Mccartney Suggests Public Floggings Because that totally worked in primary school

Article: http://www.tribune242.com/news/2012/jul/05/mccartney-suggests-public-floggings/

Now when I heard about another independent party spearheaded by Hon. Branville Mccartney I was excited. All the things I have seem him do for his constituency was remarkable, he transformed it. But his politics it seems as of late that it is just to appeal to the here and now, and whatever the people want to hear. Public floggings? thats about as effective as spanking a rude child in the middle of super value. Its awkward for everyone. I get that rapists should be punished to the fullest extent of the law they broke but c'mon what is he trying to portray? that the only way we can overcome rape or whatever crime we must resort to menial spanking? Again this train of thought of being REACTIVE and not PROACTIVE is detrimental to society. We can't possibly assume capital punishment is somehow going to prevent crimes. Plenty of countries have capital punishment but don't have a decreased crime rate because of it. Flogging is just some grand spectacle we don't need. We should just have them up on an online database flagging them for being a sexual predator and track where they live etc, and have them serve their time prison is for reformation. Just like Familywatchdog.us. Making parents pay for the CHILD'S mistake is completely wrong how is the child going to really feel the repercussions of his or her actions if their parents must pay for it? Need to completely reform the child and put them in an institution if needed. Branville sadly gets the head nod of shame for this. Cheers.

Top 5 Worst Bahamian Professions everyone seems to have

There is this huge trend of people trying to make money through jobs that look "cool", or seem generally easy and fun to do. Majority of young Bahamians have adopted these job titles trying to look for an easy buck. Sadly they couldn't have been more wrong.

"Dude buying an expensive camera has to be easier than this"

1. Photographer

Photography seems like a glamorous and easy job, you take pictures of beautiful women all day right? And you get paid for it! whats better than that? Just stop right there, not all photographers take pictures of models and the ones that do are very few. They have worked years at networking, getting to know the business, and actually getting the attention of clients willing to pay for their services, and selling their artwork at a gallery which is a feat to get into itself. Majority of photographers take contemporary pictures, scenery, everyday people, and abstract. Even after years of schooling and building a portfolio to present to a firm who would hire you. Most photographers don't make much money, if hardly any. It is a very competitive, highly criticized field. A lot of Bahamians assume just buying a fancy camera, asking a few girls to take pictures of,  and adding a water mark on their pictures makes them a photographer. If they met a real photographer they would most likely get punched in the face, and have their picture taken afterwards. This then leads into the next profession everyone seems to want and think they have.

 

 

"WTF! where are the half naked women? I didn't sign up for this."

 

 

2. Model

This is the bane of my existence, every girl who have ever had their picture taken seems to believe that they are in fact a model. Although they have never seen a single dime of money for it nor have any credentials to show. Never has been featured a "model" outside of Facebook. "Photographers" ask a decent looking woman to have their pictures taken, and are told they can be models. What happens is they actually believe it, and the photographers play along so they can just take some pictures to give the illusion that they are actual photographers. What we soon have is a bunch of women who claim to be models and thus feel superior to people who aren't models. As if modeling has the per-requisites to actually have brains or any other skills. Then they refuse to do any other work because they claim to be models taking pictures in their bathrooms with their blackberry's making a duck face in the mirror. BOOM! time to go duck hunting.

"This will look fabulous on my resume'"

3. DJs

Being a DJ sounds like the easiest most fun thing in the world, you attend parties and you just play music all night. Then possibly get a few chicks to leave with you after sounds like the life doesn't it? Wrong being a DJ is one of the hardest things to do these days. The industry is so saturated with Virtual DJ posers and people who have no sense of rhythm and tone it makes the people who actually hone their craft hard to notice. Seems like in every teenage Bahamian's life there was a DJ phase where they would just mix songs together and play sounds effects over the songs, the proceed to share them on Facebook. When the actual DJs do the opposite, they go out searching foe venues to play at most of the time for free at first, get more known then actually OFFER their services to people planning parties, Bahamians just assume that they will just come looking for you while you chill in your room abusing virtual DJ.

"This is so easy why aren't more people DJs!"

4. Phone Card Re-saleSelling phone cards isn't as big as it was before, literally there was 4 or 5 people on every corner selling cards until they lowered the commission you would make on each sale. Then the unthinkable happened EZ-topup. This god awful system has enabled anyone with a cell phone to sell minutes. So you have people walking around in random shops, clubs, and hangout areas trying to sell you minutes. Although its fine to have it as a side venture but to make it a main job is downright awful. Not only your returns for the effort you put towards it not worth it, you start to lose money after a while if you don't sell enough. Yet everyone seems to be jumping onboard because it seems too good to be true, and it is.

"If only there were Nokia death matches"

 

5. Event Planner

Every weekend you hear about some party from some entertainment group with some razzle frazzle name like "WeArePromisingYouWillGetLaidIfYouPay10Bucks" or something along those lines. Event planning isn't just throwing parties at different locations, you would just be called a great party thrower. Event planing has a very unique art to it only a handful of people can really pull it off. Getting the right caterer, designing the venue, making sure there are enough seats, right amount of activities, marketing, making sure you deliver what the client wants specifically, and the list goes on and on. Seems like every Bahamian wants to be a huge mogul by throwing parties with all sorts of gimmicks like a certain attire you must wear, or if its some time of the year, and sure enough every year the same thing happens and we all fall victim to the wet n mads.

"What a wonderful way to celebrate a great achievement in history, NUDITY"

 

The Immigration Discrimination Situation

There seems to be ALOT of issues with illegal and legal immigrants. The main one being Haitians, being seen as a plague and a parasite to The Bahamas. Although so of the claims are correct, such as Haitians getting completely free health care while Bahamians pay ridiculous prices and horrible conditions at Princess Margaret. Then there's the outlandish, crazy, paranoid, Sandilands view of them. For instance that all Haitians practice "Obeah" which is known to be black magic. To assume that means to assume every Bahamian is Christian or every Bahamian drinks alcohol. As easy it is to blame Haitians for the majority of our problems, it's not fixing anything.. I guess people using black magic can be pretty scary. like Harry Potter movies because you know I can't sleep at night after watching those PG-13 scare fests. Then there's the fact the have hut villages on peoples property and in the back of the bush. Last time I checked we control the land, we have guns, vehicles, man power, so how about we use them? Its pretty common sense, they don't have much places to hide if they really are a hindrance to your daily lives. Legal Haitians aren't safe either, they get as much backlash just for being Haitian decent or speak Creole'. About every other immigrants such as Europeans, South Americans, Asians, and North Americans. Pretty much if they bring money or good looks they are seen as an assets to be exploited. Bahamians as I have known are pretty hardcore we can stand by an lets things happen for a while but when you push us to far we blow up and go balls deep. Sooner or later its going to happen with this situation and there seems to be no end of it, kind of exciting really imagine how much street cred we would get with other countries. Seems like every country is having an uprising I think we are long overdue, the sheer amount of conch shells being thrown through the air in it self would be awesome.

"Hey guys what are we gonna do when they find their own rocks?.......Crap"

Weirdest things Bahamian male teens do

Teenagers are in a tough place where they aren't quite an adult, and not quite a child so there's a lot of confusion and angst. When you hear the word "Teen" anywhere else would think rebellious, moody, confused, and crazy. The male teen population in the Bahamas are on another whole different level, and here's proof.

"My girlfriend of one week left me I loved her, its true it was on facebook and everything"

!. The wholesale purchases of Starch
For some odd reason male teens seem to think their clothes are not nearly hang glider material worthy. Usually when someone irons they spray a little starch to prevent wrinkles or to get rid of wrinkles, but not teenagers we are hardcore. Teens spray down their shirts and pants with so much starch it looks like their clothes were folded and spent a century under 20,000 pounds of pressure. I have no idea where it started or why, and I don't think they know themselves. At some point some kid figured one spray of starch is for pussies, and I am a bad lets go all out. He was probably confused about the application of starch and then went to school with his uniform and his friends thought the paper bag look was hip. The end result was an awkward robotic moving teenagers with starch lines that seem to resemble they were attacked by snails.

"Because just regular starch are for punks, but lavender smells soooooo good"

2. Pants in socks
I have no clue why teenagers even do this. Maybe they didn't want the bottom of their pants to get dirty? Or they love the feeling of having their body heat trapped, and having quarts of sweat slosh around in their under garments. Just putting pants in normal white socks aren't just enough, we have to make it a fashion. Blue socks, Red socks, Brown socks, plaid designs, star designs, checkered designed, multi-colored, a whole array of socks to match the outfit they are wearing. Combined with stiff paper bag starch pants and we have a match made in heaven.

"Nothing expresses teen angst and fashion like socks in pants, plus I love looking like a idiot"

3. Leaving a patch of hair uncut
Getting a haircut is pretty commonplace amongst men, we do it to look good for women, relief from the heat, and get/keep a job. Some rain man of a teen decided I'm a cut above the rest, to display that I will leave a small area of hair uncut.That surely would go over well. The end result was teenagers strolling around with discount haircuts, and very shady looking characters walking around. Oh no it doesn't stop there, some teens figured just one patch wasn't cool and bad ass enough. How about we not cut the whole back of my head and call it a shag, yes a shag the ugly 60s carpet that died along with disco. Oh you thinks that's all? Nope since teenagers are easily influenced by other trends such as locks, not only did they have a patch of outgrown hair but they have started to lock it! So now they have hanging spaghetti strings coming out of their head like some bad Rasta experiment gone wrong.

"I'm ahead of the curve, I'm a trendsetter"

4. Obsession with Polo and Tommy Hilfiger
I like name brands as much as the next guy, but they aren't the only thing in my wardrobe. One step into the mall or a club in the Bahamas you start to notice a trend amongst the younger crowd. They all have on collared shirts! Not only that, they are wearing golfing clothes for everything from dress up day in high school to church. Yes Polo and Tommy Hilfiger were originally designed for the white middle to upper class those who golfed. Granted Bahamian teenagers aren't as silly with their collared shirts as a lot of Americans who flip the collars up like some 1850s Baron. Polo shirts and Starched pants are a must for a night on the town, not like your going to encounter someone wearing the same thing right? Awkwardddddddd.

"Hey ladies am I over stimulating your ovaries yet?"

5.Obviously they are going to return it after wearing it. Keeping the tags on everything.

The act of keeping the tags on clothes after buying them is to return them after wearing them once to look good for that outing. It can be a good idea for a teenager not making much money and only going on allowance, But here's the kicker they have STYLIZED THIS, Bahamian teenagers made it standard to show off the tags to show off that they purchased an article of clothing. Not only do they keep it on their shirts and pants, they have extended it to hats, watches, shoes, shades, and even socks I have witnessed. Imagine everyday you witness this rare oddity of a teen wearing brown bag approved starch pants tucked into socks, tags dangling off of them, and a patch of locked hair on their head. Scary right? Steve Urkle would be proud.

"My badges of honor, I have proof see?"

Irony. Funny in everyway possible

Ironic that obese, diabetic, unhealthy republicans are against free healthcare.

3 Things in Bahamian culture that are crazy to everyone else in the world

Every country has its weird quirks and stigmas that other countries find utterly weird ranging from men holding hands in India being normal to people running from a pack of raging bulls  in narrow streets.

 

"Dude look how jealous they are of our bromance"

1.  Bey we say bey a lot eh bey?

Every country has their own signature word from Jamaica's "Mon" to Mexico's "Ese'." Though we take it a step further usually the younger crowd will use these slang terms but not in the Bahamas everyone from senior citizens to little children say it with no discretion. We say it on TV, Radio, Government meetings, and even on the job. Bey is the equivalent to "dude" in American standards. Although the origins aren't quite clear but we speculate its a spinoff from the word "Boy" which were the slaves were called during the 1900s. When we say it when traveling or when tourist come to visit it takes them by surprise they assume we also say "Mon" because we are Caribbean, its pretty funny to see their faces trying to decipher what your saying. Its a cross between constipation and a bad smell.

 

"What? don't you mean how it go mon?"

2. We have a built in megaphone at birth

You know it, I know it, We all know it, we all have that aunt or uncle or cousin that just doesn't have complete control over their vocal cords. You can hear them while using a jackhammer in the middle of a hurricane. When you travel and you can hear a Bahamian before seeing one most of the time. When we were younger it can be incredibly embarrassing shopping with a loud relative, having everyone stare at you and thinking that they are thinking "who escaped from the asylum this time?" All you can do is walk off pretend that your relative is just some crazy person harassing you about which shirt fits them best.

"HEY WHICH STORE SHOULD WE GO IN NEXT? God please kill me now"

3. Directions are harder than navigating Narnia

Ever asked a Bahamian directions to their house? Good luck not even google maps can save you from the horror. Its a mix from getting a lucky turn that you stumble upon your destination or you have asked for every little detail that you follow it to the dot. Bahamians are bred to take the mismatch of obscure directions chock full of colored houses as an indication you are going the right way. For everyone else you have a better chance at Cloning dinosaurs.Cardinal directions are non existent in our vocabulary instead of saying "head north" its replaced with "when you see a yellow house turn right not the first one the second one with the dog in the yard but don't not the one with the potcake they got a pit." Take that Garmin we don't need your GPS, we should have the delivery man Olympics they are in a league of their own.

"Maybe I should try astrophysics next......"

Journalism at its worst in our own country

I decided to compare the different news sources of the Bahamas and what I found was staggering. I think I will start with the worst I found, Bahamas Press. This news source is by far the most biased, misinformed source I have ever seen. Fox News doesn't even compare. When I visit Bahamas Press I see articles like "Long Islanders cussin as female SISSY FNM campaign worker begs two young girls for sex." Yes this is an actual article they have written. Does this look like objective news to you? Or more like a lobbyist column supporting the PLP? I am not affiliated with any political party in particular, and I know that neither side is innocent from doing this, But why call yourselves "Press" if all you do support the PLP agenda? It pains me as an aspiring Journalist to see this, as these are the people who are suppose to be my seniors in this field. Next is the Tribune although they try to be impartial it seems that they aren't covering their stories completely, and following through. They get the basics of the story and run with it. Which isn't SO bad but lack luster to say the least. The Guardian is one of those papers that try to look and feel super professional, but they kind of slip through the cracks. The way the articles are presented to the way they prioritize certain headlines they seem to fumble. The Punch, c'mon its The Punch what more is there to say?

Vat 'Not Total' Tax Reform Answer Nail on the Proverbial head

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2012/jun/29/vat-not-total-tax-reform-answer/?c=3908

I have to agree with Raymond there are just way too many factors to factor in to balance and check in our unstable economy. It isn't just to generate revenue for now, its to help develop our country's economic strength. Could be a tricky one.

VAT wouldn't really work in the Bahamas at least without some other addendum. Seeing as how we are a Tourism based economy, it can be a real stretch to put a tax on top of a tip for a service provided. Maybe if we limit it to only luxury items purchased in the Bahamas then that would be a great starting point. Government makes money, consumers are less likely to complain because they don't need that good or service to live, and the money earned can pay for a lot of things.