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NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

THE BARBADOS PM SPEAKS
Owen Arthur, the Prime Minister of Barbados issued a statement this past week in which he said he supported the police of Barbados in their attack on the students of the University of the West Indies.  Remember now that Barbados is a common law jurisdiction that has the same rules about commenting on a court case while it is still active.  The case itself comes before the courts on 28 May. The students are charged variously with resisting arrest, obstruction of a police officer in the performance of his duty and with assaulting a police officer.  The charges probably aren’t worth the paper they are written on.

But instead of waiting until the courts have pronounced on the subject, the Prime Minister of Barbados has decided to be judge and jury.  He has convicted the students and their lecturer by saying that the police have the right where the highway is being blocked to remove the persons who are blocking the highway.  Even if that is correct, the Prime Minister of Barbados must explain why his troops used such overkill to deal with student protestors engaged in civil disobedience.  He himself admits that while a student he was involved in protest.  But now he is in the driver’s seat, and he is acting like so many of his predecessors with a heavy hand.  How quickly we forget.

The Government of The Bahamas must now seek from the Prime Minister of Barbados assurances that the Bahamian student and all the other persons charged would get a fair trial in Barbados.  With the Prime Minister having convicted them. What is the magistrate now to do?

This week we had 20,058 hits on the site up to midnight 31 March 2001.  That brings the total to 68,153 hits on this site for the month of March.  Thank you for reading and please keep reading.

PERMANENT LINKS
11th Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling & Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden by Fred Mitchell
Address to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue

Address of Sean McWeeney / Pindling  funeral
Gilbert Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral coverage

Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting	Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral

e-mail timbuktu@batelnet.bs

THE FNM ON THE VERGE
The telephone calls were coming fast and furious in the evening.  This Senator was on his way to represent the PLP at a dinner for General Pace, Head of the U.S. Southern Command at a dinner at the Deputy Chief of Mission’s home. The call said that the Bahamas Ambassador to the United Nations Anthony Rolle was in town and he was coming to the FNM’s Council meeting Thursday 29 March to move a resolution to expel Pierre Dupuch the FNM MP for Shirlea and to censure the leader of the FNM dissidents Tennyson Wells. Mr. Wells for his part was confident that it couldn’t happen, but others weren’t so sure.  The prediction was that if such a thing happened, Mr. Wells would lead a breakaway group from the Free National Movement and form a Parliamentary group in the House of Assembly that would be bigger than the PLP under Perry Christie, making Mr. Wells the Leader of the Opposition.  That would have been an unreal situation because Mr. Wells does not control the votes that the PLP controls and so it would have been a Parliamentary aberration.  In any event, the FNM stepped back from the breach. Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson is said to have come to the meeting, spirited Mr. Rolle into a back room and nothing more was heard about the resolution.  But what we do know is that they will try it again.  The Prime Minister can’t help himself.  He has simply got the personality of a hatchet man.  He is like Henry II of Anjou who reportedly said, “who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?” and that led to the murder of Thomas Becket.  The other point is it would be interesting to see exactly who would leave with Mr. Wells.  We could only count two for sure, and we’re not saying who those two would be.  There are known to be five dissidents: Lester Turnquest MP Malcolm Creek; Pierre Dupuch, Mr. Wells, Floyd Watkins, MP for Delaporte and Anthony Miller, the MP for South Eleuthera.

BAHAMIAN STUDENTS IN BARBADOS
We publish today the comments of an interesting, shall we say remarkable letter by the President of the Bahamas Students Association in which the President Elton Gibson apologizes to the Prime Minister for what appeared in this column about a meeting with the students in Barbados.  It was reported in the column of 25 February 2001.  It seems gratuitously groveling, but who are we to comment on the ways of the up and coming that we try to defend and lift up?  We print the letter below:

The Rt. Honourable Hubert A. Ingraham:

Dear Sir:

Re: Courtesy Call in Barbados

     We the Bahamian Students’ Association of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus would like to sincerely thank you for sharing time with us on your brief visit to Barbados.  We were pleased that you were able to fit us into your busy schedule and were grateful to add you as a precursor to our Bahama Day Activities.

     We, the members are also aware of a particular inaccurate and false article published by fredmitchelluncensored.com.  Realizing the political implications of the publication, we deemed it necessary not only to correspond and clarify what was written but also to set the record straight.  We would like for you and the public to know that the statements published was (sic.) not on behalf OR the expressed views of the B.S.A. More overtly the information was incorrect.  As a non-profit, non-political official Association, we would appreciate if we were not politically misused, as we do not have any political affiliation.

     We do ask for your continued support and encouragement we extend the same to you.

     Thank you for your kind attention, we wish you all success in upcoming.

             Yours sincerely,
             Elton L. Gibson
             President

Now, there is something called the law of unintended consequences.  By claiming not to be politically affiliated and in the terms of this letter, the President makes a political statement about himself.

NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR
George W. Bush, the President of the United States of America, has announced who his nominee will be for the Ambassadorship for the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The U.S. Embassy in Nassau made the announcement on Tuesday 27 March.  His name is Richard Blankenship.  He is the Hospital Director of the Madarin Veterinary Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Mr. Bush said in making the announcement: “Rick Blankenship has spent much of his professional life working with The Bahamas and other Caribbean nations.  His economic expertise in the Caribbean region will make him an excellent Ambassador”.  Mr. Blankenship is thought to have been a financial contributor to the Bush campaign.  From our point of view, it is important for the U.S. man in The Bahamas to be able to get Mr. Bush directly on the phone.  Arthur Schecter, the last man in the post, had that ability with former U. S. President Bill Clinton. It is believed that the process of confirmation and appointment will take until June of this year before he is actually living in Saffron Hill, home of U.S. Ambassadors in The Bahamas. Mr. Blankenship from 1982 to 1985 served as President and CFO at St. John’s Capital and was with Raymond Jones and Associates in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1981 to 1982.  He is a graduate of Florida State University.

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FALLOUT ON THE CONTRACT ON BRADLEY ROBERTS

Last week we were the first in the Bahamian media to reveal that there was credible and specific information about a contract hit on the life of Bradley Roberts and Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham for two million dollars.  Security has been beefed up considerably around the Prime Minister, and Mr. Roberts now has 24- hour surveillance. (See Mr. Roberts in Nassau Guardian photo with bodyguard entering the House of Assembly on Wednesday 28 March)  It is incredible that it should come to this.  But these are the times in which we live.  All political parties joined in condemning the action by the drug people.  This has turned Bahamians against them that they could think that they have a right to undermine law and order.  Recent estimates say that some seven percent of the Bahamian economy is now drug related.

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BDM NOMINATES ELECTION CANDIDATES
Our view has been clear to Cassius Stuart and those who support him.  They ought to join the PLP.  But apparently they can’t see their way clear to do so.  Instead they have formed their own party called the Bahamian Democratic Movement.  They have announced four candidates for the next General Election.  Mr. Stuart, the Leader of the Party says that the party plans to contest all 40 seats in the House of Assembly in the next election.  The four candidates, including himself who will contest the St. Margaret’s seat are Gaylene Forbes, a banker, who will contest the Mt. Moriah seat of FNM Minister Tommy Turnquest, Bradley Smith, a businessman, who will contest the Golden Gates seat of Theresa Moxey-Ingraham (FNM); and Kenneth Andrews who will contest the seat now occupied by Anthony Rolle, (FNM) in Carmichael.  Mr. Rolle is retiring at the end of the term.   Mr. Stuart listed in his platform: seeing that every Bahamian citizen is granted a parcel of Crown Land free of charge throughout The Bahamas; teach Bahamians about their rights by bringing the teaching of the Constitution into the curriculum of schools; funding small businessmen; and doubling the old age pension monies for pensioners.  But we still say join the PLP.  The four BDM candidates are shown in this Tribune photo.

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JACKASS OF THE WEEK
Congratulations Janet Bostwick, you have made it to the head of the class.  This week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas issued a statement in which she sought to refute point for point all of the assertions reported to me and repeated in my statement about the police action against the students in Barbados.  We pubish photographs of the debacle e-mailed to us by a correspondent.  They clearly show police overkill in Barbados. Please click here for a full photo spread.  Mrs. Bostwick, the somnambulant Minister for Foreign Affairs, rose out of her sleep to say what a good job her Ministry had done for our Bahamians students.  She said that the Government of Barbados had promised a full inquiry. Well that’s what the PLP asked for.  Then she said that Selwyn Smith, the Honorary Consul for The Bahamas in Barbados, was available to assist the students in Barbados.  Not very effective, we were told.  Then the coup de grace, she said that no Bahamian student was beaten.   This is getting more like Animal Farm.  And so we say to the student concerned Ellsworth Johnson, those bruises, cuts and scrapes that you have, they never happened.  After all, the Minister of Foreign Affairs says so.   The Minister also said that Ambassador for Caricom Leonard Archer was going down to meet with the students.   We’ll see what happens.  But all in all for her inattention and misleading statements, the Minister gets the prize of JACKASS OF THE WEEK.

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AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ILLEGALLY LOCKED OUT
We reported last week that the Bahamas Government delivered letters dated Friday 23rd March to the members of the Bahamas Air Traffic Controllers Union placing them on administrative leave for three months.  If the idea behind it was not clear last week, it is now.  The Minister for Transport C.A. Smith who ordered the dastardly deed went on record in the face of blistering attacks from Opposition politicians as saying that they were asking retired air traffic controllers to come back, and that management would continue to run the system.  The fact that the system is unsafe because  uncertified air traffic controllers are at the controls is not a matter of concern.  Mr. Smith continued to insist that the system was safe.  If an accident happens we shall see.  Late word is that Nassau International Airport is now closed between 11pm and 6am because there are not sufficient air traffic controllers. Controllers are now working continuous 14-hour shifts and are complaining of fatigue but they are being told that they must go on. Even the Director of Civil Aviation himself is now working the tower. The public of course, as ignorant of the facts as ever, seems to be backing the government’s highhanded attitude to dismiss the controllers.  You see at the end of three months none of them will be current and therefore will be uncertified.  At that time, the Government will then say: “Sorry! You can’t come back because you are unqualified.”  This is an unlawful way to dismiss someone from the public service.  This shows how anti-union the Government is.  The clear intention is to break the Union. The matter should be challenged in the courts.  C. A. Smith, of course, used to be one of our favourite politicians but like them all they have forgotten from whence they came… when we used to all hustle to put gas in our cars in Freeport.  He once ran out of gas and had to be helped to push his car because he did not have the money to put gas in the car.  Some mornings there was no money for coffee. And many helped to pay for coffee.  We paid for each other's coffee, when the other was low on funds.  But now he is the minister and would act to take bread out of the mouths of these young Bahamians.  As they say God don’t like ugly.  The air traffic controllers are pictured in this Bahama Journal photo as they visited Parliament this week in silent protest.

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FIERCE STORM IN FREEPORT
No one knows where it came from.  But on Thursday night/ Friday morning 30 March and 29 March, there was a sudden storm in Grand Bahama and in New Providence.  There were also reports of twelve-foot swells in Bimini.  But despite a lot of wind and rain, nowhere was hit like Freeport in Grand Bahama. Winds were clocked there are 105 miles per hour. Some houses were damaged, and roofs torn off.  Because wind exceeded hurricane speed, the provisions of hurricane coverage kicks in, so homeowners will not get complete insurance coverage.  The airport was closed for most of the morning because it lost power.  And as of Friday evening 30 March at 6 p.m., the first Bahamasair flight for the day from Nassau had not arrived.  No explanation to the passengers as to what was happening.

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SEMINAR ON JOURNALISM
It is sometimes amusing to hear those who represent the media in The Bahamas talk about integrity in journalism and the need for integrity.  The School of Communications at the College of The Bahamas sponsored Journalism and Communications Week in The Bahamas.  They sponsored a trip by Dwight Lauderdale, the Channel 10 Miami newsman to The Bahamas.  He joined panelists Wendall Jones, CEO of Love 97, Arthur Foulkes, Chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas, Ed Field, the PR man for Sol Kerzner, Debbie Bartlett, former journalist and now a businesswoman. The discussion took place on Tuesday 28 March.  They all talked about investigative reporting and being against censorship.  But they speak too literally. First, no one mentioned the censorship of this writer from the Nassau Guardian.  The writers there continue to work there, knowing that it occurs and do nothing.  No other media person objects to it.  Secondly, there is censorship of politicians if they are PLP or Opposition.  The Cable Bahamas community channel cannot broadcast any statements by politicians.  Then no one spoke about how the owners of all media in The Bahamas refuse to offend their advertisers and pull stories or fail to cover stories if it will offend advertisers or potential advertisers. So as far as this writer was concerned, it was interesting for the students to hear but too much of what was said was self-serving poppycock. Of note, however was Dwight Lauderdale who said in the presence of Mr. Foulkes, the Chair of the ZNS, that a Government owned station cannot be fair and independent. Amen!

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A LENTEN TEA IN FOX HILL

It was quite gracious of Janet Davis and her husband Derek Davis to host the Lenten tea at their beautiful home in Yamacraw Beach Estates.  The guest of honour was Lady Marguerite Pindling, wife of the late founding Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Sir Lynden Pindling.  She is as beautiful and gracious as ever.  The tea was elegant and simply a delight.  We publish the picture of Lady Pindling with our gracious host Jan Davis. Please click here for a full spread of photographs of the event. Thank you very much for a great afternoon Mrs. Davis on Sunday 25 March. Thank you also to Evangelist Irene Rolle, fundraising chair for the PLP Fox Hill Branch. The photos are by Peter Ramsay.

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GEORGE MACKEY’S ADDRESS
George Mackey is the quintessential Fox Hillian.  Mr. Mackey was born in Fox Hill to Malachi and Olive Mackey on 19th January 1938. He served House of Assembly for 25 years from 1972 to 1997, first as the representative for St. Michaels from 1972 to 1987 and then as the representative for Fox Hill from 1987 to 1997. He is an acolyte at St. Anne's Anglican Church in Fox Hill.  Mr. Mackey was invested as a Member of the British Empire (M.B.E) by Her Majesty the Queen in 1998.  His wife is the former Mary Elizabeth Thompson.  Elected Chairman of the PLP in 1969, he served in this capacity until his election to Parliament in 1972.  Mr. Mackey has a wealth of knowledge and The Tribune asked him to share that knowledge as a writer and contributor to a regular column each Saturday in The Tribune.  His informative and incisive commentary is a must read.  And so he was asked by the College of The Bahamas to contribute to its lecture series held to commemorate the birthday of Sir Lynden O. Pindling on 21 March. You may click here for Mr. Mackey’s address.  He is pictured in this photo by Peter Ramsay. Mr. and Mrs. Mackey have two daughters Phaedra and Michelle and two grandsons to whom he is ‘George’.

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ADDERLEY ADDRESS
We are still awaiting the address of the Hon. Paul Adderley on the occasion of the commemoration of the birth of Sir Lynden O. Pindling.  As soon as it is available we will publish it.

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RAY MINUS BACK IN THE RING?

The Tribune of Wednesday 28 March (see their photo) reported that former Bahamian boxing champion Ray Minus was to return to international boxing in Atlantic City on Saturday 31 March.  Up to press time we did not have the results of the match and will inform you next week of the result. The fight was said to be the first international fight by Mr. Minus in ten years. Mr. Minus is 36 years old.

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BARCLAYS AND ITS CUSTOMERS
In the strange and arcane world of banking, Barclays Bank now has joined the list of foolish practices.  This week they sent out forms to all its customers who are International Business Companies.  The form asks the beneficial owners to prove that they as beneficial owners are not subject to U.S. tax authority.  What next?

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CONGRATULATIONS TO IDRIS REID

Former Bahamas High Commissioner to Canada and retired Permanent Secretary Idris Reid was congratulated by the Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest this week on his ascension to the office of Grand Master of the District grand Lodge of Scottish-Rite Masons.  We add our congratulations. The photograph is from the Bahama Journal of Friday 30 March.

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BAHAMIAN AT VASSAR

Congratulations to Tiffany Lightbourne, a Bahamian Lyford Cay Foundation Scholar.  Ms. Lightbourne has been appointed Assistant Professor of Psychology and Urban Studies at Vassar College, the sister school to Yale University.   Ms. Lightbourne entered Beloit College in Wisconsin at 15, worked on her Masters at 19 and at 26 she had her PhD.  Now the job at Vassar. The photograph is from the Bahama Journal of Friday 30 March.

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TIGER WINS IN THE COURTS
Garret Tiger’ Finlayson, the owner of Burns House Ltd. and Butler and Sands Ltd, the largest liquor merchants in the country, has won an important legal victory.  Last year there was a decision by the Licencing Authority to refuse to renew 23 licences of Butler and Sands because the Licencing Authority had not been consulted on the transfer of shares of Mr. Finlayson’s company. The Supreme Court overturned that decision in a ruling by a new foreign judge in The Bahamas, Hugh Small of Jamaica. The case was argued by Michael Barnett. The case appears to be authority for three propositions: first that the Licensing Authority cannot fetter its discretion.  It must act on its own and not be informed by policies of the Government against monopolies.  The judge said that it is a matter for the legislature.  The Authority must act within its powers and the law and not concern itself with matters outside its purview.  There is no requirement in law to get permission of the Authority to sell the shares in your company so long as the licence does not change from one company to another. Thirdly, the franchising arrangements are acceptable provided the stock continues to belong to the licensee, in this case Butler and Sands.  Mr. Finlayson said he was elated at the decision and would adjust his business practices to ensure that the stock ownership complies with the ruling. We'll try and get the full ruling for the law students amongst you to read. The ruling was made Friday 30 March.

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HUNG JURY ON SECOND MURDER CHARGE
We have not been reporting on this because the evidence was becoming quite tiresome.  But Tennel McIntosh is back in jail on remand.  He had been charged with one murder at Paradise Island that occurred in August 1998.  He was acquitted.  Most people believe he was acquitted because of the perceived political interference of the Prime Minister and his Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson when they called a press conference in the face of world criticism over the slowness of the investigation into the two murders at Paradise Island.  Within weeks the murders were ‘solved’.  The jury acquitted in the first trial because of credible evidence that Mr. McIntosh was beaten.  It appears that in the second trial his attorney Godfrey ‘Pro’ Pinder was able to cast enough doubt because they could not get a verdict for murder nor for lesser charges.  The jury was discharged and Mr. McIntosh has to face trial again.  Family members of Mr. McIntosh cried shame on the jury, telling them that they were wicked people.  The jury was led out the back door shortly after 11 p.m. Friday 30 March.  The husband of the dead woman left the court in silence but in tears.  Once again the spectre of police beatings, and bad investigations raises its head.

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PLP NAMES NEW STALWART COUNCILLORS

The Progressive Liberal Party held a gala banquet Friday 30 March at the Raddison hotel, Cable Beach, Nassau in honour of scores of party faithful named to its Stalwart Council. Membership in the party's Stalwart Council is for life and is the party's highest honour. Party Leader Perry Christie said the move was aimed at honouring those who made the PLP into the formidable force which it is in Bahamian public life. Several of those honoured are longtime members of the Fox Hill branch, including Calvin Brown, Ben Demeritte, Edward 'Bobby' Glinton, Joe Hutchinson, Camille Johnson, Clarence Moss, Rev. Mathias Munroe, Deidre Rolle, Irene Rolle, Bishop Austin Saunders, Barbara Smith and Eric Wilmott who is pictured here receiving his award from Party Leader Christie. This columnist is at left. Please click here for more pictures.

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Spring Storm  - Aircraft were tossed about like so much chaff. Residents reported the telltale “freight train” sounds of travelling tornados. The roofs of several buildings were peeled back and their contents scattered. An unusual spring storm which hit Grand Bahama in the early hours of last Friday 30th March (see story above) was the talk of the town. Freeport Power and city clean-up crews were on the move and did an effective job in returning the city to normal. Bahamasair, though, true to form, managed to get its first flight out at 6.30pm more than eight hours after the airport had re-opened. Carifta track and field trials in Nassau had to be cancelled as a result because Grand Bahama athletes were marooned in Freeport. The national airline offered not so much as a soda to its inconvenienced travellers.

‘Our’ Lucaya Votes Union - The Bahamas Hotel, Catering & Allied Workers Union has won its bid to be recognized as the bargaining agent for employees at Hutchison Whampoa’s ‘Our’ Lucaya hotel complex in Grand Bahama. Workers voted ten to one in favour of the union.  The management at ‘Our’ Lucaya has fought union recognition at every turn and recently lost a final court battle aimed at keeping the union out of the property. Many workers still on probation are said to have abstained from voting out of fear of endangering their job confirmations. Sources tell News From Grand Bahama that the hotel’s management is furious because they were promised by Government that they would not have to deal with the union and are threatening to “give the keys back to the bank” which backed the project. Reports are persistent that ‘Our’ Lucaya staffers are unhappy at the way the company deals with Bahamians. Stay tuned.

GB FNMs In The Dark - Grand Bahama members of the Free National Movement Council were reportedly taken by surprise at the aborted move against Shirlea MP Pierre Dupuch. (See FNM on The Verge above) Late word into our political correspondent who reports on all matters FNM is that Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson was told that “Long Island man don’t go against Long Island Man… after it’s all done, you still have to go home.” FNM dissident Tennyson Wells and Mr. Watson are both from Long Island. As we report above, Mr. Watson apparently aborted a planned move by U.N. Ambassador ‘Boozie’ Rolle to expel Mr. Dupuch. Curiously, Grand Bahama MPs, Ministers Ken Russell and C.A. Smith along with fellow Ministers Zhivargo Laing, Tommy Turnquest and Dion Foulkes were all out of Nassau at the time. Plausible deniability, one supposes.

Bye-Election Soon? - Political sources in Grand Bahama report there may be a bye-election soon, somewhere in The Bahamas. The move they say would be aimed at jump-starting the voter registration process now stuck in low gear. The source contends, “There aren’t enough new voters yet registered for any good gerrymandering opportunities” Boundaries are changed ostensibly on the changing voter patterns. Things that make you go hmmm!

New Challenge To Blacklisting Laws - Freeport attorney Maurice Glinton has taken out writs against the Governor of the Central Bank and the Receiver of a bank recently closed by the Central Bank. The writs represent a constitutional challenge to the officials’ authority under the country’s new ‘blacklisting’ laws passed in a hurry in December to appease foreign powers. The laws have made The Bahamas the laughing stock of the Caribbean and have turned out for the good fortune of this country’s regional competitors in offshore finance.

PM Praises Citibank? - As Citibank prepares to close its offices in Freeport and scale back operations in Nassau, the company came in for praise from the Prime Minister this week. Correspondents to this site have been inundated with complaints about the PM’s move and a request to remind the policy makers that when jobs are lost, people hurt. Duh?

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

NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

PRAISE FOR BRADLEY ROBERTS
There has been a lot of sanctimonious claptrap written and spoken about Bradley Roberts MP for Grants Town and his action in the House of Assembly on Wednesday 4 April.  Mr. Roberts called the Prime Minister a madman and he forced the early closure of the House by threatening mayhem.  Some persons on the other side of the House ducked, as the Leader of the Opposition restrained Mr. Roberts telling him: "Don't throw the book".  We applaud Mr. Robert's action and he should have thrown it.

It is incredible how pompous and dishonest some in this country can be.  Polite to a fault.  Here we have the Prime Minister of the country using the power of the office to impose and limit and restrict free debate.  What is one to do after this is done, time and time again?  We have to raise our voices and sometimes physical actions may be necessary.

One remembers the situation in South Africa.  The conservative elements in this country could not understand and refused to understand why we condoned the violence used against the Apartheid regime. Sometimes it is the only way to achieve and do good and certainly in that situation in South Africa that was blandly and most often physically oppressive, there was no choice.

We have not reached that point in The Bahamas, but the Prime Minister of The Bahamas must come to know that there are consequences for his actions.  And if he persists in oppressing the minority then the minority is going to cause trouble for him, even if it means causing physical trouble for him.

This week we repeat in the main editorial pages the following stories: George Mackey's address; PLP Names Stalwart Councillors; and A Lenten tea in Fox Hill.  These were put up late last week and some persons may have missed them.

This week we had a total of 27,565 hits for the week and the month of April.  Thanks for reading and please keep reading.

PERMANENT LINKS
11th Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling & Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden by Fred Mitchell
Address to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue

Address of Sean McWeeney / Pindling  funeral
Gilbert Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral coverage

Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting	Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral

e-mail timbuktu@batelnet.bs

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL IN THE HOUSE
Last Week we reported that the Air Traffic Controllers at the Nassau International Airport had been locked out illegally by the Government of The Bahamas their employer.  By letters dated 23 March, the Government sent them home on what is being politely called 'administrative leave' for three months.  The hitch is, according to the rules of their profession if they are off the job for three months, then they are decertified as controllers and then the Government will say you are fired.  This is contrary to the rules of the Public Service on how you discipline an employee of the public service.  So we are off to court before Senior Justice Emmanuel Osadebay on Wednesday 11 April to seek an order to quash the decision. Air Traffic Controllers demonstrated on the House day and President Roscoe Perpall had his youngster with him in this Tribune photo.  But the House of Assembly agreed with the Opposition that as a matter of urgency, the matter of air traffic control needed to be debated in the House.  The Leader of the House Algernon Allen came with the lame excuse that the Government was withdrawing the offer to debate because a legal action had been filed in the Courts and to discuss the matter would make it sub judice.  Of course that did not prevent the Minister for Transport C.A. Smith from going on the radio and talking about the matter to all and sundry.  The sub judice rule, that while a matter is active in the courts, it cannot be discussed was only used as an excuse not to debate the matter.  The Prime Minister though insisted that since the PLP was interested in safety at the airport, the Minister could speak to the issue of safety.  Bradley Roberts had enough.  He exploded and told the Prime Minister that he is a madman; that if Mr. Smith could speak then the Opposition could speak.  He raised a book about to throw it at Mr. Ingraham but Perry Christie, the Leader of the Opposition stepped in to  restrain the action. "Don't throw the book," he said.  We applaud Mr. Roberts' action.  Next time: throw the book!

INGRAHAM OVER THE HILL
Those who had any doubt that we were in election season should now be able to see.  Hubert Ingraham and his disintegrating FNM took their road show to Englerston, the seat of  PLP MP Philip Galanis.  The PLPs outnumbered the FNMs in the crowd and Perry Christie's spies were everywhere. Mr. Ingraham had great difficulty connecting with the crowd.  But one thing is clear: this man has been deeply wounded by the talk that he is an Uncle Tom.  So everything he is doing now is designed to get the support of the Black masses.  We don't know why he doesn't go into Montagu  where he belongs and of whose kind he is.   Anyway the latest salvo in the ghetto was to tell the young men to value life.  That slime ball Ozzie Brown who mis-edits the Nassau Guardian had a headline to that effect and a picture of Mr. Ingraham hugging a young boy on the front page (we hope the little boy was holding onto his pockets).  But what we understand is coming is a September election on the old register because the Prime Minister is unable to get the people out to register.  That's what the FNM insiders are saying.  But that flew in the face of contrary rumours that Mr. Ingraham had put a stop order on his order for 200,000 T-shirts and 100,000 golf shirts.  His supplier had done shirts for 15 constituencies but was a told to stop.  It also flies in the face of another story going around that Mr. Ingraham intends to gerrymander the seats by reducing them from 38 to 40… that he intends to change the names of 15 constituencies.  So that means when the election comes, people won't even know where they are.  All things will be new and confusing.  Our bet is that the election is next year so that he can carry out his evil intentions. But we always say, the best laid plans of mice and men.… You know the rest.

INGRAHAM ON DISCRIMINATION WITHOUT COMMENT
The Prime Minister says that he intends to bring legislation to the House to end discrimination on the grounds of sexual preference. Here is what the Bahama Journal quoted him as saying on Thursday 5 April at his party's rally in Englerston: "… Now we're introducing a minimum wage in law for everyone else.  Everyone is entitled to a decent pay for a decent days work, and we're going to put in a law minimum standards for the workplace, and we're going to legislate against discrimination against the aged, against women, against the handicapped and we will end discrimination based on sexual preference."

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LEVI GIBSON CELEBRATES 87th BIRTHDAY
He is my godfather.  He Levi Gibson, the real estate broker, who is the quintessential godfather.  He is the godfather to many many persons.  He has helped many many young people get a start in life.  He is a good man.  He was born in a whole different Bahamas in the poor settlement of Simms, Long Island.  From that settlement he has risen by his bootstraps and with a primary school education to the highest heights and councils of the land.  He is a founder of Kiwanis in The Bahamas.  He has served on numerous boards.  He is a former President of The Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association (BAAA).  He is the founder of Levi Gibson Real Estate.  He is a former valet to the late Sir Harold Christie. He is simply a good and great man.  His birthday was 5 April and that made him 87.  We hope he had a good day.

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A COUNTRY IN FEAR
Every time the chief slave in the country, AKA the Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham goes on the stump, he is always talking about how he freed the slaves.  He keeps talking about how much freedom there is in the country.  But freedom from whom and for what?  The picture we show from the Nassau Guardian is the Chief Justice Dame Joan Sawyer swearing in the last Chairman of the defunct United BahamianParty Geoffrey Johnstone as Governor General, acting while Sir Orville Turnquest was out of the country until Sunday 8 April. It is disgraceful that you have a man who still solicits money for FNM causes and conventions take off that hat one day and the next day be sitting in Government House as a Governor General, then next day he is out raising money again for the FNM.  There we have one of the former masters, thought long to have been vanquished, as our overlord again.  Nice man, but the symbolism is wrong.   But that's how Hubert goes.  So there is plenty of freedom for the others.  But what about the lowly workers?  We get this scenario all the time: a worker calls from Paradise Island.  He and his fellow workers are working in an office without windows, air conditioning only.  There are fumes coming through the system that are making them ill.  He calls and asks this senator what to do.  The response was immediate, go to your union representative and complain.  But, he says, the people are afraid that they might lose their jobs if they complain and be seen as troublemakers.  My response: what is the problem with this generation?  They will suffer sickness and permanent injury to their health for three hundred dollars a week at Sun International rather than complain and get the matter straight. And then in Lucaya, Grand Bahama.  There was an election two weeks ago for the recognition of the Union as the bargaining agent for the hotel.  Of the 1500 employees, only 500 participated in the vote.  One third of the potential voters.  They told our friends that sure they support the union but they can't afford for the man to see them voting on that issue.  So again we ask the Overseer and Chief Slave.  What freedom did you give and for whom?

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INHERITANCE LAWS TO CHANGE
The Prime Minister announced in Parliament on Wednesday 4 April changes to the laws dealing with Wills, Administration of Estates and Inheritance.  In making the announcement he said: "For me also this is a great moment: it is the fulfilment of my lifelong political quest to bring about meaningful social change in and to our archaic unjust and unfair laws relating to the distribution of the property of deceased persons.  The legislation will ensure that Bahamian society lives up to the standard of honesty, accountability and fairness to which we all claim we subscribe, insofar as property matters are concerned.  It is, indeed, a long overdue step forward."   These bills are of course PLP Bills that have been around since 1982.  The fact is they were not proceeded with by the PLP because of a combination of factors, not the least of them married women were up in arms about the provisions on abolishing dower rights for women and the provision that would allow children born out of wedlock to claim against their husbands' estates.  None of the provisions in the bills are revolutionary.  They are long overdue.  Mr. Ingraham admitted that he had helped to craft this legislation as a PLP backbencher when he chaired a Committee to which the late Prime Minister Pindling appointed him.   The new bill limits the abolition of dower to those marriages after the act.  So those who have dower rights will continue to have them.  Dower is a one third life interest of a woman in the real property of her husband. The Inheritance Bill also allows a provision for children of a marriage who were not the children of the person deceased to claim upon the estate of the person deceased if during the life time, he or she was treated as a child of the deceased's married family.  And the more difficult one; a provision where children born out of wedlock can claim against the estate of their deceased father, if he left a will and did not provide for their maintenance in the will.  In order to qualify for that, the man must have been adjudged the putative father under the Affiliation Proceedings Act, and also have been recognized as the child with the father signing the birth certificate at the Registry of Records.  Then the court can grant a provision to the extent of the reasonable maintenance of the child.  Wives are again up in arms.  The Government says that it will hold public discussion on the matter.  The supposed real women's champion Janet Bostwick must let her views be known on this matter if it is to have any chance of public acceptance.

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CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO COME
The election season is on.  Promises! Promises! Promises! This time it's another promise of legislation.  The Prime Minister and Minister of everything also announced Wednesday 4 April that he intends to present a bill to amend the constitution of The Bahamas to make men equal to women in all matters of law.  What this means precisely we don't know but it should mean that the provisions in Article 26 on discrimination should include gender in the definition, it should also mean that the citizenship provisions will change substantially so that the same provisions that now apply to men will apply to women.  Now get this: the Labour Bills have been on hold for one year since he announced on 28 March last year that they would be passed by Labour Day 2000; the Civil Aviation Act to help rescue the airport; the Constitutional Amendment; the Inheritance Laws and a general election.  Oh yes and remember BaTelCo was supposed to have been privatized by  the end of 1998.  The latest deadline given by the Minister of Finance was April 2000.  That deadline is passing.  Word is that the Government spent 100,000,000 dollars of the Bahamian people's money downsizing BaTelCo, a million dollars on the auditor's fees alone, and the auditors still can't tell the Government what Batelco is worth. Who says there was no opposition in the country?  Remember this from the Lion in Winter: "I don't have to stop you.  I need only delay you."

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NUMBERS HOUSES RAIDED
The police have been crowing about a series of arrests and raids on Numbers Houses throughout New Providence.  They arrested 85 people who are out on bail and will be arraigned before the courts.  Numbers' convictions are notoriously difficult to get.  And the police are wasting their time anyway.  It is a national pastime.  The Government simply has to get with it and legalize this trade and tax it to get much needed revenue.  The police have more serious things with which to deal.  But the PM must have started the whole thing when he was asked in those ill-fated talk shows a couple of weeks ago on Love 97 why since he admitted that he knew where the numbers houses he (the PM) did not report the matter to the police.  He answered by accusing the host of the radio programme of playing numbers himself and telling him which Numbers House the host frequented.  But the next week came the raids.  Folks say that the PM was especially incensed when he heard that a certain numbers' man was made a stalwart councillor of the PLP.  He thought the man was an FNM.  So the raid came and they took the 200,000 dollars they found in the raid.  As you know it's all political.  The FNM numbers' man was not raided until the next day after all the other raids (so they say).

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BAHAMIAN STUDENT ON RAPE CHARGE
Milton Cox, a 41 year old student at the University of Northumbria, England, has been tried for the alleged rape of a 22-year-old student in the United Kingdom.  The jury was deadlocked in its verdict.  It is not known whether the matter will be retried.  This is sad news for the gentleman concerned and for his family as well as that of the complainant. We wish them well. This report was based on information in the Nassau Guardian. The incident has been a legal matter since November of last year.  The student has been held without bail.  The question many in his family ask is: how does this pop up now and in the mealy-mouthed Nassau Guardian, struggling to compete with The Punch for lurid headlines and stories?  It appears to be a malicious act by the Nassau Guardian's editor.  It is now time to consider in these matters whether or not a law ought to exist that neither the complainant nor the defendant's name ought to be listed in these trials, unless the defendant is convicted.  We debated long and hard over the matter but our column is a summary of the news reported of the week in The Bahamas and commentary on it, so we have reported the matter.  But we also add that the newspaper The Guardian did a disservice by not reporting the fact that the evidence of the female complainant was entirely equivocal, hence the hung jury. The jury was made up of nine women and three men.

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THE CASE OF SAMUEL 'NINETY' KNOWLES

Arguments in the request by the United States Government to extradite Samuel 'Ninety' Knowles to the U.S. for conspiracy to import drugs into their country began on Friday 6 April.  Mr. Knowles was brought to court in chains and has been linked to every sort of conspiracy since he was imprisoned in October of last year, real or imagined.   He is before Magistrate Carolita Bethel. Mr. Knowles is pictured in The Tribune photo of  Tuesday 3 April.

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NIGEL BOWE TO RETURN HOME
According to The Tribune of Tuesday 3 April, Nigel Bowe is to be freed from jail after serving half of his sentence of 15 years.  He was set to return home on Saturday 7 April from New Jersey where he was imprisoned.  His family is said to be delighted as is Mr. Bowe about his return.  Many Bahamians think that Mr. Bowe was made a scapegoat in a kangaroo court trial by U.S. Federal authorities to get at the late Prime Minister Pindling in a baseless belief that the late Sir Lynden was involved in drug smuggling.

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RAY MINUS ENDS COMEBACK
We promised the results of Ray Minus fight last Friday 30 March in Atlantic City, a comeback fight for the World Boxing Council Continent of Americas lightweight title. There was a TKO in the eighth round.  Mr. Minus is 36 years old.   He lost the fight regrettably.  It appears to have ended any hope of a return to international, professional competition.

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PAUL ADDERLEY ADDRESS
We are still unable to provide a copy of the address of Paul Adderley on the occasion of  his lecture to commemorate the birthday of the late Sir Lynden Pindling on 22 March 2001. When we get it we shall present it.  But we did promise the address on the Quieting of Titles Act presented at a land symposium sponsored by Franklin Wilson and Arawak Homes Limited.  You can click here for the address.

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SALARY INCREASES FOR JUDGES
The rumours are fast and furious that the Chief Justice is about demit office.  There is a lot of juggling on the Bench to see who will succeed her.  The Prime Minister is said to be dead set against now Senior Justice Emmanuel Osadebay.  No doubt one of the PM's well-known and irrational vendettas for some imagined wrong in the past.  But in the mean time, the Prime Minister announced that it had partially accepted a report prepared by Sean McWeeney and a panel of citizens on the salaries of Judges.  They recommended a 35 per cent pay raise for the Chief Justice.  That would have moved her salary up to $110,000.  Instead she gets a 20 per cent only raise as do the other judges, and they get 10 per cent now and ten per cent later -- $90,000 now and 96,000 in 2003. This is a plain and obvious attempt at corruption of the Judiciary.   If the Government is to give a salary raise then they must do so all at once, not some now with the promise of some later.  That could mean that if the judges are bad boys and girls they may not get their raise… tongue in cheek you know, but you get the point.

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ONE HELLUVA NATIONAL TRUST MEETING
The stodgy Bahamas National Trust, bastion of polite environmental activism, was a little shaken up this week when storm troopers from the radical environmentalist side (this Senator amongst them) decided that its time for a change of regimes in the Bahamas National Trust.  The Trust has statutory authority to oversee environmental matters in The Bahamas and is the guardian over hundreds of thousands of acres of national parks both above and below ground in The Bahamas.  Until the radical environmentalists like Sam Duncombe from Re Earth got involved, the Trust was blithely going along to support the Clifton Cay project that would have devastated the last repository of slave and loyalist culture in New Providence.  That project is dead in the water.  Elections for the Board of the Trust were held on Thursday 5 April and the slate of the Trust was challenged from members from the floor.  Only four of the members from the floor made it and five from the usual crew were returned.  The radicals expect to continue the fight next year until the body is totally reformed.  Among the conservatives returning was Macgregor Robertson, an FNM ideologue who resigned in protest, when the Trust changed its position and condemned the Clifton Cay project. Pray tell why has he decided to return, to turn back the tide.  In any event Sam Duncombe, although not making it herself to the Boardroom said that she was pleased at the results. "Change is inevitable", she was quoted by The Tribune as saying. Well said!

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STATEMENT ON BARBADOS CAMPUS PROTEST
This Senator as the Opposition's spokesman on Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Thursday 5 April calling upon the Minister of Foreign Affairs to check her facts when she claimed that Barbados police during the protest did not beat the Bahamian student.  The statement also raised the issue of whether or not the student could get a fair trial in Barbados given the comments of the Prime Minister of Barbados that he supports the police. You may click here for the full statement.
 

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GEORGE MACKEY’S ADDRESS
George Mackey is the quintessential Fox Hillian.  Mr. Mackey was born in Fox Hill to Malachi and Olive Mackey on 19th January 1938. He served House of Assembly for 25 years from 1972 to 1997, first as the representative for St. Michaels from 1972 to 1987 and then as the representative for Fox Hill from 1987 to 1997. He is an acolyte at St. Anne's Anglican Church in Fox Hill.  Mr. Mackey was invested as a Member of the British Empire (M.B.E) by Her Majesty the Queen in 1998.  His wife is the former Mary Elizabeth Thompson.  Elected Chairman of the PLP in 1969, he served in this capacity until his election to Parliament in 1972.  Mr. Mackey has a wealth of knowledge and The Tribune asked him to share that knowledge as a writer and contributor to a regular column each Saturday in The Tribune.  His informative and incisive commentary is a must read.  And so he was asked by the College of The Bahamas to contribute to its lecture series held to commemorate the birthday of Sir Lynden O. Pindling on 21 March. You may click here for Mr. Mackey’s address.  He is pictured in this photo by Peter Ramsay. Mr. and Mrs. Mackey have two daughters Phaedra and Michelle and two grandsons to whom he is ‘George’.

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PLP NAMES NEW STALWART COUNCILLORS

The Progressive Liberal Party held a gala banquet Friday 30 March at the Raddison hotel, Cable Beach, Nassau in honour of scores of party faithful named to its Stalwart Council. Membership in the party's Stalwart Council is for life and is the party's highest honour. Party Leader Perry Christie said the move was aimed at honouring those who made the PLP into the formidable force which it is in Bahamian public life. Several of those honoured are long-time members of the Fox Hill branch, including Calvin Brown, Ben Demeritte, Edward 'Bobby' Glinton, Joe Hutchinson, Camille Johnson, Clarence Moss, Rev. Mathias Munroe, Deidre Rolle, Irene Rolle, Bishop Austin Saunders, Barbara Smith and Eric Wilmott who is pictured here receiving his award from Party Leader Christie. This columnist is at left. Please click here for more pictures.

A LENTEN TEA IN FOX HILL

It was quite gracious of Janet Davis and her husband Derek Davis to host the Lenten tea at their beautiful home in Yamacraw Beach Estates.  The guest of honour was Lady Marguerite Pindling, wife of the late founding Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Sir Lynden Pindling.  She is as beautiful and gracious as ever.  The tea was elegant and simply a delight.  We publish the picture of Lady Pindling with our gracious host Jan Davis. Please click here for a full spread of photographs of the event. Thank you very much for a great afternoon Mrs. Davis on Sunday 25 March. Thank you also to Evangelist Irene Rolle, fundraising chair for the PLP Fox Hill Branch. The photos are by Peter Ramsay.
 

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THE CONSUL GENERAL IN HONG KONG
The Bahama Journal carried an interview with Camille Johnson, a former classmate in primary school, and now Consul General in Hong Kong for The Bahamas.  This is a public servant's post and as such non-political.  The interview was with Ed Bethel, President of the Press Club of The Bahamas during a visit to China earlier this year as a guest of the Chinese Government.  Interesting interview for me as Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs.  But what was especially interesting is that she begins her days she says by accessing the Nassau Guardian's web site and the Bahama Journal's web site.  No mention of this web site or any PLP oriented news and information like Bradley Roberts web site.  We begin a link to that site today (see above or click here).  Well you know, what more should we say?  Things that make you go: hmmm!

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KING AND BAHAMIAN POSTPONE
The Royal Wedding Committee planning the marriage of African King Ayi to Bahamian Richa Sands has announced the postponement of the wedding. The committee issued this statement 5 April:
    His Majesty King F. A. Ayi, traditional hereditary Royal Monarch of the Guin Kingdom of the Ayigbe people of Togo, Benin and Ghana in West Africa, and his fiancee, the former Miss Bahamas Richa Sands, now known as Princess Ayele-Richa, announced they will be postponing their wedding date, originally planned for later this month, to later this summer.
    The King has been occupied by several matters this month requiring his attention in his native Togo and Benin, while Princess Ayele-Richa has been travelling extensively to meet various recording and performance commitments around the world.
    A spokesman for the King indicated that all these commitments have left insufficient time to properly plan and co-ordinate such an important event as the Royal Wedding.
    The King and Princess expect to announce shortly the new date for the wedding here in Nassau, likely some time in July, this summer.
 

NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Our Lucaya – The top Bahamian human resources man / labour negotiator at 'Our' Lucaya was in the news this week to say that the battle over union recognition isn't over yet. Shame, shame. shame. Last week we reported that the owners and senior management at Hutchison Whampoa's Lucaya strip hotel complex were outraged that they would finally have to deal with the Bahamas Hotel, Catering & Allied Workers Union. The workers voted (see story above) and now only the formal determination of the Minister remains, but there is now the threat of further court action by the hotel. They should remember the adage, vox populi... you know the rest.

'Our' Lucaya Sales Staff - The sales and marketing team at 'Our' Lucaya has spent months trying to figure out why one season after another ends in occupancy disappointment. Could it be that not one is a Bahamian? How can you 'sell' a destination with no one who knows the place as only a Bahamian can? Perhaps it is 'Their' Lucaya. Things that make you go hmmm!

Unanimity of Purpose at Honeywell (Syntex) - FNMs and CDRs joined PLPs in an impromptu demonstration this week at the Ministry of Labour in protest over delays by the Honeywell corporation, latest owners of the industrial plant built in Grand Bahama by Syntex. The anger is over separation settlements for the staff as the plant closes down. The company in its various incarnations has long been home to some of the best and brightest technical minds in the country and traditionally a bastion of FNM support. Observers say that the industrial action and the once disparate forces in brought together is a harbinger of things to come.

Alex Williams Out? - Resorts at Bahamia Food & Beverage boss Alex Williams is the latest victim of the cutbacks at the former Princess properties now owned by the Driftwood Group. Inside sources say that although Mr. Williams was given his walking papers, he was privately told that if he didn't "make trouble' the company would find something for him to do at a much lower salary. Sounds like cost cutting to us. News From Grand Bahama has long reported that all the upheaval at the Resorts at Bahamian was principally about money. One staffer reports that all Bahamians in the place from top to bottom are uneasy about their future. Said the staffer: "When Ingraham first came down when Driftwood took over, he tried to soft soap us, but Buddemeir (the new owner) got right up behind him and contradicted him... He (Buddemeir) told us that many would go... We should have been listening"

Road Changes Full Speed Ahead - Opposition to Resorts at Bahamia's plan to turn the public road between their properties into a swimming pool seems to have withered.  A new roundabout dubbed "the circle with four corners" has appeared in an effort to reroute traffic… Freeporters are predicting chaos, with one correspondent charging that the engineer who laid out the road should go back to school. Newly appointed Minister of Works and Grand Bahama MP Ken Russell should bring his inspectors back to see if they still feel the roadwork is acceptable. We won't hold our breath.

CA & Sub Judice - The furore surrounding the Government's decision to abandon the air traffic control debate in the House of Assembly citing the sub judice rule was hardly over when the Minister responsible C.A. Smith jumped onto radio in Grand Bahama to open the matter to public debate. Interestingly, production engineers at ZNS 3 in Freeport were instructed to screen the calls to Minister Smith's call in radio show for 'troublemakers'. Watchers of public opinion called it a cowardly act.

Payola Machine Cranks Up - A new school to be built on Settlers Way East, …the Rand Memorial Hospital to be renovated… The translation for these and other public projects announced to begin in Grand Bahama is that election time is near and someone needs money with which the boys can campaign. We want to know what happened to the first consultant's report on Rand?  Which general will get these jobs... We'll tell you who, and when it happens. What inflated price will be in the contract?  Will the same contractors get these jobs that got all the others? It's our money too, and we'll be watching.

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

NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

THE ACTS OF A POLITICAL MAD MAN
This week there was a plethora of evidence that the formal start of the campaign has come. Not the least of the evidence is the formal ad in the newspaper by the Free National Movement in which its Leader, the Chief Slave, Hubert Ingraham embarked on a campaign savaging a host of ex politicians with whom he had served in the PLP.  The ungrateful wretch that he is, unable to let bygones be bygones.  He is undeserving of another term in office, not only because he has broken the promise to the electorate not to seek a third term, but because he is simply unfit for office.  He has a savage and mean streak, an inner insecurity that makes him unfit for office.

We report below the full remarks made in the ad published in the Nassau Guardian on Thursday 12 April.  They are a disgrace.

Then we look at the string of legislative initiatives that he has announced without any proper consultation.  He expects to leave a legacy of new inheritance laws that will change some fundamental legal and social concepts in the country. Married women in the country are up in arms about his plans to allow children of their husbands born out of wedlock to claim on their husbands’ estates.  He has also announced that the laws on labour will be changed to exclude discrimination on the grounds of sexual preference. Clearly all forms of discrimination ought to be banned. But in this case most lawyers and social commentators are asking given the plethora of more urgent problems in this country: where is the mischief he intends to cure?  In other words where is the evidence that discrimination against gay people on the job is a problem in The Bahamas?  Sexual harassment is already an offence in this country.

The changes in the Inheritance Laws, the changes in the Labour Laws have set off a flurry of public criticism, less than twelve months before a general election must be called.  The mandate of the current term runs out on 8 April 2002.  The Parliamentary Commissioner has said that of the 150,000 persons, who should register, only 50,000 are registered so far.  The Prime Minister is gearing up to go and go soon. He also intends to amend the constitution before the next election.  As one commentator pointed out, the changes in the Constitution should not be confined to his ideas alone but should consider the ideas of the country at large.

Into that mess of ideas and guff we found ourselves during this week.  As we wish you happy Easter, we also wish for you and all Bahamians everywhere that this is the last Easter that Hubert Ingraham will be Prime Minister of The Bahamas. Next year, let’s hope that he is in exile somewhere far, far away from us.  And good riddance to bad rubbish.

This week we had 19,024 hits on the site for the week ending Saturday 14 April at midnight and making a total of 46, 589  hits on this site for the month of April.

PERMANENT LINKS
11th Review of the Judiciary
Mitchell Address to Senate: Why the PM is the way he is
Mitchell speech to PLP Convention 2000
Pindling & Me - A personal retrospective on the life and times of Sir Lynden by Fred Mitchell
Address to the Senate Budget Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to the Senate Clifton Cay Debate / Haitian Issue
Address to PLP Leadership meeting in Exuma / Haitian Issue

Address of Sean McWeeney / Pindling  funeral
Gilbert Morris on OECD Blacklist
Fred Mitchell Antioch College speech
The funeral coverage

Professor Gilbert Morris on the country's blacklisting	Coverage of Sir Lynden's death & funeral

e-mail timbuktu@batelnet.bs

HAPPY EASTER

Easter Monday the day after Easter is the official beginning of the swimming season in The Bahamas.  Conventional Bahamian wisdom says that the waters are now warm enough for Bahamians to take a dip.  The season ends on 12 October, the last holiday before Christmas. Easter is this columnist’s favourite time of year.  It is really quite a glorious time. The air is still breezy and not humid.  The Tribune published this photo on Thursday 12 April of Wendell Mortimer, our friend, who is the proprietor of the Model Bakery on Dowdeswell Street.  He is shown preparing hot cross buns.  We say to you all: HAPPY EASTER!  To all of our student readers: Good Luck on your exams!

THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS CASE
We reported last week that the Air Traffic Controllers have taken their case to court.  We appeared before Senior Justice Emmanuel Osadebay. The case began on Wednesday 11 April and concluded the next day. This Senator together with Obie Ferguson, President of the Bahamas Trade Union Congress and Rawson McDonald also of Gwendolyn House appeared for the air traffic controllers.  This was an application pursuant to Order 53 of the rules of the Supreme Court to quash the decision of the Ministry of Public Service to put the officers on administrative leave for three months with pay.  The argument is that this is a disciplinary procedure and the Government is trying to fire the men and women through the back door. The ruling is expected next week.  The case of the air traffic controllers is an interesting one.  This is a blatant attempt by C.A. Smith, the Minister for Aviation and his worthless boss Hubert Ingraham to fire all the air traffic controllers.  Mr. Ingraham himself has a personal vendetta against Roscoe Perpall, the President of the Union and has reportedly said that Mr. Perpall will never be allowed to work as an air traffic controller again.  The interesting thing is that the vast majority of the air traffic controllers, including their President, voted for the FNM.  But after this treatment one wonders what the FNM expects them to do.  This treatment is an example of how Mr. Ingraham treats and speaks to other people and why he is unfit for office.  Everything is a bloody personal vendetta.  He wants to rid the FNM of Tennyson Wells, Floyd Watkins and Lester Turnquest. Why? Because they oppose him.  No logical reason.  He will gerrymander any boundary to prevent his enemies from winning seats even down to violating the constitution and the law.  He will sink to any depths for politics.  He is plainly and simply a worthless and unprincipled man who The Bahamas must get rid of before more damage is inflicted on this society; we await the decision of the judge.

10 APRIL 1968
A friend sent us an e-mail to remind us that an important anniversary passed during the week on Tuesday 10 April.  He says that the day is really the anniversary of majority rule because that was the day in 1968 when the PLP won the General Election by a landslide and finished off the United Bahamian Party and the Bay Street Boys as a front line political force.  The General Election was called because of the death of Uriah McPhee who was elected in 1967 to the 18-18 tied House of Assembly.  Rather than call a bye-election, the Premier Lynden Pindling as he then was, called a General Election.  The rest, as they say, is history.

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CLARIFICATION ON HONG KONG CONSUL GENERAL
Camille Johnson, the Consul General for The Bahamas, resident in Hong Kong sent an e-mail to clarify the position with regard to her updating herself on Bahamian news.  Please see last week’s story.  Mrs. Johnson said that her comments to Ed Bethel, President of the Bahamas Press Club were that on a daily basis she checks the mealy-mouthed (our adjective) Nassau Guardian and The Bahama Journal on the web. That would not therefore include this column since the column is a weekly one.  Thanks for the clarification!

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TENNYSON WELLS COMING AT HIM AGAIN
As the Chief Slave Hubert Ingraham moves toward an election, we understand that Tennyson Wells is set to make a direct bid for the Leadership of the Free National Movement.  Mr. Wells and his forces intend to bring a resolution to the Council of the Free National Movement directly opposing the Prime Minister for a third term as leader of the Free National Movement. We wish him well but those jelly backs in the FNM council are unlikely to support Mr. Wells. But let the theatre begin.

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THE CHIEF SLAVE ATTACKS HIS FORMER FRIENDS
The occasion was the rally of the Free National Movement in Englerston on Thursday 5 April.  The remarks are reprinted from an ad that appeared in the Nassau Guardian on Thursday 12 April.  Here’s what the Chief Slave had to say: “The Bahamian people got rid of George Smith [former Exuma MP], now he is planning a comeback.” This is an outright lie of Mr. Ingraham and figment of his warped imagination. “We put the head man out.  Now they’re on a historical lecture circuit.  On that score do not go to sleep; do not be deceived.  Don’t mind what they say; watch what they do.” Now can you believe that this stuff comes out the mouth of the same man who got up and pronounced Sir Lynden O. Pindling a national hero? After Sir Lynden died, Mr. Ingraham went all over the place saying that Sir Lynden taught him all he knows. He even kissed Sir Lynden on his deathbed. Now we know it was the kiss of a traitor… a Judas kiss.  And is it not disgraceful that he brings the man’s name up, dead and not here to defend himself into this political campaign?  Mr. Ingraham is a thoroughly dangerous man, disrespectful of his own legacy.  There is no other word to describe him than a low life. “We got rid of Father Maynard; now daughter is attempting to come back to avenge what was done to daddy.” Again the actions of a man with a vivid imagination.  The interesting thing is that same day as this ad appeared, there was Sir Clement Maynard (the daddy in Mr. Ingraham's words) shaking hands with the Prime Minister and presenting a report on Parliamentary salaries (see story below).  Sir Clement co-chaired the Committee with Ambassador Arthur Foulkes.  Sir Clement was good enough for that but is disrespected by this low life from a political platform. “We got rid of one Nottage.  Now the other one says he wants to be in charge.” Well that one is between him and Nottage, nothing to do with the PLP.   “And Vincent Peet. Anyone remember him? Well he says he has gone back to Andros.  This is after South Beach kicked him out and rejected him a second time.” Mr. Ingraham knows that the only reason that happened was because of widespread vote buying, gerrymandering and cheating by his party. And we would rather Vincent Peet for Andros than the man who is their representative Earl Deveaux who presided over the collapse of agriculture in The Bahamas. “They all want to come back.  They disguise their true purpose, but come back they desire.  Oh I almost forgot the one in Grants Town.  So sorry the UBP and those who think and behave like the UBP are no longer in charge.  Anyway, it isn’t long now! Remember that it is all about you.  Look around!” If we were Bradley, we would say, your ma is a UBP.  But we won’t. But look who is accusing people of being UBP. The very man who is the agent of the UBP today in 2001, doing their bidding, jumping to the tune of Geoffrey Johnstone and all the other UBPs in his garden.  Hubert Ingraham the low life Chief Slave and Uncle Tom-a case of the pot calling the kettle black. No Mr. Ingraham, it is not about us at all.  It is all about you.  And when you look around, you will be gone.

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ROBERTS RESPONDS TO THE SPEAKER’S SISTER
On 6 April Cathleen N. Hassan attacked Bradley Roberts in a letter.  She is an attorney and the sister of the Speaker of the House of Assembly Italia Johnson.  Mrs. Hassan claimed to be offended by Mr. Roberts’ behaviour in the House of Assembly (see report in this column 8th April) in which Mr. Roberts threatened to throw a book at the Prime Minister and called Mr. Ingraham a mad man. Mrs. Hassan said in her letter that Mr. Roberts should seek medical help. Part of Mr. Roberts' reply in The Tribune dated Wednesday 11 April: “I would respectfully suggest that Mrs. Hassan reconsider her position and determine who should have their head checked: 1) the person who prevents abuse; 2) the person who dictatorially abuses; 3) the person who although fully informed, blames the person who prevents abuse rather than the person responsible for the abuse.  And while on the subject of who should see a doctor, I wonder if Mrs. Hassan could tell us who should really be the one to see a doctor, the politician who by innuendo called the bankers, accountants and lawyers, criminals whom he couldn’t consult on new financial laws?  Or should a lawyer that defends that politician be the one who should really see the doctor? [Mrs. Hassan is an attorney-at-law.] It’s unfortunate that the annals of history have escaped Mrs. Hassan’s memory or, possibly she was too young to remember, but I hasten to remind her strong positions taken by her own dear father [Oscar Johnson Sr. MP Cat Island 1967 to 1977], when he represented the good people of Cat Island in the House of Assembly. During that time, I do not recall it being suggested that Mrs. Hassan’s father should seek medical help. Mrs. Hassan would be wise to understand that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” For the full text see bradleyroberts.org

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THE MEALY-MOUTHED NASSAU GUARDIAN
The Nassau Guardian is now more than ever a propaganda rag for the Free National Movement.  Witness their front page on Thursday 12 April.  Every story but one was a story about some Government minister making an announcement or other.  The Minister of Economic Development was announcing a household labour survey; the Deputy Prime Minister was announcing a campaign to cut down on crime with Rev. Simeon Hall of the Christian Council; the Minister of Agriculture was being shown the wasps being set free to kill the mealy bugs killing the hibiscus plants in the country.  The only story left was the one where Paul Major of Bahamasair [another Government owned company] was announcing Bahamasair was trying to seek more business from Europe.  Just a comment on that-this is an airline that can’t service the Bahamian passengers they have, how can they help people from Europe?

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REPORT ON THE PARLIAMENTARY SALARIES
Sir Clement Maynard who was disparaged by the Prime Minister from a public platform in Englerston last week, is shown in this BIS photo by Peter Ramsay presenting the report of the Review of Parliamentary Salaries by a Commission co-chaired by Sir Clement and Ambassador Arthur Foulkes.  Among its recommendations is that the Prime Minister ought to get a $40,000 duty allowance and a hefty raise in salary.  MPs are to get a $10,000 raise with a duty allowance of $15,000.  This is on top of the $28,000 they get now and the $18,000 for a constituency, office.  Imagine raising salaries for politicians.  The PLP Leader has taken the position on behalf of the PLP that this Parliament does not have a mandate to increase any salaries for politicians.  The FNM must fight that issue in a general election, and can only properly raise salaries after the issue is put to the Bahamian people in a general election.  Further, it is obscene when the economy is slowing down, when the Government is in a substantial deficit in its annual budget, when the Government’s overdraft is increasing in red ink at the bank to talk about raising salaries.   The situation has so deteriorated between the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister that the Leader of the Opposition now ignores all letters of so called consultation by the Prime Minister who abuses the process and does not believe in the consultation process. As one friend of the Leader of the Opposition said, Mr. Christie’s position about the Prime Minister’s requests to so-called consult is “F… him”.

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FELIX BETHEL ON ANTI-GAY RIGHTS DEMOS
The Chief Slave Hubert Ingraham had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth from his public platform in Englerston on Thursday 5 April (see story last week's column), when Rev. Walter Hanchell took to the streets to protest.  His position is that this is part of the Ingraham Government’s promotion of the gay life style (whatever that is).  He said that he and his associates are afraid for their children.  He linked it to the decision to allow the gay cruises into The Bahamas in 1998.  He has been on the warpath since then.  He and a small band of associates had a demonstration this week on Tuesday 10 April at the corner of Gibbs Corner and East Street in New Providence the site of the Penny Savings Barber Shop. (See photo from the Nassau Guardian of Wednesday 11 April.) All of the newspapers carried the story. Rev. Hanchell said that there was no need for any such legislation and further that he did not hate gays, he simply disliked their lifestyle that is against God’s laws.  He claimed that gays are immoral people. Some persons report that when Mr. Ingraham issued his remark, the audience in Englerston was in a state of shock.  They were actually waiting to hear in his list of anti-discrimination measures that there would be limits placed on discrimination against the children of Haitians in The Bahamas, and then the penny dropped on anti-gay legislation.  Any anti-discrimination measures ought to be supported.  The South African constitution implemented by no less a person than Nelson Mandela and supported by Bishop Desmond Tutu includes a ban on discrimination on the grounds of sexual preference. But as usual Mr. Ingraham is seeking to mix up the Bahamian public and create a distraction from the main task at hand, which is getting rid of him.  So Rev. Hanchell and the others will get caught up in that and let the monkey slip by.  The Church has not yet commented on the Prime Minister's announcement.  But here is what Felix Bethel, the lecturer at the College of the Bahamas in politics, the consultant to the Bahamas Journal and columnist for the paper and commentator for Love 97 Radio had to say in his column of 12-16 April in the Bahama Journal: “The breaking news is that members of Vision 5000 - a Men’s Movement-obviously homophobic, angry and intolerant - is standing tall, firm and resolute in their demand that some other men not be treated equally under the law in this Commonwealth of The Bahamas.  Some vision.  Some 5000.  Lord God Almighty help us now in this dreadful hour.” Nuff said.

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BDM IN SUPPORT OF THE HAITIANS
Cassius Stuart and his nascent Bahamas Democratic Movement are at last doing what a new-born party is supposed to do. Mr. Stuart is really an FNM voter; disgruntled with the way Mr. Ingraham is behaving and not yet able to join the PLP.  They have stopped holding press conferences and relying on ZNS to show up and then complaining when they don’t and started doing something. It is unlikely given our system that the BDM will succeed at the next general election at being anything other than an also ran, but that does not diminish their political role.  There are some things that the major opposition party cannot and must not say and for that and other reasons the BDM is useful and they play their role.  Ultimately Mr. Stuart and his allies are being prepared, if they continue, to become part of one of the major parties and perhaps lead or play an active role in the leadership of one of those major parties.  The start of the week saw news reports from the mealy-mouthed Nassau Guardian run by that worthless bum Ozzie Brown. The Guardian carried a front page picture of Mr. Stuart and his cohorts in Abaco supporting the Haitians living in what is called Pigeon Peas or the Mud, a filled-in area of swamp to the north of Marsh Harbour, Abaco and in between the Black township of Dundas Town and the white town Marsh Harbour.   The whites in Abaco and the owner of the land want the Haitians who have been squatting there for thirty years to move.  It is a ramshackle collection of houses with illegal water and electricity hook ups and no planning permission. The question is, how has this been allowed to build up except by the leave of the owners and the ruling class in Marsh Harbour who needed a cheap pool of labour? Now that it has become inconvenient they want to move against these people.  The Government and the chief agents of the ruling class in Marsh Harbour set a deadline. The Prime Minister agreed to provide public lands outside the town for the quarters to move their homes. The problem is that even after Hurricane Floyd showed the dangers of such a squatter's camp on swampland, nothing has been done.  Hurricane season is again upon us. Mr. Stuart supports the Haitians and he took his party there to say so.  See also the photo of the Haitians demonstrating in Marsh Harbour, taken by Veronica Archer of Marsh Harbour.

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A DROP IN CRIME
Last year The Bahamas suffered the indignity of becoming a murder capital like the city of Detroit in the U.S.  There was virtually a murder every week, in fact more if you look at it statistically since there were 73 murders last year.  The Police claim that forty four percent of them arose out of domestic violence.  So the Commissioner of Police Paul Farqhuarson called a press conference on Tuesday 10 April to say that crime had dropped appreciably over last year's statistics.   Major crimes are down, he said, some 61 percent.  This echoed a speech given in Freeport the week before by Assistant Commissioner Ellison Greenslade.   In the first quarter murder has declined by 54 per cent.  But unlawful sexual intercourse has arisen by 25 per cent. But on the other hand attempted murders have increased by 43 per cent.  The Commissioner said the weapons of choice seem to have changed from the gun to the knife.   He attributed this drop to aggressive police vigilance on the streets, including road checks, which interrupt the public in the morning and evenings at odd times.  He also said that increased attention to domestic violence is having some affect.  He also credits increased public relations and the resultant improved co-operation of the public as instrumental in all of the decreased crime figures.  No doubt the Chief Inspector of the Force Hubert Ingraham will be out on the platform crowing about how he solved the crime problem, but the fact is that people in the country do not believe the statistics.  There is still a palpable fear of crime and Mr. Ingraham has done nothing to lick that problem.  But so far as it goes we wish the Commissioner and his team the best of luck and continued success.  The PLP lends it co-operation to solving the crime problem.

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FTAA MEETING IN QUEBEC CITY
The date that the Canadian authorities in Quebec City are bracing for is 20 April.  That is when the 35 nations of this hemisphere, sans Cuba, will gather with their heads of Government to determine how far the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas will progress.  The Bahamas together with other nations won a small victory according to Ambassador for Trade James Smith who says that instead of the deadline for implementation desired by the United States for 2003, the deadline is now 2005.  That still does not change the fact that the Government of The Bahamas has not adequately explained what we are to expect under these new agreements.  The Minister for Economic Development Zhivargo Laing says that we have not signed on fully yet because The Bahamas is still assessing the impact of it all.  But what we want to happen out of this process is that in exchange for a truly free and open economy, we want visa free and permit free access to the United States and Canada in exchange for the same thing in this country.  Further, we want all our professional groups to have reciprocity of practice to the United States and Canadian markets and for that matter all the countries in the FTAA area. When our leaders can tell us that, we will know that this thing is worth it.

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BLACKLISTING IS A DISASTER
The word is now coming out more and more what a fool our Prime Minister has been by grovelling before the world and allowing the financial laws of this country to be scrapped, imposing new conditions that are onerous upon our people to do such simple chores as opening bank accounts.  The Chief Slave was busy defending his actions in Englerston at his party’s rally there, but no one accepts what he says any more.  Tell that to the construction workers who can’t get jobs because all the persons who wanted to build have stopped until the situation is clarified. Tell that to those who have been laid off from the banks that have picked up and left or been closed down.  Tell that to those who have the greatest hassle trying to open a simple bank account in this country.  Tell that to the Treasury where they are scraping now to pay the Government’s bills.  We can go on and on…

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GENTLEMAN OF THE YEAR
We congratulate Peter Blair who has been chosen Gentleman of the Year by the Gentleman’s Club and is shown in this picture from The Bahama Journal.  Each year the Club sponsors an annual ball.  The founders and directors of the Ball are Judson and Marcheta Eneas.  The Ball has more applicants than they have places.  The young men are truly gems of the society both in intellectual and in social terms.  The Ball stresses both sides.  Mr. Blair is the son of Judith and Leslie Blair.  The 10th annual Gentleman’s Ball was held on Saturday 7 April at the Nassau Marriott Crystal Palace Ballroom.  Mr. Blair received the most outstanding BGCSE Results Award from the Ministry of Education for achieving ‘A’ grades in English Language, Biology, Chemistry, Combined Science, Physics and Geography.  He plans to pursue studies in the field of Business/Law. And has a career objective to become an economist/lawyer.  The Ball is open to outstanding 12th graders from private and public high schools in Nassau and the College of The Bahamas.  Congratulations again!

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CARIFTA
The Carifta Games track and field events are being held in Barbados on the Easter weekend.  A full team from The Bahamas has been fielded.  The games are for under 20s throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean.  The games are held from Friday 13 April to Monday 16 April.  The team returns to The Bahamas on Tuesday 17 April.  We wish them luck.  Beginning later this week 20 - 22 April, The Bahamas hosts the swimming events in this year’s Carifta Games. Late word in confirms that Saturday evening 14 April, Bahamians won both first and second places in the under-17 boys 100 metre finals. Congratulations to them both. See story in News From Grand Bahama.

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THE FAMILY ISLAND REGATTA
Danny Strachan, the Commodore of the Family Island Regatta, has announced that some 50 boats have confirmed that they will participate in the Family Island Regatta, the nation’s biggest and longest running regatta. It began in 1953.  The regatta will be held as usual in beautiful Elizabeth Harbour in Georgetown, Exuma from 24 April to 28 April.  President of the Bahamas Boat Owners and Sailors Association King Eric Gibson says that his members won’t participate because a work boat that was refurbished abroad is being allowed to participate.  Mr. Strachan though says that this boycott will not affect the Regatta.  This Regatta is being held in honour of Sir Lynden O. Pindling, the founding Prime Minister of The Bahamas.

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NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA
Grand Bahama Silver Medalist at Carifta - Grand Bahama's Oscar Greene was the follow up to Nassau's Grafton Ifill III in The Bahamas' one-two punch at the Carifta Track & Field events Saturday evening 14 April in Barbados. Greene won the silver medal in the under-17 boys 100 metre race behind another Bahamian. Grafton Ifill of Saint Augustine's College in Nassau took gold. Greene attends Sunland Lutheran School in Grand Bahama and is coached by Coach Errol Bodie of the Neymour Hawks Track Club.  Grafton Ifill Senior is a well know businessman in both Grand Bahama and Nassau. Congratulations to both talented runners.

Underground Environmental Hazards - News reports early in the week in Grand Bahama told of an underground cavern caused by leaking chemicals at the Honeywell industrial plant (formerly Syntex) in Freeport. Workers at the plant who are currently in a dispute with the departing company revealed that the problem had occurred before and called on Government to investigate. The workers charge the strong possibility of long-term environmental damage from giant pools of chemicals under the Honeywell plant and perhaps under the entire industrial area. Grand Bahama environmental officials said that they were aware of the problem and had sent all relevant information to Nassau. However, the only response from Nassau came from former Ambassador for the Environment now Minister Earl Deveaux who mounted a personal attack on the union leader at Honeywell. Grand Bahama residents have long suspected ground and air contamination by the industrial plants because of higher instances of health problems including cancer among people in the surrounding communities. The question now is whether Government will turn a blind eye to the situation and allow the industries in the area to pack up and leave the country with no responsibility for the damage done to our environment. Shame on Earl Deveaux.

Disgrace in Abaco - Hundreds of people living in the 30 year old Haitian-Bahamian community at 'Pigeon Pea' and 'The Mud' in Abaco have found themselves personae non grata (see story above) as those for whom they helped build Abaco into a successful farming community turned against them. ZNS Northern Service News this week featured an interview with a Local Government Councillor for Marsh Harbour who said "We don't care where they go, we just want them out." The Local Government Councillor's remarks were inflammatory and could unnecessarily turn Marsh Harbour into a hot spot in The Bahamas. Common decency must be the order of the day lest the ruling elite in Abaco are allowed to taint the notion of humanity in this country by their actions. The people in Pigeon Pea and The Mud have been used as cheap labour for generations and do not deserve to be pushed into the sea notwithstanding legitimate claims to the land which they occupy. This could very well be a watershed in relations between the larger Bahamas and the integrating Haitian communities here. Insensitivity will bring us international disgrace and shame at home. Our advice to all concerned is to stop the inflammatory rhetoric and proceed with human decency.

Will CA and David Thompson Survive? - FNM generals who feel the pulse of the people in Grand Bahama are reluctant to campaign for Grand Bahama MPs C.A. Smith and David Thompson. "The people are so p...ed off with them," said one, "the only way we might be able to go house to house again for them is if they confess that they messed up in representing the people and give us plenty money to work with." The FNM campaign workers say that everyone feels disenchanted and let down by the FNM Government's performance. "People are telling me that it looks like the most important people to this Government are the foreign investors."

15 April - 7pm update... FNM To Lose Senior Campaign General? - Late reports in from Grand Bahama provide an addition to the above story. Sources say that Minister C.A. Smith and Ambassador David Thompson were so taken aback by the attitude of their campaign generals that they organized a separate, further meeting with two of the most senior generals. News from Grand Bahama has learned that the two hour meeting ended with at least one of the generals threatening to leave the FNM. If this materialises, the loss would send shockwaves through the FNM ranks in Grand Bahama. Some sort of announcement is expected Thursday. We will be watching. The other senior campaign general told the Grand Bahama MPs that he was a team player, but wanted it remembered that at the time he only went along with the group in supporting Hubert Ingraham for the party leadership. "If he went tomorrow, it wouldn't bother me in the least." Many in the FNM in Grand Bahama are disgruntled with their party's Government.

C.A. Gets An Earful - Government Minister C.A. Smith was among the panellists on a call-in radio show in  Grand Bahama this week, considering the question of what an early election would mean for the country.  The telephone lines opened to a continuous barrage of bitter disappointment from voters directed at Minister Smith. And this is (was?) the same Grand Bahama known as 'FNM Country'.

Resorts at Bahamia Turns Away Locals - Reports reaching this website charge that Resorts at Bahamia, the former Princess Properties now owned by the Driftwood group has begun limiting access by locals in the evening at its Resorts. Local observers expressed dismay, but not surprise. We wonder whether Resorts at Bahamia has considered the implications of their actions to their public licences, music and dance and shop licences which do not allow discrimination against anyone? To continue the reported practice of arbitrarily denying access to local individuals would certainly put their licences in jeopardy. Perhaps their Bahamian managers should bring the new owners up to speed on what is socially acceptable in Grand Bahama.