Bahama Pundit

A Brief Analysis of a Mid-Term Bye-election

by Larry Smith

Well, I am no shell-shocked poll worker, but I thought that a look at the overall numbers in last week's bye-election would be instructive.

Taking the official numbers at face value (it is alleged that many people registered illegally), there were 4,942 registered voters in the Elizabeth constituency - an increase of 691 since 2007 - but more than a third of them stayed home on February 16.

And despite all the talk of a surge in support for new parties, the venerable Bahamas Democratic Movement, the newly-formed National Development Party and the idiosyncratic Workers Party won only 209 votes collectively - about 4 per cent of the total cast. So my first observation is that support for splinter candidates remains negligible, and is consistent with past experience.

Andros Island -- Big, Long & Strong

by Simon

•Simon is a young Bahamian with things on his mind who wishes to remain anonymous. His column 'Front Porch' is published every Tuesday in the Nassau Guardian. He can be reached at frontporchguardian@gmail.com.

Andros Island, the fifth largest island in the Caribbean, and larger than many Caricom countries, is big and long.  It boasts one of the largest national parks in the region, one of the world’s largest barrier reefs and a magnificent Tongue of the Ocean with a 6,000 foot drop-off.

From the Bahamas National Trust: “As one of the least populated regions in The Caribbean Basin, Andros Island and its myriad of tidal creeks, interconnected lakes, mud flats, and mangroves support some of the largest populations of underwater life in the region.”

Both the Central Andros National Park and the west side of Andros are areas of phenomenal natural beauty and diversity.  Dr. Philip Kramer, the Nature Conservancy’s Caribbean Marine Program Director, enthuses:

Bahamian Attitudes Towards the Haitian Migration

by Larry Smith

In the weeks since the catastrophic earthquake that killed an estimated 230,000 men women and children in Haiti, there has been an endless stream of consciousness from Bahamians on both sides of the migration issue.

First we had what I considered to be some extraordinary reactions to the prime minister's remarks immediately after the January 12 event. In a series of Facebook exchanges, several intellectual critics condemned Ingraham for being insensitive and justifying anti-Haitian sentiments by discouraging Bahamians from helping in the wake of the disaster. These were the remarks in question (as reported by the Guardian):

"The government has established a common account at all the country's commercial banks, into which donations to the relief effort in Haiti can be made. We will cause that money to be sent either to the Haitian government and/or to international organizations that are able to provide assistance to Haiti at this time and the government will make a significant financial contribution. It is not appropriate for us to be collecting goods to send to Haiti because there is no means by which we can get there.”

Then there was an equally hostile reaction to the perfectly sensible policy announced at the same time that the government would release Haitians from the Detention Centre and suspend apprehension and repatriation efforts, while seeking to prevent new illegal immigration. This generated howls of vitriolic protest and confused comments from Bahamians upset about the supposed creolisation of the country. In response, the PM had this to say:

Why We Overeat and How to End it

by Larry Smith

As Chrissy Love said recently on the ZNS call-in show Immediate Response, "Chile I been on more diet than Oprah".

Her point was that diets don't work - at least not in the long-term. As we all know, it's hard to stick to any diet, and sooner or later we give up and rejoin the world of uncontrolled eating, usually gaining back the few pounds we lost plus a little more.

Most of us simply shrug our shoulders and move on. But a groundbreaking new book by the former head of the US Food and Drug Administration reveals that food is now a top public health issue, and he tries to explain how we can scientifically address our compulsive urge to overeat.

The unfortunate fact is, says Dr David Kessler in The End of Overeating, that we have all become addicts - hooked by overstimulated brain chemicals on huge portions of food layered and loaded with sugar, fat and salt, and offering little or no nutritional value.

Broadcasting Rules and the Regulation of Election Campaigns

by Larry Smith

Whenever an election is in the air, Bahamians seem to take leave of their senses. And the current controversy over political broadcasting rules set by the new utilities regulator (URCA) is a telling example.

This is not to deny that we should pay a lot of attention to any attempt to regulate the media. in fact, this should be the subject of a full-scale public debate going forward - rather than just a closed-door conversation among media moguls.

The question of how we regulate speech during an election has some interesting parallels with the recent US Supreme Court decison on political advertising - the ruling that was sharply criticised by President Barack Obama in his state of the union address last Wednesday. But before we get to those broader questions, a word or two on the local tempest in a teacup is in order.

Words of Our Mouths, Meditations of Our Hearts

by Simon

•Simon is a young Bahamian with things on his mind who wishes to remain anonymous. His column 'Front Porch' is published every Tuesday in the Nassau Guardian. He can be reached at frontporchguardian@gmail.com.

It was just about a fortnight ago that the government released and granted temporary asylum to 102 Haitian migrants at the Detention Centre.  That decision continues to provoke and inspire the words of many mouths, flowing from the meditations of many hearts.  Except in some cases.

The words from some prominent voices have yet to catch up with the meditations of their hearts and the treasury of their theological traditions.  Religious leaders such as Dr. Myles Munroe and Bishop Simeon Hall have addressed the hysteria surrounding the granting of temporary asylum for the migrants in question.

Other heads of various prominent denominations have yet to match their extraordinary charitable actions with the just words needed to stem a tsunami of prejudice unleashed by the Haitian quake.