I totally feel your pain. The same thing in and out, day after day. When these politicians speak on the news broadcast, muting the audio is necessary.

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">As our conversation continued, my mentor said something very strange to me. He said that sometimes he wonders if it doesn’t make sense to be grateful that black people of African descent, as he is, were once enslaved.
</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">I was going to write something long about the dark side of recorded history, and the human condition, but that’s a waste of time.
</p>

<p align="left">I’ll say this much; The state of the world we see today is but a snapshot of the actions taken in the past. Slavery is generally understood as a black and white dichotomy, but what if there is more to that story?
</p>

<p align="left">History is all around us, and oftentimes you don’t need to read long historical essays or listen to historians pontificate about what really happened in the past.
</p>

<p align="left">You only have to look at how we treat each other today, and sometimes, that is all the history you’ll ever need to know.
</p>

<p align="left">Interesting read.</p>

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">Demagoguery is in vogue this year...
</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">But why write such an extensive letter to the editor? The best response is no response. Bad publicity is often the best form of publicity.
</p>

<p align="left">I’ll admit, the media almost had me convinced that they were desperate for news this week. In some crevices of the internet, this would be referred to as “outrage porn”.
</p>

<p align="left">If front page headlines were indicative of whether one should be buying the paper that day, then the following headlines would scream “don’t buy”.
</p>

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">“Munroe: Flog the immigrants”<br>“Miller attacks Crises Centre”
</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">But then I come online, and there is not much hope either. What is sad is that these are facebook comments. How much more skilled can Munroe be when he’s really trying? Miller is already a professional, as he easily brought the Crisis Centre in for round two.</p>

<p align="left">Family islanders should keep listening to their community announcements, nothing to see here.
</p>

<p align="left">Clean write-up.</p>

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">In fact, the Beirut bombings – and many others around the world – were widely covered by Western media, although many readers and viewers may have ignored the reports.</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">This indicates an interesting trend in the way people use the internet. Truth and facts do not matter so much as the popularity and shock effect that people want or expect to hear.</p>

<p align="left">In addition, it seems that things are so polarized nowadays that the ego will bend any information available to fit someone’s agenda. There seems to be a fiery desperation for every group to establish a moral high ground, even at the cost of hypocrisy. Politicians are experts at this, but social media proves that the people are no much better.</p>

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">The bottom line is that if we want to be amateur purveyors of news and opinion on Facebook or Twitter, the least we can do is check a few facts now and then and apply our brains – particularly when the issue involves matters of life and death.</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">Fact checking is generally an uphill battle without an authority, partly due to the nature of human events. Letters on a screen lend an air of legitimacy and authority to many. How do I know what you write here are the true facts? How do you really know I’m not just talking nonsense? The reality is that social media is its own authority, and it rivals the authority of the official media. This may be indicative of the larger populace losing its trust in the official media.</p>

<p align="left">Perhaps there is truly nothing new under the sun. Many thought that the internet, through its sheer speed of communication would solve all of our problems, but things seem no different than when the internet did not exist. The only nuance, is that the long time taken for news to travel to many people, as was in the past, has been replaced with misinformation and untruths on a massive scale, as is today. In both time periods, everyone is still left none the wiser.</p>

<p align="left">Good article.</p>

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">“A well-known businessman...”<br>
“A leading businessman...” <br>
“A prominent businessman...”</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">I know you reporters try to use different techniques to grab the reader’s attention, but you guys need to retire this nonsense.</p>

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">“Thus, from 1991 to 2014, our average income after taxes increased by about 8 per cent but the level of our consumer loans went up by almost 500 per cent.”</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">And in other news, water is wet. </p>

<p align="left">Technically this should be good news for you, but business is down isn’t it? Everyone’s throwing that bank money elsewhere. They might as well. The economy is unsustainable and unrecoverable anyway. Let it fail quickly so it can correct itself.</p>

The story better be revealed and there better be a full investigation. How many more vessels will they break up!? I find it so unfortunate and disheartening. This marine had his life taken away from him in such an untimely way. Sigh...

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">The Bahamian people must look for the hidden talent and avoid the charisma trap.
</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">But reality does not work this way. Charisma equals competence in the eyes of a majority. Psychologically this makes sense. We are attracted to others who exude power, and charisma, regardless of their intelligence or talent because it’s a primary form of power. There are so many talented people in the world, more talented than those who are currently on the world stage, but these people will never be seen by the world.</p>

<p align="left">The same can be said for government, and it’s easier to change one’s self than to change those around you. Bahamians want a charismatic leader, as with every other country in the world, so a potential leader will have to develop charisma. In the music industry, your audience does not adapt to you, but you instead adapt to your audience. That’s how people stay relevant.</p>

<p align="left">I’m not saying it’s pointless to encourage others to look pass charisma, but it’s the same way in most, if not all other countries; it’s not going away.</p>

<p align="left">In a game between intelligence and charisma, charisma usually wins because it’s an active and visual form of power. Most leaders in the world aren’t all that smart but they do exude power and charm. They appeal to the demagogue. Only rarely in history do you see leaders who have that perfect combination of intelligence and charisma.</p>

<p align="left">It's not intelligence that makes you look like a leader, it's bright lights and bright personalities. Nearly all of the world's leaders are demagogues, it comes with the democratic territory. When the party's over it'll be the intelligent people cleaning up the mess, if there's any left.</p>

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">..he must be the new leader.
</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">Yes, I told someone this, he’s the boss now, and commanding respect like nobody’s business.</p>

<ul style="list-style-type:none">
<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">national Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage last night shifted blame to the judiciary for the country’s crime problem, as he blasted judges for failing to impose stiffer penalties and not properly enforcing laws that are on the books.</p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">Here we go again. Blaming the judiciary is like blaming a truck driver for inefficient work when you only provided him with a car to do the job. He’ll fail regardless of how skilled he is because a car isn't suited for the work at hand.</p>

<p align="left">The problem isn’t the judiciary, it’s the damn judicial system (or our society). We’ve spread our legs, and fornicated into existence a society that are experts at subverting this legal system. I really believe we need to adapt to a different legal model. Everyone knows each other and that has become a big, big, problem. </p>

<p align="left">The first commenter makes a good point. Our problems also stem from many spheres of authority not being respected by higher authorities themselves. If a politician undermines a teacher’s legitimate authority, then that teacher has none at all.</p>

<p align="left">We’ve got too much social justice going on. Maybe it's time to get rid of the jury system for something more relevant to the times?</p>

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<li><p align="justify" style="border-left:1px solid;color:gray;padding-left:10px;">Not necessarily guilty but targeted because they are accused. It's sad really. You cannot be a witness to a murder or accused of murder. Either way, your life is in danger. Small wonder persons do not cooperate with the police in solving crime. </p></li>
</ul>

<p align="left">The entire system of enforcement has collapsed on itself, and this is because of a clear inability to enforce the law with accuracy and speed. The criminals have already won this war. The law has lost its perceptible power.</p>

<p align="left">The leaders don’t know what to do, and the fact that they are suggesting new legislation proves this.</p>

<p align="left">We are already functioning on the premise that one is guilty until proven innocent in this country.</p>

<p align="left">That means that the legal system cannot pass judgment faster than a vigilante with a gun or a society full of emotions.</p>

<p align="left">God forbid you are walking around freely with the titles “accused”, “alleged”, or “suspected” before your name.</p>

<p align="left">Bail is a harbinger of death, and the ankle bracelet a mark of the grave.</p>