Bahamas Blog

Roney Tony, the man believed to be the head the Bahamian baggage-handling drug gang at Nassau's international airport, has pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking charges in a US court.

His wife, Ladera Tony, and a few loud mouths from the political arena, ran all over Nassau proclaiming Roney's innocence. They are now eating their own words.

Cynthia Pratt, the mafia maven we call our Deputy Prime Minister, was so annoyed by the arrest of her drug dealing cronies, that she is punishing the policeman who made the Florida arrests possible. The top cop is being transferred to a lame-duck position where he won't cause any more trouble for PLP government "approved" drug dealers.

The PLP is afraid they will lose votes because many criminally-minded grassroot Bahamians were angered by the arrests of the baggage handlers. So, instead of praising the excellent police work, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister are victimizing the cop responsible for the arrests.

And Bahamians wonder why the crime rate keeps going up and moral standards keep going down.

So, I guess everybody knows that Anna Nicole Smith is dead. And most people also know that her recently born baby is still in The Bahamas, being cared for by Immigration Minister Shane Gibson's mother.

It is also common knowledge that the paternity of little Dannielynn is being challenged, with no less than three men claiming to be her father.

Dannielynn's birth certificate, issued in The Bahamas, where she was born, states that Howard K Stern, Anna's lawyer/lover is the father.

Then, why is the baby with Shane Gibson's mother?

And where the hell is howard K Stern?

In the dozens of news articles I have read on the demise of Anna Nicole, I can't find even one mention of the guy who was, for years, like her shadow.

No mention of where he was when she died. No mention of his reaction to her death. No mention of him and "his" baby.

I appreciate that Howard is probably grieving, but where and with who?

If ever there was a tabloid-style made-for-TV movie, The Anna Nicole Story is it.

Traditionally, the name of the first hurricane of the season starts with the letter "A".

This year was no different, except this hurricane brought waves of reporters into New Providence in the aftermath of the death of Anna Nicole Smith.

"Hurricane" Anna, more sensational in death than she ever was alive, the busty blonde bimbo left behind a baby girl, a multitude of unanswered questions and a legal quagmire.

She also brought more publicity to the Bahamas than anything in recent years. Not all of it necessarily good.

On Monday, the day that the Tribune published front-page photos of Immigration Minister Shane Gibson in bed with Anna Nicole, although fully clothed, it was the biggest surge of traffic most Bahamas news websites had ever received.

Someone once said, "There is no such thing as bad publicity." But marketing experts say that's not true.

The whole world is now aware of the controversy surrounding the obvious preferential treatment afforded Ms Smith in the residency permit process, particularly regarding the details of home ownership. The ownership of the home she used for her residency application has still not been determined.

With the spotlight on Mr. Gibson's naivety in being "played" by a comely Hollywood celebrity, some international reporters are even conjuring up the "nation for sale" moniker.

There is also an international focus on the legal shenanigans being played out in court cases related to Anna Nicole in The Bahamas. Many outsiders are coming to the conclusion that certain lawyers can pretty much get anything they want from judges who appear to be all too accommodating. While crooks and scoundrels might find that attractive, serious investors do not.

Then, there is the upcoming Daniel Smith inquiry, which has the potential to highlight other embarrassing anomalies in our criminal justice system.

And its not just the content of the news that has the potential to tarnish the nation's reputation. Just as worrisome is the treatment some of the news reporters have been getting. People demanding money for telling the truth, bad service from waiters and hotel employees, rude behaviour by government officials can come back to haunt a destination that spends millions of dollars per year advertising hospitality.

Time for all Bahamians to put their best face forward. As Socrates said, "The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear."

I've been reading the many, too many, reports on the legal issues surrounding Anna Nicole Smith. She is still able to keep the tabloids and lawyers busy, even after her death.

The poor woman is rotting away in the county morgue while all these people argue over where to bury her and who fathered her baby girl.

I've got the perfect solution, thanks to old Solomon.

That's right, we cut Anna in half. Virgie buries one half in Texas, Howard takes the other half back to the Bahamas.

Same with the baby. Divy her up between the half-dozen, or so, self-proclaimed fathers and call it a night.

All the controversy solved with a few minutes of "applied wisdom."

Or, maybe the people involved ought to stop thinking about themselves, and how much they can get out of this, and instead, start thinking about Anna Nicole and Dannie Lynn.

That goes for the jokey judge in Florida as well, who has, by the way, displayed very little wisdom thus far.