INSIGHT: The growing problem of junk food and obesity
Bahamian athletes taking part in the Commonwealth Games in Australia earlier this month represented - like their fellow competitors - the best of their nation. Amid the training and the competition few would have had time to sit and read a newspaper. If they had, in the columns of The Australian they would have found an article by writer Ruth Ostrow which would have rung many bells. Ruth wrote about the problems of child obesity and its growing impact on developing nations. As Health Minister Duane Sands embarks on a crusade to change Bahamian diets - through education and changing the price of bread basket items - Ruth’s article is worth reading just to know we aren’t alone with obesity crisis The Bahamas faces and how other nations are sharing our experience.
INSIGHT: Britain’s secret biological weapons tests - in The Bahamas
THE little-known fact the country was once used as a site for biological and chemical warfare testing by both American and British governments has resurfaced with local activists drawing links to the need for a functioning Freedom of Information Act.
INSIGHT: Who turned off the lights in Maynard’s head?
BAHAMAS Electrical Utility Managerial Union (BEUMU) president Paul Maynard unleashed a fiery rebuke of the Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) management last week when execs at the utility company said they would be downsizing, effectively making 233 people redundant over an 18-month period.
VIEW FROM AFAR: Liquified gas - a life saver
Finally! Electricity generated from Liquified Natural Gas is on its way to Nassau. It is already being used in Jamaica. The cost benefits have been substantial by reducing the price of electricity. Substantially larger generating capacity is currentl
WORLD VIEW – For a change: Welcome World Bank advice
ATTENDING a World Bank meeting on April 16, I was shocked to hear a senior official of the organisation say that, in addressing fiscal deficits, Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries should not make “shock adjustments”.
POLICE ADVICE: Men are victims of abuse too
IT’S hard for some men to say “I need help”. While the majority of domestic violence victims are women, abuse of men happens far more often than you might expect. Typically, men are physically stronger than women but that doesn’t necessarily make it easier for him to escape the abuse or the relationship. Whatever your circumstances, you can overcome these challenges and escape the violence and abuse.
Hard questions which demand answers
University of The Bahamas Northern Campus has hosted its first Sustainable Grand Bahama conference drawing people from many walks of life including the ministry of Tourism, Environment and Bahamas National Trust, as well as private sector agencies and companies.
INSIGHT: Finding a Bahamian at The Pointe is like playing ‘Where’s Waldo?’
LAST week’s revelations into the lack of native labour representation at New World One Bay St have created quite the punchline. Many concerned citizens across the nation are understandably irate and bewildered as to what the phantom Bahamian labour component is doing on The Pointe’s construction site.
GAIN AN EDGE: Steady hands and a leap of faith
It’s not every day one hears the story of how an undergraduate Bio-Chem major – in pursuit of a career as a cardiothoracic surgeon – is not the optimal choice for the ambitious young heroine, but the story of Candilaria Thompson is just such a story. It’s a story about jumping off cliffs. It’s an adventure story.
INSIGHT: Time for a radical overhaul of our tax system
Bahamians continue to suffocate under the weight of hefty utilities bills, an unnecessarily high cost of living and daunting bureaucratic hurdles to making their own way in the world. The last thing they want to hear is the government intends to oppress them further with the burden of new taxes.
INSIGHT: Welcome to beautiful Cabbage Beach
LARGE piles of bottles, discarded poles, and general trash mar the entrance to Cabbage Beach near the Riu Hotel on Paradise Island.
INSIGHT: The God’s honest truth
One month shy of the current administration wrapping up its first year in government and thus far, there have been few surprises. Many of his critics saw Dr Minnis as ineffective in his capacity as Opposition Leader, both inside his party and the public sphere. Somehow though, he was able to scrape by, barely maintaining control of a party that was miraculously able to galvanise itself at the eleventh hour and win an election that was theirs to lose.
INSIGHT: When what looks like a crisis can become an opportunity
The truth about shanty towns - part 2
In the Bahamas, the irregular communities that we disdainfully refer to as shanty towns are looked upon as a regrettable nuisance, a shameful stain on our national image that must be ‘eradicated,’ as one cabinet minister recently put it.
WORLD VIEW: Trade wars in no one’s interest
THE Government of the People’s Republic of China wrote to the Chairperson of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on April 4, registering a dispute with the Government of the United States of America over duties that would be applied by the US only to China’s products.
GAIN AN EDGE: Breaking the mould - Natalie shows a bit of girl power
Natalie Smith initially wondered how she was perceived. As a Construction Technology major, she stepped into many predominantly male classes at the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI). The reaction and comments from a few peers were indicative of the stereotypical view of certain careers.
