Having had the occasion to attend the funeral memorial for an FNM council member at the FFNM headquarters a few months ago, I likewise sat through a tribute given by Tommy T. in which he fervently urged FNM supporters to unite and stop the infighting in the party, and get behind the leadership. What a hypocrite.

All of the questions will be answered at the upcoming convention. The real question is whether or not the FNM supporters will rally around the elected leader. Competition for party leadership is a common occurrence worldwide, but we seem to delight in tearing particular candidates apart while all the while spouting that we are FNM. How Sad.

No average family can afford to visit the Bahamas anymore. The prices for rooms and food at our major resorts are ridiculous. Depending on who you believe, these are due to room taxes, union intervention, mandatory gratuities, vat, and high customs duties. Our main tourism draw is "sun, sand and sea", which is a stale product, and to participate in any other form of watersport activities, such as parasailing, jet skiing, and swimming with the dolphins, costs an arm and leg.
Couple all of this with the fact that other destinations offer the same product at a fraction of the cost, and our very high crime rate, and you will continue to see worrisome numbers unless we make drastic changes in our approach.

The Bahamas has priced itself out of the tourist market. The average family can not afford the ridiculous prices being charged for rooms and food at the major resorts, which have all been pushed up by room taxes, union intervention, automatic gratuity, vat, and customs duties. Our main attraction of sun, sand and sea has become stale, and activities related to these are off the chart in price. Couple this with a high crime rate and the fact that the same things are offered at other destinations at a fraction of the price, and we can expect further decline unless steps are taken to make us competitive again

Does anyone really think that our governments care about a Moody's downgrade. Regarding Ismirilian and Bahamar ,if my memory serves me correctly, he was unable to raise the 175 million required to purchase the original property which the then government gave him at a steal. With their assistance he was able to obtain financing from Scotia Bank, but when the time came for him to repay this advance, he was unable to do so and Scotia had to settle for becoming an unwilling participant in shares of Bahamar. Would he or could he manage this venture and repay 3 billion dollars? fat chance.

It is obvious that a threat by Moody's to downgrade the country means little or nothing to our governments. However, i doubt that Izmarilan would have completed the project and run it successfully. If I recall correctly he was unable to come up with the 175 million purchase price for the original property, and was assisted in obtaining finance from Scotia Bank by the then government. When it came time to repay this loan he had to resort into giving Scotia shares in lieu of repayment. Does anyone really think that he could repay a 3 billion dollar loan?

There will always be customs loopholes because certain business people and government revenue collectors are unscrupulous. Always have been, and always will be. No matter what controls you put into place,they are only as good as the people administering them. To think that these new measures will reduce the amount of illegal weapons entering the country is ludicrous and makes one wonder as to their thought process.

Do you think that any report that "may" be forthcoming, will be accurate?

Congrats to all the players and to coach Lotty. Way to go!

Symonette is a has been, opportunist, and should stay out of politics. Enjoy the spoils of your honorably gained wealth.