Movie ticket prices are not price controlled so the government should have nothing to say about the price of a ticket. It is not an essential good so if you feel it is too expensive then do not buy it. The govt. as usual is deflecting blame. The private sector did not waste our tax dollars through corruption and waste and inefficiency, our many corrupt governments are reposnsible for our exorbitant national debt, and for all the misery Vat will inflict on the poor and middle class.

Long overdue, the entire board should tender their resignations immediately. I do not want a single dollar more of my taxes to subsidize this bank. The government should sell their shares and divest themselves completely from this bank.

Mr. smith's language is clearly over the top at times and I wish he would refrain from some of his colorful hyperbole. But I am sure he uses it to draw attention to what I agree are very important issues and there are far to few people like him in this country willing " to speak truth to power". Mr Mitchell on the other hand is even worse and should engage himself in a much more statesmanlike manner. We have something precious in this country called free speech and these threats intended to curtail it are a threat to our very democracy and are beneath him and his office.

Of course Mr. Anderson has some very unhappy people because these registered stocks were not allocated in a fair manner. Rather than filling the various tranches from the bottom up which would ensure that small investors had their allocations filled and the widest investor base possible, the much sought after tranche of 7.5 million @ 6.25% was already allocated to select large private investors and institutional investors before the average investor could put in their order. Fidelity only contacted me after saying that the 7.5 million was already filled. This is unjust, and the govt should not allow govt bonds to be allocated in such a way. It is also contrary to the egalitarian way the central bank allocated the bonds.

Get some perspective and wake up! Complaining about a partially blocked out cuss word in our current situation is like complaining that your bed is not made while your house is burning down. The middle class in this country is being taxed and squeezed to death. Corruption and incompetence and crime are destroying our way life and I am angry too. We have way bigger problems than a little cuss word.

Fred Smith and Joe Darville are two of the finest Bahamians I have seen. While I certainly do not agree with everything Fred Smith says I admire his passion and fearlessness. They give voice to the voiceless and stand up for the marginalized and disenfranchised in our country on a myriad of human rights and environmental issues. I am sure this is at great personal cost and risk to themselves. In fact it makes me ashamed of my own cowardice and apathy as well as that of most Bahamians. They are real bahamian heroes.

Well it is not so simple. If the judiciary was working properly, leading to the incarceration of these many serious prolific offenders, where would we put them? The most urgent need is for a new, modern prison with at least 2-3 times our current capacity. Our current prison was designed to house 800 inmates and it regularly exceeds 1800 on any given day. I visited the maximum security section of our prison for one day and was shocked and nauseated. Indeed I came home, threw my clothes in the wash, showered and slept for 3 hours. It was in the summer and each 6x6 cell had up to 5 persons in it, with a slop bucket usually not emptied for the day. Men were pleading and begging for water. They were absolutely drenched in sweat and the scent was nauseating and indescribable. in short what I saw was human beings housed like animals. Some may say this is good, but I say if we dehumanize someone for years and treat them like animals, how can we expect when they are released that they will suddenly assimilate themselves in a healthy manner in society. We need to upgrade the facilities to a humane level and offer true rehabilitative programs, it is in our own best interest otherwise we will have a very high rate as we currently do of recidivism.

I am no constitutional lawyer, but the way I understand it is that the bahamian constitution is the highest law in the land. Indeed, parliament can pass no law that violates the constitution. What the privy council is saying (quite creatively in my opinion ) as the final interpreter and arbiter on constitutional issues is that unless a murder is the " worst of the worst" then capital punishment is a violation of the bahamian constitution and can not be carried out. The privy council has set the bar so high for a case to qualify as the worst of the worst that for all practicalities no case would ever qualify therefore it is impossible to enforce the death penalty in the bahamas.

As an example of swift judicial action and what is possible, several years ago in England there was a large riot. 3000 persons were charged with various criminal acts. Extra judges were added and the courts operated 24/7. Literally at 3 a.m. in the morning cases were heard. Needless to say in one week all 3000 cases were adjudicated. We need that here if we are serious. Justice must be swift and it must be seen to be done, otherwise we have our current situation where no one respects the law as they know there is very little chance they will be punished for their crime.

Crime and the fear of crime are destroying the quality of life in this country. Everyone is fear and it is a terrible way to live. While our police force leaves a lot to desired, in terms of more training and a reduction in corruption, most of our problems lie in an antiquated, dysfunctional judicial system. It is unacceptable to have such a backlog that it takes a minimum of three years for a murder trial to be heard. The result is serious criminals are released on bail as they have a right to have their case heard in a timely manner and can not be incarcerated while waiting for their trial. Victims and their families see that there is no justice in this and it leads to retaliatory crime. The courts do not dispense justice in a timely manner so people take the matter in their own hands. We needs courts that operate 24/7 until this backlog is cleared.