The questions to ask: Is the data reliable? Is it complete? Can it be verified? Is there any period for which data is missing? And the biggest question, how then did noone on either side know 2 million was missing? Because this wasnt a one time transfer of 2 million dollars, these were overpayments spanning months, (noone has given details yet) possibly the entire program.

This is **not** a PLP or FNM question. This is a question about our future. Our future depends on accountability and transparency

Theres been too much spin and parsing of words on both sides

the question wasnt what money the food task gave or who they gave it to... the question was what did the people you gave the money to do with the money

So, this week the Tribune reported that an investor given approval for a million dollar development in Cat Island is under investigation for a million dollar securities fraud.

**NO** I am not saying that aspect has any equivalence to this story. I am saying those developers presented all kinds of documents to all kinds of local oversight bodies AND banks. It's looking like the data they presented in those documents fit nicely on the page, was properly formatted and the columns all added up.

**But with all data, it's not the data itself that has value, its whether that data can be validated. Or was someone just playing telephone calls?**

We tend to believe what's spoken if we like the person speaking. We don't ask analytical questions. A culture of accountability will benefit the entire country

Noone is saying anyone stole money. It seems like everyone is using "*we didn't steal anythung*" as a defenceman. The questions that some reporter should have asked by now

1. **what was the average annual operating budget for the organization for the past 5 years?**

2. What was the nature of the accounting error such that 2 million dollars disappeared from all accounting statements

3. Who is on the board?

When will these guys stop running around surprised that the sky is falling... **again**. **Tourism is an unstable base vulnerable to all kinds of economic shocks**.

The discussion should not be what impact will gas prices have on tourism, it should be how do we grow Plan B. And that discussion should not stop when tourism is moving swimmingly

Great news

They just announced that we'd get 900 more policemen. My question was for what? Not that another 900 policemen was a bad thing but what strategically did we need another 900 policemen for?

To answer the phone? To drive around more cars for a physical presence? What skills would these policemen have to possess? Would "intelligence" figure anywhere in the mix? Do we need more trained lawyers, more trained investigators, more trained technologist, more security monitors etc etc. What deficiencies were we trying to fix strategically and what modern policing skills were we trying to bring on board.

When I heard the commissioner mention a crime plan the details of which he couldn't reveal, "once again", I knew it was another failed strategy. None of what was listed above is a national secret you have given away nothing to criminals but with that type of thinking you've at least demonstrated that you are thinking strategically and not just doing the same old more bodies ill fitted to carry out the work of a modern police force.

It's the intelligence that's failing us. And the more years we go down the hire high school dropouts route the harder the solution gets. I have little hope for the organization because every 5 years we promote more unqualified people to the senior ranks and someone who the new PM likes gets to be commissioner.

In 8 months traffic violations should have been reduced, they haven't. Standing in the street for hours manually checking tags is Fred Flinstone policing. That's about all we need to know about the new crime plan.

The most weird thing about this entire pandemic is the utter refusal for the powers that be to acknowledge that tourism was the source of our greatest spikes. From the 1900's health officials realized travel was the source of infection so they isolated sailors coming into port until they were deemed infection free. Its like we deliberately put blinders on and earmuffs in so we couldnt see or hear about the dots and could go on making money while people dropped dead.

The quality and efficiency of the travel visa is a separate matter.

I dont think it has to do with whether he got full support or not. I think we did that program like we do everything in this country. Its alot of activity and if you just doing something its good. Nobody looks at whether things worked. And not looking at 2 people who went off to school after and saying how well we did but saying before you start, "good" programs on average accomplish XYZ, If we accomplish XY we will judge the program a success. And that statrment comes before you start.

On a separate note I believe the reason crime persists in this country is because someone in some exclusive gated community wants it to. Someone who donates generously to churches and political candidates. I remember one wealthy church pastor standing up to defend one man everybody knew was a crook, said leave him alone, he's a good man, because the church was benefitting nicely from the criminal acts. Time after time Ive heard residents talk about how "good" certain drug kingpins were, how they would bought supplies for the schoolchildren and helped the community.

You gat a much bigger problem than people supporting Carlos Reid. You gat the root of all evil to contend with, the **love** of money.

That will work for some but not all.

One of the richest men in the country was just convicted of human smuggling. He said he only did it "one time" and got caught. That's his story. Normally human smuggling exists in the axis of smuggling evils, drugs, guns and sex trafficking. But not in that case, it only happened once. So with all the money and boats and cars and nice houses, he still went pursued a life of crime.

It may be environment some of the time, but its always the state of hearts and minds. Remember the verse "*every imagination of their heart was evil*"? thats what you have to fight