STEVIE AND SHAUNAE THE OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS: The Golden Twins in Tokyo. It was Steven Gardiner's turn on 5 August 2021 to win gold in the 400 metres at the Olympics. The next day 6 August 2021 day belonged to Shaunae Miller Uibo. Gold again for The Bahamas in the 400 metres. We predict one day she will be our Minister of Sports. CONGRATULATIONS and well done. 6 August 2021. OUR PHOTO OF THE WEEK. They celebrated each other in the stands.
The intemperate leader of the opposition FNM and some disloyal opposition members on Wednesday 4 th Dec. Has proven that they have not grown into their roles of being his Majesty’s Loyal opposition after three years . It now begs the question, what is driving them to do damage to their own house where they themselves live ?The Bahamas.
Mr Michael Pintard as leader of the FNM allowed his members under his leadership to pull a stunt throwing the mace out of the window of the House of Assembly to grab headlines locally and more so around the world to cast a dark shadow over a Parliament that has been meeting since 1729 , and by extension causing damage to country’s brand of stability.
The reasoning for the ghastly deed was leader Pintard was not allowed to speak at the time of his choosing instead of waiting for the house speakers directive and the space allotted for his intervention. A further question was this such a egregious act to cause reputational damage to the country he aspires to lead?
Prime minister Davis moving forward you have been given a four taste of how political “Jonesers,” behave stoping at nothing to attain political power. Expect No Quarter therefore none should be given. This is what you can look forward too from now and into the 2026 election campaign. PlP’s brace yourselfs.
The Puppet Masters and the remnant Oligarchs off a bygone era has found safe harbor in this FNM, under this leader. Since the attainment of majority rule in 1967, this construct has still not been fully embraced by all; not withstanding their economic successes over these many years. Some remnants remain bitter of any government headed by the PLP . Others Among Us need a master. How sad!
PRIME MINISTER PHILIP DAVIS: addressing the PLP crowd at St Barnabas in the heart of the seat of Deputy Leader of the FNM Shannondon Cartwright at Yellow Elder Primary. The Prime Minister attacked the violence and disrespect of the FNM in the House on Wednesday 4 December 2024. Our photo of the week 6 December 2024
If you looked at the initial pictures of the FNM march and rally on Bay Street, you could have sworn that this was a huge crowd that had gathered to protest something important. It was a storm in a tea cup.
The reason the crowd looked so large was that they only posted close up shots.
When you drew back to an aerial shot though, it was revealed that they were not such a crowd at all.
They were a rent a crowd gathered for pay on the streets of Bay Street to interrupt and foment violence against the elected representatives of the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The Nassau Guardian said that the FNM made a mockery of the history of the country.
We agree,
They claim that they are concerned about crime. They say they are concerned about violence. But then they ended up doing the same thing being violent, disruptive, disrespectful and fomenting violence amongst others. Their acts were criminal.
In the end order was restored but not before the Speaker claimed that she feared for her life.
This was dismissed by the Leader of the Opposition Michael Pintard, He cannot admit that they, he and his red ant army, went too far.
We hope that criminal prosecution proceeds against them for the insurrection.
We must crush these red ants to stop them from getting any farther.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 7 December 2024 up to midnight: 722,212;
Number of hits for the month of December up to Saturday 7 December 2024 up to midnight: 722,212;
Number of hits for the year 2024 up to Saturday 7 December 2024 up to midnight: 17,972,359;
The Free National Movement is pretending and acting like there is some big national crisis involved at the moment in The Bahamas. There is none. A policeman was indicted in the United States. There is nothing in that. The indictment might not be worth the paper it’s written on. The American justice system is riddled with injustice. Ask the man Donald Trump who is about to become the President of the United States. Why should we believe a word in the indictment against the policeman and the five other Bahamians. The FNM is always quick to jump to the side of the foreigners. The FNM is being dishonest. They rigged up a play and made a mockery of the history of our country on Wednesday past 4 December 2024. For us it is a date that will live in infamy. Two people were hurt as a result of what the FNM did by throwing the mace out of the window. They brought a mob to Bay Street . The mob had no reason to be there but the petulance and dishonesty of the FNM. They stand condemned.
The disgraceful behaviour of the Free National Movement and its leaders on Wednesday 4 December 2024 in the House of Assembly when they threw the mace out of the window of the House in an act of petulance, was described by the Nassau Guadian in its editorial of 5 December 2024 as making a mockery out of our history. Here is what the editorial said:
Free National Movement (FNM) members of the House of Assembly yesterday made a mockery of history, and themselves, with sideshow antics at a time when the nation is dealing with a very serious crisis within the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF).
FNM Deputy Leader Shanendon Cartwright hurled the mace out of the House of Assembly’s window after FNM Leader Michael Pintard, who represents Marco City, was not allowed to speak in the House of Assembly at the moment he wanted to.
Pintard was petitioning the speaker for an opportunity to address the controversy surrounding allegations in a US indictment that members of the RBPF were involved in drug and arms trafficking.
However, House Speaker Patricia Deveaux denied his request, explaining that they had not yet come to the relevant point in the order of business of the House for his request to be considered.
Cartwright stood and shouted, “Let the people speak,” moments before he marched to the speaker’s table, grabbed the mace and threw it out after several attempts to ram the window open.
“Remove the honourable member from St. Barnabas from these proceedings,” the speaker demanded.
This move came after Prime Minister Philip Davis finished communicating that he accepted the resignation of Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander following the indictment bombshell.
The case has scandalized the force even further after another senior officer was placed on garden leave after allegedly colluding with armed robbers and murderers.
The prime minister made the announcement during the portion of the House agenda for ministers to make communications.
This latest scandal prompted a message from the Office of the Prime Minister, two addresses in the House of Assembly by the prime minister and the assurance of the establishment of a commission to investigate law enforcement agencies.
It was shortly before Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe began to give a communication on the tabling of legislation to establish that commission that Pintard demanded to speak.
He, in fact, wished to speak about the very same issue that was being addressed by the ministers.
That is fine, but Pintard knows that the House has rules and that the order of the House must be followed before the speaker can entertain any request for him to speak.
Pintard is a playwright, and clearly the stage was set yesterday.
Outside the House, the FNM had already organized a protest because Pintard was not allowed to speak last week.
It appeared planned that Cartwright dashed for the mace.
After Deveaux ordered the police to remove Cartwright from the House, he resisted and the members of the opposition rushed to actually grapple with police to prevent them removing him.
They were all dragged out of the House by police as they resisted in a shameful display, members of the very same police force Pintard wanted to speak about.
That they would act so nonsensically because they believe it was so important that Pintard be heard when he insisted he must be heard despite the rules of the House, raises questions about the judgment and fitness of the leadership of the FNM.
And what Cartwright did is an insult when given the historical context of the mace being thrown out of the window of the House of Assembly.
On April 27, 1965, the late Sir Lynden Pindling, the then leader of the Opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), threw the speaker’s mace from the window of the House to protest the gerrymandering of boundaries by the then governing United Bahamian Party (UBP).
The PLP planned the move to coincide with a demonstration it was having outside the House.
However, it was done because the UBP would not allow the PLP to make amendments to the Boundaries Draft Order for the 1967 election.
The PLP won the popular vote in 1962 but lost when it came to seats in the House because the boundaries were gerrymandered to give more representation to the then Out Islands than New Providence, where the majority of the population lived.
The PLP knew that the business of the House could not continue without the presence of the mace.
The move resulted in Pindling becoming even more popular and ultimately the PLP became the government after two other members of Parliament sided with them following the January 10, 1967 election.
The difference between what Pindling did and what Cartwright did is that the PLP had an actual cause and a movement that would forever change our country.
However, what Cartwright did was a stunt wrapped around Pintard’s ego.
It might score the FNM a little political energy, but there was no honour in it.
Shanendon Cartwright, the Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement, was raised in a PLP household. He was a member of the Progressive Young Liberals. He learned his politics at the feet of the PLP, so you would have thought that he knew better. So much for train a child in the way he should go and he will never depart from it. On Wednesday 4 December 2024, he disgraced his upbringing by joining hands with the nephew of the last leader of the racist Unted Bahamian Party, a man with ironic name White, to throw the mace out of the window of the House of Assembly. In doing so, he made a mockery of an historical event in the fight for freedom for the Bahamian people when Sir Lynden Pindling threw the mace out of the window on 27 April 1965 against the UBP’s gerrymandering. No such issue this time, only petulance. The issue then was boundaries for the general election. The FNM is attacking the legacy of the PLP, which is its strongest peg. PLPs be careful and defend our legacy. Shame on Mr. Cartwright.
Fred Mitchell, the Chairman of the PLP, was in Exuma on Thursday 5 December until Saturday 7 December 2024, to attend the annual Christmas tree lighting in Forbes Hill, Exuma. Forbes Hill is the home of Chester Cooper, the MP for Exuma and the Deputy Prime Minister. When Mr. Mitchell makes these visits they are to scan the political landscape and form a third eye on what the political and economic developments are in Exuma. Since last year Sanadas that provided up to 40 per cent of the airlift into the island closed down. This resulted in layoffs and a loss of workers. Sandals is mired now in a dispute about taxes with The Bahamas government. It is not certain when or if they will reopen. The result is that taxi drivers are feeling the pinch but it appears that most others are satisfied The one major complaint is there is high price inflation. Businesses are finding it hard to make it in the face of aggressive demands for taxes and the cost of living on the island. We have to watch that carefully.
Those who review the history of the 4 December 2024 and the violence that came from the Free National Movement on that day which resulted in the Speaker fearing for her life, the injury of the Deputy Speaker and the Seargent at Arms, should remember that violence comes easy and naturally to the Free National Movement. When the country faced independence in 1972, the FNM was associated with the secession movement in Abaco. They wanted to break up the country. Two men Polka Humes and Red Burrows, FNM thugs, were hanged for the murder of Barry Major in Perpall Tract. The history says the murder was planned and ordered in the law firm of Cecil Wallace Whitfield, then Leader of the Free National Movement. The office was on Queen’s Street. Do not then be surprised about the present FNM and its resort to violence last week. It comes naturally.
Cassius Stuart and his compatriot charged for defiling the mace of the House 8 January 2002
The late Eugene Dupuch Q C was the Minister of Welfare for the racist United Bahama Party government back on 27 April 1965 when Sir Lynden Pindling threw the mace out of the window, to protest the gerrymandering of the boundaries by the UBP. There was no prosecution. When Fred Mitchell, then a reporter interviewed Mr. Dupuch about the reason there was no charge brought against Sir Lynden, Mr. Dupuch said that the Cabinet considered it a political act not a criminal one. Fast forward to the time when Cassius Stuart and his partner in crime tried to throw the mace out of the window and chained themselves to the railing in the House of Assembly. They were charged by the FNM but when the PLP came to power they were released and set free. Again the rationale was that what they did was a political act. Not so this time. The Leaders of the Free National Movement should all be charged with assault and damaging the property of the House and brought before the Courts. In 1965 there was no law governing this. There is now a law. The law should take its course.
Sir Stafford Sands would be proud of Shanendon Cartwright
Imagine this, the United Bahamian Party, the racist leaders that ruled The Bahamas up to 1967 are all dead and gone as is the party itself. However, it rules from the grave. A young black man in the person of Shanendon Cartwright, from a PLP household, is now officially a representative of the UBP. He and the nephew of the last UBP leader joined hands to trash the history of The Bahamas by throwing the mace out of the window of the House on 4 December 2024. The UBP gods must be smiling. Well done boy.
The country has fallen for it again. Ever since this bogus indictment was issued by the US, the country has been in full flighted retreat. The folks have accepted lock stock and barrel what was said and written. No one cares for due process, nor an explanation of how fantastical the claims. No hear the other side. The net result now is the Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander brought back by the PLP to get things right in the force has fallen on his sword. He has done so unceremoniously and now he is gone. We have to remember that on election night, Dion Smith our then MP was arrested without notice by the new FNM government before they took office on a totally bogus charge. No one knew our names and took our phone calls. Now that this deed is done, we have to remember it’s only a hop step and jump back to the future.
Congratulations to Shanta Knowles, the new Commissioner of Police, who gets to be the first woman to run a mainly male Royal Bahamas Police Force. The Prime Minister reached down into the middle and decided to start afresh with an unknown commodity. It is a daring gamble. Let us hope that this quietens the noise in the public which though it is largely unjustified and contrived, it is what it is. Here is the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office in support of Commissioner Knowles:
Harold Longly who used to be the Manager of the Royal Bank of Canada Main Branch in the days when that job meant something told the story of what he noticed about when a female took over leadership positions in the bank. The males in the office steadily started to leave the job. We must avoid this at all costs with this new appointment by shoring up our decision with our interactions with the innards of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. This must work..
Shonel Ferguson who is the defeated FNM candidate for Fox Hill thought that she had the nomination for Fox Hill for the FNM all wrapped up for the next general election. She has kept the fire burning for them since 2021, attending all the functions and making the rounds. She did one better, she stacked the deck for Micheal Pintard and made it so that every delegate from the Fox Hill area for the FNM Convention on 1 June 2024 was a Pintard vote. Guess what? In a sign of the kind of man the Leader of the Opposition is, he has trashed Shonel and given the nomination to a neophyte, one Dr. Nicholas Fox. He has already started campaigning in Fox Hill. John Pinder is going around with him and bearing gifts of grocery.
I was delighted to be at the Xmas Tree lighting for the second time running for Forbes Hill, the home settlement of Deputy Prime Minister and MP for Exuma Chester Cooper with Jen Dames and her team including her mother Mary and my long time friends Jenny Kettel and Lourey Carroll, Mrs Eula Morley and Rev John Rolle.
I was honoured to have a tour of the Junkanoo preparations in Georgetown, Exuma for their parade on 4 January 2025. They are in good shape the group Musical Youths. L-R Keris Rolle, Anthony Ingraham, Wyllan Brennan, Latina Gray. Thank you and I wish them all the best.
My visit to the grave of my late friend from Barre Terre Osmomd Roach 1944 to 2018. I the 1982 PLP general election campaign he distributed the party’s newspaper. We couldn’t have won without him. Rest in peace.
