Bahamas Blog

Bahamas Acting Supreme Court Justice Elliot Lockhart released a notorious murder suspect on bail, despite deep concerns from the Prosecution.

Kenton Dion Knowles, known as the "Emperor" of Fox Hill, is a well-known drug dealer and all around irresponsible piece of human garbage.

Police arrested Knowles for the murder of his nephew, Kendal Knowles, on July 3.

Knowles was one of the Bahamas' Most Wanted criminals, police had been looking for Knowles since his nephew's shooting death in August 2007.

Everyone in The Bahamas knew Knowles was a wanted man, and many celebrated the fact that the police finally got their man.

Despite that, Justice Lockhart released Knowles on bail, using the flimsy reasoning that Knowles was not considered a flight risk because he had never left the country when he was on the run.

Say what?

The man was a wanted fugitive for over a year, the police catch the goon, and a judge releases him so he go on the lam again?

Some say Judge Lockhart is incompetent. I venture to suggest that, IMHO, the unlearned judge is corrupt and incompetent.

Let's face it. Lockhart is partners with Bahamas Bar President Wayne Munroe, who I think is a crooked scum. Munroe has been accused of "fixing" cases before they come to trial. Mr Munroe allegedly talks with judges beforehand and "rigs" the cases, just like attorneys used to rig cases with him when he was an acting magistrate.

We will never move this country forward until we get rid of the crooked cops, lawyers and judges who are perverting our legal system and destabilizing our society.

What's your opinion?

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace's plan to save Bahamas tourism, even if the world "goes broke" is a marketing scam, not a plan.

Mr Vanderpool Wallace is a clever marketer, like Steve Jobs at Apple, but Vince doesn't have the kind of exciting products that Apple has to offer.

Instead, Vince is trying to promote a destination that is filthy and over-priced, with terrible customer service, high levels of crime and nothing to do once you get here.

The Bahamas ain't no iPod.

Sure, revamping the bahamas.com website is a good idea, as are some of the other proposals that Mr Vanderpool-Wallace has suggested. But all is in vain if we do not, first, address the underlying problems within our tourism industry. And those problems have nothing to do with airlift, hotel room availability or geographic targets.

The Bahamas' problems are deep rooted cultural problems that undermine the success of any good tourism efforts we might implement.

Until tourists feel safe; until customer service rises above the current abysmal levels; until Bay Street is cleaned up, a new Straw Market is constructed and more activities and attractions are created, many visitors who come to the Bahamas will leave disappointed. These visitors will return home with tales of woe, expressing their dissatisfaction to others. They will tell two people, who will tell two people, who will tell two people, etc.

As recently as 12th August 2008, Mr. David Johnson, Deputy Director�General at the Ministry of Tourism, with responsibility for planning, investment and business development, attended a review of The Bahamas tourism industry by Standard & Poor's, the global leader in credit ratings and credit risk analysis.

When asked what are the structural conditions that have led to 2 consecutive years of decline in arrivals and three years of negative growth in the Bahamas tourism industry, Mr Johnson told S&P that the reason was due to room inventory.

Mr Johnson said there were loses in room stock due to the closure of the Royal Oasis property, as well as damage sustained from hurricanes. Taken together, these closed a third of Grand Bahama hotel rooms - some 1,000 rooms in all.

In addition, he mentioned other salient changes during this period, including:

• Refurbishment of Sandals and SuperClub Breezes properties in Nassau;

• Flooding caused by a tropical storm in Exuma, with impact on access to, and use of, the Four Season property;

• The closure of the Radisson Cable Beach property for refurbishment and rebranding as a Sheraton property under the Baha Mar umbrella;

• And, the permanent closure of the Nassau Beach Hotel property.

Yet, in Wednesday's presentation at the Hilton, Mr Vanderpool-Wallace said the number of rooms the Bahamas had vacant over the course of last year was "equivalent to a 3,000-room hotel that was empty every single day of the year."

"We have 3,000 vacant rooms to fill," he said.

Was Mr Johnson lying to Standard & Poors? Or does his boss have it wrong? It appears that the lack of hotel rooms is an excuse to cover up for the real reasons why Bahamas tourism is failing.

The fact is, we have plenty of hotel rooms and all the airlift we need. What we don't have is a product that lives up to all the hype Mr Vanderpool-Wallace intends to produce.

Until we address the fundamental reasons why we have 3,000 empty rooms every night of the year - and until reality meets the expectations of our guests - our arrival figures will continue to plummet in reverse relation to the level of noise Mr Vanderpool-Wallace makes tooting his horn.

Liberal bloggers in the United States are talking about "Joe the Plumber" being a plant. Barack Obama is a plant! He has been crafted by political strategists whose agenda may not necessarily be in the best interests of the American public.

The bloggers talk about McCain not vetting Sarah Palin. Yet, the American public hasn't vetted Barack Obama. People know absolutely nothing about this man except what he has told them in his own autobiographies. Almost nothing is known about his parents.

John McCain's life, his father's life, and his father's life are documented in government records and are the stuff legends are made of.

Senator McCain has a proven track record. He has shown that he is not the "same-o, same-o" type of politician. Rather than focus on the 90% of the times he voted with his Republican colleagues, look instead at the 10% that he didn't. His record provides an interesting perspective into his politics, which seem to indeed be "independent in thought and action" - the definition of the overused, yet aptly applied word "maverick". Mr Obama, meanwhile, voted along Democratic party lines 97% of the time.

Senator Obama has little administrative experience, has never sponsored a major piece of legislation and will need to rely on the advice and direction of entrenched politicians (the very group he rails against) to accomplish anything in Washington. That's really not "change". It is politics-as-usual... but by proxy. Old-fashioned politicians (liberals this time) running the show, not the "change" mantra of Barack Obama, who naively thinks he can change Washington.

Jimmy Carter vowed he could "change Washington". How'd that go?

McCain's selection of Palin brought an entirely new type of person into politics. She is neither a lawyer or a celebrity. People who criticize her as a political neophyte might note that Mrs Palin actually has more political experience than Barack Obama. And, isn't a change from the typical politician the very reason liberal bloggers support Mr Obama?

If it is Governor Palin's personal (conservative) beliefs that concern the liberals, they can take solace in the fact that, even as President, her personal beliefs are separate from her responsibilities to her constituents, which she seems to take quite seriously - she had an approval rating over 80% before the media's assault after her nomination. That included Democrats. And with a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, it is unlikely Mrs Palin would be able to pursue her own personal agenda, even if she were so inclined.

Mr Obama is intent on enlarging government and government's role in the the lives of Americans. He promises big-government planning, spending, and taxing - exactly what the nation and the stock market doesn't want to hear. To pander to the poor he promises to tax the rich and "spread the wealth". But even tax hikes on the rich won't pay for Mr Obama's plan. It is the middle class that will ultimately shoulder the fiscal burden in terms of higher taxes and lower growth.

Mr Obama's relationships with Tony Rezko, Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright and others are dismissed too quickly when, in fact, they speak volumes of his mindset, personal character and judgement. This is the man who will be selecting the Cabinet of the United States. Are those the types of people the American public want to see in important positions?

Meanwhile, with even the current Republican administration leaning towards socialism; with Wall Street, insurance company, auto-company and bank bail outs. It is frightening to think what will happen to the "world's greatest democracy" if a "social organizer", like Barack Obama, is elected as President.

Yes, a Barack Obama presidency will indeed bring change to the United States, but not the kind that most Americans are going to like.

Joe the Plumber is right. The media acted irreprehensibly in their attack on Joe's personal character. The liberal media says John McCain started it. What a crock! All John McCain did was use "Joe" to represent the "average Joe", an icon of America. A typical voter, frustrated and dissatisfied with the current tax environment, questioning a political candidate promising change. And Joe has every right to. The US tax code is a disgrace, cobbled together by special interest groups and their rich lawyers. It is indecipherable and unfair.

The media could have seized the moment to use Joe to highlight voter participation and the benefits of scrutinizing the candidates. Wasn't that the story? Wasn't that why news crews were following Mr Obama in the first place?

Instead, the media turned Joe's angst into a personal attack on Joe, because he does not support a media bias towards Obama. That is outrageous! Joe is an American citizen. His now made famous unfortunate financial situation (tax liens and debts) mirrors that of millions of Americans. (Like there aren't any Democrats with tax liens?) Of course, the billionaires at the top of the media empires, along with their millionaire broadcast puppets, don't share the same financial concerns that Joe has, so they mock Joe instead.

Who the hell does the media think they are? With the nod of a few unscrupulous deviants at the top of the media dung pile, their flying monkeys are unleashed; broadcasting every bit of embarrassing or negative information in a deliberate attempt to irreversibly damage the reputation of their target. Isn't that the true essence of libel or slander? It is certainly abusing free speech and hiding behind some lame explanation that it is the "public's right to know."

If it is the public's right to know about Joe The Plumber's tax liens, then maybe it is the public's right to know about the extra-marital affairs and tax evading tactics of the corporate titans at CBS, CNN and MSNBC. Is it the public's right to know about the children of these executives and their kid's legal, sexual and medical problems as well?

People who are not public servants are private citizens. The keyword here is "private". They should not be subject to the same public scrutiny that public officials are held to. The actions of movie stars, sports figures and celebrities may be given a little more exposure, but only in relation to their professional life.

"Private" citizens should be accorded the same privacy that media executives can afford and enforce for themselves. They should not be subject to million-dollar witch hunts launched by invasive media corporations with a political agenda.

I am surprised that Britney Spears, Sean Penn, Tobey Maguire, Julia Roberts, George Clooney - and all the other big celebrities who have a special disdain for the paparazzi - aren't backing Joe up. They all know what it's like to have an irresponsible media falsely assume it is their right to publish every bit of scandalous information about anybody they want to embarrass.

21st century media is out of control. They have truly become the monster portrayed in the prophetic movie "Network".

Well, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. How about you? Comments welcome.

Whoa! I went into a City Market to do a little grocery shopping the other day, only to find the cupboards are bare. I mean the place looked like the day before a hurricane, yet there were no storms on the horizon.

They were out of everything. I went with a list of about ten items and could find only one of the ten items in stock.

It is pathetic. They must not be paying their bills, so maybe their suppliers have cut them off... or something.

No matter, it must be hard to run a grocery store without groceries.

An article in The Tribune informed me that jitney fares will be going up. Taxi fares too.

The paper reports that Minister of Works Neko Grant said that jitney fare increases "will range from 25 to 50 cents" while taxi-drivers will now be able to add an extra "three to five" dollars on to their tolls.

Currently, adults and children (not in uniform) pay $1 to ride the bus, while high school age children in uniform pay 75 cents and primary school age children pay 50 cents.

I do not take taxis very often. Maybe when I can't find a ride from the airport.

But jitneys, I take all the time, everywhere.

I think it is going to be a big inconvenience to the public and to the drivers considering the quarters that will be needed.

I rarely carry change. Now, I'll always have to have a couple of quarters in my pocket.

And some of those elderly women, with the BIG purses, who take f-o-r-e-v-e-r digging change from their bottomless bags will surely hold up the exit line on a busy jitney. That will certainly take more time than throwing a buck at the dude on the way out the door.

This new pricing also requires the drivers to carry a bigger change purse. They might end up giving out dozens of quarters in one ride. What if they run out of quarters?

Now would be a good time to move to little plastic "jitney cards" which could be bought anywhere (like phone cards) and are good for so many rides, or for a certain period of time.

Where are those guys who introduced that new Mango money card? What about a jitney card?