Four C's need to worry whether they will still be in business after this incident. They better have insurance and hope they get sued in the Bahamas where damages are based on loss rather than in the USA where damages are based on making the lawyer and the client rich

KL Menns is a woman not a man. There was a public seminar held on 29th June advertised in the Business section of your newspaper which you should have attended. It was put on by the Ministry of Financial Services, Trade & Industry and was exceptionally informative. Clearly this lady, a native Jamaican living and practising in Europe, knows her stuff.

Fines should be up to $500,000 for each offence and/or jail time and the boats should be forfeited to the Treasurer who can then auction them, sink them or use them for the benefit of the Bahamian people

A recognition not known in any other country on Earth, not even in Ethiopia. If you accept this, every dope smoker charged in court in the Bahamas will claim a religious exemption.

My late father told me many times about taking care of my needs in preference to taking care of my wants. While I would like for the Bahamas to continue to host the IAAF Relays every year or two forever and ever, it is a want and not a must-have. As a small country, some of us have the shoe on the wrong foot if they believe it's okay for the government to shell out $5 million or more a time in order to play host to this event every time it pops up on the IAAF's calendar. Even with free admission to the morning sessions, Bahamians are not supporting the Relays in any great numbers as attested by the scores of empty seats during the morning and evening sessions. It's painful to see all these empty seats on TV but facts are facts. Also the lack of any accounting or income and expense reports for any of the 3 Relays that we did host so far does not augur well for the future. The public has a right to know how its money was spent on the 3 previous Relays, the specifics of the arrangements with the IAAF and what we got in return for our money. The government dumped the local Junkanoo Carnival or Carnival this year because it was carrying all of the cost and the private sector stepped in, took on the cost and no one missed a step. The event went on without government money. So why can't the BAAA do the same thing and find their own $5 million sponsors if they believe that Bahamians have to have the Relays in their own back yard every time it is held? Even the Olympics didn't stay in Greece all their life but now get hosted by other countries.

Medical marijuana, Yes. Theoretically, it is already permissible in the Dangerous Drugs Act although as with almost everything else in this country we don't know how or if it is actually being utilised. Perhaps the Minister of Health would tell us as it falls under his jurisdiction. He could also tell us whether his government intends to permit medical marijuana as all he probably has to do is create the requisite regulations, processes and procedures for this to happen. Doesn't have to be a long or drawn out process.

We should also decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, say possession of 10 grams or less but not any other drug.

Recreational use of marijuana, sorry No. There's a reason marijuana and some other drugs are called "dope" and that's because that's what the user becomes while under the influence of these drugs. In the wrong hands or abused and overindulged and marijuana becomes addictive. Users/abusers lose their drive or passion to work, to bathe, to socialise and can't be left in charge of vehicles, machinery or anything else.

LOL. The Perry Christie model of anchor projects is still alive and well. Any word on what's happening with the I-Group in Mayaguana?

Since 1966, our currency has enjoyed parity or near parity with the US dollar unlike our friends and neighbours in the Caribbean except for Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands, US and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Jamaica is around $80 to $1; Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean at $2 to $1; and Trinidad & Tobago at $6 to $1. We don't ever want the Bahamas to follow Alice down any of those rabbit holes. The amazing part is that we owe single digit Billions of dollars unlike say the USA which owes Trillion of dollars if not Gazillions. Perry and those were borrowing to pay civil service salaries, loans, interest payments and that sort of thing and not using the VAT money to pay down debt which was the original stated purpose while borrowing more money. So we have Billions outstanding on pensions for civil servants without knowing how it is going to be paid but increasing each year. Got to make provision to pay the piper for years of questionable governmental financial strategy. I would put my house or land papers up as security for a bank loan to take a vacation. But that is effectively what successive governments have done for the past 40 plus years.

Yeah KP Turnquest, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Tax Flowers and Sebas up to 50% of their revenues and make 76% of the gambling public unhappy or cave in to them and let them go underground and risk driving the final nails in the coffin of what's left of our financial services sector? Tough choice ain't it?

People like Winder and Galanis need to stop.
Does Winder realise how dumb he sounds? Tax a guy who is making $100 Million dollars into losses? Impossible. Take 50% away and he still making $50 Million dollars. That ain't chump change. Wish I had $50 Million dollars to spend in a year after taxes. Even at 50% taxation, his net revenues will still be double digit Millions of dollars. He sure ain't going broke and he ain't living pay cheque to pay cheque like the majority of us. He'll still be able to live in whatever gated community he now lived in and with no more duties on salmon and helicopter parts he can eat well while flying high above Nassau's congested roads and highways. Heck even the guy making $20 Million dollars ain't going to go broke at these new rates.

Rev up the copter James then home for salmon and cocktails!