There were obituaries and death announcements for Mrs. Laura Bush days befor she died. There was news in social media most of the week that World War 3 had started. And a few Elections ago there I was news that the prime minister and several members of the cabinet had been shot and killed. And remember when Lynden Pindling use to assign the defense force officers to guard BEC lines and the main pumping stations st WSC during elections? Well it is or was all what is called fake news. Back in the day it was called ‘the grapevine ‘ or ‘gap seed’. Because every time there was a gap, someone planted a seed. So how do you put controls on this activity then? Without stifling freedom of speech and without handcuffing the legitimate press to the point that every news story is confirmed 100% before the presses start to roll? What about tabloids like the national enquirer and others that knowing prints false news but had hundreds of thousands of readers who consume and digest then regurgitate whatever they print? And with the advances in technology fake news hits the public faster than real news and it comes in so many forms. It’s like the new US $100 Dollar bill. Everyone says it looks ‘so fake.’ But when they get hit with a counterfeit note they say , ‘ But it looks so real.’

"*And I always thought that if you are attacked by a shark, you are often attacked by a shark and have been attacked previously*".

we understand...in other words there's no first time

If you go into the streets after heavy rain, you will expect to find flooding. Likewise if you rate a government after it has went through some turmoil and was involved in some unpopular decision making, it would have poor ratings. And the fact that the Minnis' government is not sugar coating or even polishing anything tends to make their ratings more volatile, especially when the ratings negatively affected. Yes their presentation including the press secretary's is lack luster and mostly without excitement And whilst there seems to be nothing on the radar that will cause the Minnis administration to get positive ratings that are off the chart, many expect that more could have been done to ease the economic downturn and get more Bahamians employed and working. Some retail businesses are reporting that their sales are down by as much as 40 percent since December Yes forty percent. The VAT returns due this weekend may not reflect this since there has been a boost in tourist figures and most hotel still have healthy occupancies. Persons are growing wary of hearing about the corruption and mis-management of the former government and how much money is being borrowed to fix their missteps. Next month makes a year since Minnis has been at the helm, and with thousands of students expected to come out of school over the next two months and hit the pavement searching for jobs, Minnis would be be wise to speed up his infrastructural works projects both in New Providence and the Family Islands This may be a much needed stimulus to get the economy moving, especially sine there are no major projects in the pipeline. Smaller but consistent projects will help drive the economy.

* deteriorates

Even though there may be forgiveness, there must also be punishment. And severe punishment for this type of crime where the killer invaded a home and kills one of the occupants in front of his family. And while he may not have gotten the death penalty 49 years to sit behind bars and relive his actions, whether he has regrets or not, while his own life slowly fades away is punishment enough. Killing takes a mental toll eventually, then the physical body also deteriorated.

@BahamasForBahamians : you sound rather self defecating to attack the minister for something that happened in his childhood and something he had no control over and planning of. After all we have persona in this country who have committed murder and were welcomed back in the country with open arms after fleeing justice. And they continue to demonstrate their despise for Bahamians. At least Franky Campbell has embraced his opportunity to be in The beautiful Bahamas, has elevated himself to high office and is serving this country with distinction. Some who came here legally committed murder and got away with it.

Maybe you missed the point. Mr. Rowan is a surfer so he is one who is regularly in the sea. But despite his frequency in the water, aptthis is the first time he was attacked by a shark.

When students hit the 12th grade in this country, the major focus is on taking external examinations and seeing how many they can pass. Despite the fact that many will not continue their education beyond the 12 th grade little else is given in preparation for the real world. And as is done in many states in the USA and other countries around the world, the time has come to include drivers education as part of the 12 grade curriculum that all students are required to take, even if they do not pass the drivers test. And even if students have to pay a part of the cost of the driving lessons, this will go a long way in reducing the accident rate in the country and more especially the fatality count. And since let’s say 90 percent of students coming out of high schools will be licensed drivers it will cut down on license fraud and other incidences that stem from drivers being unlicensed. And along with drivers education a course in health and safety should also be taught to teach young people about general hygiene, drugs and alcohol abuse, proper diet and sex education and stds.. Some feel this should come as early as the 8 or 9 grade but it should also be fresh in the minds of persons leaving school and starting out as adults.

Two things maybe three come into play why shark attacks around the islands and lose to shore are happening. 1. there are several tourist businesses that allow guests to swim with and/or feed sharks and other land aniimals. So sharks are now associating people humans with food and being fed. 2 And since these sites are just offshore they have a tendency to draw sharks loser to shore and loser to people and 3 Since there are now laws preventing the killing of sharks, the shark populations are increasing and as food becomes more scarce, sharks are figuring out more creative ways to get it. Some sharks follow fishing boats and take all of the first catches that are caught. Sometimes divers cannot even go into the water because they are swarmed with sharks..
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If you think animal behavior is not adaptive drive around the inner city areas and notice the number of 'native' chickens wandering around some hens with 7 and 8 'biddies' in tow. And not only do these chickens know how to cross the road, but the mother hen stands in the middle of the road or runs circles around them until every chick has crossed safely. And most of the the dogs don't seem to bother them either.

So the roads built under Jose Cartelones are still in good shape. It was Bahamians who paved those roads> The two basic differences. One you must start with a smooth even surfaces, you cannot pave over unfilled potholes and improperly back filled trenches. TWO. Major roadways need multi layers of paving to be durable and long lasting.