People seem to have forgotten that the PLP started with the premise that they were the champion of the "poor black man" and that strategy was relatively successful. However, in modern times such a strategy begins to seem like a turn toward a "command economy" which was the strategy of Joseph Stalin and, much later, of Fidel Castro. In our economy it is tempting to make scape goats of certain segments of the business community. However, when that segment of the business community is providing essential materials and services we all become losers if the services provided by that segment of the business community become unavailable to the rest of us.

How do you know the educational level of those making comments? How obnoxious! I for one am a university graduate who is bilingual. Not everyone is convinced by the climate change Casandras. Research the great hurricane of 1780. The Bahamas cannot be classified as a large contributor to global pollution. Let you champagne socialists ride the donkey and allow the rest of us to have a little comfort.

I love the way these percentage figures are thrown around. How very American! Perhaps these overpaid members of international bodies will set an example for we peons by using sailing ships to travel to their high level meetings instead of using private jets burning aviation kerosene otherwise known as Jet A1 in their turbine engines. Politicians rarely talk about uncontrolled population growth as a contributor to increased consumption of fossil fuels. Instead they continue to carry on about living without basic resources required by the vast majority of humanity. Don't believe for one moment that the big oil companies will wean the world off of fossil fuels while they still have access to ever increasing oil deposits. When the youth of the USA was busy protesting against the Vietnam War wasn't it the late Richard Nixon who queried whether it would be possible to interest the young people in trying to save the California condor?

A true "battle of the giants" with the local people sitting on the sidelines trying to figure out how to identify who will emerge the winner so as to choose a side ASAP. Every Bahamian should try to obtain and read a copy of the late Dr. Paul Albury's book "The Story of The Bahamas" published in 1975. The information provided in his book should provide some historical perspective and sense of reality to our people who seem to have lost touch with their own roots and history.

Perhaps I'm revealing my age but I can recall when the petroleum dealers carried out a brief strike action back in about 1973 when they were asking for an increase in the retail price of gasoline from 50 cents per gallon to a new higher price of 65 cents per gallon! Wow, those were the days when you could feed your family for $25 per week from City Meat Market! We'll never see those prices again without some horrifying and apocalyptic event or events which, considering the international situation, unfortunately, is not impossible to imagine. This time around I am expecting a relatively brief shutdown of most service stations so top up your fuel tanks ASAP and limit your unnecessary driving for a while.

I paid property tax while I resided on New Providence and do not object to being assessed at a reasonable rate while residing on one of the Family Islands. However, I expect that in return for my tax payments I might reasonably expect that the atrocious roads in my area will be paved, street lighting provided and garbage collection service provided to my individual property. If these basic services and amenities will not or cannot be provided then I will have to consider myself unjustly assessed and taxed. A fundamental truth that many citizens are overlooking is the fact that most governments continue to seek to raise more revenue for numerous reasons, including the need to keep more and more people employed while servicing public debt that will continue to increase until a point is reached when, in our case, there has to be a decision taken whether to devalue the currency or to dollarize, neither decision being an easy one.

In response to your questions: a vessel of that size operates more than one generator. If she had lost steering gear she could have displayed two red lights in a vertical line to indicate that she was "not under command". Also, she ran aground about 23 nautical miles from the point at which she changed course near to Hole in the Wall. Even if she had drifted helplessly until running aground that would mean a drift rate of at least 4 knots, something highly unlikely considering that a branch of the North Equatorial Current sets generally northwest and thus toward Abaco. Ultimately the captain has to answer to the owners for as the late captain Diego Ruiz used to tell me out in the Pacific Ocean, "si tu equivocas, pago yo" which translates as "If you make a mistake, I pay ".

The vessel's track on marinetraffic.com showed her turning south toward north Eleuthera late at night when she was almost abeam of Hole in the Wall. Considering that the true course on the route along the east coast of Abaco is very close to 019 degrees, I can't help but wonder what equipment failure or a failure of positional
awareness led to a change of course of almost 180 degrees. Egg reef just north of Egg Island is treacherous and extends east and west for a few miles. Not an enviable position to be in.

Been there and done that. I was younger then and I recall the male parent of the delinquent student looking me over as he came to the reasonable conclusion that any physical actions would not be in his best interest. That was a good day 😂.

It should be interesting to read her reaction to a request for asylum from half a million Ukrainians.