that the Bahamian people are smarter than all that. We keep thinking: there is no special drama in CSME what is all the noise about?

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 9th April 2005 at midnight: 68,783.

Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 5th April 2005 at midnight: 1,059,153.

BEHOLD!

Behold the new King and Queen of The Bahamas! The pool photo by Peter Tarry shows Prince Charles and Her Royal Highness Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, after their wedding Saturday in Windsor. Behind them, from left, were their children Tom Parker Bowles, Laura Parker Bowles, Prince Harry and Prince William. Unless The Bahamas moves to become a republic, these are the monarchs in waiting.

LESLIE BATTLES IN CAT CAY
    The story that dominated the headlines at the start of the week was the battle of Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller with a man Manuel Diaz who is a resident of Cat Cay. The row is over the environment and the approval of the Liquefied Natural Gas re-gasification facility that is seeking approval to be sited at Ocean Cay in The Bahamas some 8 miles away from the luxury resort of Cat Cay in the Bimini Chain. Mr. Diaz and the residents are resolutely opposed to it. He said that the multi millionaires who live there will spend millions to ensure that the project is scuttled. He added they would pack up and leave if the project were approved.
    In seeking to give their views the residents of Cat Cay invited the Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller to come to the island last Sunday 5th April. They got what they asked for. He came but he was unhappy about coming. He was dressed informally, and with his nine year old son. The reports say that he walked out of the showing of a film, saying that he did not have time for foolishness. During the whole time that the film on the dangers of LNG was being viewed he walked about the beach. He returned only when the film was finished. When he came back, he was challenged by the residents for not listening. He told them he thought that the film was biased and he did not have time to watch foolishness. The row then broke out between Mr. Diaz and himself with Mr. Diaz calling him an idiot, and Mr. Miller telling Mr. Diaz that no one calls him stupid and threatening that he would physically come at Diaz. It seemed disgraceful conduct on both sides.
    Mr. Miller told the Bahamian public that he was not taking insults from anyone, especially since he was the representative of the Bahamas Government, and he would stand up for The Bahamas. Mr. Diaz crossed the line by calling the Minister an idiot and further by suggesting that he owned the island and could throw the Minister off the island. The Minister reminded him that this was the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and as a Minister of the Government he could go where he liked in a sovereign country. The public stood by Mr. Miller. Later in the week both men apologized. Mr. Miller standing by his view that he was standing up for The Bahamas. Mr. Diaz said that he should not have said what he did. He stood by his position against LNG.
    We too are opposed to LNG. The project should not be approved anywhere in The Bahamas. But we do not support Mr. Diaz’s conduct in this matter. It seems to us that there is something more fundamental than an apology that is needed from Mr. Diaz. There is simple lack of respect which he should correct.

LATEST NEWS ON LNG

Miller: many whites have racist tendencies… staff say he’s a verge racist talks down to them dogs. Diaz: I am not a racist. I was raised by a Black mother.
The Nassau Guardian reported on Saturday 9th April that Tractabel has been refused permission to site its facility in Grand Bahama on environmental grounds. Round two of the Miller/Diaz exchange with Mr. Miller saying that many white Cubans (where Mr. Diaz is from originally) have racist tendencies. Mr. Diaz responded that he could not be racist because he was raised by a Black mother. Photo of Manuel Diaz from Bahama Journal

THE “MADNESS” OF WILLIAM HOLOWESKO

    He was known for being quite a vicious political campaigner when he was not a Bahamian citizen simply a Belonger (the old immigration parlance for someone who was Bahamian before independence). He campaigned for the United Bahamian Party, and was known to be associated with some of the worst excesses of the UBP’s work. Once the PLP came to power and he applied for citizenship, he had a problem. There were too many that remembered what he had done. His wife, the beautiful Lynn Holowesko, now a former Senator and former Head of the Bahamas National Trust, fought and cajoled the PLP for the citizenship. Under the Free National Movement, the citizenship was granted. Again, people thought that William Holowesko (Bill to friends) had learned a lesson in humility but now it seems he has not.
    Last week, angry at the fact that a business opportunity seemed to be slipping away from one of his clients William Holowesko struck back with the forceful viciousness of words that he had been known for in his earlier life. He launched a personal attack on the Prime Minister which was unbecoming and should be roundly condemned. The comments were despicable, disgraceful. Yet this is a man who would no doubt still hope that his project is to receive favourable consideration for his client. Mr. Holowesko is angry because the approval for a 20 million dollar fish farm at Inagua has not been granted. The Minister of Fisheries Alfred Gray went to great pains to point out at a public meeting in Inagua on Tuesday 29th March that the Government was simply seeking from the investor two things: the environmental impact study and information about the ability of the investor to finance the project. The investor has refused to supply the two items. These are the same items that the Free National Movement administration sought to get before giving final approval. There was no such outburst from William Holowesko during the time of Hubert Ingraham in office even though the same requirements were necessary. The question is: why does his client not comply?
    It is hard to see how this intemperate and foolish outburst is going to advance his client’s interest in any way. Mr. Holowesko will in the financial area have to disclose whether or not his client has a problem in the bankruptcy courts of the United States. If he does, can he finance this project? There is evidence that a former project in which the client was involved went belly up in Hawaii in strange circumstances. Mr. Holowesko described the Prime Minister as: “simply marvellous at giving instructions. He talks well. Unfortunately, nobody paid attention to him. How sad for him and our country. The poor man needs help or a vacation or early retirement. Nothing happened... My client showed a slide presentation of what was intended for Inagua. When the PM woke up (mind you it was later in the afternoon), he instructed Minister Gibson to get this matter to Cabinet. Land and Surveys to do what it had to.”
    This on the face of it is foolishness. Quite apart from the gratuitous insults about sleeping and all the rest, the fact is the matter obviously went to the Cabinet because by his own mouth he knows that he has to supply an environmental impact study and the financial information on the project. He and his client have refused to do so. Instead he continues to attack Dr. Lincoln Marshall who is the advisor to the Prime Minister on the environment. He said that notwithstanding the advice for Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell not to attack a civil servant for simply doing his job, he said that he condemns Dr. Marshall for the way he is doing his job. It is clear that desperate people sometimes say desperate things. Mr. Holowesko is performing to type. It is clear a leopard does not change his spots in this regard. So many people are disappointed in him that after all these years, nothing has changed. That is what is so sad.

SIDNEY STUBBS MAY YET DODGE THE BULLET

The creditors of Sidney Stubbs, the bankrupted PLP MP, met in the courts at last with the Trustee in bankruptcy. In a court hearing on Thursday 7th April, Mr. Stubbs met his creditors and the trustee. The press reported that two creditors showed up: Felix ‘Mailman’ Bowe and Imperial Life Assurance Company. Both creditors have apparently come to an arrangement with Mr. Stubbs so the next step is for the trustee to report that matter to the Chief Justice who will decide whether or not Mr. Stubbs’ declaration of bankruptcy can now be annulled. If that happens, then because it is before the appeal comes up before the Privy Council, Mr. Stubbs will be able to return to the House. The three months extension granted him by the House of Assembly will have allowed him to dodge the bullet.
Raynard Rigby, Chairman of the PLP, said in the press on Saturday 9th April that Mr. Stubbs did not consider resigning because he believed that there was a conspiracy of persons trying to act against him politically. There is only one possible fly in the ointment so to speak. Will the Chief Justice ask Mr. Stubbs once again to elect between his appeal to the Privy Council and appearing before the Chief Justice? If Mr. Stubbs elects to go before the Chief then he had better hope all his ducks are lined up for the annulment. And then beside Almighty God, the one person on this earth that he ought to thank is MP Keod Smith who stuck by him when others said cut him loose. We hope he doesn’t forget to thank both God and Keod. Oh, very curious – where was the Queen’s Counsel when this most important case came before the Trustee? It appears that a junior lawyer from the office was sent to do the work.

WAS THAT ARTHUR FOULKES THEY SAW?

A late report comes to this site that suggests that the FNM had a rally in of all places the absolutely safe constituency of Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt during the week. There were reportedly about 20 people and some little children. The stars of the FNM were with the Prime Minister at the same time officially opening the building of J.M. Pinder, namely Leader outside the House Tommy Turnquest and Leader Emeritus and to come Hubert Ingraham. It appears that the Foulkes family has decided that they are going to take up arms against Mother Pratt, and some reported seeing Sir Arthur Foulkes, the former Ambassador and now retired politician and newspaper columnist at the rally, others say on the stage. We ask the question: was that Sir Arthur on the stage? No it couldn’t be!

CABLE BEACH DEAL IS FINALLY DONE

    Sarkis Izmerlian, the American multi millionaire, who lives out at Lyford Cay, has finally inked the deal with Prime Minister Perry Christie on redesigning and redeveloping Cable Beach. Cable Beach has been the poor cousin of Nassau tourism ever since the Arison family of Carnival Cruise fame packed in their investment and left The Bahamas to the wiles of Phil Ruffin. Mr. Ruffin invested nothing in the project and seemed to just let the whole area go down.
    The employees have been sitting on the edges of their seats for weeks as Mr. Ruffin who took a visceral dislike to Mr. Izmerlian, disparaging him at times by calling him a boy some report, refused to sell to him. In the end, he capitulated, and the public dance was over. Mr. Ruffin will be out. Mr. Izmerlian is to take over the whole kit and caboodle as a company called Bahama Mar. He gets the Radisson (George Myers management company is to leave); he gets the Crystal Palace, which he plans to implode together with all the buildings both private and Government on the southern side of West Bay Street, including the Cecil Wallace Whitfield Building and he gets acreage stretching over the Golf Course on Cable Beach and well toward Lake Cunningham. Not bad for him.
    The Bahamas gets a 1.2 billion dollars project which the developer says will be larger than anything The Bahamas has ever seen. Well as they say talk is cheap, and we will see. But we can tell you the Prime Minister and his government are absolutely ecstatic. Work will begin in earnest in 2007 and 3000 jobs can’t hurt. Bahama Journal photo of Sarkis Izmerlian (left) and Prime Minister Christie at news conference announcing the signing of the Baha Mar heads of agreement.

HOW WILL KERZNER REACT?
    Sol Kerzner was reportedly in town when the announcement was made that the young Izmerlian kid had pulled off Nassau's biggest tourist deal in history. Before this deal came off, there were reports in the press of The Bahamas that the Kerzners were so concerned about the potential competition with their upscale market that the Cable Beach project would represent that they were threatening to pull out.
    The Kerzners have announced most recently that with some additional market tweaking, it seems to account for what is to come on Cable Beach, they are going ahead with Phase Three on Paradise Island. It is scheduled to begin in June. What people say Mr. Kerzner is more worried about is whether the airport will be finished in time to meet the requirements of the numbers coming into his hotel. Right now it is routine that people have to wait two hours or more to get through to the holding lounge at NIA, such is the crowding and bad flow through of the airport. The Ministry of Transport is working frantically to meet the deadlines. Negotiations should start soon with the new airport management company. There are also the security concerns that continue to have to be addressed at the airport.
    Right in the middle of the mix, however, was an announcement by the Americans that U.S citizens will by 1st January 2006, have to have passports to get back into their country, if they are coming from the Caribbean. This has the industry scrambling because less than 25 per cent of Americans have passports. Can the U.S. meet the deadline, and can the market sensitize people to get a passport without thinking that waiting six weeks for a passport is too much of a hassle for the three day vacations that they take in The Bahamas? The Lord has been good to this country so let’s hope all of it holds together for Lord’s sake and/or our sake.

POPE REMEMBERED IN NASSAU

Archbishop Patrick Pinder, the newly commissioned Roman Catholic Archbishop and the first Bahamian, is now to lead the church through its first transition. A new leader will be in place in Rome by or about 18th April of this year. John Paul II is now history, having raised The Bahamas up with an official visit and then to an archbishopric. He is now in the grave. Who will come next and will Archbishop Pinder be able to show the skills that are required to keep the local church on even keel? His first test was a well organized and crisp but moving service for the Pope held in Nassau on Tuesday 5th April. Judging from the start, he should do well and we wish him well. Photo of Archbishop Pinder leading memorial mass for the Pope by Peter Ramsay

THE POLICE STAFF ASSOCIATION BESIDE ITSELF
The Police Staff Association Chairman Richard Sands is an inspector in the force. He got that post with the leave of the Prime Minister, who oversees the list according to the rules. The staff association is different from a Union which is involved in the game of public proselytizing for their side. Mr. Sands went a bit far by launching a direct attack on the Government and the Commissioner of Police, quoted in some corners as saying that there was political interference in the most recent round of 300 or more promotions.
This is the largest promotion list in the history of the Force. Some wonder whether or not the Ministry of Finance has the money to pay for all of these promotions. Nevertheless, Mr. Sands said that the police were unhappy with the Government. He claimed political interference and another press person quoted him as saying that there was also corruption. This is dangerous stuff. The calls are loud and louder for the Commissioner of Police to have a frank chat with the Staff Association’s Chairman so that he can understand the rules of the game in which he is engaged. We shall see. The Chairman’s statement was reported on Wednesday 6th April.

MOTHER PRATT RESPONDS
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Police Cynthia Pratt called an urgent press conference. She responded to charges that there was political interference in the police promotions, saying that there was absolutely no evidence of any such interference. Her Permanent Secretary had earlier responded that no politician had seen the list of persons promoted. The Deputy Prime Minister made the following statement at her conference on Thursday 7th April and took no questions:
    "I was both surprised and sorely disappointed by the revelations in the press over some apparent dissatisfaction with the recent promotion exercise of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
    "It should be noted that the Commissioner of Police is not in The Bahamas at this time, and so would not have read or heard the comments of which I speak. I have no doubt that he will in the course of his official capacity be dealing with this matter upon his return.
    "In the meanwhile, it has become necessary for me to remind all concerned that the most recent Police promotions were the largest exercise of the kind in living memory. While every attempt is being made to fairly administer the Force, I am constrained to say that the Royal Bahamas Police Force is a group disciplined by statute and by necessity for the smooth administration of security in The Bahamas and for protection of all the people. Under my administration of the Force, it shall remain so.
    "It must be emphasized that the process of Police promotions was and is faithfully carried out with the strictest attention to the rules and regulations properly governing that process. There was and is no indication of political interference. Full stop. The men and women who sit on the Police Promotions Board, both Senior Police Officers and private citizens held in the highest regard, are decent, responsible individuals who give of their time and their talent in the interest of their nation.
    "Again, I defend the fairness and integrity of the Police Promotions process and reassure the Bahamian people that the process is both open and transparent."

THE BRITISH COUPLE CARRY THINGS TOO FAR
Paul Gallagher, a young British boy, came with his parents in 2001 to have the vacation of lifetime. Unfortunately after spending 10,000 pounds, their vacation was ruined when the young boy died in a freak incident. The water sports concession operating at the Atlantis Beach ran amuck and up on the beach, killing the sleeping youngster. An autopsy was held, and in embalming the little boy, his organs were disposed of without telling the family, or so they allege. Further, they claim that The Bahamas refused to co-operate in the investigation and that the person responsible for the accident was still operating. They have had the British Government pressuring The Bahamas government and they themselves have been raising a storm all week in the British media, designed to ruin Bahamian tourism. They disagree with a verdict of the Coroner that the death was accidental. They say the British Coroner's inquest was more accurate. He came in with the inconclusive open verdict. They have even now said that The Bahamas should be expelled from the Commonwealth. Campaigning to bring redress over the death of a son is one thing but to go to the ridiculous, we cannot accept. You may be emotionally distraught but that does not mean that you lose your sense as well.

FREDDIE THE CLASS CLOWN
There is one more class clown to add to the list of Cassius Stuart, Omar Smith and Sidney Carroll Jr. (last week they were down at the city dump watching the garbage burn and trying to stop the Government from building affordable housing). His name is Fred Smith (where was Manny Diaz when we needed him to call someone an idiot; see Leslie Miller story above). Add to the list Fred Smith, the class clown of Freeport, who is so busy trying to get an FNM nomination, that he has now moved the courts to try to stop the development in Guana Cay. The Judge entertained him when he reached the threshold to get leave for Judicial Review of the Government's decision. Almost anyone could get that. He tried to get an injunction but had to find out that separate permissions are needed for developments to begin. The National Economic Council does not execute building permits for example. Poor Smith doesn’t even seem to understand the law these days so desperate is he for headlines.

FELIX BETHEL’S COURT CASE
Now here’s a strange twist. The case of the C.O.P. against the College of The Bahamas lecturer Felix Bethel is now at a standstill. The Magistrate after hearing all of the evidence, including a no case submissions which she rejected and hearing the defence and just as she was about to make her ruling, she recuses herself from the case. This must surely be the cause of a disciplinary hearing against the magistrate. Having allowed all the resources of the Government to be spent on this case, which should not have been brought in the first place, the matter must now start again. This surely must be a sign that this process should be brought to a stop. Strange indeed!

MITCHELL LEADS HARVARD DISCUSSION

Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell is off to Boston, Massachusetts this weekend. The Minister is leading a discussion of invited speakers on investment in the Caribbean and Africa at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The Minister is a 1980 graduate of the JFK School with a Master in Public Administration and a former Chairman of the School's Alumni Executive Council. He is expected to return to The Bahamas Sunday 10th April.

THE FOX HILL MP AT WORK

The Fox Hill Community Centre is on the way again. George Mackey who was the last representative for the Progressive Liberal Party in Fox Hill started to build a community centre but he lost office and with it the ability to finance the project. Now thirteen years later the new PLP representative for the area Fred Mitchell is trying again. The members of the old Committee headed by George Mackey and Bertram Knowles met the heads of the new Committee to pledge their financial support with funds collected in the last effort. The new effort includes a 9000 square foot building with an auditorium for 600 seats. They are pictured on the site with Mr. Mitchell and representatives for the Rotary Club who also presented 1000 blocks as a donation to the Centre.

BISHOP MICHAEL ELDON ON RESPIRATOR
Bishop Michael Eldon’s condition has worsened. Prayers are being said throughout Anglican Churches for his well being. It is reported that he is on a respirator which suggests that the end is near. The Bishop was the first Bahamian to head the Anglican Church in The Bahamas. He is loved by the faithful.

COL. HAROLD BURNSIDE DIES

Colonel Harold Burnside (ret.) has died in New York after a long illness. He was 91 years old. Col. Burnside left The Bahamas when he was two years old. He made a career in the U.S. Army. He returned after his first wife died, and married Hyacinth Saunders, the widow of the late Reginald Saunders. He is survived by his wife Hyacinth who boasted of 12 wonderful years, a daughter Betty and a sister Ivy. He was a remote cousin of Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell. Colonel Burnside was cremated and services were held at St. Agnes Anglican Church on Tuesday 5th April. His remains were placed in the Garden of Remembrance, Christ Church Cathedral.

KUDOS TO CRAIG BUTLER
We note that Craig Butler in his column this week admits that he got it wrong with the Prime Minister’s visit to the Miami Heat game. Florida Power and Light confirmed in a press release this week what we said on this site last week. It was not Florida Power and Light who paid for the tickets or invited him to the game. Mr. Butler did not make a clean breast of it however. He seeks to blame this site as the source of the problem. Every journalist knows, however, that you must stand on your own sources not on others.

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

RESPECTS TO A DEPARTED POPE - Acting Governor General Paul Adderley, Prime Minister Christie and Mrs. Christie are shown accompanied Ministers Bradley Roberts, Obie Wilchcombe and Fred Mitchell at the memorial mass of the resurrection held at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Cathedral in memory of John Paul II.

THE DELIGHT OF FRIENDSHIP - Mrs. Bernadette Christie, wife of the Prime Minister is shown being ecstatically received by her friend Francis Singer Hayward aboard the luxury yacht 'Highlander'. The occasion was a gala party held in honour of Mrs. Christie and hosted by Ms. Singer Hayward and Christopher Forbes.

COURTESY CALL - Rev. Jonathan Carey, Charles H. McWilliams, Sharlene C. King, and Dr. Kevin C. King are show with Prime Minister Christie during a courtesy call by the religious ministers at the Office of The Prime Minister.

REDEDICATION TO AGRICULTURAL INDEPENDENCE - Prime Minister Christie addressed the nation's farmers this past week, chiding all concerned that he had been speaking about Bahamian self sufficiency in agriculture from the time he served as Minister many years ago. The question, said the Prime Minister, is why are we still talking about it. Mr. Christie called for a rededication to the goal of feeding ourselves and pledged government assistance to the farmers.

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

15 vs. 15
Not many things shock Bahamians, particularly the jaded population of New Providence where the city of Nassau is situated. But there was a palpable sense of – what next?! – when it was reported that a 15 year old, son of an Assistant Superintendent of Police, had stabbed to death another 15 year old. The event occurred following a fight on Tuesday 12th April at Porky’s Gas Station on South Beach. The two were students of C.V. Bethel High School. The fight involved knives and cutlasses. Both students are said to have been below average in school performance.

The usual gaggle of grief counsellors, adolescent experts and social commentators descended on the scene to pronounce why it had happened and how we can expect more to happen. Dr. David Allen who seems today to be the national seer on these kinds of matters spoke about the nation’s concentration on the event and not on the process. His view is that there is always a process that leads to the event. The question is: why can't we see the process as it develops and seek to intervene to stop it from becoming an event?

It is clear that this affects mainly the young male population. We are certain that if you examine the young man who did the stabbing, and the young man who died, you will see a tale of neglect, low intelligence, bad grades, and the lack of aggressive intervention on the part of the society to save the young people. It has now ended in tragedy. Will the country act to save other children?

It seems to us that we are still quiet squeamish when it comes to interventions to save the young men. They are still largely abandoned to their own fates. There is a patch work of programmes most of them small and under funded, and too many of them still dominated by female instruction. The money may not be there, and certainly it seems that we don’t want to make the money available. The old people used to say: “You can find money for what you want to find it for.”

The first class of the National Youth Service pilot programme has already passed out from their base in Andros. They have been to boot camp. They have had the experience of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force putting them through their paces. Now they are unleashed out to the world. The boys thought the programme was an excellent one. Some of the boys believed that it was too short a programme. What happens now?

If the experience of the past is anything to go by from other countries, it is clear that boot camps do not succeed in the long run. What is needed is a consistent, persistent and long term intervention on the part of the society that will follow these boys, not through a six weeks or six months programmes but well into their twenties. In fact, it appears to us that Bahamian men don’t come into their maturity until they are 30 years old. They just don’t seem to get the seriousness of life until then. Is the society willing to make the commitment until then?

Notwithstanding the shock at what happened at Porky's gas station, the fact that a fifteen year old is dead, within weeks this shock will wear off and that will be the end of that. The boy who did the killing has been charged with manslaughter and not murder. The society will pass on to something else. But you can bet that within the walls of our schools there is the smouldering cauldron of young boys and girls who desperately need attention, and the state will have to step in and provide it, if we are not to go down as being consumed by the kind of mindless and inexplicable violence that we saw at the gas station.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 16th April 2005 at midnight: 80,077.

Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 16th April 2005 at midnight: 183,150.

Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 16th April 2005 at midnight: 1,139,230.

OH NO! NOT ZHIVARGO LAING AGAIN
Zhivargo Laing, the former Minister of the Government a.k.a. the Minister of Uneconomic Development, can’t help himself. He is becoming tiresome. Having lost the argument with the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell time and time again on the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME); because he does not know the facts or seeking to obfuscate with sophistry, he is relentless in his intellectual perfidy. In this he is aided and abetted by his column in The Tribune which appears there every week. This week, we didn’t even bother to read what he said, it was bound to be nonsense. FRED MITCHELL IS WRONG AGAIN said the erroneous headline. We think that is the best way to deal with a man who simply doesn’t get it. We’ve felt embarrassed for him, sorry for him; now we feel nothing but stupefaction at the continued ignorance.

SIGNING UP FOR A NEW STADIUM

The Chinese were in town for the last few weeks with their technical team and construction company to get the project for the 30 million dollar stadium up and running. You will remember The Bahamas was promised a 30 million dollar stadium by the Chinese when the Prime Minister paid an official visit to China in September of last year. A team from The Bahamas side met with a team from the Chinese side during the week. The sides were engaged in tortuous negotiations which even included the Attorney General at one point. The final language on the specifics of building the stadium was agreed very late in the night of Wednesday 13th April or early in the morning of Thursday 14th April. It appears that both sides are happy with the language.
The Chinese have an ambitious timetable for the completion of this stadium by the year 2007. This would seem to require a lot of discipline on the Bahamian side to ensure that this matter gets off on time. Speaking at the unveiling of the plans and the signing of the agreement, the Prime Minister described the gift as a temple. The Minister of Sports Neville Wisdom and the entire sports establishment joined the PM for the unveiling as did the Chinese Ambassador. The contract was signed by the Secretary of the Cabinet. Here’s to 2007 for more reason than one. TOP- Chinese Ambassador to The Bahamas Li Yuanming points to the artist’s rendering of the National Stadium on Thursday. At his left is Prime Minister Perry Christie. Also shown at far right is Tommy Robinson, who heads the Bahamas National Stadium Committee and at left is Dai Boqing, director of the Chinese technical team. RIGHT - Minister of Youth, Sports & Culture Neville Wisdom, lauded by the Prime Minister as "a champion without equal of Bahamian youth in sports" is shown unveiling the stadium rendering. Bahama Journal photos by Omar Barr.

FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKS AGAIN ON CSME
Each week, it appears that the Bahamian public is more and more interested in what the Caribbean Single Market and Economy will mean for our economy. There is a sense that the irrationality and fear is subsiding and some people are interested in listening to a rational argument, instead of a harangue not based on fact. There is no pressure to join the CSME, but The Bahamas has been dithering about this for far too long and it needs to move ahead to reorganize its trade arrangements and its domestic economy to better face the future. You have the likes of Zhivargo Laing who are anxious to get back in the House and will cause any amount of confusion to get where he wants to go. He knows better but will not say better or do better. His arguments are intellectually bankrupt.
The Bahamas Financial Services Board sponsored a lunch during the week on Monday 11th April to hear from the Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank who spoke to the issue of the expected changes in exchange control, and from Ambassador Leonard Archer who has written a question and answer booklet on the subject of CSME. You may click here for the Minister's address on the subject.

FOREIGN MINISTER TO TURKS, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

The Prime Minister led The Bahamas delegation to the Turks and Caicos Islands for the official opening of their new Parliamentary building. Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell was among the Ministers who travelled with the Prime Minister. It is part of the platform of the Progressive Liberal Party for the 2002 general election that when elected to the Government, it would foster closer ties with the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bermuda. Mr. Mitchell has carried out that mandate. After a brief visit with the PM in the Turks, he left in mid ceremony to represent the Prime Minister as Head of Delegation at the official opening of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The Bahamas is not a part of the Court nor the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) but it shadows all its proceedings and is helping to pay the bill for the court. The Court has two jurisdictions: originating to deal with disputes arising out of the Caricom treaty and appellate to deal with civil and criminal appeals from member countries.
The opening of the Parliamentary building in Grand Turk took place on Friday 15th April at 10:30 a.m. The official opening of the CCJ took place in Port of Spain, Trinidad on Saturday 16th April. The Bahamas has to keep in mind that one day the British will simply say “enough already” and there ought to be a replacement available for the Privy Council which is our final Court of Appeal. Mr. Mitchell is also an advocate of a special relationship between the Turks and Caicos Island and The Bahamas where there will be the free movement of people between the two countries with Bahamians able to work in Turks free of work permits, and Turks Islanders able to work in The Bahamas free of work permits. There is no government policy on the matter, however. You may click here for more photos and for the full address of the Prime Minister as he officially opened the new building. Prime Minister Christie and Minister Mitchell are shown in the halls of the Turks & Caicos Legislative Council Building reviewing the Prime Minister's address to the TCI legislature.

HENRY WEMYSS HAS A BIRTHDAY
Henry Wemyss is the successful owner of the security contract at BaTelCo and other establishments in the country. He is said to have the best security service in the country, and people covet what he has been able to achieve. He was drummed off the police force because of trumped up charges. He suffered the indignity of imprisonment, but he has risen above it all with a proud family around him and a successful business. We hope that the PLP does what it is supposed to do and protect this Bahamian in business. This week he celebrated a birthday. He is 58 and his wife and family and the employees of the business feted him to a party at Portofino's at the Sheraton British Colonial Hotel for a birthday lunch. Stopping by the lunch was Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell on Thursday 14th April.

CARL BETHEL ATTACKS CABLE BEACH PLANS
It is clear that Carl Bethel has his own agenda. You all know who Carl Bethel is of course. He is the man who wants Sidney Stubbs to resign just so he could run again and try to get back into the House of Assembly. He is running his own version of the Free National Movement. As Chairman of the party, he has spent the past week or so attacking the PLP with wild abandon, and his usual illogic. First he set upon the Cable Beach project, accusing the PLP of selling out the land of Bahamians and their birthright. Mr. Bethel of course does not know what the deal is, and so can make no such assertion. But never let that fact get in the way, just say it anyway. Enough mud thrown and it will stick, is his theory.
Mr. Bethel launched his next tirade against Raynard Rigby, PLP Chairman, who has been defending the PLP within the past week with great aplomb and landing blow after blow on Mr. Bethel and his colleagues. Mr. Bethel said that Mr. Rigby had no right to call the former Prime Minister Hubert. Now that’s an interesting one. Mr. Bethel can’t be talking about respecting the same Hubert Ingraham who used to attack public servants from public podiums, who used to talk to anyone any way, who had no respect for man nor beast. No niceties there. If Mr. Rigby wants to call him Hubert then that’s the way it goes. What Mr. Bethel has to do is get his party organized and tell us why only 20 people showed up at that meeting in St. Cecilia the other night (click here for last week’s story). And he ought to tell us why the leaders of the Party were not amongst those who did show up: Tommy wasn’t there and neither was Hubert. Hmmm!

WILL INGRAHAM NOW GO TO SLEEP?
If you had asked us two weeks ago in this forum whether or not Hubert Ingraham would be trying to take a comeback for round two against Perry Christie, we would have laid bets that he was. But after the Prime Minister announced the Cable Beach project and the 1.2 billion dollars that will be spent on it and the thousands of jobs that it will create, Mr. Ingraham must now be in a great pit of political depression.
The political commentators say you won’t hear a peep from Mr. Ingraham any more. We can’t be that certain, but we think that there is some sense to that thought. But what we would advise is that the law needs to be amended to prevent a Prime Minister who is already receiving a pension from receiving a pension if he comes back into the job. The PLP ought to pass that law. It would only be fair to the country’s coffers. We are certain that that will put an end to the quest.

GOING SLOW AT BTC - YOU’RE KIDDING RIGHT?
By Sharon Zoe Smith*
There once was a time when people would actually be concerned if there were industrial problems at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd, known as BTC, formerly BaTelCo. Now it hardly raises a murmur. BTC is a fast fading company with its revenues in decline and each day, one company after another is stealing its markets right out from under them. And yet, the employees don’t seem to see the handwriting on the wall. First there was a walkout because the negotiations did not go the way the employees wanted. Now a go slow has been announced which means that a public which is already fed up with the bad services that BTC delivers is to get even worse service.
It is really a shame that the Governments, both of them, chose the long and tortuous route, to privatize BTC which ultimately ended in failure. What was so complex about it, we surely didn’t know. We still don’t know. The Free National Movement under Hubert Ingraham spent 100 million dollars to downsize a company saying that it was preparing for privatization and then nothing happened. Someone should go to jail for what they did. Let us say it as simply as we can so that it is on the record, sell the company now to the people who run it. Finance them if you will. Put 49 per cent of the shares on the market to the public and let the people go for themselves. Those who own it can then choose what kind of company they want. The same should be done for the Broadcasting Corporation and for the Bahamas Electricity Corporation. Bahamasair has also to know what time it is soon as well. But for God sake, enough of this already!
(* Sharon Zoe Smith is a Bahamian writer living in London and writing under a nom de plume.—Editor)

PM ANSWERS THE POLICE AND BILL HOLOWESKO

    Last week, we responded on behalf of those who were outraged at the actions of the police inspector who heads the Police Staff Association. During the week, the inspector Richard Sands went further and said that the entire promotion exercise was a national disgrace. The Prime Minister responded to the matter in the House of Assembly rejecting the description, indicating that at no time did he have any input on the list of those who were promoted. Many people think that Mr. Sands has overstepped his mark as Chair of the Association. The problem is how does a leader of a staff association get to the point where he has neither access nor entrée into the offices of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister because of the way he approaches issues.
    That leads us to the response of the Prime Minister to the comments of William Holowesko, the attorney who attacked the Prime Minister in a letter to the editor which was published in The Tribune. Last week we responded to the comments (click here for that); giving a history of the kind of man Bill Holowesko is thought to be.
    The Prime Minister told the House that he used to respect Bill Holowesko. He said that he absolutely rejects the attack on Dr. Livingstone Marshall, the environmental expert and marine biologist, who advises the Government on environmental matters. Mr. Holowesko condemned Dr. Marshall for advising the Government that the environmental information was insufficient. The Prime Minister reiterated what the Minister of Agriculture had said before him, and that is that if the investor is able to show that he has the financial ability to perform the project, and the environmental impact study is provided, then the matter will be looked at again. The PM said that despite numerous requests, the investor had failed to do so. The project in which the investor is interested is approval for a fish farm to produce salmon and tilapia at Inagua. The Prime Minister’s comments came in the House on Wednesday 13th April. Bahama Journal photo of PM Christie in the House of Assembly this past week.

BERMUDA INDEPENDENCE TEAM VISITS
Bermuda’s Premier Alex Scott has appointed a commission to investigate the feasibility of independence for Bermuda. Of course Bermuda can be independent. They have the money, the manpower; the skills to do so. The question: can they overcome the prejudice of the large white community of Bermuda who oppose it, particularly with the thought of a Black government in charge of the country. It is like the situation where some whites in Abaco in 1972 decided that they wanted to breakaway from The Bahamas. The Commission is headed by Bishop Vernon Lambe. They visited Nassau to speak with present day officials and former officials including the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the former Ministers of Foreign Affairs Sir Clement Maynard and Sir Orville Turnquest. They spent two days in talks before heading for Jamaica.

FIRE AT LUCAYAN MEDICAL
Late reports are in of a devastating fire at the main Lucayan Medical Centre (west) in Freeport, Grand Bahama. The centre was established as a major medical facility on the island by now Minister of Health Dr. Marcus Bethel.

LESTER MORTIMER SR. DIES
Lester Mortimer Sr. has died. Mr. Mortimer, the 71 year old retired operator of the famous Mortimer's Candy Kitchen was knocked down Saturday evening while crossing the street at Cable Beach.

POETRY FEATURE

This week, the poet Giovanni Stuart says “Poesy is crafted for recitation whilst read… We remain in the vein of adoration; review ‘MUSE’ [click here]. Photo: ‘Blood-Red Rose’ and verse by recording and literary artist, Giovanni Stuart (www.nubah.com)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Reflecting on Meerabux
    I have only just reflected on the announcement that Mr. Meerabux is to leave the Belize judiciary, as announced in your recent weekly newsletter.
    Our paths first crossed when he served an arrest warrant on me in Freeport, in August 1983, after I had failed to attend at the magistrate's court on a charge of assault. I was out of the Bahamas in the U.K. at the time.
    It was an interesting case, brought by an employee of the Harbour Co. and which other parties found equally interesting for the degree of ‘bias’ involved. By 1983, I was ‘in the way’ at the Freeport Harbour Company and various ‘lucrative activities’ were being forestalled by my presence, so this court case was a useful hook to have me heaved out of the country.
    My innocence, on a solid point of common law, was not established until a further 4 court appearances were made, in 1984, and I can still remember the gold-draped Immigration Officer having to leave the court room empty handed...there were a good number of disappointed Bahamians about too! George Meerabux was under a good deal of pressure, I presume, to find against me, but the simple word ‘IF’ proved its worth.
John Hinchliffe

What comes to mind is - we think it was Richard Nixon - who said “If you stand on the banks of the river long enough, eventually the bodies of your enemies will float by”. Interesting story and thanks! – Editor

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

NEW TCI LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER - Prime Minister Perry Christie (left) and Chief Minister Michael Missick of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are all smiles displaying the bronze plaque just unveiled by Mr. Christie as he officially opened the TCI's new Legislative Council Chamber.

MINISTERS IN TCI - Minister of Transport & Aviation Glenys Hanna Martin (seated, second from left) and Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe (right of Minister Hanna Martin) were among the Ministers travelling with Prime Minister Christie to the TCI. During the trip, Minister Wilchcombe reviewed much of the newly built tourist plant in TCI. Also accomanying the Prime Minister was the Ambassador for the Environment Keod Smith.

TCI GOVERNOR COURTESY CALL - While in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Prime Minister Perry Christie made a courtesy call on the Governor there. Pictured with the Prime Minister and the Governor are from left, Keod Smith, Ambassador to the Environment; Oswald Ingraham, Speaker of The Bahamas House of Assembly; Obie Wilchcombe, Minister of Tourism, Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs & The Public Service and Glenys Hanna Martin, Minister of Transport & Aviation.

PLP PRAYER BREAKFAST - Party leaders joined hundreds of Progressive Liberal Party members Sunday 17th April for the party's annual prayer breakfast. Party Leader and Prime Minister Perry Christie (centre) is seen amongst the crowd with Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Party Leader Cynthia 'Mother' Pratt, seated with Party Chairman Raynard Rigby and Mrs. Rigby.

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

THE DEATH OF THE CANDY MAN

Cannon Warren Rolle who preached the sermon at the funeral of Lester Mortimer Sr. told the story of how he heard of the death. Mr. Mortimer was a member of the Anglican Church of St Mary the Virgin on Virginia Street in Nassau. A member of the church Gwen Reid, who is the wife of Idris Reid, who himself is the Managing Director of the Airport Authority, called her priest to say that just after 9 p.m. on Saturday 16th April, Mr. Mortimer in trying to cross the street on West Bay Street, just off the curb in front of the Breezes Hotel, he was struck down by an off duty policeman. It appears that the off duty policeman could not wait for another car to move that had stopped. The other car had stopped to allow Mr. Mortimer and his family to cross. The whole horrible scene was watched by his wife Gloria. They had been married for 53 years. They were both 18 at the time. And so a whole live, well and contributing member of society is gone; just like that. Reports are that the driver of the car Terrance Thompson has been charged with manslaughter.

Strangely, there was no outrage here. He lived a good life and was a happy man even to the end. The community seemed to respond to his death was the way he would have responded. The Lord gives and the lord takes away. But there is a numbness at the stupidity and senselessness of all of this. It again begs the question of the transport policy of successive governments. The fact that the Cable Beach strip, that section of West Bay Street where there is a dual carriageway, in effect a four lane highway, has been a death trap in too many instances and not enough has been done to protect the pedestrian public.

The last time that something like this happened, a tourist was involved. The result was the whole Cable Beach strip of hotels got together to encourage the government to improve the lighting, put up pedestrian crossings, and put up speed signs. It was clearly not enough. It should have been clear that it was not enough when it all went up. But that is typical of behaviour in public policy in The Bahamas. We try to convince ourselves that by imposing a solution, that this is in fact the solution, instead of thinking through whether on a main highway putting up signs on speeding was actually going to stop speeding. It didn’t and now another man is dead because of it.

The case has been clear for years that there is a need through this island of New Providence to construct foot bridges where pedestrians are to cross major highways. The next test of this will be the Harold Road highway. This highway, which is nearing completion, which is also now converted into four lanes, will be a virtual nightmare for people to cross. They should not be allowed to cross the highway by law in any event. There ought to be foot bridges along the way and those would be the only points at which crossing should be allowed to take place. Cable Beach must have them as well.

Speeding is a problem in The Bahamas as it is elsewhere. Drunk driving is also a problem in The Bahamas, more than we like to know. What tends to happen in The Bahamas is that around issues like Mr. Mortimer’s death we have a temporary call to action, and then we promptly go to sleep until something else happens again. There is no follow through, and the cycle inevitably ends up repeating itself. Further when someone is charged with a death in these circumstances, the courts seem to take the whole thing as a misdemeanour, and give the driver a slap on the wrist. This man, if guilty should go to jail.

A friend of this column lost his girlfriend in Grand Bahama to a hit and run driver some weeks ago. We reported it on this site. The same kind of death has happened in Nassau on too many occasions. People, using the roads early in the morning to walk or jog, end up being crippled for life or dead by hit and run drivers. Now we certainly we ought to rail against the cowards who would do such a thing. However, we have a greater obligation. The Government must respond with proper pathways, and sidewalks knowing the reality of life in the country today. The same we are certain will occur in the other islands like Exuma where traffic is becoming an issue.

Let us hope that this small call here today will result in some form of action. We live in the hope and the expectation that some physical changes will be wrought on West Bay Street and other streets, and that together with aggressive law enforcement on speeding, on drunk driving that some permanent changes will come to the way we do business on our streets. The response to Lester Mortimer’s death would be appropriate if that is the result. No use sitting up in the man’s funeral and then doing nothing.

Stan Burnside the cartoonist whose drawing we use today summed up the life of Lester Mortimer, who was the successor to his father’s candy business on East Street. This was one of the men of the elite who was struck down. The ruling class of the country turned up in their finery for it. Stan Burnside predicted that there is joy in heaven because the Candy Man had reached. Let us hope that the sadness that it has left here really does bring joy in heaven. Let us hope that the work on earth that we are left to do will be as we have said here today.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 23rd April 2005 at midnight: 83,462.

Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 23rd April 2005 at midnight: 266,612.

Number of hits for the year 2005 up to Saturday 23rd April 2005 at midnight: 1,222,692.

TOP - 'Sideburns' from The Nassau Guardian of Friday 22nd April; Peter Ramsay photos - Some of the family of Lester Mortimer; Some of the dignitaries at the Mortimer funeral, including the Sir Clement Maynard, Prime Minister Christie and Governor General Dame Ivy Dumont.

A NEWLY ELECTED POPE

    The first Bahamian to announce that he would be headed to Rome to greet the Pope was not as you would have expected the Roman Catholic Archbishop Patrick Pinder but rather His Grace the Anglican Archbishop of the West Indies Drexel Gomez. Go figure that! The Archbishop says that he was invited to the service in Rome for the new Pope today and that he will later join an audience of leaders from other denominations to greet the Pope. He is being invited at the nomination of the Archbishop of Canterbury as part of an interdenominational Christian body.
    The new Pope is not a surprise. He preached the Homily at the late John Paul II’s funeral and was from all accounts John Paul’s right hand man. He is expected to continue in the traditions of the previous Pope, dashing hopes of some that there would be a loosening of restrictions on women in the church, the ban of priests being married, restrictions on contraception, and the church’s attitude toward homosexuality. Doesn’t look like there will be any change soon, and it is probably unreasonable to expect it seeing that the beliefs on these subjects are so closely tied up with the identity of the Roman Catholic Church.
    Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI is German and like almost everyone in his generation in Germany he was for a brief time part of the Hitler youth. From all accounts, he is intellectually bright and is the right man for the job of filling the shoes of the fisherman. He is believed to be a compassionate Christian even though he developed the reputation of being John Paul II’s enforcer of the orthodoxy of the faith. Pope Benedict XVI touring St. Peter's Square after his installation Sunday 24th April - Davide Santorelli/Getty Images

THE ZOEPOUND HAITIAN GANG
    The Haitians in The Bahamas should brace for it. The report is that there is now a Haitian mafia in the schools. It is called the Zoepound Gang. The matter first came to the attention of the public in a report by Kingsley Black to the press on Tuesday 19th April. Mr. Black is the President of the Bahamas Union of Teachers.
    The Bahama Journal said in its Tuesday 19th April edition that the report on the gang has been received by a special committee set up by Immigration Minister Vincent Peet. According to Mr. Black, the Zoepound Gang has the aim of fomenting violence against Bahamians as a result of the attacks on Haitians during the recent disturbances in Nassau Village. Abraham Stubbs, principal of D.W. Davis Junior High said to the Journal that he had seen the graffiti of the group but also saw no evidence of such a group.
    The reports ought to be taken seriously. If there is such a gang or indeed a Haitian gang, Bahamians should not be surprised. After decades of inertia on regularisation of citizenship, on stopping both official and unofficial discrimination, you should expect to see gangs develop. This is not new. Wherever immigrants feel threatened by discrimination and are not integrated into the mainstream of society, you have them form themselves into gangs. The great difficulty in The Bahamas is that no one, no one seems willing to listen to rational debate. Everyone wants to start their actions based on the faulty premise of their prejudices and then go from there. This is quite sad and is bound to lead this country into trouble.

POLICY ON U.S. PASSPORTS AND OTHER PROPAGANDA
It appears that Fred Mitchell the Foreign & Public Service Minister is going back to the glory days of the cut and thrust of campaigning if only for just a brief, shining moment. In the House of Assembly on Wednesday 20th April, he spoke out forcefully on a Nassau Guardian editorial that misrepresented the country’s position on its vote at the Organization of American States (OAS). The Bahamas voted for Mexico in the OAS election, which led to a 17 to 17 tie after seven rounds of voting on 7th April. The Minister took the occasion also to answer the misinformation spun by The Punch on the question of the U.S. policy on passports, which will be required for all U.S. citizens returning from the Caribbean, beginning 1st January 2006. You may click here for the full statement.

DESMOND BANNISTER GIVES IT ALL UP

The announcement that Senator Desmond Bannister is to give up his seat in the Senate with effect from 30th April came as a surprise. That was on Tuesday 19th April. Then two days later Senator Bannister who is also the President of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) announced that he was giving up that job with immediate effect. The questions immediately started going around. Why was he leaving? What caused a bright and able man, with a great political future ahead of him to suddenly pack it in? Senator Bannister himself did not supply an answer that a gossipy public or more properly the political pundits could find to be acceptable. He pleaded business. He pleaded that politics takes an enormous amount of time and he had to devote more time to his business and family. That did not seem to make sense to many because on the face of it, everyone who goes into politics knows in advance that business and family are sacrificed on that altar. Did he not know any of this before hand?
The party opposite (the PLP) and its pundits were happy to oblige with a more sensible explanation. Maybe, just maybe, he had given up. After seeing the PLP’s progress on the massive development at Cable Beach, after judging the possibilities of an election victory for 2007 by the Free National Movement, after looking at the divisions in their leadership, which seem now to have no immediate answer, he simply decided to throw in the towel. One man who should be thanking his lucky stars is John Carey, the Member of Parliament (PLP) for Carmichael. It would appear that the prospect of a formidable candidate against him in the next general election is now off the table. John Carey should be smiling all the way to the House of Assembly. Photograph of Desmond Bannister from The Bahama Journal

SOUND AND FURY SIGNIFYING NOTHING!
The Story of Zhivargo Laing
There he was on the television casually dressed as he expounded on the topic of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). The words that came to mind in response: “sound and fury signifying nothing”. Here is a bright man intellectually, simply wasting his talent in foolish arguments that have no basis in fact. Just spinning idle words that seek to mislead. As the Minister responsible for Economic Development under the Free National Movement, he championed all of the trade agreements: the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), the World Trade Organization (WTO). Suddenly, he is now “Mr. Cold Feet” on all of these agreements or engaged in such sophistry that it is nothing short of politically and intellectually dishonest.
There he was on Darrold Miller’s show, expounding and pounding on the table about whether or not The Bahamas can get in advance the assurances on exceptions from the free movement of people. This is an entirely idle debate since the agreement to except The Bahamas from the provisions of the free movement of people has already been mooted and accepted. So what debate is there? The real deal here is that Mr. Laing is looking for an FNM seat so he has got to find a way to get his name in the newspapers. This is as good a way as any one supposes. But as we said last week, what a tiresome fellow!

THE PM ON POLITICAL ATTACKS
    Prime Minister Perry Christie was on the attack against the Brits who run The Tribune who are busy trying to mount a propaganda campaign against the PLP. The means to that attack is to try to puncture the integrity of the Prime Minister. The most recent time before this was of course the whole flap about being in the box of Florida Power and Light at the Miami Heat game. When that didn’t work, they went on to something else. That else is now an allegation that a firm trying to get an LNG licence from the Government fired its original lawyer Fred Smith, who can’t approach the Prime Minister because he called him a liar in public and so is therefore a liability to his client one supposes, and they have now hired Earl Cash, the brother-in-law of the Prime Minister. That was The Tribune’s spin on it.
    The Prime Minister was incensed. Here is what he said in his own words in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 20th April 2005:
    “Sometimes I believe that because it is difficult to insinuate, import or ground negative findings about myself there is an effort to touch those around me with negative implications.
    “[The article] did not even say my brother-in-law is a partner in the law firm of Higgs and Johnson, the law firm that handles fundraisers for the FNM, it didn’t say that. It didn’t say that my brother-in-law was at the polls for the Member for Montagu (FNM Brent Symonette) in the last election. They simply want to insinuate, parachute him into my life with some implication which is simply incorrect.
    “It is so sad that because he is my brother-in-law they tried to separate him from his law firm and practice and notwithstanding traditionally and historically our politics would have been different.”

THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER ON CSME
    The Foreign Affairs Minister has been a busy beaver this past week on the issue of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). On Thursday 21st April, he spoke to the Progressive Liberal Party’s National General Council on the issue with a blistering attack on the FNM and former Minister Zhivargo Laing. He called Mr. Laing’s arguments “slow as molasses”. You may click here for that address.
    Then on Friday 22nd April, he addressed the Life Underwriters Association on how CSME will impact the insurance industry. He talked about the fact that there will under CSME be the free movement of capital, but The Bahamas will not sign onto the provisions of the free movement of people. You may click here for that address.
    On Monday 25th April, the Minister will appear on Darrold Miller’s show on radio and television beginning at 11 a.m.

THE HARRY C. MOORE LIBRARY
The late Harry C. Moore was a major contributor to the education of Bahamians. The Lyford Cay Foundation was his baby and it has raised and continues to raise millions of dollars for Bahamians to take up scholarships abroad. Mr. Moore served on the Board of the College of The Bahamas and in 1995 started a campaign to endow the college with five million dollars. That done, he also started a campaign for a library. Sadly Mr. Moore passed away, well into his nineties mind you, but the library idea has not died.
On Friday 22nd April, the Minister of Education Alfred Sears, joined by officials from the College including College Chair Franklyn Wilson, and President Rodney Smith broke ground for the Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre at the College. It will have 170,000 volumes and will also house the papers of the past Prime Ministers of The Bahamas and the now Prime Minister. Until there is a national library, the college library that is to serve the new University of The Bahamas scheduled to come into being in 2007, will also serve as a national library. Speaking on the occasion was the widow of Harry C. Moore.

LONG TERM CARE FOR BISHOP ELDON
    At the funeral of Lester Mortimer (see story above) His Grace the Archbishop Drexel Gomez asked the Anglican Communion to continue to pray for Bishop Michael Eldon, the first Bahamian Bishop who is in a comatose state suffering from septicaemia and pneumonia. The last bulletin on his condition as issued on 4th April.
    Now the Eldon family led by Dr. Keva Bethel, the former College of The Bahamas President, who is the Bishop’s sister, has spoken up. She said that the family is thinking of moving him home to more comfortable surroundings. She said that the Bishop is relatively stable though not conscious. The family is looking at providing long term care for him at home.
    We ask all to continue to pray for the Bishop. The report of Dr. Bethel's statements was made in The Tribune Friday 22nd April.

THE COMMITTEE REPORTS ON TOMMY?
    The report is doing the rounds that the FNM leader outside the House Tommy Turnquest appointed a Committee headed by former Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson to look into the leadership question as it relates to the FNM.
    As you know you have more leaders and would be leaders than you can shake a stick at in the FNM. There is Senator Turnquest, Leader outside the House; Alvin Smith, the Leader of the Opposition; Brent Symonette, who wants to run for Leader of the Party and is now Leader of Opposition business in the House; Hubert Ingraham, who is a former leader and wants to be leader again.
    The report of the Committee came back that Tommy Turnquest should step down. But since this report emanates from the PLP side of the House it is hard to get confirmation of it from the FNM. Sounds true though!

SOUTH ANDROS SENIOR CITIZENS GET HOME

KEMP’S BAY, South Andros – Lady Pindling, widow of former Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Lynden O. Pindling, cutting the ribbon, on April 15, during the Official Dedication Ceremony of the South Andros Senior Citizens’ Home, in Kemp’s Bay, Andros. Also pictured are Minister of Social Services and Community Development the Hon. Melanie Griffin and Chairman of the Senior Citizens’ Home Committee Mr. Lofton Neely (partially hidden). Private and civil organizations and government agencies, both in Andros and New Providence, worked together in the creation of the home. (BIS photo: Eric Rose)

ST. JOHN'S STUDENTS TOUR HOUSE WITH DPM

Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia 'Mother' Pratt acted as a VIP tour guide to the House of Assembly, Wednesday, for this group of St. John's College students on a visit and fact finding tour. Mrs. Pratt not only toured the students through the House, but also conducted them on a visual tour of the central city... Lucky students. Bahamas Information Services photo by Peter Ramsay

DONNIE McCLURKIN VISITS

The hierarchy of the Anglican Church turned out in force, together with many leading citizens and church supporters to appreciate the spiritual music of famous gospel artist Donnie McClurkin, who performed a benefit for the Church at Sandals hotel before a standing room only crowd. The gospel singer, who is billed as having “the soul of Andraé Crouch and the contemporary flair of Kirk Franklin” said he is stepping down from his recording career to make way for younger artists. McClurkin is said to be going to concentrate on his ministry. Bahamas Information Services photo by Peter Ramsay

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Good Reporting on ‘PM Visits TCI’
    I have been a reader of your site since May 2002 when I became fascinated with the PLP’s amazing sweep at the Polls.
    I am impressed that your Prime Minister has finally made his maiden voyage to my country and not flying solo but with an entourage which only compliments your government’s commitment to creating stronger ties with the islands.
    As a current student of Political Science in British Columbia, let me say how I find your site enlightening, thought-provoking and sometimes comical. Your ability to look at issues and report on them (at times though biased to your political affiliation) is very good. You said in a much earlier edition that you don't apologize and make it known that you do support the PLP and this I commend you on. For I too, support the Progressive National Party in the Turks and Caicos, a party that shares the same ideology as your beloved PLP.
    I enjoy reading your site and though sometimes I don’t know the people directly, I feel as if I know them from how you reporting is done so well. It is a ritual for me whether I am at the University lab, an Internet cafe or even at home on a cold Sunday afternoon in Canada, I have to log on and see what you at Bahamasuncensored.com have to say on the past week in the Bahamas.
    So please, accept this email as a compliment for being a well organized, well informed media tool for the PLP although you have no direct ties to the organization (wasn't Hon. Fred Mitchell this site’s editor once?).
Good job folks and God Bless.
Kimo K. Tynes
Vancouver Island
British Columbia

THIS WEEK WITH THE PM

PM LYRICAL ON CLIFTON - Prime Minister Perry Christie addresses the House of Assembly Wednesday as he presents a resolution for the Government to raise the funds spent on acquiring the historic property at Clifton. Mr. Christie - as Leader of the Opposition declared that if the former government had given permission for the construction of a real estate development at the property, it would be revoked under the PLP. The resolution was passed unanimously. Clifton is an area at the western end of New Providence, once owned by the Oakes family, which was formerly a plantation on which archaeologists have discovered remnants of the indigenous populations of The Bahamas as well as slave and loyalist artifacts.

BERMUDA INDEPENDENCE COMMISSION VISITS - A commission appointed to investigate the feasibility of independence for Bermuda has visited The Bahamas. The Commission is headed by Bishop Vernon Lambe and visited Nassau to speak with present day officials and former officials including the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the former Ministers of Foreign Affairs Sir Clement Maynard and Sir Orville Turnquest. Pictured during a call at the Office of The Prime Minister from left are, Bishop Lambe; Dame Lois Brown-Evans (Advisor to Commission), Commissioner Marc Bean, Prime Minister Christie, and Commissioner Derrick Burgess..

CELEBRATING WITH TRANSFIGURATION - Prime Minister Christie is joined by Ministers and other political leaders during the anniversary celebration at Transfiguration Baptist Church..

3^rd April, 2005 *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.*
POLICE PROMOTIONS...	A ROW AT COLINA...
CSME BACK IN THE NEWS...	THE PRESS GET IT WRONG ON CHRISTIE...
BRENT LAUNCHES HIS CAMPAIGN...	AND HUBERT TOO...
AND WHAT WAS TOMMY SAYING?...	PLP - TOMMY IS 'CRYBABY'
CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR TO LEAVE...	SUCCESSFUL DEAL AT CABLE BEACH...
PLP CONGRATULATIONS...	KERZNER ANNOUNCES THE THIRD PHASE...
NETTLEFORD AT PINDLING LECTURE...	LYDIA SIMMONS DIES...
PM EXPRESSES REGRET AT DEATH OF POPE...	PLP EXPRESSES REGRET AT DEATH OF POPE...
	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

10^th April, 2005 *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.*
BEHOLD!...	LESLIE BATTLES IN CAT CAY...
LATEST NEWS ON LNG...	THE “MADNESS” OF WILLIAM HOLOWESKO...
SIDNEY STUBBS MAY YET DODGE THE BULLET...	WAS THAT ARTHUR FOULKES THEY SAW?...
CABLE BEACH DEAL IS FINALLY DONE...	HOW WILL KERZNER REACT?...
POPE REMEMBERED IN NASSAU...	THE POLICE STAFF ASSOCIATION BESIDE ITSELF...
MOTHER PRATT RESPONDS...	THE BRITISH COUPLE CARRY THINGS TOO FAR...
FREDDIE THE CLASS CLOWN...	FELIX BETHEL’S COURT CASE...
MITCHELL LEADS HARVARD DISCUSSION...	THE FOX HILL MP AT WORK...
BISHOP MICHAEL ELDON ON RESPIRATOR...	POETRY FEATURE...
COL. HAROLD BURNSIDE DIES...	KUDOS TO CRAIG BUTLER...
	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

17^th April, 2005 *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.*
OH NO! NOT ZHIVARGO LAING AGAIN...	SIGNING UP FOR A NEW STADIUM...
FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKS AGAIN ON CSME...	FOREIGN MINISTER TO TURKS, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO...
HENRY WEMYSS HAS A BIRTHDAY...	CARL BETHEL ATTACKS CABLE BEACH PLANS...
WILL INGRAHAM NOW GO TO SLEEP?...	GOING SLOW AT BTC - YOU’RE KIDDING RIGHT?...
PM ANSWERS THE POLICE AND BILL HOLOWESKO...	BERMUDA INDEPENDENCE TEAM VISITS...
FIRE AT LUCAYAN MEDICAL...	LESTER MORTIMER SR. DIES...
POETRY FEATURE...	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

24^th April, 2005 *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.*
A NEWLY ELECTED POPE...	THE ZOEPOUND HAITIAN GANG...
POLICY ON U.S. PASSPORTS AND OTHER PROPAGANDA...	DESMOND BANNISTER GIVES IT ALL UP...
SOUND AND FURY SIGNIFYING NOTHING!... (The Story of Zhivargo Laing)	THE PM ON POLITICAL ATTACKS...
THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER ON CSME...	THE HARRY C. MOORE LIBRARY...
LONG TERM CARE FOR BISHOP ELDON...	THE COMMITTEE REPORTS ON TOMMY?...
SOUTH ANDROS SENIOR CITIZENS GET HOME...	ST. JOHN'S STUDENTS TOUR HOUSE WITH DPM...
DONNIE McCLURKIN VISITS...	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 3 © BahamasUncensored.Com

While material on this web site can be used freely by other sections of the press, as a courtesy, journalists are asked to attribute the source of their material from this web site. Click here for the law on copyright as it applies to this website.

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

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

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

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