WeblogBahamas.com

More on the proposed Economic Summit for The Bahamas

by Rick Lowe

As mentioned here... Lynden Nairn is attempting to pull off an economic summit in an effort to find ways to diversify the Bahamas economy.

Here's a brief outline from Mr. Nairn:

Newspaper Headlines 4 Years Ago & Headines Today

by Rick Lowe

A friend sent the text below in an e-mail today.

The headlines are as wrong today as they were right four years ago.

But of course only the right wing press are ideologues and biased. The left wing press are simply reporting the news. Right?

Headlines On This Date 4 Years Ago:

"Republicans spending $42 million on inauguration while troops Die in unarmored Humvees"

An Economic Summit for The Bahamas?

by Rick Lowe

A local accountant, Mr. Lynden Nairn, is attempting to organise an Economic Summit in an effort to find ways to "diversify" the economy of The Bahamas.

On the surface, I think it's a great idea to get business people together to brainstorm on what they might do to help get economic growth moving in a positive direction again.

Looking for ways to encourage the government to do something in that regard would be a mistake.

Lessons in Freedom: The Genesis of Tyranny

by Tibor R. Machan

One of my neighbors has built a small shed next to her home, maybe 8x8X8, if that much. Its not connected to her house. Indeed, it is nearly invisible from the outside--you must actually be snooping in order to get a decent look at it. The purpose of it, I have been told, is to store a stroller and some other objects associated with her young children. It couldn't possible be a hazard to anyone near or far.

Nonetheless a neighbor of hers down the street, roughly 120 yards from her on the other side, snitched on her, calling the local county authorities and reporting that not everything about the shed is in full compliance with what the planners like. By doing this our nasty neighbor will have imposed several thousand dollars worth of totally useless expense on the family that built the shed.

Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

by Rick Lowe

Whenever we visit South Florida we make every effort to visit the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach Florida.

It is an amazing piece of Florida's fabulous Everglades.

Here is a photo I took on a recent trip.

Hope you enjoy it.

Lessons in Freedom: “Our” ambitions?

by Tibor R. Machan

In his inaugural address our new president averred that “Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions—who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.”

I take some exception to Mr. Obama’s implicit assertion that what matters in a good society is that there be some kind of large scale ambition afoot, some sort of big plan.  Frankly, it smacks to me of those famous Five Year Plans that the Soviet Union was constantly rolling out and conscripting everyone to serve.  Usually these “big plans” are not of our making at all but only those of some of us, a few who take it upon themselves to speak for everyone, who imagine that they can forge such collective endeavors without really consulting us at all.

More political intrigue in The Bahamas

by Rick Lowe

In recent weeks the Loyal Opposition in The Bahamas, the Progressive Liberal Party has been on a rapid decline.

First they lost the last Election Court case they had filed in relation to the Pleasant Bridgewater vs Zhivargo Laing.

Second, one of their former members come Independent Member of Parliament, defected to the ruling governing Free National Movement.

And third, Ms. Pleasant Bridgewater resigned her Senate post as a result of John Travolta's allegations of extortion surrounding the recent death of his son Jett in Freeport, Grand Bahama, where Ms. Bridgewater is a practicing lawyer.

To top it off, there are rumours of more possible defections from the PLP's ranks, not to mention the apparent in fighting among the party's so called leaders.

Lessons in Freedom: The Celebrated vs. The Obscure

by Tibor R. Machan

It bothered me a bit when President Obama said, in his inaugural address, that “it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things—some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom” because, well, I am not sure how broad his categories are.  After all, I am a doer of sorts, as I produce books, teach my students, write my columns, organize my conferences and so forth.  But perhaps these don’t qualify as “doing” something. Do they involve taking risks?  Sure—in the career of most writers, both fiction and non-fiction, much time is spent on crafting sentences, paragraphs, and chapters with no assurance that anyone will read these, that they will see the light of day in a publication, that reviewers—assuming there will be any—will have the slightest appreciation for what one has labored to produce.  The teaching people like me do is also rather risky since all that work, albeit usually paid for, may simply be ignored by one’s students, the subjects covered merely skimmed if even that.  Once again, one risks wasting one’s energy, intelligence, learning on doing what will not be appreciated very much at all.

More on the alleged attempt to extort Trovolta

The plot thickens...

Aphrodite's Child - Song of the week - January 26, 2009 - The Four Horsemen

I've got to say that 666 by Aphrodite's Child is one of the most eclectic albums in my collection. It's a double album, released in 1971, and contains some great tracks.

Two of the "stars" from the album are Vangelis Papathanassiou, who composed, arranged and produced the LP and Demis Roussos, who played bass and sang backing vocals. In fact Roussos handled the vocals on The Four Horsemen below.

Wait  for the jam about half way through. Hope you enjoy it.