Nassau, Bahamas — It was another ugly fight, a spectacle of shame and disgrace in front of the public. It was video taped and soon the general public will get the news. The open row was so “stink”, just like the BTC Cable and Wireless Deal; the Mighty Tribune reported today that it was to be held tonight. But why? It was held Monday NOT Tuesday, and ONLY BP has the blow-by-blow coverage.
The town meeting could best be described as like the motion picture ET with a young boy riding his bicycle across the moon into the extraterrestrial. The residents who are opposed to the deal sat in SHOCK_N_AWE as a “goon squad” from the FNM showed up with bully tactics to intimidate and disrupt the meeting.
A bold resident was said to have told Mavis Collie and others to please leave, as they were not residents of Bamboo Town. The PAPA FNM ‘Goon Squad’ was defiant, and they refused to leave. [Now that was a violent scene to watch] Where was the Tribune then? The fractured FNM heckled and heckled and heckled an FNM MP’s event “night of thunder” was hushed into chaos and confusion.
The mood of the evening was so poor, political party activist, Rodney Moncur, called on the powers that be within the Free National Movement to “CONDEMN THE ACTIONS BY OPERATIVES OF THAT ORGANIZATION” Monday night. He called on Ingraham to apologize to the people of Bamboo Town. The FNM goons insulted union officials present as they attempted to stop, review and CANCEL the rights of the residents to have their voices heard at the evening event in the community.
Rodney told the radio audience on Hard Copy with host Steve McKinney on Tuesday evening: McCartney is unaware of the violent history of the FNM and what he saw last night, was a picture of that violence that had transpired years ago.
Bahamas Press remembers that violent page in political history of the Bahamas, many of which were burnt out of the Tribune of the time, but is secured in the pages of The Bahamian Times, written and edited by the now Governor General, Sir Arthur Foulkes. Some are too young to remember how Foulkes, who was news editor of The Tribune, ran as a PLP candidate in the 1962 election, but lost and subsequently resigned from The Tribune and started The Bahamian Times, which was highly instrumental in the PLP’s momentous victory in 1967. Another paper that contributed greatly was The Herald, owned and edited by Cyril Stevenson.
Some are too young to remember how Foulkes was a PLP, and served as the scribe in the organization assisting in its momentous rise to victory in 1967.
Those of us who remained, remember much more of the TORCH, the goon squad of the FNM and it militia rebel regime tactics of the 1970s. Violence was the FNM’s motives in those days and some suggests that is where the “V” symbol originated.
Others like my now 89 year-old grand father would tell you the “torch” became the FNM’s logo in those days, because they believed in torching, burning, setting ablaze and creating chaos in everything Bahamian.
That FNM torch burnt down the late Oscar Johnson’s printing press company and shoved the Cat Islander out of business. But again, people forgot what the Torch stood for.
That same FNM Torch flashed like the light of the Klu Klux Klan outside the headquarters of then PLP Fox Hill MP, Lionel Davis, during a meeting one night. The former FNM goon squad opened gunfire on those gathered inside attempting to burn the building with PLPs inside. That was the violence Moncur spoke about.
That same night six foot-five resident of the area, Gladstone Cash, the brother of Sir Gerald Cash, fled the meeting at a speed of almost 100 miles an hour. Some record, his tracks were so swift that night, when he turned the corner he leaned so low he collected dirt in his shirt pocket like Scooby Doo.
That same FNM Torch is alleged to have burnt several other PLP businesses to the ground at a time when they sought to command control of power for their foreign sympathizers and destabilize the young country then led by a 36 year-old.
That same ‘Torch-bearing militia’ of the FNM gathered and lived in historic Spring Hill Farms, owned by FNM Jimmy Shepard. Men like Scaboo Newton, Barry Thompson, Pocka Humes operated that ‘FNM Goon Squad’ division of the FNM and was regularly visible standing outside the former FNM Headquarters on Poinciana Drive in the 1970s.
They were so vicious at the time; some have alleged the men to commit acts of murder, one, which stood out, was the horrific death of a whole man in Perpall Track.
Moncur was right, Branville like many others, are unaware of the horrid past of the FNM. Few know the true history of the Party and how it evolved onto the political scene. Few know how it was financed and leaving it to the FNM, the one eye man in the land of the blind is KING!
Residents in the Bahamas are unaware how the “V” once represented the sign of “Violence” and how the Torch evolved into the logo, representing the symbol of that Violence in the 1970s.
We know men like Dr. Eldwood Donaldson could tell the rest of the story as many others who know it have gone mute into silence; whether via the grave or by choice.
Branville, you have a choice, you could side with the people or choose the side of the new GOON SQUARD LEADER IN THE SALE OF BTC TO CABLE AND WIRELESS!
WE Report, Yinner Decide!
WHAP you are an ***; nothing got done under Perry Christie? Well what do you call (1)the airport development; the Albany project; Baha Mar project; Bakers Bay in Abaco; The Ginn project in west Grand Bahama; The I-Group in Maguaynna; the $850 million project in Rum Cay; the many projects in Eleuthera and Exuma etc. Name us one project that Ingraham has brought to the Bahamas during his last almost four years in OFFICE since May 2007; just one, jackass. You are just another one of the few FNM fools left.
We all know why Dr Donaldson,Steve Mckinney and phillipa Russell hangs together.They hate the PM,reasons beiing both
@ Pratty:
You don’t know me Pratty, as we have never been formally introduced. I do not hate Mr. Ingraham, however, I vehemently oppose his policies which would relegate me and fellow Bahamians to the status of SPECTATORS in our own economy! And finally, I never hang out with anyone!
@ Ricky
Ricky, you are trying too hard.
Ricky, how about explaining to us why the FNM government abandoned the line of reasoning that it applied to the straw market, which recognized that at a certain point the comforts and other amentities of a building has to be reconciled with its basic use. This caused the FNM to scale down the original plans left by the PLP to what is under construction now.
How is it, given the prior understanding of feasibility concerns, that the same FNM government is pludging 400 million dollars into an airport that can only service one island in an archipelagic nation? While I agree that the airport needed to be upgraded, I strongly suggest that what occured is an instance of splurging. An airport is simply an air entry port and can never be made more than that (who enjoys long stays in airports). Yes, certain modern comforts and amenities now apply due to the times, but countries in our economic circumstances who still have a very long way to go towards completely developing all of our regions cannot afford such a concentration of scarce resources. Put simply, we over spent and now the other islands WHERE THE AIRPORTS RESEMBLE TOOL SHEDS IN BOTH SIZE AND AMENITIES will be neglected even longer. Exuma, Abaco and Eleuthera will have development and tourism stifled because of the excess associated with the airport in Nassau. Or is it still a case where that doesn’t really matter because we are continuing the Nassau centric model anyway.
Tell us Ricky? Be a good FNM and strenuously disagree with me because I am going against the party line and praising the new airport completion.
the ” FNM ” IS RUNNING SCARED mr MACCARTNEY PEOPLE ARE WAITING 4 U 2 MAKE THE BIG MOVE GO ” INDEPENDENT ” SHOW THE OTHER ” fnm ” BRO WHO DESIRE 2 LEAVE OR SEPERATE THEMSELVES FROM MR INGRAHAM
whap! you are so right this is all true
and if i had to vote now it is clear.(FNM)
the plp and there bandits are go to take the cookie
jar this time.Mr Christie will never controll those M.P. If they win .Mr Ingraham is the
best at this time and he doing a very good in this hard times.
@Ricky
You can type but am trying to make sense of your posting.Yes you are a diehard who has his hands in the cookie jar.Since you are void of understanding I dont expect a response from you but surprise me by letting your handlers use your name.Knowing your type am cognizant that this conversation is dead.
whap! you are so right this is all true
and if i had to vote now it is care.(FNM)
the plp and there bandits are go to take the cookie
jar this time.Mr Christie will never controll those M.P. If they win .Mr Ingraham is the
best at this time and he doing a very good in this hard times.
Now back to this POSTING……….
I thought it was sad and unfortunate, as I stood there and watched the FNM’s hijacked an act of democracy at work.
I live in Blue Hills constituency, I was made a special effort to attend this meeting, just to get an appreciation of how, I believe our system of governance ought to work.
The constituency representative bring the matter to the people, they discuss it and the member of parliament cast his vote accordingly.
I was pleased to see the wife of my representative sitting up front of the meeting, I thought the lady was there to get some pointers for her husband as to how to hold a similiar meeting in Blue Hills.
much to my suprise and dismay, the lady led the charge as the first person to ask a question………
then the other hangers on of the party took over and it spiral out of control from there……..
if I was certain as to what was happening at that time, became abundantly clear after the meeting, when I heard one of the “hangers on, of the party” one lady referred to as Ms. Erma said ” thats good for Branville ass, he disappointed now, this meeting ain gone his way”
People, these are senior people ya know. these aren’t no hooliguns or thugs of the streets, these were dern grandmothers.
it was almost tearful……. these are a different set of people. not the ladies of “yester year” who sacfriced spending time with their families to help in building the nation.
this crew, left home to deliberately deprive a people of their rights to direct their elected representative.
This is indeed a sad day, people.
krossova, why you think these people are different? These are the true fnms’ who think nobody does anything but themselves!
But think about it and remember to look to the Tribune for all the answers as this is where the true power, except for the electorate, now lies!
I’m relatively young so I have never heard of this side of the FNM early years. Is there a book on the market that would have detail accounts of this history. With regards to the projects that FNM govt is currently completing many were started by the previous administration and as it lends to cohesiveness this govt completed them. My only concern is that at the end of the day many of the money from this contract would’ve left the country. I know of the IDB stipulations but either we need to inform local companies of the requirements to qualify for these loans or burrow the money from another lending institution.
Quietstorm this is the Book, it name BP read and enjoy!
BP
@ mussy242, Whap, ronica7 & Eye in the sky
As I read your responses I say to myself “PRECISELY MY POINT ABOUT EACH ONE – CHRISTIE & INGRAHAM – CANCELLING THE OTHER” because their styles of leadership are at the opposite end of the spectrum. One is too arrogant and too aggressive. The other is too timid in decison making and too laid back. You make a strong case for an alternative person, someone who fits perfectly in the middle (I know that was not your intention but that is the result). And the party that first presents such a person AS THEIR NEW LEADER will win the next election. This is a time of soul-searching for both of these political giants.
I know i get your point , But like i said, its my personal preference…we shall see what happens and I cant wait. 😉
Very accurate post:BP: I remember the violence; burnings of suspected PLP owned businesses and the murder at perpall track. A high ranking FNM leader (now dead) gave the order, it was alleged, to kill the fellow. The FNM leader’s henchmen took Major, Humes and Polka Red out to Perpall Track and sat Major on a rock. Then they gave Polka Red a gun and told him to point it at Major; then they gave Humes another and told him to point it at Polka Red. They then instructed Polka Red to shoot Major and threatened him that if he didn’t kill Major, Humes would kill him so Polka did it. Eventually both Polka and Humes were hung for the crime, which the leader of the FNM should have been also hung for. If he didn’t get God’s forgiveness for his crime before he died, dog is eating his lunch now. He died, as I recall, cancer ridden. We pay one way or the other for our sins.
SICK OF POLITRICKS WE REPORT YINNER DECIDE!
BP
I LOVE DIS SITE , FULL OF HUMOUR, I GOING WORK…WORK PAY BILLS…THANK GOD FOR THIS JOB ….NO FREE RIDE AT FIVE HERE
BP your sources are good as it regards to timely reporting, seriously you keep me in the loop. But you are ridiculously and painfully one sided and biased.
We report YINNER DECIDE!
BP
This blog didnt just pop up last week, last month or last year. Since BP moved over to the new layout i dont know how far back their archives go, but as one who has been around here a little while, trust me when i tell you, BP wrote about the PLP and Perry with the same ferocity. Back then the posters use to say BP was biased against the PLP and Perry Christie too.
@whap,how many people lost their jobs,homes,cars,had to take their children out of private schools,how many are unemployed or under employeed since the f.n.m came to power?
People responsible for demself! LIME soon come we gon get cheap minutes 3G n iphone n crackberry. Silly Union Terrorist gats ta go!
Whap, you must have gotten whapped. The airport. The Stadium. Albany. Were already started when the PLP, lost the government. The airport, and stadium, is the vision of Mr. Christie, period! Albany. Bahamar. Could you imagine Mayaguana, now if the Fnn, had “stopped….reviewed , you know the rest. Imagine the population shift, that would have had to happen, if the I-Group, project had continued. This in my opinion would have been more significant than than Bahamar.
Unfortunately for you, you did not check the records far back enough, All the plans you mentioned besides the Mayaguana were in play during the FNM’s 1st and 2nd terms. The PLP under Christie, during so called good economy delayed, postured, and accomplished nothing.
Yeah mussy242, Christie’s is so cautious that nothing got done during their five-year term in government. So cautious that during strong economic times, that PLP government planned everything and got nothing done!!! Can you say the same thing about Mr. Ingraham and his government??? Has nothing been done during these challenging economic times??? I would say not! Decisions have been made and bricks and mortar are in the ground some. Let me remind you of some of the ideas Christie had but never acted on and Ingraham, the decision make actually got done!!! The Straw Market, The Airport, The Court complex at Nassau Street (this court was started by Edward Penn an avid PLP support but never completed), BahMar, The National Stadium. In addition to the aforementioned, roads are being completed, introduction of a drug subscription plan, BEC Plant in Abaco, Dredging of the Nassau Harbour (world’s largest cruise lines now able to visit), Container Port being relocated to Arawak Cay (this opens the doors for the revitalization of downtown Nassau), Expansion of the Rand Hospital, Improvements at PMH accident and emergency, renovations to the courts downtown, strategic infrastructure works being completed, which will finally provide potable water for residents in the East, Electronic Passports, improvements at Saunders Beach, establishment of a new police station on East/West Highway. Just to name a few. Now whomever wish to, could go back and take a look at the five years indecisive Christie was in power when the economy was so buoyant and compare what was done then to what is being done during these first 4 years, yes it’s only 4 years, of the Ingraham Administration. If you need me to provide more of what has been done under this Administration and will!! I am a Bahamian and someone who really tired of both sides of the aisle but I see who has achieved accomplishments and who hasn’t! Facts are there!!!
You all never wanted to wait and allow Mr. Christie to complete his work , instead you all voted him out. And all it was that they just could not wait, and you know what the Bahamians are just a people with lots of jealousy in their heart for one another can’t see other people prosper, so they now reaping what the plp sowed but that is ok we will be back and get the. victory that we deserved, it an’t long now Bahamas
Let them know!
well said mussy242. and thats my 5cent.
@STORM While I agree with the majority of your posts , I must say that ALL men have weaknesses. However a weakness of arrogance in a position of power cannot and should not be tolerated. We all know Ingraham is an arrogant man, as he refuses to hear the voice of ALL of his people. He only listens to those singing the tune he wants to hear. But the only weakness I knew of that Christie posessed was that he was overly cautious at times and was abit hesitant to make decisions. However I would rather a leader who is cautious and cares about his country enough to consult about his choices befor implementing anything. Moreover Christie has that advantage that he has been there befor and can learn to be abit more decisive. Anyone new would have to go “through the ropes” and whose to say they would be a better at doing the job. I know you propably lost confidence in both . but I am willing to give Christie another chance and thats my 2 cents 😉
Branville should seriously consider JOINING the disgruntled PLPs and FNMs who recognise that both Christie and Ingraham are now at a point where their weaknesses in the area of leadership has become PERPETUAL (i.e. comparing one with the other leaves you exhausted because there is always another weakness to consider).
IF SUCH A COMBINATION OF VIBRANT, POPULAR AND VISIONARY CANDIDATES CAN WRAP THEMSELVES INTO A “CAUSE” AND PRESENT BAHAMIANS WITH “SENSIBLE ALTERNATIVES” TO THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST 2 ELECTIONS, THEN WE CAN BE OPTIMISTIC THAT SOMETHING WILL CHANGE AFTER THE NEXT ELECTION.
One word comes to mind after reading this…KARMA!
Their wicked ways shall be the destruction of them.
An awesome post, BP! You are absolutely correct about Dr Elwood Donalson’s understanding of the history of our struggle to manage our democracy and he will be revealing TRUTHS on Steve McKinney’s HARD COPY today, (Wednesday)at 5PM.
Lady as you know We hold a war chest of information. And they know and we know just why BP was down. People does follow the crowd and not know the VICKEDNESS Behind it.
BP
PS: DAS GA HOLD THEM! They on the run now!
FNM TO HILLS HAULING ***..
BP
Comments are closed.