Wiki Leaks Cable: US Embassy Feb 17, 2010:

Gender-based violence is a major problem affecting all areas of The Bahamas.

Statistics of the numbers of cases of both domestic violence and child abuse are not readily available. A United Nations report has ranked The Bahamas among the top nations in the world with domestic violence fatalities, referring to the 42 percent of murders in 2000 that fell under this classification.

Another UN report states that The Bahamas has the highest number of reported rapes (per 100,000) in the world.

Police report that more than fifty percent of homicides in 2001 were the result of domestic violence.

A hospital survey in 2000 to determine lifetime prevalence of domestic violence in females presenting to the accident and emergency department found that; forty percent reported physical abuse, twenty percent sexual abuse, and thirty-seven percent verbal and emotional abuse.

In June 2009, the Government proposed an amendment to the Sexual Offenses Act to prohibit marital rape. This was a giant leap in the fight for women's rights and equality; however, the outcry from many sections of this society was unprecedented.

This response demonstrated the misinformation that many Bahamians have been exposed to; many conservative elements opposed the Sexual Offenses Act on religious grounds. They argued that the marriage bed is sacred and undefiled according to the bible and such legislation will only cause dissension within many homes and communities while at the same time sending innocent men to jail as a result of "false accusations by vindictive women."

Bahamian women appear to be seen by many as having no rights over their bodies within the confines of marriage and are exposed to sexual and physical violence that is silenced by the social norms of a society, which sees the husband as having authority over the wife's body and encourages male sexual aggression thereby perpetuating violence against women.

According to the Central Bank, the non-performing mortgage portfolio in the Bahamas, amounts to $675,000,000.00 dollars (675 million).

With the BMC, it has $112,000,000 in delinquent mortgages with the banks sharing the rest. At $112 million in delinquencies, how does the BMC intend to get almost the same amount as a surplus to cover the repayment of the bond?

They can't do it. It will default on its bonds. It will exacerbate the ticking bombshell at NIB that has has a pension underfunded (or unfunded) liability of a billion dollars. This default will add 10% to the unfunded total and both the mortgage corporation AND the NIB will not be able to meet their financial commitments. Who suffers? The pensioners, retirees, and the poor. There will be a lot more poverty.

Eventually, there will not be enough money to go around, and the government will have exhausted its ability to borrow. The Bahamas will be the next Greece, however the IMF will not bail the Bahamas out because of our insignificance in the world economy.

Coupled with the 30% systemic, endemic unemployment, the crime wave, the Baha Mar debacle, the flight of capital due to FATCA, the degeneration of the financial services industry and the US & Canadian government warnings about unsafe tourism, it doesn't take a genius to see that the Bahamas is on the road to becoming a failed state. It is the common people that suffer.

Already, those that have eyes can see. Do you notice the tourist restaurants around town failing? Do you notice less tourists on Bay Street and shops closing? The portents are not good.

>Increases in risk of adverse health effects (low birth weight, birth defects, certain types of cancers) have been reported near individual landfill sites

> Raised incidence of low birth weight births has been related to residence near landfill sites, as has the occurrence of various congenital malformations.

>Waste management workers have been shown to have increased incidence of accidents and musculoskeletal problems.

http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/6…

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Nothing more to say. Nothing more to do.

*Ostendo primo conditionem hominum extra societatem civilem, quam conditionem appellare liceat statum naturæ, aliam non esse quam bellum omnium contra omnes; atque in eo bello jus esse omnibus in omnia.*

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2016…

The point was made by the author that we should develop farms and fisheries. May I point out, that both industries are viable only with low wages for the workers. The wage expectations of a unionised Bahamas are not in line with what a migrant worker makes working on a farm in Mexico. The Haitians would work for those wages, but not Bahamians. Also, the viable citrus crop was destroyed by canker in 2005, and the land in Abaco cannot ever be used for citrus again because of export bans on fruit from the diseased land.

When it comes to fishing, our resources are hugely depleted. Lobster exports are falling dramatically probably due to over-fishing and climate change, and it is not a viable industry to support the population. At its peak, I believe that lobster exports peaked around the $70-80 million mark in 2001 and they are a fraction of that now.

The point is made that promotion should be made to export services, but alas, the human capital element is lacking. With a poorly educated, illiterate work force, and over 3,000 school leavers entering the job market every year, there is little hope and it is no wonder that systematic unemployment is at 30% counting all of those who have stopped searching for jobs. The government will admit to a figure of slightly less than 20% but that is not accurate.

Turning around the Bahamas will, with vision can be done in a generation, and without vision, and possessing a corrupt, kleptocratic government, it will take many years, if ever to turn the Bahamas into a more civilised, developed place.

There are industries that could make a dent and employ a couple of thousand of poorly educated workers, but the current regime couldn't find those industries in a 1000 years, and wouldn't have the ability to attract them, because they see all investors as fresh meat to sell overpriced services, whether they succeed commercially or not.

And the comment made about Liberty University -- any university that teaches young earth and creation "science" with human co-existing with dinosaurs -- well -- enough said! https://www.liberty.edu/academics/arts-…

One of the biggest obstacles to SME's (other than the lack of ease of doing business), is the business licence fee based on annual turnover. It is so backward. It should be a straight, small administrative processing fee for registering the business like it is in civilised jurisdictions. Anything else is a tax grab.

She is actually quite an engaging woman ... and she looks better now than she did with the shaved head. I've had occasion to speak to her a few years ago, and her cigarette habit was off-putting, but she is an intelligent, articulate woman. She has a presence.

If you want a clearer picture of what the racist Chinese think of Black people, look no further than this:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/m…

I wonder if Fairy Perry knows that the precursor to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), was a company called the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) Limited. The reason why they changed their name, was that in July 29, 2011, The World Bank announced the debarment of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) Limited, and all its subsidiaries, for fraudulent practices under Phase 1 of the Philippines National Roads Improvement and Management Project. Under the sanction, CCCC is ineligible to engage in any road and bridge projects financed by the World Bank Group until January 12, 2017. This action was based on recent changes in the World Bank sanctions system to clarify that successor organizations – through purchase or reorganization – will be subject to the same sanctions applied to the original firm. As a result, the CSCEC is also ineligible to participate in World Bank funded projects. The World Bank announced the debarment of seven firms — including the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the China Road and Bridge Corporation, and the China Geo-Engineering Corporation — and one individual on suspicion of engaging in collusive practices under a major Bank-financed roads projects. Two of the debarments are permanent, the strongest possible sanction.

Of course, the PLP (Putrid Larcenous Pricks) and PM Crisco-Butt never checked up on that.

Holy Crap! One needs a licence to protest now? What is this -- Communist China? What happened to "The Voice of the People is the Voice of God?". RIP Democracy.