"“**It is ironic that the same people who were fighting for Freedom of Information and transparency are now running to court to stop the same freedom they were supposedly fighting for. What a difference a day makes. A bunch of self-righteous hypocrites,” they added.**"

WOW, this comment should show their true colors! Amazing! There has to be transparency with those in power as it is too easy to hide corruption and take advantage of the people! And they compare this to the releasing of private emails of private individuals! These guys are a complete and utter disgrace to this country! Why oh WHY are they in power? I wish the people would rise up and physically remove them from their positions.

Indeed this is a deflection. While there is a problem with the fact that these guys did not have permits, it is so funny that the police would expect you to come to them in a matter involving to of the highest ranking officials in the country. You have got to be joking!

I find this discussion entertaining. There is talk about rights and laws in regards to this piece of land that we Bahamians use as beach access. Rights are a funny thing, everyone thinks that they have them, whether God given or man given. So if yo believe in God then certain rights are given by him. If not, then only those groups and individuals with power issue rights. If you believe in the latter, then who has more power then the Bahamian people who live here?

Laws are funny as well. Again if you discount God and his existence, then laws are created by man and are definitely not perfect as any corrupt government can pass them. If the power is in the hands of the people, then we need to force our government and law makers to change laws which seemingly oppress us.

Anyway, apart from those things, if as Bahamians, we truly believe as a group of people that we are entitled to something, whether it's this piece of land today or a beach access somewhere else, the answer is simple. Stand together and fight for it! Don't let flawed laws get in your our way, or political opinions, corrupt governments, or private individuals foreign or Bahamian. I can tell you one thing. If it were my property, i would have had the common sense to sell it back to the Bahamian people a long time ago to avoid such an issue. Why stand against a whole nation to keep controversial land at the expense of being vilified? It makes no sense unless you are greedy. It doesn't matter what plans you have for it, you tread at your own risk. And don't rely on those laws for protection, LOL, they are broken every day not only by the people but by the government!

I find this discussion entertaining. There is talk about rights and laws in regards to this piece of land that we Bahamians use as beach access. Rights are a funny thing, everyone thinks that they have them, whether God given or man given. So if yo believe in God then certain rights are given by him. If not, then only those groups and individuals with power issue rights. If you believe in the latter, then who has more power then the Bahamian people who live here?

Laws are funny as well. Again if you discount God and his existence, then laws are created by man and are definitely not perfect as any corrupt government can pass them. If the power is in the hands of the people, then we need to force our government and law makers to change laws which seemingly oppress us.

Anyway, apart from those things, if as Bahamians, we truly believe as a group of people that we are entitled to something, whether it's this piece of land today or a beach access somewhere else, the answer is simple. Stand together and fight for it! Don't let flawed laws get in your our way, or political opinions, corrupt governments, or private individuals foreign or Bahamian. I can tell you one thing. If it were my property, i would have had the common sense to sell it back to the Bahamian people a long time ago to avoid such an issue. Why stand against a whole nation to keep controversial land at the expense of being vilified? It makes no sense unless you are greedy. It doesn't matter what plans you have for it, you tread at your own risk. And don't rely on those laws for protection, LOL, they are broken every day not only by the people but by the government!

Seeing as the two accused are the highest of ranking officials in the Bahamas, I think it was best to involve a third party to do the investigations as apposed to trusting the police which is controlled by the government. While i would trust the police with average matters, anything involving politicians or any kind of high ranking officials, the corruption runs too deep to possibly trust our own. Hopefully the truth comes to light, and the right people are charged if indeed any of these allegations are true.

Tal, I agree with you. I am not interested in the political parties at all, who use this as a political play/tool. I am only interested in Bahamians standing up for themselves. We MUST take a more aggressive/active role in our country, or else it will be taken away from us!

I am proud of my Bahamian people. We are finally standing up for something! Guess we have to start somewhere. For those who keep talking about the second entrance that we are expected to use, don't you get it? First they take your parking away, then they close the entrance. What makes you think they won't do the same to the other entrance, since that property is owned by foreigners also? Wake up! Stand now, or continue to watch as your rights are stripped away slowly! I am all for peaceful protests and repsecting the rights of other's property, but all stakeholders should have known better than to close off that entrance that the public has used for years, and now some even rely on it for a living. My people rise up, and let's stand against all the nonsense in this country, whatever the means, cause sure as hell, the government is not looking out for us!

birdie, you cannot be serious. I have private health insurance and am not rich. Many middle class citizens purchase private health insurance, not only the rich. Also, how can a government say that they are promoting affordable health care if they place a tax on health care itself? As a citizen I paid almost and additional $100 in VAT for my MRI, how is that making it more affordable for me? Sure insurance companies have done some scandalous things, but your asking me to trust the government, known for it's dishonesty and thievery to take more of my funds and provide proper health care? You have GOT to be joking.

1. Health Care has to start with the individual, better education is needed on how to eat right. Western society eats far too many processed foods and simple sugars and starches. We need a diet of more fruits, veggies, healthy proteins and fats, and occasional healthy starches in the form of whole grains.

2. If the government was serious about affordable health care, why tax it so viciously? if it must be taxed, reduce the tax by at least half. I had to pay an extra $100 on my last MRI due to VAT!

3. Reduce/eliminate taxes on Healthy foods and raise it on the unhealthy ones.

4. Find honest and capable individuals to revamp the management of the current health care system, so that we can mitigate theft and inefficiencies.

5. Provide better quality and improved facilities by upgrading them.

6. Lastly, only after all of the above, would NHI be considered a good idea, and only with honest and open conversation with the private stakeholders. Right now the government has a bad reputation of rushing things and completely screwing them up and mishandling funds. NHI will be a waste of time, if it is done exactly the same way.

While the author of this article makes some good points, he has a fallacy in his logic. “Do we follow public opinion or do we lead?” What better way to lead in our own country, than not give in to the pressures of the foreigners and take charge of our own justice system especially since public opinion, 2/3 according to the article is against capital punishment? Sure, I agree that we do need to have more rehabilitative measures in place, and that we need to focus on reforming especially our younger and less violent criminals, education, etc.. but if at the end of the day, the main purpose of the justice system is not "deterrence" but justice. If we as a society, believe that the death penalty is the proper method of justice for murder, then we should be well within our rights to carry out such a penalty. Nobody will ever be able to convince me that lifetime imprisonment is proper justice for taking a life. Your basically telling me that life is cheap, and the murderer's life is valued above all of his victim(s).