Somebody in the Planning Department or the Government didn't get their kickback and so now they are making this into a problem. Can they really be worried about the size of a development that sits 600 ft from Baha Mar?

I hope you realize that every tool or technology that allows us to live our modern lives is due to taking things from hundred of feet (up to miles) below the surface and using them. Where do you think the iron for the steel in your car, or the saw blades that cut the wood for your house come from?

You can thank the life you have now, which is far better than life 50, 100, 500 or any amount of years ago, on the things we have taken out of the ground, including fossil fuels.

Or the Norwegian model, or the Canadian model, or the Russian model, where the country has tight regulations and earns high royalties while letting private companies invest in the infrastructure and do the work.

Considering that almost our entire economy is bases on customer service (tourism) than this is a problem. We have so far to go in terms of customer service and it would benefit us all so much if we were able to improve it.

Seems to be with BEC, that 'sometimes things' happen all the time.

So this ridiculous government has spent money buying back 2% of BTC just so they can go ahead and open up competition to private companies. They should have been selling what was left of their share and then opening it up for competition. Does anyone in power actually think, or did they find another way to take under the table money from this setup too?

Absolutely, we need to approach the problem of young people to stop the problems we have today from continuing in the future.

That and cut the rampant corruption committed by our politicians so that we have money to pay for programs to help youth.

I don't see the world beating down our doors in order to invest in any non-petroleum businesses here. By all means, I think growing those are a fantastic idea, but that does not mean that we can look for oil as well.

All of the things you mention would be great but can all be done alongside a healthy and profitable petroleum industry.

This new trend in debates you are alluding to is called an Ad-Hominem, and is nothing new, and not what is happening here. Philip is attacking your arguments, not you. Nowhere do I see a personal attack in any of their statements.

"Undisclosed quantity of marijuana"? So essentially a personal supply. Is this really the best use of our police and court resources? Going after some tourists for smoking a joint when there are dozens of unsolved murders on the books?