<p align="left">This is an opportune time to discuss the UK ‘Brexit’ referendum. Let’s do a crude comparison shall we?</p>
<p align="left">The UK’s electorate is made up of 46,501,241 people with 33,573,896 of them voting, That’s a turnout of about 72.2%. The UK has voted to leave the EU 52% to 48%. David Cameron will be stepping down as Prime Minister in the coming months, as his position was to stay in the EU. In his speech today he said;</p>
<ul style="list-style-type:none"> <li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">“The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered.” </p></li> </ul>
<p align="left">Our electorate is made up of a number between/exactly 179,508/179,972, who knows, let’s say about 180,000, with an average of 83,495 of us voting. That’s a turnout of about 46%. The Bahamas has voted to leave the Constitution unchanged 70% to 30% across the the four amendments. Prime Minister Perry Christie will not be stepping down in the coming months, even though his position was to change the Constitution. Roughly two weeks after the referendum he said;</p>
<ul style="list-style-type:none"> <li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">“This whole thing may have been hopelessly flawed because of a compelling urgency on the part of some to pay us back (for) what they perceived to be a payback to the PLP and therefore the supremacy of the issues of equality were lost in a payback.”</p></li> </ul>
Speaking of Rollins, it would seem that he is well aware that he may be on borrowed time, and that is all the more reason he should put even more heat on the Baha Mar deal, as much as the halls of Parliament will allow.
The virtual one-man opposition is constantly picking up the slack for the 'FNM' as they squabble in the public square. He has the makings of an ultimate backbencher.
Not to be pedantic, but I think the above poster is referring to the hand-picked comments that are printed in the actual newspaper, and not the online sections.
<ul style="list-style-type:none"> <li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">seems a lot of FNM supporters want Minnis as leader.. I don't get it?</p></li> </ul>
<p align="left">Makes sense to me, think about it, everyday Minnis is getting ripped a new one in the newspapers, and dailies, so he’s in the minds of Bahamians everyday. The most popular articles, if we measure popularity by the average amount of comments are Minnis articles. People can’t get enough of him?</p>
<p align="left">What is truly fascinating however, is that Minnis is getting the type and volume of criticism that a sitting Prime Minister would be getting. If you point a person to this site who has no idea of Bahamian politics, it would seem to them that Minnis is <em>already</em> Prime Minister just from a quick glance of the article headings.</p>
<p align="left">In essence, bad publicity is still publicity. That’s how I see it, and now that he realizes this, he’s simply taking advantage. I don’t know what happens on facebook but someone told me that it has a substantially different take on issues when compared to a typical Tribune comment section. I've heard it also has a lot more people on it too, so the demographics might be different.</p>
<p align="left">Loretta Butler-Turner talks a good talk in Parliament but some will have to come to terms that she ultimately makes no sense. She has a habit of twisting facts and history as she pleases — just watch the parliamentary channel a few times. If we had fact checkers, she'd be high on the list. </p>
<p align="left">Duane “No Seat” Sands has good ideas but he just can’t seem to win....his seat? </p>
<p align="left">Dr. Minnis is an absolute neophyte to front-line politics? </p>
<p align="left">Peter Turnquest? </p>
<p align="left">The pickings for the ‘FNM’ are extraordinarily slim? </p>
<p align="left">For a referendum, where its proponents stressed continually that it had nothing to do with same sex marriage, it is interesting that the window of post referendum discussion is so centered around the legality of same sex marriages in the Bahamas, and so quickly.</p>
<p align="left">First Wayne Munroe and Fitzgerald, then the good Dame Anita Allen, and the good QC here. They are all guiding the discussion ever so delicately.</p>
<p align="left">But if this is taken to its logical conclusion, then we can only await the arrival of this astute and courageous Bahamian who will challenge and test the laws with success.</p>
<p align="left">But know this, should it follow through, success or a failure, this current PLP government will lose every seat they currently have in Parliament. Guaranteed.</p>
<p align="left">They better be careful. The mood in this country may very well be shifting out of their favour.</p>
<p align="left">I’ve come to the conclusion that many Bahamians are not really interested in reducing crime, just look at all of the political drivel going around. The Government is also not interested in tackling crime in any tangible way. It is much easier to continually toy around with crime statistics that many of us will never see in full. </p>
<p align="left">The best thing that the Government could do at the moment is to push for a truly comprehensive, and updated crime report that is made public and let stakeholders take it from there. Allow those stakeholders to execute a preemptive crime policy. No more speculation and no more plans. We’ve been talking about plans from time. </p>
<p align="left">The last crime plan they had was predicated on working the rbpf to the bone. The new plan they have (if it exists) is probably the same exact thing. </p>
<p align="left">The fact that bloggers like John can <a href="http://www.tribune242.com/news/2015/sep…" title="" target="_blank">predict the murder count </a> with deadly accuracy before the year even ends makes me wonder — What is the Government doing with all this statistical crime data that they supposedly have, aside from telling us that crime (murder) is down?</p>
<ul style="list-style-type:none"> <li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">$100 million to spend to buy the election</p></li> </ul>
<p align="left">Then we accept that $100 million as a stimulus package and promptly proceed to vote them all out.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type:none"> <li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">“What I know is this,” he said, “the four questions were on each ballot and each ballot therefore had to be examined. The examination takes a lot longer because you had to count ‘yes’ and ‘no’ for each of the questions. And so this is one of the things that served the process bad.</p></li> </ul>
<p align="left">Heaven help this current Government. We’ve had a referendum before with more than four questions, if my memory serves me well. I'm I going crazy...</p>
<p align="left">This is just utter tripe. It’s totally unacceptable. Are they suggesting that we’ve regressed so far, that we can count votes better in 2002 than we can in 2016? The hell?</p>
<p align="left">Keep this up and they’re going to have people campaigning against them they don’t want campaigning against them. Wow, and some of us try to have as much patience as possible with the PLP Government.</p>
Zakary says...
<p align="left">This is an opportune time to discuss the UK ‘Brexit’ referendum. Let’s do a crude comparison shall we?</p>
<p align="left">The UK’s electorate is made up of 46,501,241 people with 33,573,896 of them voting, That’s a turnout of about 72.2%. The UK has voted to leave the EU 52% to 48%. David Cameron will be stepping down as Prime Minister in the coming months, as his position was to stay in the EU. In his speech today he said;</p>
<ul style="list-style-type:none">
<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">“The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered.”
</p></li>
</ul>
<p align="left">Our electorate is made up of a number between/exactly 179,508/179,972, who knows, let’s say about 180,000, with an average of 83,495 of us voting. That’s a turnout of about 46%. The Bahamas has voted to leave the Constitution unchanged 70% to 30% across the the four amendments. Prime Minister Perry Christie will not be stepping down in the coming months, even though his position was to change the Constitution. Roughly two weeks after the referendum he said;</p>
<ul style="list-style-type:none">
<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">“This whole thing may have been hopelessly flawed because of a compelling urgency on the part of some to pay us back (for) what they perceived to be a payback to the PLP and therefore the supremacy of the issues of equality were lost in a payback.”</p></li>
</ul>
<p align="left"></p>Hmm....where’s Rollins?
On Gender equality referendum went ‘hopelessly wrong’, admits PM
Posted 24 June 2016, 11:08 a.m. Suggest removal
Zakary says...
Speaking of Rollins, it would seem that he is well aware that he may be on borrowed time, and that is all the more reason he should put even more heat on the Baha Mar deal, as much as the halls of Parliament will allow.
The virtual one-man opposition is constantly picking up the slack for the 'FNM' as they squabble in the public square. He has the makings of an ultimate backbencher.
On TOUGH CALL: Voters send a clear message to our political leaders
Posted 22 June 2016, 6:25 p.m. Suggest removal
Zakary says...
Not to be pedantic, but I think the above poster is referring to the hand-picked comments that are printed in the actual newspaper, and not the online sections.
On Minnis: I’ll win leadership fight
Posted 22 June 2016, 5:27 p.m. Suggest removal
Zakary says...
<ul style="list-style-type:none">
<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">seems a lot of FNM supporters want Minnis as leader.. I don't get it?</p></li>
</ul>
<p align="left">Makes sense to me, think about it, everyday Minnis is getting ripped a new one in the newspapers, and dailies, so he’s in the minds of Bahamians everyday. The most popular articles, if we measure popularity by the average amount of comments are Minnis articles. People can’t get enough of him?</p>
<p align="left">What is truly fascinating however, is that Minnis is getting the type and volume of criticism that a sitting Prime Minister would be getting. If you point a person to this site who has no idea of Bahamian politics, it would seem to them that Minnis is <em>already</em> Prime Minister just from a quick glance of the article headings.</p>
<p align="left">In essence, bad publicity is still publicity. That’s how I see it, and now that he realizes this, he’s simply taking advantage. I don’t know what happens on facebook but someone told me that it has a substantially different take on issues when compared to a typical Tribune comment section. I've heard it also has a lot more people on it too, so the demographics might be different.</p>
On Watson backs ‘dream ticket’ of Butler-Turner and Sands
Posted 22 June 2016, 4:37 p.m. Suggest removal
Zakary says...
<p align="left">Loretta Butler-Turner talks a good talk in Parliament but some will have to come to terms that she ultimately makes no sense. She has a habit of twisting facts and history as she pleases — just watch the parliamentary channel a few times. If we had fact checkers, she'd be high on the list.
</p>
<p align="left">Duane “No Seat” Sands has good ideas but he just can’t seem to win....his seat?
</p>
<p align="left">Dr. Minnis is an absolute neophyte to front-line politics?
</p>
<p align="left">Peter Turnquest?
</p>
<p align="left">The pickings for the ‘FNM’ are extraordinarily slim?
</p>
On Butler-Turner and Sands in FNM leadership bid
Posted 20 June 2016, 3:46 p.m. Suggest removal
Zakary says...
<p align="left">For a referendum, where its proponents stressed continually that it had nothing to do with same sex marriage, it is interesting that the window of post referendum discussion is so centered around the legality of same sex marriages in the Bahamas, and so quickly.</p>
<p align="left">First Wayne Munroe and Fitzgerald, then the good Dame Anita Allen, and the good QC here. They are all guiding the discussion ever so delicately.</p>
<p align="left">But if this is taken to its logical conclusion, then we can only await the arrival of this astute and courageous Bahamian who will challenge and test the laws with success.</p>
<p align="left">But know this, should it follow through, success or a failure, this current PLP government will lose every seat they currently have in Parliament. Guaranteed.</p>
<p align="left">They better be careful. The mood in this country may very well be shifting out of their favour.</p>
On ‘No need to clarify law on marriage’
Posted 16 June 2016, 8:06 p.m. Suggest removal
Zakary says...
<p align="left">I’ve come to the conclusion that many Bahamians are not really interested in reducing crime, just look at all of the political drivel going around. The Government is also not interested in tackling crime in any tangible way. It is much easier to continually toy around with crime statistics that many of us will never see in full.
</p>
<p align="left">The best thing that the Government could do at the moment is to push for a truly comprehensive, and updated crime report that is made public and let stakeholders take it from there. Allow those stakeholders to execute a preemptive crime policy. No more speculation and no more plans. We’ve been talking about plans from time.
</p>
<p align="left">The last crime plan they had was predicated on working the rbpf to the bone. The new plan they have (if it exists) is probably the same exact thing.
</p>
<p align="left">The fact that bloggers like John can <a href="http://www.tribune242.com/news/2015/sep…" title="" target="_blank">predict the murder count </a> with deadly accuracy before the year even ends makes me wonder — What is the Government doing with all this statistical crime data that they supposedly have, aside from telling us that crime (murder) is down?</p>
On Bishop: Govt failing to tackle crime
Posted 15 June 2016, 1:31 p.m. Suggest removal
Zakary says...
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th><center> Question </center></th>
<th><center> Votes For </center></th>
<th><center> % </center></th>
<th><center> Votes Against </center></th>
<th><center> % </center></th>
<th><center>  Total  </center></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><center>1</center></td>
<td><center>32,249</center></td>
<td><center>38.73%</center></td>
<td><center>51,022</center></td>
<td><center>61.27%</center></td>
<td><center>83,271</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><center>2</center></td>
<td><center>24,148</center></td>
<td><center>28.79%</center></td>
<td><center>59,714</center></td>
<td><center>71.21%</center></td>
<td><center>83,862</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><center>3</center></td>
<td><center>28,341</center></td>
<td><center>34.05%</center></td>
<td><center>54,891</center></td>
<td><center>65.95%</center></td>
<td><center>83,232</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><center>4</center></td>
<td><center>17,919</center></td>
<td><center>21.43%</center></td>
<td><center>65,696</center></td>
<td><center>78.57%</center></td>
<td><center>83,615</center></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p align="left">Registered voters: 179,508?<br>Spoilt ballots: Who cares?<br>Voter turnout: 46-47%?</p>
<p align="left">At least we have some kind of results now..</p>
On This is censorship
Posted 11 June 2016, 8:05 p.m. Suggest removal
Zakary says...
<ul style="list-style-type:none">
<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">$100 million to spend to buy the election</p></li>
</ul>
<p align="left">Then we accept that $100 million as a stimulus package and promptly proceed to vote them all out.</p>
On Call for election monitors
Posted 9 June 2016, 6:22 p.m. Suggest removal
Zakary says...
<ul style="list-style-type:none">
<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">“What I know is this,” he said, “the four questions were on each ballot and each ballot therefore had to be examined. The examination takes a lot longer because you had to count ‘yes’ and ‘no’ for each of the questions. And so this is one of the things that served the process bad.</p></li>
</ul>
<p align="left">Heaven help this current Government. We’ve had a referendum before with more than four questions, if my memory serves me well. I'm I going crazy...</p>
<p align="left">This is just utter tripe. It’s totally unacceptable. Are they suggesting that we’ve regressed so far, that we can count votes better in 2002 than we can in 2016? The hell?</p>
<p align="left">Keep this up and they’re going to have people campaigning against them they don’t want campaigning against them. Wow, and some of us try to have as much patience as possible with the PLP Government.</p>
On Nottage ‘doesn’t know if anything went wrong’
Posted 9 June 2016, 3:37 p.m. Suggest removal