A satisfied tourist

Dear Editor,

I've just returned from a blissful, exciting, invigorating, refreshing and totally awesome seven-day trip to a place that, after three days, felt so comfortable that I wanted more.  The definition of ambassador was exemplified by the locals in that country in a way I've never seen and/or experienced before.  As a military brat, I have traveled and lived all over the world.  But until October 24, I had never traveled to the Caribbean - in particular, Nassau, Bahamas.
The definition of ambassador is: 1. An authorized representative or messenger; b) an unofficial representative traveling abroad as ambassadors of goodwill.
From the time I stepped off the plane in Nassau, as I walked through the long corridor leading up to baggage claim eyeing the Wall of Fame of beautiful female and male athletes; to the airline attendant who immediately knew my name when I asked about my lost luggage (I thought it was lost, but it wasn't); to the wonderful host, Dr. Ebbie Jackson, who sponsored a Women's Retreat at the beautiful, newly renovated SuperClubs Breezes Resort, I felt the spirit of ambassadorship everywhere I went.
Of course I realize Nassau, Bahamas is a tourism 'hot spot.'  Tourism is an emerging economic driver and one would expect its people to be kind to tourists.  As someone who's worked in community, small business and economic development in Georgia for many years, I get it.  I also recognize that there are bad elements and crime in every city.  But it's not necessary to totally focus on the negative.
But as each day passed, my mind kept visualizing how my hometown would look, feel, be seen as, or be known as if everyone became an ambassador.  It's so easy to focus on the negative, dwell on, complain and do absolutely nothing about it.  The rants that appear in our daily newspaper and one of the local weekly newspapers are sprinkled with negative comments, attitudes and opinions every day.
There have been many conversations about CEOs who wish to locate to Augusta and how their decisions are made based on what they perceive the culture and fabric of the city to be by things they read written by locals.
I rode the bus about five times during my stay.  For $1.25, wonderful bus riders greet everyone with a "hello" or "good morning/afternoon" when they get on; and I remember the bus driver who loves to talk about the tourist sites, night spots and their beautiful beaches - it was money well spent.
Everywhere you go, the locals love to ask, "Is this your first visit to Nassau?"  I sense that they really love to hear when someone says they've been to their country before.  I have to admit, I grew weary of saying it was "my first time" because the looks on their faces were a little shocked.  So, naturally I must hurry back so that I can respond to that question and say, "No, this is my second time in your beautiful country."
Being greeted with a smile or a hello from construction workers, waiters, bus drivers, domestic workers and everyone else you can think of was the norm.  I thought everyone is an ambassador for their country here in The Bahamas.  Why can't we do that in Augusta or wherever your hometown is?  Someone may say, "Well Helen, since The Bahamas is a tourism country, the locals have a reason or vested interest in benefitting from being nice, kind, accommodating, thoughtful, happy, and genuinely interested in you being in their country because it's stimulating the economy and businesses, thus creating jobs."
And I would say yes, that is true.  But think about it.  Your hometown may not be a tourist destination. Your economic driver may be nuclear energy, alternative energy, medical, technology, call centers, military installations or many others.  But consider this?  Who are tourists?  They are simply people, CEOs, or families who represent these industries who come to visit and/or live in your hometown.  These individuals attend your schools, churches, restaurants, cultural centers, museums, performing arts theaters and so much more.  They spend money in your hometown.
So if they're coming to your hometown, you, as a local, have a vested interest - an increased tax base, new small business development, and a stronger economy, which benefits the entire community.  I thought about this concept every day I spent in Nassau.  It resonated so much that I had to write this blog to share with you.
It's all about the people.  It's people who run and manage businesses.  It's people who work for these businesses.  It seems to me that everyone who plays a role in being an ambassador for their hometown creates a win-win situation.  Yes, I know someone reading this is saying, "Helen this is too idealistic."  I beg to differ.
I witnessed this concept in action for seven days.  My experience was beautiful beaches, great weather.  Even with the rain a couple of days it was amazing watching the work ethic of the working people; unbelievable hospitality everywhere I went - a hello and a smile; luxurious resorts and condos; live music; a beautiful woman who served me, my two girlfriends and several other women a four-course Bahamian meal on her best china like the way you see in the movies; gospel music playing on every bus I rode on; and knowledgeable people who knew what was going on in their city with all the growth and development taking place.
I certainly can't leave out the gorgeous Bahamian men and women and the dedicated police officers.
I'd like to challenge you to become an ambassador of your hometown for 30 days and watch what can happen.  All you have to do is simply say hello to everyone you greet, smile more, say something positive about your hometown, no matter what it is, and then watch for a transformation that could make an impact on you, your family and your hometown's economic stability for many years to come.
I absolutely fell in love with Nassau, Bahamas and have every intention of visiting again soon.  I have no doubt that when I return, someone is going to tell me, "Welcome home Helen."  I look forward to that too.
 
Yours, etc.,
Helen Blocker-Adams

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The Big Year

• Genre : Comedy
• Rating : TBC - To Be Classified

Three avid bird watchers compete to spot the rarest birds in North America at a prestigious annual event....

A legacy of great artists

As a film medium, documentaries can inspire as well as surprise and incite but above all they inform their audiences about marginalized stories. It's a powerful form of film that in the right hands becomes a work of art able to transform the very spirit of its viewers.Such is the medium used by the American filmmaking duo Karen Arthur and Thomas Neuwirth who have set out to share the inspiring stories of Bahamian artists. Through their first 2008 documentary,"Artists of The Bahamas", and following films"Brent Malone: Father of Bahamian Art", released in 2010, and most recently "Amos Ferguson: Match Me If You Can" which just earned the Bahamas International Film Festival's "First Look" award the pair have been paying tribute to the master artists who have shaped the foundation of Bahamian art history.

"We just totally fell madly in the love with The Bahamas and we were just at a time in our lives when we were kind of semi-retired and we were looking for a new challenge," says Arthur. "We decided we would do documentaries, for it's an area where the two of us with our expertise combined could do this together."

Indeed the couple are no strangers to film. They've been in the industry for 40 years, and ever since they met in the early 1980s, they've been filming dramatic movies and miniseries under Arthur Productions, Inc. with Arthur as director and Neuwirth as the director of photography.

It wasn't until they moved to The Bahamas six years ago that they came across Bahamian art at The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas and decided to share it with the world. Though the heavily contemporary exhibition they viewed inspired them, they searched extensively for artwork by"master"artists. Finding little more than a single book on the founding fathers of Bahamian art, they decided their documentary would focus on uncovering and featuring these artists.

"We wanted the seminal artists for that particular picture the artists who set this whole thing in motion,"explains Neuwirth.

"We were reaching for the masters," adds Arthur. "Who is the Picasso, the Michelangelo, who are those Bahamian counterparts?"

After consulting with the late Bahamian art collector Vincent D'Aguilar about who he considered to be master artists of The Bahamas, the pair set out to earn the trust of 12 local artists for their documentary. Forming Island Films, they released"Artists of The Bahamas"in 2008 which explored the lives and work of Amos Ferguson, Kendal Hanna, Max Taylor, Brent Malone, Dave Smith, Eddie Minnis, Stan Burnside, Jackson Burnside, Antonius Roberts, John Beadle and John Cox.

The film was a major achievement in the local visual art world, creating a buzz locally and abroad as it traveled. The pair did face criticism, however, for showcasing only the male artists. When Arthur noticed D'Aguilar had only selected men, she being a feminist and the first woman in America to get a female director's card fought him, but he wouldn't budge.

"We would be insane to think we could walk into a country and know who's a great artist, and that's why we went to Vincent. The only thing I fought was for the women," says Arthur. "It's fair criticism. There were none of the level of these men, especially in the very early days, not working on that scale or with that consistency or with the level of skill these men had day after day after day."

"What I say to women is you have a template in our film here, so follow the template and make a film about female Bahamian artists."

Despite this, the pair continued on, for they had only begun to uncover the surface of the stories and work by these individuals. With grants from the Cable Cares Foundation, they set out to make a series of documentaries that take a deeper look at each featured artist in their original film.

They began with Brent Malone, the only artist who, at the time of "Artists of The Bahamas", had already passed. Thanks to efforts by his daughter Marysa Malone, they were able to pay tribute to the artist named "Father of Bahamian Art".

"We felt we had missed the great adventure of getting to know Brent Malone," says Arthur. "We thought, how can we do him a service now because he's not around to speak for himself?"

"A father means not that you started everything but that you took care of everything. He was selfless in that way. He gave artists a forum when nobody had a forum. In that sense, he fathered Bahamian art and that's why he garnered that title."

The film"Brent Malone: Father of Bahamian Art"was a gorgeous achievement, weaving together his life story and the memories of those whose lives he touched with his breathtaking paintings.

Soon thereafter, with another grant from Cable Cares and with significant help from Ferguson's family and niece, Loraine Bastian, they embarked on a documentary about Amos Ferguson. Though he had passed, the pair got to know him during the making of their original documentary.

"We had numberous meetings with him where we just sat and talked and watched him paint so that he would feel comfortable with our presence no camera involved, just the three of us," says Neuwirth.

The resulting documentary,"Amos Ferguson: Match Me If You Can"was another breathtaking production that followed the life and artistic practice of the intuitive artist who became a worldwide phenomenon through the spirit of his paintings.

"Amos had a purity and a quality of color. I responded to his childlike application to the Bahamian folklore. I learned something about The Bahamas every time in Amos's paintings," says Arthur.

The film premiered at the "Master Artists of The Bahamas" exhibition in Waterloo, Iowa, and then again at the 2011 Bahamas International Film Festival, where it earned their First Look Award.

It's certainly not over in fact, their toughest challenge lies in their next documentary which will feature the life and work of Jackson Burnside who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year. Both Jackson and his wife Pam had been major supporters of Island Films, and it was Jackson who coaxed an interview for the pair out of Amos Ferguson, so they had formed close professional and personal relationships over their time in Nassau.

"Jackson Burnside is going to be a great challenge to us because of all the films we've made. Jackson was a very dear friend,"says Arthur."Jackson was so eclectic, and he was such a renaissance man. His tribute is going to be so much more diversified because that's who he was."

No matter the film, however, the goal remains the same: to introduce local and international audiences to the ways these artists lived their lives and lived for their art, what inspired them to pick up their brushes and how their legacies live on through the artists they taught and communities they touched. With Arthur's vision and Neuwirth's eye, they capture and weave the threads of their stories through those who knew and loved them and the stories they told through their work.

"What we try to do every time is try to find a different way of using visual filmic elements of nature and finding ways to connect it to paintings themselves,"explains Arthur."I knew from day one we were going to open Amos'film in the clouds with his angel paintings and with the choir, and I knew we were going to end that way. I knew we were going to address his relationship with God because it was a seminal part of him."

"I knew Brent gave Junkanoo its voice in art so that's why we started with that, and with Jackson we think we'll address his tangents in his storytelling," she continues. "Each artist helps you because you understand kind of where they're coming from, and then you begin to dream for the film structure prior to the film shooting."

It's certainly a change of pace for the pair who worked with huge crews and budgets in major Hollywood productions, but with their combined experience and close relationship, they're able to produce equally breathtaking films.

"It's very very tedious work when you're trying to find the silver bullets in everything your interviewees say and being able to coordinate that with other people on the same related subject," says Neuwirth. "It's more tedious than a scripted movie."

It's also quite an achievement, points out Neuwirth, because the pair came completely from the outside to a particularly enclosed and tight-knit community of creative people. It took several months to create the right contacts and convince local artists that they were not trying to take advantage of them that they were in fact serious professionals who were so inspired by local work that they wanted to elevate it through their own artistic craft.

Indeed, the pair has done a great service for Bahamian art, recording its very important and auspicious beginnings in fascinating documentaries that have reached global audiences.

"We're trying to put this thing on the planet that can be sent all over the world, that is representative of the great important art being made in The Bahamas. That is important to me,"says Arthur."We can do our tiny drop in a bucket to help put them on a planet that they so deserve. That was the original instigation with'Artists of The Bahamas'and it continues to be."

The effects have been tremendous and far reaching. In fact, their inaugural documentary has recently inspired a historical first"Master Artists of The Bahamas", a visual art exhibition dedicated to these 11 local artists at the Waterloo Center for the Arts in Waterloo, Iowa, which opened earlier this year. Through that, a student from Iowa, inspired by sculptures by Antonius Roberts, traveled to The Bahamas to engage in a short artist's residency, promoting cultural exchange. Indeed, further major effects emerging from the impact of these films that could significantly raise the profile of Bahamian art may still lie in waiting.

Locally, too, the filmmakers have a goal to educate and inspire Bahamians with their own cultural history. To that effect, they continue to struggle to get these three films into schools and to be shown on local cable channels, for their aim is to provide this education for free. It's the only way the legacies by these master artists can live on inspiration and creativity are powerful tools to build up communities, and that's what the pair hopes to accomplish as they continue on the new filmmaking chapter of their lives.

"I think it's important when a child is exposed to art. When they watch this and see that somebody coming from very little can achieve their dream, no matter what it may be, it's hope," explains Neuwirth. "That's what makes me happy about these three films. There's so much need for hope in this country."

"So much of this history needs to be passed on," agrees Arthur. "Bahamians need Bahamian heroes. That's why whether you're an artist or an aviator, whoever you are as a hero, you elevate. It can't just be taught through Junkanoo it can't be the be-all and end-all. Humans beings achieve in so many other ways."

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A reflection on Robert Kennedy's Presentation and its Bearing on the Country

Dear Editor,
The room was packed at The College of The Bahamas on Monday, January 21 at 11 a.m. when Robert Kennedy Jr. addressed students, staff and faculty of the college as well as interested persons from the wider community.

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When love hurts

Seven years into the marriage she thought would last a lifetime, Jane Doe's (name changed) husband delivered the first blow. From what she remembers, prior to that first incident of spousal abuse, he had flown into a jealous rage. Like most women, she did not leave -- at least -- not for 26 years because they had a child. During the marriage that lasted more than two decades, she says she suffered abuse that ranged from verbal to physical.
She has sported black eyes, had her lips split and been beaten black and blue and called everything from slut to whore. He hit her so hard one time her jaw locked. Laughing at the memory, she said she had to because if she didn't she would cry.
"Looking back at it, you only could laugh. Back then it was serious, but now ..."
As she went about in public she hid behind big, dark shades and slathered on the makeup. She had to hide the bruises
"I disguised myself," said the 40-something Jane Doe who describes herself as an actor, as she appeared in the public year-after-year by her husband's side, with bruises she kept hidden to protect his reputation.
"I was the lowest paid movie star there was. I couldn't let the public know what was happening because you lose their respect in some instances; so I had to keep it all in for many years. You see people walking around here with a smile on their face, and in some cases, they're holding and carrying a lot of scars. The airport doesn't have anything on them with luggage. You just tote it around, and you can't say anything."
The Does were divorced in March 2011, after separating in August 2009. Jane Doe worked up the courage to leave after she had finally endured one too many beatings.
The "straw that broke the camel's back" she says was the last time he hit her, when her husband made the beatings she'd endured in private public.
"What made it really bad was that it was done outside the home and he took all my good stuff ... all of my good clothing and threw them outside into the front yard. That did it for me. Plus the fact that our daughter had left home and gotten married, I said it was time to go."
The public debacle and with their daughter grown and out of the house, she says cemented for her that she needed to leave before she ended up dead. The one thing she did not want to become was a murder statistic.
To date, 16 women have been murdered this year.
The Bahamas Crisis Centre provides services to people who are victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. It aims to promote the safety and healing of survivors and their families According to the Centre's website, millions of women are physically, sexually, or emotionally abused every year by someone they know and love -- their husband or partner. And that it happens to women of all ages, races, religions and income levels.
Information on the site says domestic violence includes hitting, slapping, pushing, cursing, hurting, threatening, denying freedom and withholding money.
"A beating is never a good feeling. It was more or less a shock when it first happened... It was devastating."
After the initial beating she says he did not hit her again for a few months. But after the second beating, she says he beat her at least once a month over the years.
Even though she knew it wasn't right, she says she stayed.
In an effort to appease her husband, so that he did not abuse her, Jane Doe says she threw herself into his activities to try to please him. She stood by his side at press conferences and appearances to promote their initiative that involved mentoring children.
"I tried not to tick him off."
But she says he got jealous if she went to church and accused her of sleeping with members. If she left home and stayed too long, she said he would call her cell phone and tell her to get home.
"He always wanted me in his sights because he thought I was talking to somebody or somebody was trying to get to me. And if he saw me doing something for somebody, or planning an event or something, and it wasn't his event, that's another thing. And that's when it really starts and the blows would start. I was supposed to do whatever he wanted and not have a life of my own."
The couple's daughter witnessed the abuse in some instances. During those times when she didn't physically witness her father beating her mother, Jane Doe said the daughter would see the bruises from the beatings.
"My daughter would come in and see him beating me and she would cry out and say 'stop hitting mommy', but the rage would have just taken him over. When my daughter was younger, I tried to find things to take her mind off what she saw because they tend to forget... I mean they don't forget, but if you keep their minds occupied with other things... I tried to flip the script more or less so they would forget about it. I made excuses. But as she grew older, she knew it wasn't what mommy was saying. After she went off to college, it was a little better because she wasn't there to witness the beatings."
The product of a two-parent home, Jane Doe says she stayed for as long as she did because she wanted the same upbringing for her daughter that she'd had.
"I knew what it was to have parents who cared for me. I wanted the same for my child. And I took my marriage vows seriously and wanted it to last. I wanted us to grow old together in the same home and become grandparents."
Notwithstanding what she had to endure, she says her husband was a good father.
"He was an excellent father, and an excellent husband to a degree, but a lot of people can't handle fame. They can't handle reaching to the top."
When she looks back at her marriage to the popular member of society, she says there may have been a whole lot of bad, but there was some good.
Now that she's out of the abusive relationship, looking back, she says she would have left earlier.
Her advice to other women facing similar situations of abuse is to do what she did and get out. She says women have to know who they are and what they want. And while it took her many years to make the break, Jane Doe says she did it and that many women aren't as lucky as she is. She says the first beating is always a sign and that if it happens once, it will happen again.
"If they do it once, they will do it a second time. If it happens once, nip it in the bud because you never know ... one of these times may be fatal. And that was my thought on the very last time it happened to me -- it was that I might not wake up, so I wanted to get out while the getting out's good."
Because of the high profile image she and her spouse endured, she says she had no one to confide in, and he didn't want her to have friends.
"When you're in the spotlight you can't say much because people tend not to believe you and then because of the kind of character he displayed on the outside, no one would have believed it."
She says she tried to confide in two people who did not believe her because of who her husband was.
She says she also visited the police approximately 28 times to make complaints, but said nothing happened due to who her husband was.
"Not until I actually went there (the station) one day and sat there, that some good Samaritan stepped in and helped. People protect who they want, especially the 'high-falutin' superstars' as I call them."
And she preferred not to involve her family members in her marriage because they too held her husband in high esteem. She also did not believe in airing her family's business outside the walls of their home.
"When you go to that altar you say for better or for worse, and you don't want anyone taking sides, and my family would definitely take my side. I never wanted anyone involved. If there's an argument we dealt with it."
She says she has never really spoken in-depth with her daughter about the abuse -- not even after she became an adult and was married herself.
"She's found someone, and [abuse] is definitely a no-no. She is happy in her life, and I don't want to overshadow it with my dark clouds."
But if her daughter is ever the victim of spousal abuse, Jane Doe says she would want her to come to her, even though she didn't go to her own family.
"I would definitely want her to come and say what is what. Depending on the nature of it, I may step in, as well as I may just coach from the back, but I definitely don't want anyone to go through that because I don't think a relationship is supposed to be like that. It's supposed to be something where both of you shouldn't have to govern what you say to each other and [have to watch] what you say. It should always be an open something. It should always be something fun and you could crack a joke with each other and be able to laugh and have a good time, rather than always being scared to feel that something I would say could trigger a beating. Sometimes I would see guys and say boy they fit hey, or they in good shape, and I would get it all right. But he could comment on how a female looks."
They're officially divorced, but Jane Doe says her ex-husband still calls and says nasty things to her and she sees him constantly driving past her home.
She says she actually got the courage to leave as a result of being a member of one of those very same service organizations. She was a part of the organization for more than a decade, but was only able to travel with them to an international convention for the first time in May 2011.
With 2012 on the horizon and the rest of her life ahead of her, Jane Doe says she's living her life, happy that she's not a part of the murder statistics.
Her advice to women being abused is to get out.
"The first beating is always a sign that they will always come back and do it again. If they do it once they will do it a second time. If it happens once, nip it in the bud because you never know. One of these times it may be fatal, and that was my thought on it. The very last time, I said I may not wake up. So get out while the getting out's good, and have someone you can confide in, which I didn't have, which I've learned from."
When leaving an abusive relationship, the Crisis Centre advises that the abused call the center at 328-0922 for help as counselors can assist with a safety plan.

When you have decided to leave, they advise that you pack a bag and leave it with a friend or neighbor, and to make sure that you pack extra clothes. If you have children, pack their favorite toy. And to keep an extra set of house and car keys outside of the house in case you have to leave in a hurry.
Important documents that you should take with you include birth certificates, any medication and health insurance papers, check and/or savings books, passports, pay slips and any court papers.

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Cyberstalking: A new challenge for the workplace

Can you imagine your life without the use of the internet or a cellphone?  Probably not!  Emails and other electronic devices have become such critical vehicles for communicating and doing business, that it is hard to imagine how we ever lived without them. Unfortunately, as great as the Internet and other electronic devices may be, they have also become vehicles for scams, viruses and more recently in the workplace, a tool used by employees to engage in character assassination of each other via social networks, online harassment and cyberstalking.
Last week I sat in horror and listened as one of my international clients relayed a story that was so mind blowing, I felt like I was watching a cloak-and-dagger espionage movie!  Obviously the story is too long to relay in this forum, but here is the abridged version.  My client was a victim of email spoofing!  Exactly!  I didn't know what is was either but apparently email spoofing "is the forgery of an email header so that the message appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source."  In other words someone could send an email pretending to be you, and the receiver would have no reason to believe that it was not you, because the sender would be using your email address!  Yep it could happen!  Needless to say my client was in the hot seat and almost lost her job when she was confronted by the president of the company for supposedly sending mass emails to the entire staff highlighting the fact that he (the president) was "clueless, incompetent, lacked vision and was running the company into the ground."  Luckily for my client, someone in the information technology department decided to run a trace on the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the email and was able to track it to its real sender - a disgruntled employee who was recently demoted - go figure!
Having been a victim of online harassment and cyberstalking myself recently, (and for those of you who may not know what cyberstalking is, ladies and gentlemen "cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization. It may include false accusations, monitoring, making threats, identity theft, damage to data or equipment, the solicitation of minors for sex, or gathering information in order to harass.  The definition of 'harassment' must meet the criterion that a reasonable person, in possession of the same information, would regard it as sufficient to cause another reasonable person distress." Wikipedia) I knew exactly what my client was going through.
So this week I interviewed Royal Bahamas Police Force Cyber Crimes guru, Sergeant Dale Strachan, to shed some light on this growing problem.  Here is what he had to say:
Question: Have you seen a rise in cyber crimes in The Bahamas, for example on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks?
Answer: Yes. We have seen a rise in cyber crime in the following areas:
i. Threats of harm or death;
ii. Emailing of slanderous images or comments;
iii. Email hacking;
iv. A crime called phishing (where a website is created to look like the original, but it is actually a fraud).  This fake site is use to gather personal information from unsuspecting persons to defraud them of money.  Complaints are mainly from foreign victims reporting that a financial institution in The Bahamas posted the site.
Question: Why do you believe we are experiencing such a spike in cyber crimes?  What seem to be the motive(s) of the perpetrators?
Answer: The fact that the perpetrator thinks his/her identity will remain anonymous seems to be the driving force.  Ultimately the perpetrator's intent is to embarrass the victim or put him or her in fear.
Question: Is sending malicious or defamatory emails a crime in The Bahamas?  Define malicious, define defamatory.
Answer: Yes both are crimes.  Malicious is defined as nasty, hateful, mean, wicked, cruel emails continually being sent to the annoyance of the receiver.  Also referred to as annoying email, malicious emails are similar to a common offence known as annoying telephone calls.  We can add that emails threatening or implying harm or death are also an offence and amount to threats of harm or threats of death.  Defamatory is defined as slanderous, derogatory emails that are distributed to others and used as a vehicle to attack a person's character.
Question: What recourse does the receiver of malicious or defamatory emails have?  Can they seek police help?
Answer: Depending on the offence committed, victims have the following recourse:
o Police action can be taken;
o You can have the person bond over to keep the peace;
o You can take civil action in a court or file a lawsuit;
o You can report the email address of the sender to the hosting company as abuse and it will be removed.
Question: How can you track the sender of a malicious email?
Answer: The sender is tracked by the header information (contained in the original email.)
Question: What suggestions can you give persons to safeguard their email accounts?
Answer: Many persons in The Bahamas reported that their email accounts were hacked.  Our investigation proved that the following methods were used to obtain their personal information:
o Individuals received a "pop up" asking them to reset their password information.  The "pop up" claimed that if the password was not reset that the individual would loose his/her account.  Once the password is reset hackers have full access to your account.
o Individuals received a "pop up" asking for personal information, specifically the question that was used when you created your account.  Once you answer these questions you give hackers access to your account
o Using a public computer: When you "log off" of a public computer, persons can come after you, run password recovery software and extract your information.
o Using computers at a friend's house or the work place, to access you email account: Again the password can be extracted using recovery software.  In the workplace many companies have software installed on computers that monitor employee action online.  This software also captures password information.
o Your wireless network: When you put a password on a website wirelessly, anyone with access to your network also has access to all of the computers on that network and they can "sniff" traffic to capture your password.
o Be aware of putting other people's jump drives in your computer. These jump drives may contain programs that auto run with one purpose - to extract all password information that might reside on you computer.
o Do not accept the browser's suggestion to save a password.
o Set the cache on your browser to delete on exit.
 
Stacia Williams offers keynotes, workshops and personal coaching on a wide range of: Personal Branding, Image Management, Customer Service, Leadership, Business Etiquette & International Protocol Topics. You can contact Stacia Williams at 325-5992 or email Stacia@totalimagemanagement.com or visit staciawilliamsblog.com.

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Twenty Questions

1. What's been your most inspirational moment in the last five years?
My first seven-day silent Vipassana retreat, and of course, finding love.

2. What's your least favorite piece of artwork?
I am not such a fan of extremely conceptual work, particularly if it's too cerebral and needing to explain itself.

I would rather be moved than led to think.

3. What's your favorite period of art history?
I love abstract expressionism.

4. What are your top 5 movies of all time?
Gosh this is tough.
The Sound of Music (I've watched it the most in my life),
Trainspotting (It was so fresh and unique),
City of God (Just powerful!),
Rabbit-proof Fence (Really touched me),
Hunger (Such an incredible directing debut).

5. Coffee or tea?
Coffee.

6. What book are you reading now?
Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha.

7. What project are you working on now?
There are two narrative feature films that I have written and want to produce in the next two years - "Epiphany", a Bahamian drama about a Greek Bahamian family and an illegal Cuban immigrant, and "My Life in a Dojo", a NY slice of life dramady.

8. What's the last show that surprised you?
NE6 was amazing (but in truth, I knew it would be)!!!

9. Saxons, One Family, Valley Boys or Roots?
One Family for costumes, and maybe Saxons for music, though I love all Junkanoo!

10. If you had to be stranded on one Family Island which one would it be?
At this moment, Eleuthera.

11. What's the most memorable artwork you've ever seen?
Most recently, "God's Bride" by Roberta Stoddard.

12. Which artist do you have a secret crush on?
Hmmm...either Frida Kahlo or John Beadle...?

13. If you could have lunch with anyone who would it be?
President Obama.

14. Who do you think is the most important Bahamian in the country's history?
Well for me, my mother, Irene Klonaris Govan, who is amazing, but for the country I would have to say, Sir Lynden O Pindling.

15. Who is your favorite living artist?
That's so tough...I love Lavar Munroe's work.

I think he's incredibly talented, as is Robberta Stoddard, a Jamaican artist I've recently come to know.

16. Sunrise or Sunset?

If I had to say which I love the most, it would be sunrise...perhaps because it's more special.

I see far more sunsets these days.

17. What role does the artist have in society?

I believe our work is a reflection. The artist makes connections both in the process and with the work itself - we illuminate, challenge, evoke feeling, inspire, generate empathy and a deeper understanding of our nature, our humanity, all of which can be deeply healing and ultimately unifying.

18. What's your most embarrassing moment?

I peed my pants at Wong's Plaza wearing my St. Andrew's high school uniform. My cousin made me laugh so hard it just happened. It was awful.

19. What wouldn't you do without?

At a high level... my partner, who is one of the best things to happen to me, and my friendship with my mother, who is my rock.
On a practical level - I'm in a long distance relationship and so when the Internet/Skype goes down I really feel it - that and my toothbrush.

20. What's your definition of beauty?

Truth. Vulnerability. Acceptance. Grace -- Especially amidst adversity and struggle.

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Netflix to stream movies and TV shows in Latin America

LOS GATOS, California Associated Press NETFLIX is expanding its movie and TV show streaming service into 43 countries throughout Latin America in the online movie rental company's largest international expansion yet.

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The immorality of war

Having actually experienced a horrific war, World War II, and seen the horrors of many other wars and armed conflicts on television and in movies; I know that the effects of war are indeed long lasting, not only on the individuals who actually fought them, but they affect the life of planet earth which we all call home, in a very negative, detrimental, destructive way.
I was watching the program'Religion&Ethics Newsweekly'with Host Bob Abernathy on PBS a few Sundays ago. On that particular program, a soldier who had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq said the following, when asked how he dealt with having to go to war and thus kill people. He replied with a very sad, troubled l ...

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60 Home Movie Sure, But It's Still In Theatres

MOVIE studio Universal Pictures and its new parent, cable TV giant Comcast Corp., will try giving film buffs a chance to watch a movie that's still in theatres from the comfort of their living rooms. But the price tag for a single movie could have consumers spitting out their popcorn: $60. The test involves "Tower Heist," a PG-13 rated comedy caper starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller due out Nov. 4.

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