Opposition Boycotts Airport Renaming
By Tameka Lundy




Members of the Opposition Free National Movement did show up on Thursday for the renaming of Nassau International Airport in honour of former Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling.
But the noticeable absence of Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and his colleagues drew the derision of members opposite and even the public who saw the event as one that should have galvanized national harmony.

Prime Minister Perry Christie made subtle references to the opposition’s absence as he addressed the crowd that was eager to see history in the making. He declared that naming the airport Lynden Pindling International was historically correct and perfectly appropriate.

"This is one of those moments in our life as a national family when all Bahamians of whatever racial hue, of whatever political stripe and of whatever social station, should rise above their differences to join hands and hearts in common praise for the father of our nation," he said.

The absence of Mr. Ingraham and his opposition colleagues came as no surprise to many people who had watched intently as he took issue on Wednesday in the House of Assembly with having received his invitation to the event only a day prior to it happening. At that time Mr. Ingraham also took issue with the fact that the invitation enveloppe was addressed to Mrs. Delores Ingraham - his wife - and himself, which was delivered to her.

A protégé of Sir Lynden, Mr. Ingraham said he had no problem with that arrangement but stressed that he should have also received a separate invitation as a Member of Parliament and Leader of the Opposition.

In addressing Mr. Ingraham’s concerns, Aviation Minister Glenys Hanna Martin assured him that the invitations were sent out at least two weeks prior. Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe also suggested that Mr. Ingraham should not to let the matter prevent him from attending the ceremony in Sir Lynden’s honour.

The exchange eventually spiraled into a shouting match with Mr., Ingraham retorting that it was he who took action that lead to Sir Lynden’s image being placed on the one dollar bill.

Whitney Bastian, the Member of Parliament for South Andros - the constituency that Sir Lynden represented for many decades – also indicated that he only received his invitation a day prior to the event occurring. However Mr. Bastian attended the renaming ceremony as did Tennyson Wells, the independent Member of Parliament for Bamboo Town and other members of the House of Assembly and the Senate.

So peeved was the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resorces and Member of Parliament Leslie Miller over the Opposition’s decision to boycott the event that he called in to the Love 97 talk show Issues of The Day.

Mr. Miller also decried the absence of white Bahamians.

"I didn’t see two white Bahamians there either. They never participate in anything meaningful in our country when it comes to black people," he said.

He also sought to champion the legacy that Sir Lynden left taking issue with certain comments that appeared in the print media that focused on the former leader’s shortcomings calling it an "utter disgrace."

In his charismatic way, Sir Lynden led the masses to majority rule, independence, the entrenchment of gender equality and a programme of social security and drove the ‘Bahamianization’ of the labour force.

But he was voted out of power in 1992. He eventually retired from politics and died from prostate cancer in 2000.

I think the bottom line is ..he did some good, he did some bad, he turned his head and ignored some stuff. Ok. I have no problem with honourning him for the good. I just dont think we should white wash and rewrite history, acknowledge he did bad, then we can all move on.

Typical of this government to send out invitations late, and address it to the wife lol. Arent they doing erryting else late (or not at all). Typical of the claiber of civil servants we have here (you know thats who ga get the blame)
I think Hubert said his say in parliment but he should have gone anyway. :shhh: Sometimes we have to bend our standards a little for the greater good.:sarcastic

I think the bottom line is ..he did some good, he did some bad, he turned his head and ignored some stuff. Ok. I have no problem with honourning him for the good. I just dont think we should white wash and rewrite history, acknowledge he did bad, then we can all move on.
Typical of this government to send out invitations late, and address it to the wife lol. Arent they doing erryting else late (or not at all). Typical of the claiber of civil servants we have here (you know thats who ga get the blame)
I think Hubert said his say in parliment but he should have gone anyway. :shhh: Sometimes we have to bend our standards a little for the greater good.:sarcastic

I say no bending THIS TIME! How many times must he bend over backwards and this "childish" government continues to do the same old bull sh!t and expect him to give them a pass to look good? They know the guy have a pair as big as LOP International (pun intended)...and they continue to play these stupid jackazz games! Now that "idiota" Mr M dissing white Bahamians fer not going too! Did they give them an invite? Knowing them, they een give them sh!t!

We have to remember that some Bahamians don't hold Ping up on a pillar...Mr I may be one of them Bahamians! And to add insult to injury, them Jack azzes "dissed" the man by sending the invite to his wife! CHEAP POLITICAL TRICKS!

HELL NO...DON'T GO! SOMEONE NEEDS TO ACT LIKE THEY HAVE A PAIR AROUND HERE!

IF I WAS IN MR INGRAHAM'S PLACE, I WOULD NOT HAVE GONE ON A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE...PERIOD! THIS IS THE SECOND TIME PERRY THEM DISSED THE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICE OF OPPOSITION LEADER! MR INGRAHAM HAS A NATIONAL DUTY TO HOLD THAT OFFICE WITH DIGNITY AND LET NO ONE PISS ON IT! IT MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE!

ANYWAY I AM GOING AWAY IN AN HOUR! I GER DRIVE DOWN HARROLD ROAD AND TAKE JFK DRIVE TO THE NASSAU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND FLY BAHAMASAIR TO MIAMI!

I say no bending! How many times must he bend over backwards and this "childish" government continues to do the same old bull sh!t and expect him to give them a pass?
You have to remember that some Bahamians don't hold Ping up on a pillar...and to add insult to injury them Jack azzes "dissed" the man by sending the invite to his wife! CHEAP POLITICAL TRICKS!
FECK NO....SOMEONE NEEDS TO ACT LIKE THEY HAVE A PAIR AROUND HERE!
IF I WAS IN MR INGRAHAM'S PLACE, I WOULD NOT HAVE GONE...PERIOD! THIS IS THE SECOND TIME PERRY THEM DISSED THE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICE OF OPPOSITION LEADER! IT MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE!
:cutie: :cutie: :cutie: :cutie: :cutie:

I'm not pushing semantics here, but I just found it funny how the Journal said the Opposition "boycotted" when the Opposition members in the House stated clearly that they were not invited, and then Ingraham said he, as Leader of the Opposition was not invited. Later Whitney Bastian chimed in and said he didnt get his invite either till that morning in the House, though others in his constituency were invited both by paper and by personal phone call.

Its all politricks on every end. Because the PLP knew that if they handled the matter like that, Ingraham would not come, and then they would be able to make political hay out of his not coming. SMT.

I just yawn at the whole thing because its all so very silly. On whose watch was Sir Lynden's face put on the $1 bill (the symbol of the nation's economy)in his honor? These dumb political games with the PLP and Ingraham throwing baby rattles from crib to crib are so very tired.

The election will not be won or lost over who shows up to which event. If the PLP loses the election, it wont be because they loved Sir Lynden so much that the nation decided to vote them out. And if the FNM loses the election, it wont be because Ingraham didnt come to the re-naming of the airport.

Give me a break man.

I'm not pushing semantics here, but I just found it funny how the Journal said the Opposition "boycotted" when the Opposition members in the House stated clearly that they were not invited, and then Ingraham said he, as Leader of the Opposition was not invited. Later Whitney Bastian chimed in and said he didnt get his invite either till that morning in the House, though others in his constituency were invited both by paper and by personal phone call.
Its all politricks on every end. Because the PLP knew that if they handled the matter like that, Ingraham would not come, and then they would be able to make political hay out of his not coming. SMT.
I just yawn at the whole thing because its all so very silly. On whose watch was Sir Lynden's face put on the $1 bill (the symbol of the nation's economy)in his honor? These dumb political games with the PLP and Ingraham throwing baby rattles from crib to crib are so very tired.
The election will not be won or lost over who shows up to which event. If the PLP loses the election, it wont be because they loved Sir Lynden so much that the nation decided to vote them out. And if the FNM loses the election, it wont be because Ingraham didnt come to the re-naming of the airport.
Give me a break man.

well what will the election be won on then?

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Mr. Dumb as a brick Miller also decried the absence of whitey Bahamians.
"I didn’t see two white arse Bahamians there either. They never participate in anything meaningful in our country when it comes to black people," he said.
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hey dummarse .. i didnt get a freakin invitation ...:hammer:

I'm not pushing semantics here, but I just found it funny how the Journal said the Opposition "boycotted" when the Opposition members in the House stated clearly that they were not invited, and then Ingraham said he, as Leader of the Opposition was not invited. Later Whitney Bastian chimed in and said he didnt get his invite either till that morning in the House, though others in his constituency were invited both by paper and by personal phone call.
Its all politricks on every end. Because the PLP knew that if they handled the matter like that, Ingraham would not come, and then they would be able to make political hay out of his not coming. SMT.
I just yawn at the whole thing because its all so very silly. On whose watch was Sir Lynden's face put on the $1 bill (the symbol of the nation's economy)in his honor? These dumb political games with the PLP and Ingraham throwing baby rattles from crib to crib are so very tired.
The election will not be won or lost over who shows up to which event. If the PLP loses the election, it wont be because they loved Sir Lynden so much that the nation decided to vote them out. And if the FNM loses the election, it wont be because Ingraham didnt come to the re-naming of the airport.
Give me a break man.

I am feeling like you do at this point...I wan give that "rattle" to Ben Ladin to keep so them "bozos" could stop hurtin we heads with all they none issues back and forth all over the place...as you say.

I know if I give it to that BL fella they een ger get it back...hell, even GWB's army can't bring it back to them...damn, they been lookin fer that guy so long now! They won't know where to start looking!:sarcastic

I honestly believe that this election will be more so decided on real national issues rather than some notion of who missed what or love whom! The election of 2002 gave a brife indication of the possibility of it being done so! Both parties seemed to be "feeling" for that old formular of smoke and mirrors to decide this go around! Maybe it is because the old guard has little handle on what the Bahamian people have become...mostly a new breed not loyal to any one political master or personality!:shhh:

Quite frasnkly, I am getting disgusted with the whole mess myself!:cutie:

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Mr. Dumb as a brick Miller also decried the absence of whitey Bahamians.
"I didn’t see two white arse Bahamians there either. They never participate in anything meaningful in our country when it comes to black people," he said.
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hey dummarse .. i didnt get a freakin invitation ...:hammer:

They never participate in anything meaniful ey? Boy Darold could talk some good caca. Correct me if I'm wrong, but um, all of the founders of the PLP wasnt NEGROES...

How many of those white folk, as he mentioned, were even invited? Heck the Leader of the Opposition een get no invite so I know Mr. and Mrs. "caucasian" mussy get left off the list too ey? SMT.

This administration is too darn petty when it comes to things like this man. No matter what, they will say and do things that seek to divide rather than unite. Its their strength at this point so they think - pit black against white, rich against poor - the classical BASE political game. Leslie Miller was the one from the administration anyway, who went off about white people not being there...

This is the thing about the hypocrisy of the renaming event that was supposed to "unite" as the Journal jokingly put. The government played politics with the invites, then turns around and insults white Bahamians - but yet this was the "cant we all just get along' event of 2006.

If its truly about Sir Lynden, let it be about him and quit trying to grasp at the same old 1960's straws you hope will stir up the emotions of voters you are trying to goad!!

SMT!!!!!

happy independence to you and yours, too!

all of these useless emotional fireworks over the largely ceremonial renaming of what's left of a soon-to-be-condemned building whose bathrooms don't even carry toilet paper or handsoap most of the time? man, nassau knows how to throw an ironic celebration of independence party, eh? rename an outhouse, send the invites out the day before, and wander around sipping cheap wine wondering where everyone else gone off for the weekend :taped2:.

and honest now, why WOULD a conchy joe show up for the ribbon ceremony? seems to me that white bahamians, whether rich or poor, get scapegoated every single election cycle ... can anyone tell me when the next airing of "roots" is set for ZNS?

happy independence to you and yours, too!
all of these useless emotional fireworks over what's left of a soon-to-be-condemned building whose bathrooms don't even carry toilet paper or handsoap most of the time?
man, nassau knows how to throw an ironic celebration of independence party, eh? rename an outhouse, send the invites out the day before, and wander around sipping cheap wine wondering where everyone else gonef for the weekend :taped2:.
and honest now, why WOULD a conchy joe show up for the ribbon ceremony? seems to me that white bahamians, whether rich or poor, get scapegoated every single election cycle ... can anyone tell me when the next airing of "roots" is set for ZNS?

he he..good one gyal! Now THATS whats up!:hammer:

"ANYWAY I AM GOING AWAY IN AN HOUR! I GER DRIVE DOWN HARROLD ROAD AND TAKE JFK DRIVE TO THE NASSAU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND FLY BAHAMASAIR TO MIAMI!"

LOL LOL LOL :bouncy: I like that!!


Besides no toilet paper and soap,
usually when a toilet is out of order they simply place an "out of order' sign on the door, but Nassau In'tl (N.I.A)..... SORRY, S.L.O.P. Airport gat a new thing, they put a black garbage bag over the entire thing, really attractive, every woman should have a little black cocktail dress or every man should have a tux!!!!

"ANYWAY I AM GOING AWAY IN AN HOUR! I GER DRIVE DOWN HARROLD ROAD AND TAKE JFK DRIVE TO THE NASSAU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND FLY BAHAMASAIR TO MIAMI!"
LOL LOL LOL :bouncy: I like that!!
Besides no toilet paper and soap,
usually when a toilet is out of order they simply place an "out of order' sign on the door, but Nassau In'tl (N.I.A)..... SORRY, S.L.O.P. Airport gat a new thing, they put a black garbage bag over the entire thing, really attractive, every woman should have a little black cocktail dress or every man should have a tux!!!!

Pardon my ignorance..lol..gee I didnt know that the airport was that ghetto! I dont travel through the International part at all so I wouldnt know first hand.:eek:

Pardon my ignorance..lol..gee I didnt know that the airport was that ghetto! I dont travel through the International part at all so I wouldnt know first hand.:eek:


last i flew nassau to north eleuthera via southern air, the overhead intercom system was out .... so we were told to check in with the bartender as to departure time of the flight (there were thunderstorms that were holding us up). why a southern air employee couldn't just walk through the terminal to where we were sitting wasn't made clear ;-). what made the scene very, very funny was the fact that the bartender kept disappearing for his twenty-minute break.

i had three friends visiting at the time, who were quite surprised to note that tiny saint vincent's mud floor airport was more sophisticated in terms of communication.

happy independence to you and yours, too!
all of these useless emotional fireworks over the largely ceremonial renaming of what's left of a soon-to-be-condemned building whose bathrooms don't even carry toilet paper or handsoap most of the time? man, nassau knows how to throw an ironic celebration of independence party, eh? rename an outhouse, send the invites out the day before, and wander around sipping cheap wine wondering where everyone else gone off for the weekend :taped2:.
and honest now, why WOULD a conchy joe show up for the ribbon ceremony? seems to me that white bahamians, whether rich or poor, get scapegoated every single election cycle ... can anyone tell me when the next airing of "roots" is set for ZNS?

Yep, why go out of their way to be insulted to their face when their time and efforts could be better used by working their jobs, supporting their families, being a productive member of society etc. and thereby let the race games of bahamian politics go on without hinderance (in the context of 'what if there was a war and no-one showed up?'). Surely, the SLOPIA ceremony should take second place to family and salary.

Yep, why go out of their way to be insulted to their face when their time and efforts could be better used by working their jobs, supporting their families, being a productive member of society etc. and thereby let the race games of bahamian politics go on without hinderance (in the context of 'what if there was a war and no-one showed up?'). Surely, the SLOPIA ceremony should take second place to family and salary.

White Bahamians are mostly asked to DONATE, seldom SPECTATE, but never to PARTICIPATE in Bahamian events! Check the newspaper...The only pictures you see of white bahamians are in the obits or when they are donating something!!! White Bahamian names on the top of "begging" lists, but not on the invitation lists!