Yup, back to the old coconut telegraph.

"When asked how important a hike in minimum wage would be to the implementation of Value-Added-Tax, Mr Gibson said: “I don’t see the correlation. Right now my concentration is trying to get the social partners to meet to consider increasing the minimum wage. He said: “It’s important to all those persons, those tens of thousands of persons who are still being taken advantage of still making minimum wage and have a difficulty meeting their present obligations.”"

Is he serious? If he cannot see the correlation, then perhaps he should be reconsidered for his job qualifications. Or is this another disingenuous way of minimising the true toll of the implementation of vat? bid, i think 7-10% is a very conservative number -- the reality will be much higher.

Without government interference? Seriously, who the hell beleives that?

At this point, I really don't care who's in charge -- all I want is for my phone to work....consistently.

Web shops MAY be fleecing customers?? What an absurd idea. Surely these fine, upstanding members of the community couldn't possibly be cheating people. There's a novel idea indeed.

WAKE up, people! Of course web shops are fleecing people.

"The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is apt to spread discontent among those who are."
H.L. Mencken

And as for my being the party line -- I echo BID's thoughts in that I really don't give a damn how the dredging is stopped, just that it is stopped. Why does everything in this country have to be about politics? This is about us being Bahamians and protecting ourselves from the insanity of government. Maybe that's what made General Crazy crazy in the first place.....

When Crazy and Birdie have no more conch, crab or grouper to eat and their land is barren of fish and clear waters, let's see how loudly they holler. Anyone with just a little foresight can see the writing on the wall for the future of our beloved country if people like Fred Smith don't speak up and keep fighting to make sure there is something left for our children and grandchildren. It's a shame we have to battle our own greedy, ignorant and shortsighted people in addition to the foreign developers.

The whole thing reeks of dishonest -- not just the permit. And they didn't even bother to try and hide it by backdating it.

Perhaps the lawyers should try a different tack and sue the dredging company for the damage caused to the sea bed for the 8 days prior to the issuance of the permit. Afterall, when ships leak oil or run aground in the Bahamas, they are responsible for the cleanup and repair costs. Why does this not apply here?

Yep, just the asses who will take his word for it. At least that's what he's hoping. The fact that this is the Minister for Finance smacks just a wee bit of self-interest. Where is the Minister for Environment? Tied up and muzzled in the basement?

Anyone who wants a shred of evidence of the damage done to Abaco has only to look at the conch stock surveys and condition of the reefs around the area. Pristine indeed -- of sea life and coral compared to how it was before dredging. And Bimini is that much more senitive an environment with even more dredging involved. You come to your own conclusion.

And all so we can continue to be a nation of housekeepers and waiters for minimum wages? Where's the long term benefits? And does anyone really think Resorts World will actually be sustainable in the long run? Chalk up another failed enterprise within a few years. We are so shortsighted for a few dollars and untold damage.

SP, so you think by adopting bush talk you are making your case any more clearer? Flip flop is what you are all about -- suiting yourself to fit the situation. You've lost all credibility in my eyes. Pandering is an art! Bey?

Generalcrazy, your rhetoric, as usual, is absurd. No one said that NO damage is caused, just it would be foresighted to minimise damage to our environment. People come to see our sun, sand and lovely clear waters. Get rid of that with constant overdevelpment, as well as decimating efforts to conserve and sustain our fisheries for the livelihoods of our fishermen, and what do we have left? No tourists, no economy and really 3rd world conditions. I don't want to see a Bahamas like that, do you?

I hope it will put off investors -- then perhaps we won't be faced with scores of bulldozed and half-completed abandonned construction sites throughout the islands of failed developments that haven't done our country one iota of good.

Do you believe these foreign investors come here out of the goodness of their hearts to help Bahamians, or do you think they come here because they can't get away with this nonsense in their own countries?