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VOLUME:114 No.69, MARCH 1ST, 2017

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BUSINESS: CARNIVAL CRUISE PORT A ‘KISS OF DEATH’ FOR GB

PM ‘should resign’ after ‘foul’ gesture Minnis leads criticism after Christie’s shock middle finger moment

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net WITH much of the nation in shock after Prime Minister Perry Christie flashed an obscene hand gesture on Monday night, Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday said it was past time for the nation’s leader to “get the hell out” and resign.

Dr Minnis also demanded an apology from Mr Christie after he extended his middle finger - an action known colloquially as ‘flipping the bird’ - during a Progressive Liberal Party community meeting Monday night in Fox Hill.

Dr Minnis also said the Prime Minister’s behaviour was “foul and has no place in the public domain”, adding that Mr Christie had become “unhinged”.

“I, along with all rightthinking Bahamians, was shocked and horrified by the public embarrassment displayed by our Prime Minister,” Dr Minnis said at FNM headquarters.

“This behaviour, to my knowledge, is the first and hopefully the last time a sitting Prime Minister of our God-fearing nation, (will) publicly curse at Bahamians by using such profane gestures.

“And our Prime Minister must know that regardless to where he is, he represents

PRIME Minister Perry Christie made the gesture on Monday night. the Bahamas and should behave accordingly,” Dr Minnis said.

In the process of discrediting many of his detractors on Monday night, Mr Christie claimed that as an election nears, his adversaries would do whatever it takes to destroy him in their “hunger for power”.

Addressing one specific instance of these “lies and distortions”, Mr Christie said he woke on Monday to allegations of him owning a condominium as a result of political impropriety. The claim was made in a video posted to Facebook.

“When I was getting up this morning, they showed me an account of a lunatic who was saying I should deny I own this condominium.

“This is what I (told) him,” Mr Christie said, beSEE PAGE TWO

FORMER DEPUTY PM SYMONETTE WANTS TO RUN FOR THE FNM IN ST ANNE’S

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FIVE years after announcing his retirement from frontline politics, former Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette yesterday revealed his intention to run on the Free National Movement’s ticket for the St Anne’s constituency, as he insisted that there were “no strings” attached to this decision.

Mr Symonette represented the area from 2007-2012.

Despite his public support for Official Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner during her most recent failed leadership bid just last year, Mr Symonette, 62, said he is ready to work closely with FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis after much consideration.

He said the decision was made while considering the “diabolical” performance of the Progressive Liberal Party over the past five years.

The announcement comes as speculation swirled recently that Mr Symonette was attemptSEE PAGE SIX

A DAY after his middle finger gesture sparked outrage, Prime Minister Perry Christie is greeted by Anton Sealey, President of the Bahamas Football Association, as he arrives at Atlantis last night for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup draw.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune staff

RELIGIOUS LEADERS CALL FOR CHRISTIE TO APOLOGISE

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

PROMINENT religious leaders yesterday demanded Prime Minister Perry Christie apologise for sticking up his middle finger at a community meeting Monday night, while addressing hundreds of Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) sup-

porters.

Bahamas Christian Council President Rev Dr Ranford Patterson said the nation’s leader has a responsibility to children to apologise for his obscene gesture and explain why he did it.

Meanwhile, Bishop Simeon Hall, pastor emeritus of New Covenant Baptist Church, said while he un-

derstands the pressure that comes with the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Christie should learn to curse “in private”.

During a community meeting in Fox Hill Monday night, Mr Christie stuck up his middle finger as he lashed out at allegations made in a video circulating on Facebook that he owned SEE PAGE TWO

GRAY: PM HAS HAD ENOUGH OF ATTACKS ON FAMILY

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

“strong”, it shows that Mr Christie is fed up with not just the repeated attacks on his character and performance as prime minister by various AGRICULTURE Minister V critics, but also instances where his Alfred Gray yesterday defended family is targeted in the process.

Prime Minister Perry Christie Claiming that “being Prime Minfrom criticism over the latter’s ister does not make him less human” controversial flashing of his midand that “humans act as humans aldle finger at a recent community ways do,” Mr Gray said Mr Christie meeting, charging that the ob- V ALFRED GRAY ‘flipping the bird’ is evidence that scene gesture is proof that Mr Christie has he “has taken a lot of late from his critics,” “had enough” of people launching unwar- so much so that “only Jesus could take perranted attacks on his wife and children. haps as much as he has taken”.

Mr Gray, in an interview with reporters Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald, outside Cabinet, suggested that while Mr also weighed in on Mr Christie’s controverChristie’s gesture on Monday night was SEE PAGE THREE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SWIMMING PIGS ‘DIED FROM INGESTING SAND MATERIAL’

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunmedia.net EXUMA’S swimming pigs died from ingesting “sand material,” according to Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries V Alfred Gray.

In an interview with reporters outside the Cabinet Office yesterday, Mr Gray said according to a report by the chief veterinary officer attached to his ministry, an autopsy performed on some of the animals revealed that the pigs had “a good amount of sand” in their stomachs.

More than a half a dozen of the swimming pigs were found dead under mysterious circumstances more than a week ago.

The majority of the pigs, believed to be around 15, are still alive.

According to reports in a local daily earlier this month, the owners of the pigs believe the animals died after being fed “rum, beer and the wrong food”.

Yesterday, Mr Gray SEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Wednesday, March 1, 2017

FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis speaks at yesterday’s press conference at the party’s headquarters to address the gesture by Prime Minister Perry Christie.

PM ‘should resign’ after ‘foul’ gesture FROM PAGE ONE fore he briefly stuck up his middle finger to gasps, shock and laughter from those gathered.

Dr Minnis told reporters yesterday that this action demonstrated that Mr Christie is no longer “fit” to sit as Prime Minister of the Bahamas.

The Killarney MP said it has become clear that Mr Christie’s “arrogance has no limits”.

“His behaviour is that of someone who has become unhinged and extremely unstable, and our country needs strong moral leadership. Our international reputation is now at stake. And I (would add) that our national reputation was already being tarnished by this Prime Minister and this PLP government.

“I call on all Bahamians, religious leaders, civic organisations, the Christian Council, to condemn the Prime Minister and ask for an immediate apology.

“I call on the Prime Minister to do the honourable thing and re-

sign and in the absence of doing this, he should call an immediate election so that we, the Bahamian people, can fire him,” Dr Minnis said.

WATCH THE VIDEO OF MR CHRISTIE’S GESTURE AT TRIBUNE242.COM Defence Mr Christie did defend his action shortly after it occurred, insisting that his political development followed the trajectory of a generation of politicians who witnessed very personal and vile attacks for much of their public lives.

As a result, he said, he was now weary and fed up with the baseless claims that did nothing except sell newspapers and tabloids.

He said on Monday: “Let me just tell y’all something . . . there is no possibility of my having weak knees in the face of the grossest lies. I worked from the basis that in my lifetime, I heard people say (former Prime Minister) Sir

Lynden Pindling’s mother was not his mother.

“Where a man who is credited as being the architect of the modern Bahamas, had to go and secure affidavits to prove, ‘my mother is my mother.’

“You talking about lies and distortion? Well get used to it because they (the detractors and opposition) have no capacity to govern.”

Mr Christie, to resounding applause added: “They cannot govern. They have demonstrated a lack of ability to work together.

They have no vision. All the evidence we have tells us they are a failure and we must be able to say it easily.”

Christie vs Minnis While much of the focus following Monday’s function has been placed on Mr Christie’s action, many of his comments were directed at Dr Minnis concerning the former Official Opposition leader’s inability to command his party for much of the past five

years.

The Centreville MP did not mince words, contending that Bahamians should not hand over the reigns of the country to a party as unstable and dysfunctional as the FNM. In response, Dr Minnis said his leadership should not be viewed as an “issue”, warning voters not to allow Mr Christie to distract them from the true problems facing the country.

Dr Minnis said on the sidelines of his press conference: “The prime minister is in election mode, I am not the issue. The issue is his bad governance, his poor leadership, the economy of this country, the crime, the amount of people that are dying, the unemployment; those are the issues that face the nation today.

“Our downgrading and the reputation of this country that is being disturbed and lost. Those are

THE TRIBUNE

PHOTOS: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune staff

the issues, I am not the issue.

“When you ask people what problems they face, the problems they face are the blackouts, lack of transparency, the victimisation, the corruption; let him talk about those.

“Those are the issues that face the Bahamian people and face the nation; not me, so tell the prime minister to get his act together, inform the nation what he has done and how he has destroyed and continues to destroy this nation and do the honourable thing and

READERS HAVE THEIR SAY

SEE PAGE FOUR

RELIGIOUS LEADERS CALL FOR CHRISTIE TO APOLOGISE OVER GESTURE FROM PAGE ONE a condominium property obtained through political impropriety. He added that he would not let political lies of this sort distract him from the task of governance.

“It is very unfortunate

that Mr Christie chose to do that,” Rev Patterson told The Tribune.

“He needs to apologise to the nation for him, it is not becoming of a Prime Minister.

“I have gotten calls from as far as the United States after the picture and the

story went viral. Whether he meant anything bad by it or not, whether he meant to do it or not, it does not look good for this country.

“The Prime Minister has been in office for almost 40 years so I do not think it’s the pressure getting to him.

I do not understand why he

did it, but I hope he sees the wisdom in coming forward and apologising.

“He has a responsibility to the nation and to the young people who watch him.

“He should say ‘I’m sorry’ and we can all move on.”

Meanwhile, Bishop Hall

said it is unfortunate that Mr Christie allowed his critics to “pull him below” the dignity of his office.

“The Prime Minister must apologise.

“He owes the critics and this country as a whole an apology,” Bishop Hall said.

“I refer to the photo in

the paper.

“He has allowed critics to pull him beneath the dignity of his office.

“I call on him to apologise unequivocally.

“A leader sometimes needs to learn to cuss in private. It is most disappointing.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, March 1, 2017, PAGE 3

SYMONETTE: THE PM ‘MUST HAVE LOST IT’ TO MAKE FINGER GESTURE

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette yesterday rebuked Prime Minister Perry Christie saying he “must have lost it” when he stuck up his middle finger at a Progressive Liberal Party event on Monday night.

As the leader of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Mr Symonette said Mr Christie should “be above” his “regrettable” behaviour despite whatever criticism he faces on a daily basis.

During a press conference at his East Bay Street office, the former Cabinet minister said Bahamians would not be wrong to question Mr Christie’s leadership capabilities.

He was asked to comment on the matter during a press conference yesterday, which was held to officially announce his intention to contest the St Anne’s constituency on the Free National Movement’s ticket in the upcoming election.

“All I can say is that the prime minister must have lost it,” Mr Symonette said in response to a question from the media.

FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette speaks during a press conference held yesterday.

“The heat must be too hot in the kitchen and I think his true nature has shown.

It is regrettable that he used that signage in a public forum. Obviously it’s an act of a desperate man.”

Asked whether he thought continuous person-

al attacks on Mr Christie, 73, and his family justified the obscene hand gesture, Mr Symonette said they were not.

“As a leader, he should be above that.

“He lost it and he lost it on a public platform. It goes

to show that one may not be wrong to question his capabilities of running this country any longer at his age.”

On Monday night as he addressed scores of PLP supporters, Mr Christie stuck up his middle finger

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff as he lashed out at allegations that he owned a condominium property.

He added that he would not let political lies of this sort distract him from the task of governance.

During his speech Mr Christie also lashed out at

FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis, the Centreville MP didn’t mince words in his address, contending that Bahamians should not hand over reigns of the country to a party as unstable and dysfunctional as the FNM.

DNA says Christie ‘unhinged’, not fit for office THE Democratic National Alliance (DNA) condemned Prime Minister Perry Christie as “unhinged” after he made an obscene hand gesture at a community meeting on Monday night in response to a “lunatic” who asked him to deny that he owned a condominium.

The DNA said Mr Christie’s behaviour shows that he is not fit for office.

As he spoke of his anger about the allegations, which were in a video posted to Facebook, Mr Christie briefly stuck up his middle finger showing how he had responded to the claims earlier on Monday.

In a statement released yesterday, the DNA said: “We have already seen the Prime Minister place himself as a maximum God-like leader when he spoke about persons going to pastors

and God, but ultimately having to go through him.”

The DNA was referring to comments Mr Christie made in October, 2012, at a rally in North Abaco.

The DNA added: “This latest action shows that our Prime Minister is becoming or has become unhinged, and thinks too highly of himself that he could do this with no regard of the consequences.

“The time has come and gone for the Prime Minister to politely step down from his office, and this action shows that he may do more harm to the office and the country if he allows petty and vague allegations to destabilise him.

“This action is not becoming of a leader of a country.

“This image will forever be filed among historical images and generations to come will be

GRAY: PM HAS HAD ENOUGH OF ATTACKS ON FAMILY FROM PAGE ONE sial gesture, but said that the nation’s leader would “have to speak for himself” over his actions.

Mr Fitzgerald said while Mr Christie is “quite capable of defending himself” from critics, the prime minister “is a human like all of us, and at the end of the day you take exception continuously when you hear and see lies written and reported about you.”

While speaking at a community meeting in Fox Hill on Monday night, Mr Christie stuck up his middle finger as he lashed out at allegations that he owned or had interest in a condominium property obtained through political impropriety. The allegations were made in a video posted to Facebook.

Mr Christie added at the time that he would not let political lies of this sort distract him from the task of governance.

Mr Christie has been criticised for the gesture, with the Bahamas Christian Council, other prominent pastors and Official Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner reprimanding him for his actions.

When asked yesterday, however, Mr Gray attributed Mr Christie’s gesture to his pent-up frustration over criticisms levied against his family, as was the case last year when a Bahamian rapper wrote an expletive-filled song about Mr Christie’s family, including his wife, Bernadette, and their son, Adam, who is autistic.

“The truth is the Prime Minister has taken a lot of late from his critics, and

“He has had enough. If you want to criticise his government, do that, if you want to criticise his method of governance, do that. But I will say to you today, when you mess with my wife and my children, that’s a different paradigm.”

Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray humans act as humans always do,” Mr Gray said.

“And being Prime Minister does not make him less human. And when you attack my wife, my children and in his case his challenged son, that is enough - I think God gets angry at things like that.

“And so I think enough is enough. And I believe the prime minister’s reaction was strong, and I hope they get it. He has had enough. If you want to criticise his government, do that, if you want to criticise his method of governance, do that. But I will say to you today, when you mess with my wife and my children, that’s a different paradigm.

“And I think he has a right to defend his family, he has a right to defend himself, when you’re taking it upon yourself to attack him, his wife, his children and his sick child.

Only Jesus could take perhaps as much as he has taken.”

Mr Gray added: “And so I advise those of us who are in politics and those

who will follow us in terms of leadership to make sure people understand there is an election to be won, and everybody is out to win it. That’s a good thing.

But we don’t need to get personal and talking and bringing people’s families into this mix, because they were not elected.

“And I’m satisfied that the Prime Minister has had enough. And I advise those critics, stay with the issues, criticise him on the issues, criticise him on his management, that’s fair game. But when you cross that line and get into my house you’re going to have a problem.”

Meanwhile, Mr Fitzgerald submitted that Mr Christie’s gesture was in response to a “broader issue” of society deteriorating “to the point where it appears as if we don’t understand and appreciate boundaries”. “All of us who are elected to public office, and I speak about this all the time in the House of Assembly, we came into public life understanding that there would be criticisms of us, constructive, and we accept that,” he said. “But we never really signed on, and I think it’s inappropriate for persons to think

PRIME Minister Perry Christie speaks at Monday night’s event.

they can willy-nilly or have carte blanche to attack our family members really for no good reason.

“And at the end of the day we have thick skins and we have broad shoulders and we have been weathering these type of comments and lies for some period of time, and we accept that as part of the job.

“That’s what we signed on for, but that’s not what our families signed on for.

And at some point we’re going to have to really have a serious discussion in this country about how far we really go when it comes to persons who are in public life, when you start attacking and making fun, singing songs, telling lies on social media about our family members.

“And that’s really to me where the line should be drawn.”

able to access this story and this image.

“This sends the wrong message to our populace, especially our young persons, as we are all faced with the task of teaching and learning appropriate conflict resolution skills.

“Any leader of a country must show calm and restraint, even in the face of challenging and anger worthy scenarios,” the DNA said.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, March 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

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Bahamians have lost confidence in politicians IN August 1992 the late Sir Lynden Pindling cut a sorry figure as he admitted — in almost incredulous disbelief — that after 25 years his party had lost the election that year because it had lost touch with the Bahamian people.

“I think,” said Sir Lynden, “what we were overcome by was the depth of hardship in the two main metropolitan areas.

We knew the people were hurting, we knew that homes were being sold, we knew that parents were taking kids out of school, but we didn’t think that this would have affected them so dramatically in determining what they would do during the election.”

It would seem that history is now being repeated under the Christie administration as it faces an election in three months time with little success to show for the past five years of its administration.

Imagine introducing the Interception of Communications Bill so soon after Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald stood on the floor of the House and shocked the nation by reading the private e-mails of an environmental group — arguing that he was justified in doing so under the protection of parliamentary privilege.

Didn’t the Christie government realise that introducing this new Bill - under the guise of catching criminals — so near an election would arouse suspicion? Or is this just a sign of their arrogant smugness so assured are they of victory? This attitude should shake up the opposition forces and make them aware, not only that at this time there is strength in unity, but also that Bahamians are fed up with their petty quarrels. If they don’t quickly stop tripping over their ridiculous egos, they can take all the credit for having returned a failing government to a party that in the past five years has proven that it is not — and never has been — up to the task of governing.

This proposed Bill brought former Court of Appeals President Joan Sawyer out of retirement long enough to express her concern and question the motives and the timing.

Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson agreed to a postponement of the Bill long enough for a “period of consultation” on the legislation. She maintains the public is being “misled very substantially” about the content of the proposed legislation. She listed all the safety measures put in to protect the average citizen’s privacy — pointing out that a judge in the Supreme Court would have to grant the police permission to intercept any citizen’s communications, and “if the judge finds that reasonable suspicion is justified and the Supreme Court sets a time limit for the duration of the interception. Any extension beyond that time limit must be granted by the Supreme Court.”

“And the Supreme Court can also give instructions as to how and when those records should be destroyed when the threat is removed. These new protective steps safeguard citizen’s privacy in a way that meets concerns raised in a recent Privy Council case on the Listening Devices Act, which specifically recommended that consideration be given to providing greater protections to Bahamian citizens.”

Words, words, words… what the good Attorney General does not understand is that Bahamians have lost confidence in all segments of their government. And now that they see the battering rams of the legislature at the doors of the judiciary – the protector of their rights — they are no longer in the mood to believe anyone.

Yes, you can get protection from the judges, but when Bahamians see the latest brazen attempt to bully certain strong members of the judiciary these empty assurances are just so many words strung together. No, no matter how softly, or sweetly you now speak, Bahamians, in the main have lost confidence.

Last August, in a landmark ruling, Supreme Court Justice Indra Charles declared that Mr Fitzgerald was not legally justified when he tabled the Save the Bays e-mails and therefore could not be protected by parliamentary privilege, as he claimed at the time.

The Marathon MP was ordered to pay $150,000 in damages for the breach. He has appealed this ruling.

However, the ruling brought the judiciary and the legislature on a collision course. Chief Justice Sir Hartman Longley denounced parliament’s attempt to decide whether a Supreme Court judge could be held in contempt of the House of Assembly.

The judicial and legislative branches of government faced a constitutional crises.

At the last minute it was decided that the House’s Committee on Privilege would postpone its probe until after a ruling was made on Mr Fitzgerald’s appeal.

None of this helps build confidence.

Most Bahamians do not trust their politicians and now that all the wheels within wheels are suddenly being revealed, they have lost faith in everyone. It is now time for a responsible Opposition to step into the breech and lead the charge. *************

Tempers flare at Fox Hill rally Some of our politicians rolled up their shirt sleeves and wallowed in a verbal gutter at a Fox Hill rally Monday night with Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell calling civil rights lawyer, Fred Smith, QC, an “ass” and our prime minister displaying an angry third finger at his detractors.

Mr Mitchell recounted the Biblical story of Jesus sending his disciples to find him a donkey. When they found the donkey — which Mr Mitchell said was also called an “ass”– Jesus sat on the ass. “You may sometimes call a donkey an ass,” said Mr Mitchell. “But whatever name you call it, even if you call the donkey Fred Smith, it is still an ass.”

We would refer Mr Mitchell to Gilbert Keith Chesterton’s poem in which even the ass had its glory moment.

“The tattered outlaw of the earth, Of ancient crooked will; Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb, I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour; One far fierce hour and sweet: There was a shout about my ears, And palms before my feet. ” And so also does Fred Smith have his hour in the spotlight despite the likes of Fred Mitchell.

As for Prime Minister Christie, we have learned to expect such unfortunate behaviour from US President Donald Trump, but here in the Bahamas, no matter how hot the political arena we do not expect such lewd behaviour from our prime minister.

An explanation and an apology is in order.

PM’s finger flip not offensive enough EDITOR, The Tribune.

SOCIAL media sites literally went viral the day after Prime Minister, The Rt Honourable Perry Christie, put up his middle finger while addressing a rally in Fox Hill on Monday.

Some persons felt that this was an extremely offensive act, given that the Prime Minister knows that everything he does will be closely scrutinised.

Others say that he was justified for using a symbol that is widely accepted as a form of a curse, not only in the Bahamas but globally.

Christie has been at the centre of several controversial stories during his tenure in office.

He was intricately involved in the Letter of In-

tent (LOI) scandal, the Baha Mar debacle namely where he said that the hotel was sold and the public found out that it was not.

Christie also lost a referendum on gender equality and he lost a popularity poll on web shop gambling.

Finally, Christie has served as Prime Minister during the bloodiest five years in modern Bahamian history, which have seen at least 600 murders to date.

As Minister of Finance, he has directly overseen four economic downgrades and a record debt of $2 billion.

But he remains the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) leader and he is vying for another political term as the Prime Minister.

As a country, we don’t look for integrity in our leaders any more and we don’t hold them to any high standards.

Christie’s despicable act will sadly not cause his supporters and enablers to have a reality check and his detractors may regrettably soon forget about what he did.

This is why I believe that him sticking his middle finger in the air for the world to see is not offensive enough because we as citizens have sat idly by and we continue to accept unacceptable behaviour and poor performance from our leaders.

DEHAVILLAND MOSS Nassau, February 28, 2017

Shame of Christie’s lewd, tasteless, despicable gesture EDITOR, The Tribune THIS morning’s Nassau Guardian features a stunning photograph of our nation’s Prime Minister flipping the bird towards his critics.

One wonders if the political belligerence of US President Donald Trump has rubbed off on our PM and caused him to forget good, public decorum in favour of inappropriate, tasteless displays that are unbecoming of the holder of such high office.

Has Mr Christie run out of ideas? Is this his new approach to addressing issues?

Yes, in my short time on the political frontlines, I have come to have a greater appreciation for the vicissitude (and even stresses) of public life ... and I continue to learn.

But to “stick up your middle finger”, knowing what such a gesture represents, is downright juvenile and unbecoming. It is simply unacceptable of any public office holder ... and most regrettable that it is done by our nation’s leader.

What will children - like my son and young Bahamians - think once they see such a representation from our Prime Minister? Certainly, children who engage in such lewd behaviour are reprimanded but what do you now say when they say that they saw the PM doing it?

Per the Bahamas’ Penal Code, could it be construed that the PM’s gesture is tantamount to an offence namely disorderly conduct?

Forget politics for a minute. As a Bahamian, and the parent of a young and impressionable son, I am most appalled that Mr Christie chose to employ such a tactless approach to address his critics/naysayers.

Today, I am ashamed.

Today, when my son sees the newspaper and asks me about this, I will have to figure out something to say.

Sadly, I have not yet figured out what to say.

ADRIAN GIBSON F NM Candidate, Long Island, February 28, 2017 EDITOR, The Tribune WHEN Mr Christie entered the political arena some 40 years ago, he knew that politicians and their families are attacked.

I personally do not condone those attacks, but to use this as an excuse for his lewd gesture is unacceptable from any leader.

When he did this, he lowered himself into the same cesspit as the people who he claimed attacked him and his family.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net In a country rife with murders, many of which are retaliatory in nature perpetrated by young men who lack the necessary skills to handle conflict peaceably, it is disheartening to see the Prime Minister of the Bahamas on the front page of one of the daily newspapers, flipping the bird.

In my opinion, the gesture is highly insulting and totally unbecoming of the leader of this nation. The fact that some people do not see anything wrong with it speaks to our decline into the abyss of the culture of disrespect.

We are no longer incensed by the lewd, crass and downright classless behaviour that is oftentimes publicly displayed. We have gone so far down the road of moral and social decay that we do not see the need to demand that our leaders display a certain amount of self restraint, diplomacy, decorum and servility.

What makes this whole thing so appalling is that the politicians know this. So, a sitting member of Parliament finds no need to think twice about saying how often he would beat his girlfriend.

The offensive comments did not elicit the indignation that it should have. No pastors or religious leaders spoke out condemning the salacious comments. The politicians know that they can almost, in the words of Donald Trump when he was a candidate for the office of president, “shoot someone and not lose any votes”.

Sadly, he proved that in spite of his oftentimes lewd, crass, hateful, bigoted language many did not see this as a bar to not vote for him.

It is sad commentary of the state of the world today.

I would hope that the Bahamian people do not let this gross mark of disrespect go unnoticed. They need to go to the polls in large numbers and flip the Prime Minister and his party the bird right back.

ERVIN MISSICK February 28, 2017 EDITOR, The Tribune I NEEDED to write today to express my deep disappointment in what I saw last night and what followed.

Last night, the Prime Minister got up and flipped his middle finger at the country.

This has never happened, in

the history of this country, for a sitting Prime Minister to conduct himself in such a fashion. What was worse, as this was being done as Mr Christie was attempting to demonstrate the difference between himself and FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis, who he described as being unsuited for the job of PM! No, Mr Christie, you are the one who is no longer suited for the job!

Now today I had hoped that the Prime Minister would have issued an apology, but instead he has sent out his hapless Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald and Minister of Agriculture V Alfred Gray. Both have no credibility in this country any longer. None! Fitzgerald let his constituents bathe in gasoline for a whole year to protect his job and Gray is a stooge for the Chinese, just like his boss!

But I heard on the news that both of these men tried to pass off the Prime Minister’s despicable display as a passionate defence of his family! What utter hogwash!

How stupid do they believe Bahamians are?! We have the internet now ya know!

We all have WhatsApp and we all saw the video for ourselves.

The Prime Minister clearly made his gesture after he was asked about his ownership in a condo development. Not one word was said about his blessed family, so stop with the damn games! Stop talking to Bahamians like we’re dumb! Wrong is wrong, and the whole a ya’ll got to go!

I would like to note for the record that the Prime Minister never answered that question. I look forward to seeing if he would prove to the Bahamian people that he doesn’t have an interest in that One Cable Beach place.

We shall see!

VEX Nassau February 28, 2017 EDITOR, The Tribune WTH reference to the photograph on the front page of today’s edition of The Nassau Guardian.

With elections close upon us I note that the Prime Minister, in search of new and innovative motivational tools, has expanded his Trumpian repertoire to include not only alternative facts but also alternative gestures.

Pretty much sums up how he regards the rest of us, don’t you think?

IAN MABON Nassau, February 28, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, March 1, 2017, PAGE 5

MINISTRY OF FINANCE CRITICISED OVER FAILURE TO PAY CUSTOMS OFFICERS

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net LABOUR Minister Shane Gibson yesterday criticised the Ministry of Finance for failing to honour its commitment to pay customs officers money agreed to by the Bahamas Customs and Immigration Allied Workers Union by the end of February.

Last month, Mr Gibson told Parliament that customs officers who applied to receive funds agreed upon by the Bahamas Customs and Immigration Allied Workers Union (BCIAWU) would be paid by voucher at the end of the month. After that, applicants would be paid monthly on the payroll, Mr Gibson said.

Yesterday, however, Mr Gibson claimed that despite Ministry of Finance officials committing to him in a previous meeting that the February 28 deadline would be honoured, he is now hearing “all sorts of excuses” as to why that deadline could not be met.

As it stands, Mr Gibson said he has been informed that the payments may be made by the end of this week.

“I don’t want to put any value on what they tell me, I want to wait until the money is paid,” he said of the ministry. “And so if they’re paid at the end of this week that’s fine. As I said it’s out of my hands, I did what I was supposed to do, I met with them, I did not make that announcement until I met with (the Ministry of) Finance. And so it’s disappointing to me that we would have an agreement to pay the end of this week, and then I hear all sorts of excuses as to why it couldn’t be done.

“I know that the process is tedious, I know that it is very intense, because you have to actually go and input these one at a time, unlike when you have an increase straight across the board when you could just apply across the board. I understand that. But my problem is they told me in a meeting that it would be paid, I announced that it would be paid and when it would be paid, and now they are telling me they are looking at a new date.

And so that’s why I’m disappointed.”

When asked if he was concerned that news of the delayed payment may upset BCIAWU President Sloane Smith, Mr Gibson replied: “Mr Smith, no he is not in this equation.

“He had an opportunity to sign the industrial agreement, he didn’t sign it, he continued to waver, he has not contacted me.

No matter what he tells you, he just loves the press. He just loves coming on television, so he’ll run down to you and talk to you every day, but he’ll never come and do what he’s supposed to do with the union members.

“And that’s why the members came directly to the government, because they were not receiving the benefits they should have received through the union.”

Last month, after receiving a petition signed by more than 130 customs officers who asked that they be paid money agreed to by the BCIAWU, Mr Gibson said he recommended that the officers be paid.

At the time, Mr Gibson said this was despite the union not concluding and signing an industrial agreement with the government.

ABOVE: Damage from Hurricane Matthew in the South Beach area last year.

LEFT: Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson.

SHANE GIBSON ‘DISAPPOINTED’ AT PACE OF HURRICANE ASSISTANCE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

LABOUR and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson yesterday said he is “disappointed” in the “pace” at which the government is providing assistance to persons negatively affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Mr Gibson, the government’s Hurricane Matthew czar, said three months after the category four storm, the government has done a superb job in meeting its goal of providing total relief to persons reeling in the hurricane’s aftermath, the majority of whom are located in New Providence, Andros and Grand Bahama.

Hurricane Matthew devastated large sections of those islands in October. In response, the government established a Hurricane Matthew repair programme on those three islands, which consists of a voucher system for physical home repairs, and a 180-day exigency order, which expires in April.

FNM’S COALITION TALKS WITH DNA ‘ENDED WITHOUT RESOLUTION’

By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

COALITION talks with the Democratic National Alliance ended over the weekend “without a satisfactory resolution,” according to Free National Movement Chairman Sidney Collie.

In a statement, Mr Collie confirmed that the party had once again engaged in “unifying” discussions with the DNA in an attempt to join forces and defeat the Progressive Liberal Party.

Mr Collie did not reveal why the negotiations fell apart.

However, he did say that the FNM was the only organised party that can debate the PLP in the upcoming election.

In an interview with a local daily on Monday, DNA Leader Branville McCartney insisted there will be no coalition between the opposition forces and said that voters will simply have to choose between the three major parties.

“Going into the next election will be the DNA, the FNM and the PLP,” Senator McCartney told The Nassau Guardian.

“The good people of the Bahamas will have to make a decision as to whether or not they wish to remain the same, and if they do, that’s voting for the PLP and the FNM or if they want a positive change, that is the DNA.” At the time, Mr McCartney also said he has had no thoughts of rejoining the FNM since he formed the DNA. Yesterday Mr Collie said the invitation to join with the FNM is still extended to all opposition forces.

“The Free National Movement and the Democratic National Alliance have had discussions for the purpose of forging an agreement as to how we may work together to defeat the PLP in the upcoming general election,” Mr Collie said.

“The discussions ended on Saturday last without a satisfactory resolution.

“The Free National Movement is the only organised national party that can defeat the PLP and we invite all organisations and Bahamians wishing to rid this country of the inept PLP to join with us in this cause to take our country back.”

Earlier this month, Mr McCartney said there was “no possibility” of a coalition between the DNA and the FNM despite calls for the two parties to join forces to defeat the current government.

At a press conference at the DNA’s head-

FNM Chairman Sidney Collie.

DNA Leader Branville McCartney. quarters, Mr McCartney said FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis is living in “la la land” if he thinks the DNA needs the FNM to defeat the PLP. He also accused Dr Minnis of cleansing the FNM of “everything Hubert Ingraham”.

In January, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham suggested the FNM find a way to make a deal with the DNA ahead of the next election.

“It seems to me to make sense to present the public with a united front, the public does not like divided parties,” Mr Ingraham told The Tribune.

“In fact they like to punish parties when they are divided and the extent to which the FNM can get itself together, puts us in a position to be able to talk to the DNA, and if they are not talking any sense, the FNM has the opportunity now to take its Senate seat back from Mr (Branville) McCartney and proceed and tell the public why they can’t do a deal with them and why the public ought to focus its attention on voting for the FNM as an alternative to the PLP.” Mr McCartney said the DNA was once open to a coalition between the two parties but that ship has now sailed.

“I met with the technical team week before last letting them know how disappointed I was in the process and how disappointed I was in how long it was taking to provide assistance, and you know the rainy season is upon us again.”

“The system itself is just moving too slow for me,” Mr Gibson said.

“I would have thought that we would have been much further ahead. I met with the technical team week before last letting them know how disappointed I was in the process and how disappointed I was in how long it was taking to provide assistance, and you know the rainy season is upon us again.

“I’m going to meet with them again probably on Friday where we’ll have to revamp the process and see

how we could maybe either give them additional resources or move some people out, because if we have some people who are obstructing individuals receiving assistance, whether it’s coupons or repairs to their homes, then we need to get those people out of the system.

“But suffice it to say I am not pleased with the pace at which we are providing relief to persons who were negatively impacted by Hurricane Matthew.”

In January, Mr Gibson told Parliament that contracts valued at some $3.5m had been issued for labour and materials to repair homes damaged by the category four storm last year.

At the time, Mr Gibson also revealed that the response to the loan programme for public officers and government employees for hurricane related repairs was “overwhelming,” totalling over $24m at the time.

He said that number was equivalent to 5,128 loan approvals.

Additionally, Mr Gibson said at the time that the government had spent $10m on clean up activities up to December of last year and $1m to remove debris in Grand Bahama.

Mr Gibson also said at the time that just under $300,000 was spent in north Andros and $40,000 in central Andros.

“We’re helping lots of persons right, but in my view I’ve worked this process before after Hurricane Jean, Francis and Wilma,” Mr Gibson said of the government’s effort yesterday.

“And in my view we were much further ahead at this point in time after Hurricane’s Jean, Francis and Wilma.

“Even though the entire Bahamas wasn’t impacted, it was just basically or mostly Grand Bahama, Abaco and Eleuthera, we still moved a lot quicker.

“So I am definitely not pleased with the pace. I don’t know the reason for it, but I know we have to move a lot quicker.”

PAGE 6, Wednesday, March 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Former Deputy PM Symonette wants to run for the FNM in St Anne’s FROM PAGE ONE ing to broker a deal with the FNM where he would run on the party’s ticket but under the condition that he be made party deputy leader.

This couldn’t be further from the truth, Mr Symonette told reporters yesterday during a press conference at his East Bay Street office to announce that he gave the nod to Dr Minnis to put his name forward as the candidate for St Anne’s.

However, he will still have to face all of the normal party procedures, including vetting from the FNM’s Candidates and Investigative Committees, before being ratified.

Mr Symonette also said his family stood in support of his move to re-enter the political arena.

Hubert Chipman is currently the St Anne’s MP. Last year he withdrew his name from consideration for a nomination, citing problems with Dr Minnis. Last month he said he was contemplating running as an independent candidate.

“I had been considering it for a long time,” Mr Symonette said when he was asked what solidified his decision to run on the party’s ticket. “I retired from active politics five odd years ago (and) half way through the term you guys quoted me as saying that if the Progressive Liberal Party con-

“I retired from active politics five odd years ago (and) half way through the term you guys quoted me as saying that if the Progressive Liberal Party continued to mess up this country, I would have to change my mind and I think we have reached that point.” tinued to mess up this country, I would have to change my mind and I think we have reached that point. The financial state of this country is in dire needs. The report yesterday (Monday) from the Central Bank (says) the national debt is at an unprecedented high level. Crime is out of control, unemployment is supposedly down which no one believes and we are in an economic tailspin and I think something needs to be done about it.

“I noticed yesterday in the press that the prime minister said that it is risky to vote for Minnis (but) it would be catastrophic to vote for Perry Christie because he has a track record of five years in which this country has gone from worse

to worse to junk bonds.

“The country is spiralling out of control with the current administration having gone crazy in the candy store and I think there needs to be reason brought to the table (and) a level-headed way of governing. I sincerely hope that persons will vote FNM because under the Christie administration’s track record it has been diabolical.”

Yesterday, Joshua Sears, who sits on the FNM’s Search and Investigations Committee - tasked with reviewing all candidates said the party had received no applications from anyone seeking nomination for the St Anne’s constituency.

He said very early on, the FNM indicated to Mr Symonette that should he decide to re-enter the political arena, the St Anne’s seat would be available to him.

Regarding his previous support for Mrs Butler-Turner, Mr Symonette said he has always maintained a close working relationship with Dr Minnis, as he suggested that the party is now unified with an election approaching.

“Dr Minnis went through a convention. It is no secret that I was a supporter of Loretta Butler-Turner. That is no secret. Dr Minnis and I have and always have worked on very close terms notwithstanding the fact that I did support Mrs Butler-Turner.

FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette speaks yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune staff “We are looking forward to working even closer together as we go forward as a team in the FNM to make sure that the FNM is the next government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.”

He added: “I think it is election time. The FNM has been the government. It has a track record. It has accomplishments, which can be seen. You just have to drive on the roads of this country and see the accomplishments. It’s ironic that’s one of the reasons we lost support the last time, but no one is saying how easy it is for you to get here or move there,” he said, referring to the Ingraham administration’s road improvement project.

“Over time the PLP as Mr Christie did last night, will try and make an issue of the fact that

the rebel seven (ousted Dr Minnis). So whilst Mr Christie tries to make an issue of the split which is a real fact, I’m not underrating that, the FNM will solidify up to the next election as the alternative to the Progressive Liberal Party,” Mr Symonette also said.

In January 2012, ahead of the May general election, Mr Symonette announced the end of his career after more than 20 years in politics.

At the time he said he would not seek a nomination for his constituency, St Anne’s, or any other seat, adding that the time had come for him to make way for a new generation of FNMs. In the years that followed, Mr Symonette denied several times that he would be making a political comeback.

Swimming pigs ‘died from ingesting sand material’ FROM PAGE ONE

SOME of the swimming pigs in Exuma. More than half a dozen of the animals were found dead.

said blood samples from the pigs have been sent off to labs to determine if any other factors could have led to the death of the prized animals.

“The report is in place, I have not had the chance to digest the total contents of it but I am satisfied that the pigs died from ingestion of sand material,” Mr Gray said.

“As you know some people feed the pigs as they swim in the water, other people throw things on the sand for them to eat from the sand. You know sand is indigestible, sand cannot be digested, and the autopsy which was performed on one or two of the animals showed that they had a good amount of sand in their stomach.

“Sand not being able to be passed out by normal processes or digested had something to do with those animals having died.

“They died because of that kind of ingestion. That’s the conclusion the veterinarian drew from his autopsy.

We’ve sent blood samples off to labs to be tested to see whether there is any other contributing factor but to him that was the main cause, preliminarily found to have affected the lives of those animals.”

Mr Gray said his ministry, along with the Ministry of Tourism and the owners of the pigs, are putting protocols in place to ensure the surviving pigs are only fed by hand.

“If you want to swim with the pigs that’s fine, but we believe that feeding them is going to be a problem because we cannot control people giving them beers and wine and all kinds of things which you know animals cannot digest like humans do,” Mr Gray said.

“So if we put a rope up around a certain area you can go and swim with the pigs and take photographs.

That’s what it was intended

to be, but people have taken the liberty to feed them and the worst part is when they throw the food on the sand, the animals will eat it. But when they eat the food, they also ingest sand material which is not good for the animals, and hence we’re having some problems.”

Mr Gray reassured the public that things will get back to normal on the island “in the shortest possible time”.

MEN WANTED BY POLICE AFTER PINEDALE SHOOTING

DERRON Ericon “Monkey” Deveaux MICHAEL “Spanker” Augustine

TWO men are in hospital in stable condition after they were shot in Pinedale on Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, shortly before 3pm, the two men were standing in front of a building when two men with handguns shot them about the body. The assailants fled on foot. Police recovered a 9mm pistol with three live rounds of ammunition from the scene.

Yesterday, police said they want to speak with two men that they believe can help with this investigation. Police want to question Derron Ericon “Monkey” Deveaux, 22, of Lakeview Street, Big Pond subdivision, and descriebed as 6ft to 6ft 2in, and Michael “Spanker” Augustine, 23, of Union Village, who is described as being 6ft of slim build.

Police also want to speak to the men in connection to ongoing murder investigations.

Anyone with relevant information is asked to call police at 919 or the Crime Stoppers hotline at 328-TIPS in New Providence or 300-8476 in the Family Islands.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, March 1, 2017, PAGE 7

MITCHELL CALLS FRED SMITH AN ‘ASS’ FOR CAPITALISING ON FEARS OVER BILL

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

IN A night which saw sharp comments against political adversaries, Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell on Monday described attorney Fred Smith as an “ass” for capitalising on the public’s fears about the controversial Interception of Communications Bill in a bid to rebound from racial remarks he made in January.

Mr Mitchell, who has long engaged in a public war-of-words with Mr Smith, insisted that the activist had retuned “from under his rock” to build a base around the supposed “spy bill”, hoping that the public would quickly regret his assertions that black Bahamians possessed a level of hate for white foreigners.

“Ladies and gentleman, brothers and sisters, there is no spy bill except in the imagination of Fred Smith,” stated the Fox Hill MP at a branch meeting for the Fox Hill, Marathon and St Anne’s.

He added: “But I (will) tell you a story, stick with me here. It begins with a quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. And

“Ladies and gentleman, brothers and sisters, there is no spy bill except in the imagination of Fred Smith.”

Fox Hill MP and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell Juliet says of Romeo, ‘What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’

“So the point is, brothers and sisters, no matter what you call something, it is that same thing.

Stick with me another minute.

“Remember as we approach Lent, that Jesus told his disciples, this in the Bible in Matthew 21:2; he said ‘go to the village ahead of you, and he told them that once you would find a donkey tied there with her coat beside her, untie them and bring them to me.’

“The disciples went and did

FOX HILL MP and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell speaks on Monday night. as Jesus said. And in the Bible it says, ‘and then they brought the ass and the colt and put them there and sat Jesus thereon’.”

He continued: “My point tonight brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, you may call it a donkey sometimes and sometimes you may call it an ass. But by whatever name you call it, even if you call the donkey Fred Smith, it is still an ass.”

He added: “Charles Dickens wrote, ‘the law is an ass’. And since, ladies and gentlemen, we are in the middle of carnival, Harry Belafonte use to sing this song, ‘the jackass will dance and bray; let him bray, let him bray.’”

Mr Mitchell’s comments came just before Prime Minister Perry Christie shocked the nation with an offensive hand gesture, sticking up his middle finger in response to claims made about his ownership of a condominium.

The allegation was made in a

video posted to Facebook.

Mr Mitchell, who started his address with the salacious sentiments directed at Mr Smith, softened his stance later, claiming that the nature of the meeting and the presence of people like Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin did not permit the tone and vitriol expressed.

He said if he were anywhere else, he would take Mr Smith and members of his organisation even more to task over their actions in recent weeks.

According to the controversial bill, interception would be done in the “interest of national security,” which is defined as protecting the country from “threats of sabotage, espionage, terrorist acts, terrorism or subversion.”

Mr Smith, who has had his past troubles with the Christie administration over the right to privacy, expressed concern over what the term subversion could entail over

time.

He said subversion could be perceived as any simple form of “political dissent,” adding that this can be construed to mean anyone openly disagreeing with the government.

Mr Smith said last month: “So they will accuse anybody who doesn’t toe the line, who doesn’t agree with everything every politician is going to say or do, whatever the government proposes, as being a subversive, as being a destabiliser as the person trying to bring the government down.

“That is the job of the Opposition, that is what every Opposition does in any democratic society.

They try to change the government. And that can be defined as subversion.”

The government last week announced plans to delay the bill, with a view to hold public consultations ahead of its debate in Parliament.

DETECTIVE DENIES SCENE OF ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT OF SENIOR CITIZEN CASE DISCONTINUED BANKER’S FATAL STABBING WAS CONTAMINATED

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A DETECTIVE who had a role in investigating the fatal stabbing of a banker denied yesterday that there was a possibility the scene of the alleged murder was contaminated.

Sgt Sonny Miller took the witness stand to speak to a video-recorded inquiry done with 26-year-old Lamar Albury at St Alban’s Drive on January 5, 2016.

It is alleged that Albury murdered Devince Smith sometime between December 19 and 21, 2015.

Smith’s partially decomposed body was found shortly after 2.30pm on December 21, 2015 at his St Alban’s Drive apartment.

Police were alerted to the apartment after relatives, who had not heard from the victim, went to his home and found him dead in the living room.

Smith was a sports coach and was employed at Pictet Bank & Trust Ltd. He was also a former president of the New Providence Volleyball Association.

Albury maintained his “not guilty” plea to the murder charge when the trial began last week.

Cordell Frazier and Anya Allen are prosecuting the case for the Crown while Michael Hanna is representing Albury.

Last week Monday, the jury heard that Albury allegedly confessed to his relatives that he fatally stabbed the banker, who had hired him to do maintenance work at his apartment for an upcoming holiday gathering, when the victim allegedly made a sexual advance at him.

The following day, Smith’s housekeeper testified that in the three months she had known Albury, the accused had been to Smith’s apartment on three occasions and on two other occasions, the accused and Smith were seen in the victim’s Jeep drinking.

In yesterday’s proceedings, the jury heard from Sgt Miller that during the video recorded visit to the scene of the incident in question, Albury pointed out where he said the deceased fell after an altercation between the two, where he was stabbed several times afterwards.

The detective said that the accused said the altercation started in the bedroom and pointed to the broken glass figurines used by Smith to attack him after resisting his advance.

Albury also pointed the area in the loft - on the third floor - where he went to clean off his fingerprints after the fatal altercation with Smith.

Mr Hanna, in cross-examination, asked the detective how long was the crime scene/apartment under police custody.

Sgt Miller said the scene was under protection for more than a month after Smith’s body was discovered.

The defence lawyer asked if it was possible that someone tampered with the crime scene.

The officer said no.

The case resumes today where the prosecution is expected to present its final witness, forensic pathologist, Dr Caryn Sands.

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PROCEEDINGS have been discontinued against a man who was awaiting trial concerning the alleged sexual assault of a senior citizen in 2001 on a Family Island.

The move by the Crown on Tuesday came more than 13 years after 56-yearold Lindy Jonas Edwards was formally arraigned in the Supreme Court on a rape charge concerning the February 23, 2001 incident where the alleged victim was 64 at the time.

Edwards, a lifeguard who denied the charge when formally arraigned in May 2003, could not be found up to yesterday when the matter was called before Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs resulting in prosecutor Darell Taylor presenting the nolle prosequi (no prosecution order).

The Office of the Attorney General, by law, could bring the case against him again at any time in the Supreme Court, but it is unlikely.

The alleged sexual assault occurred around 8pm at the victim’s residence, where she lived alone.

The woman told police that the man came to her residence and asked her to read a letter for him, which she did.

They talked for sometime about his situation at his job before the accused allegedly asked her if she had a cutlass because he’d seen something crawl into the dining room area.

The woman asked him if it was a snake and he said yes.

She reportedly gave him a can of Baygon and sprayed the area in an attempt to get the creature to come out of hiding to no avail.

The woman told police that she called a female friend and asked if she could stay by her for the night, as she was afraid of snakes.

However, after the end of her telephone conversation, the man allegedly told her that she only needed good loving.

She told him to leave the house but he refused, picking up the cutlass and threatening to use it if necessary and proceeding to grab the front of her dress while demanding that she give in to his sexual advances.

She told police that the man threw her onto her bed, and during their struggle, she grabbed his crotch and bit him on his hand.

The assailant struck her with the cutlass on her arm before trying to choke her.

They fell on the ground and he pulled her underwear down before inserting his finger into her vagina, drawing blood, it was alleged.

The complainant grabbed a nearby piece of iron and struck him in the head and fled the home to seek help.

She looked back and saw that the assailant fled in the opposite direction, it was claimed.

When interviewed by

police, the accused told officers that the woman attacked him with the cutlass when he said he would go home after they didn’t find whatever had crawled into the dining area.

Section four of the Sexual Offences Act, Chapter 99 notes that sexual intercourse includes “(a) sexual connection occasioned by any degree of penetration of the vagina of any person or anus of any person, or by the stimulation of the vulva of any person or anus of any person, by or with (i) any part of the body of

another person; or (ii) any object used by another person, except where the penetration or stimulation is carried out for proper medical purposes; and (b) sexual connection occasioned by the introduction of any part of the penis of any person into the mouth of another person, and any reference in this Act to the act of having sexual intercourse includes a reference to any stage or continuation of that act.”

A conviction for rape carries up to life imprisonment.

Funeral Service Enith “Anne” Roselia Carey née Knowles, 80 of Cable Beach, Nassau, The Bahamas, who died at Doctors Hospital, Collins Avenue, Nassau, on Saturday, 25th February, 2017, will be held at Ebenezer Methodist Church, East Shirley Street, Nassau, on Thursday, 2nd March, 2017 at 4:00 p.m.

Reverend Jerry Hilbun will officiate.

She was predeceased by her parents, Martha and Clement Knowles; Sisters, Meridith Knowles, Esley Darville, Jeannette Cartwright and Martha Meleznera.

She is survived by her Husband, Douglas Carey; sons, Captain Kirk Carey, Dr Anthony Carey and Mario A. Carey; grandsons, Cole Carey and Kiano Carey; great grandson, Sebastian Peterkin; granddaughters, Amber Peterkin, Sasha Carey, Colleen Carey-Williams, Heather Carey, Abby Carey and Isobel Carey; sisters, Keva Clarke and Eva Knowles; daughterin-laws, Denise Carey, Margaret Carey and Venita Carey; grandson-in-laws, Alexander Peterkin and Dustin Williams, other relatives and friends; nieces and nephews, Mildred, Predencia, Jess, Barbara, Paul and Paula, Martha, Keith, Steve, Debbie, Marsha, Phillip, Richard, Lisa, Kathy Jeanette, Betty, Patricia, Robert, April, Astrid, Ingrid, Nancy, Anthony, Judith and Edsel . Numerous other friends and family including, Armond, Olivia, Hildred, Justine, Adena, Violet, Hildred, Isobel, Maxwell, Same, Leon, Charmaine, Cheryl, Doreen, Melanie, Dawson, Jason, Andrika, Abigail, Betty Cole, The Burrows Family, The Knowles Family, The Fields Family, The Moree Family, The Roberts Family, The Davies Family, Pattie, The Lightbourne Family, The Carroll Family, The Scott Family, The Darville Family, the McCartney Family, The Ledard Family, The Cancino Family, The Lewis Family, The Maillis Family, The Cartwright Family, The Percentie Family, The Cooke Family, Thompson Family, The YPO Forum Family, Family and Friends from The Towers of Cable Beach, The BHG/MCR Family and all the Doctors Nurses and Staff at Doctors Hospital.

Instead of flowers the family request, donate blood to either Hospitals Blood Banks in memory of Mrs. Enith “Anne” Roselia Carey.

Relatives and friends may pay their respects at Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited, 19 Palmdale Avenue, Palmdale, on Wednesday, 1st March, 2017, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Arrangements Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, March 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

Public protection is dangerously lacking in the ‘Spying Bill’ ‘K

ILL the Bill’ has become a rallying cry for privacy advocates in the Bahamas ever since the government - without prior notice - tabled a draconian new surveillance law called the Interception of Communications Bill.

This law will let the authorities intercept and store any communication.

Other than applying for a warrant, there are no safeguards built in that would cover such issues as attorney-client privilege, the confidential sources of journalists or the conversations of members of Parliament.

The proposal follows similar legislation enacted in Britain, Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana and other countries over the last decade or so.

These laws all trace their origin back to the US Patriot Act, passed after the 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington.

Among other things, the Patriot Act gave authorities a free hand to conduct mass surveillance and secretly enter homes and businesses.

Secret search of your home or office is also a feature of our government’s Bill, which was recently withdrawn following an avalanche of criticism.

However, the government is not abandoning the law.

Rather, it will craft a public relations campaign to help push it through.

In 2013, the US National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed for the first time that the British and American governments were engaging in mass surveillance of their

“The government is not abandoning the Interception of Communications Bill. Rather, it will craft a public relations campaign to help push it through.” citizens and others around the world.

According to Barton Gellman, of The Washington Post, “The revelations brought to light a global surveillance system that cast off many of its historical restraints after the attacks of September 11, 2001.”

Among the bombshells Snowden revealed was a secret NSA test programme to intercept and archive every cell phone call in the Bahamas, as well as several other countries like Mexico, the Philippines and Kenya.

The impact of realising that the government - all governments - have secret access to all of our information and communications should be chilling.

Imagine how the inside jokes we share with our friends online could be misinterpreted.

In the documentary film ‘Citizen Four’ (which is

running on Cable TV now), Snowden told interviewers: “People self-police today because it’s become the expectation that you are always being watched.”

Documents released by Snowden indicate that information is often covertly acquired by the NSA under the auspices of “lawful intercepts” made through Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) “accesses”.

The DEA is one of the most widely deployed US agencies around the globe (including the Bahamas of course), according to the website Intercept.com, founded by award-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald who helped break the Snowden story.

Currently, legal surveillance in the Bahamas is covered by the 1972 Listening Devices Act, which requires all wiretaps to be authorised in writing either by the Minister of National Security or the Commissioner of Police in consultation with the Attorney General.

The individuals to be targeted must be named. And under the Data Protection Act, personal information may only be “collected by means which are both lawful and fair in the circumstances of the case”.

Before we get into a discussion of the Bahamian

THE National Intelligence Agency reports directly to Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage.

Bill, it is worth looking at what happened in Britain.

Snowden says the British have a mass surveillance system just as large as the US. A draft law was proposed to legalise these global surveillance activities under David Cameron’s coalition government in 2012, but it was blocked by his Liberal Democrat partners. When the Conservatives were returned to office without Lib Dem support, they revived the Bill.

But in contrast to the Bahamian Bill (which came out of the blue), the British legislation went through three independent reviews followed by extensive scrutiny even before it was tabled in Parliament.

And over 1,700 proposed amendments were debated before the law passed at the end of last year.

The British government can now legally intercept and collect everyone’s communications - not just those of criminals. But the law also lays down the rules about these powers, which are supervised by a new Investigatory Powers Commissioner. Judicial approval is required for an investigatory body to identify a journalist’s source, and extra consideration is also given to other “sensitive” professions such as doctors, lawyers and MPs. But - as with the Bahamian Bill - the reasons why a warrant to read your messages could be approved are vague.

One of the negative aspects of the Bahamian legislation is that it fails to provide protection for journalists’ sources, which will certainly discourage whistleblowers.

The 1972 Listening Devices Act allows the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General to authorise intercepts for the purpose of a police investigation into a criminal offence - for a period not exceeding 14 days. Under the proposed new law, everything we do on the Internet or on our phones or through the mail will be intercepted and stored for a renewable period of three months. This data can be trawled through by government agents.

The Bill updates the technologies that can be intercepted and makes warrantless interception illegal - in other words, they can do it but we can’t. The police and security services can hack your computer or phone, and they can enter any premises to do it without your knowledge.

Most importantly, the grounds for interception have been broadened from just the prevention or detection of a crime. They now include national security, public order, public morality, public safety,

WHISTLEBLOWER Edward Snowden, who revealed the scale of mass surveillance by British and American governments.

public health, for the purposes equivalent to the provisions of any mutual legal assistance agreement, or to prevent death or injury.

To take just one of these umbrellas, ‘national security’ includes subversion as a ground, and the ordinary meaning of subversion is “the undermining of the power and authority of an

“This shadowy National Intelligence Agency is carrying out its vague, hidden mission without any lawful authority or publiclydefined terms of reference.” established system or institution”. That could apply to almost all dissent. And public morality could cover anything at all in this tightly wrapped, self-righteous, hypocritical little society.

As for the Bill’s requirement for the government to report on interceptions to Parliament, the Hospital and Health Care Facilities Board is also supposed to table a yearly report, but at last count only two had been provided since the board’s inception in 1998.

This is par for the course at most government agencies and corporations.

Critics also point out that the Bahamas has no ombudsman of any sort, no independent prosecutor, no independent Attorney General, and no independent Commissioner of Police. And our governments (especially this one) have demonstrated a willingness to ignore court rulings and otherwise flout the rule of law.

Even more concerning is the fact that the Bill allows a politically-appointed magistrate to impose severe summary prison sentences (with no jury trial by a tenured judge). This means that any protection afforded a whistleblower under the Freedom of Information Act (should it ever be brought into force) will no longer exist.

The only relevant case I can recall took place in 1958, following the celebrated general strike.

Labour leader Randol Fawkes had attempted to meet with workers at an American-owned logging company on Andros to investigate claims of abuse.

He was charged with trespassing and sentenced by a magistrate to a threeyear probation (which was more punishment than the law specified). Soon after, at a rally on Windsor Park, Fawkes criticised the deci-

sion and the crowd yelled for the magistrate’s removal. Police chased them away and Fawkes was charged with sedition.

He was defended by Jamaican lawyer Vivian Blake, who later became a Chief Justice of the Bahamas. According to the presiding judge, “the meaning of ‘seditious intention’ as defined in our penal code ... is an intention to bring into hatred or contempt or to incite disaffection against the administration of justice”.

The charge was unprecedented in the Bahamas, but the judge eventually ruled there was no case to answer.

In an historic 1942 speech to the Governor after the Burma Road riots, Dr C R Walker pointed out that “Warrants for the arrest of would-be social reformers are frequently issued for the most trivial of offences.

In this way the law is made a weapon to club the natives into submission.”

These examples from the recent past should act as cautionary tales to what the government is trying to do now.

In 2014, the Privy Council ruled on a Bahamian drug trafficking case involving telephone intercepts. Lawyers had called the wiretap evidence illegal and unconstitutional, but the Listening Devices Act was upheld. However, the appeal judges urged Parliament to revisit our surveillance regime. And the Interception of Communications bill is the result.

At the beginning of Perry Christie’s term in 2012, his administration created an intelligence agency to deal with national security threats, appointing a former Defence Force chief to run it. Legislation to formally establish the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has been promised ever since, but the government’s term will likely expire before such a Bill is actually brought to Parliament.

All we know is that the NIA reports directly to a cabinet minister - Bernard Nottage - who says the agency “identifies and monitors groups that pose a threat”. In other words, this shadowy agency is carrying out its vague, hidden mission without any lawful authority or publiclydefined terms of reference.

In our highly politicised world the combination of a secret intelligence agency with no public oversight and a law that lets the government sift through all of our private communications is cause for serious concern.

What do you think? Send comments to lsmith@tribunemedia.net or visit www. bahamapundit.com

THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE THE

Wednesday, March 1st,1,2017, Wednesday, March 2017,PAGE PAGEA9 9

PIBO robot, whose main purpose is getting you and your loved ones sharing your daily life again, receives instructions from her owner, at the Four Years From Now (FYFN) show, a sidebar event of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. (AP)

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS

CHATTING ROBOTS AND MUSIC AMONG GADGETS ON SHOW IN BARCELONA BARCELONA, Spain — While smartphones get top billing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, it’s the quirky, under-theradar products that are getting a lot of the visitors’ attention.

Here’s a glimpse of some of the gadgets and apps displayed by startup companies this week at the fair, the world’s largest for wireless technology.

CUTE ROBOT Living in Seoul, Jong-Gun Park looked around him one day and decided his fellow South Koreans needed some help expressing their emotions.

“We are so busy these days, always running to and from work, taking our kids to school, studying, that we no longer find the necessary time to interact with each other,” said Park, CEO of the company Circulus.

Enter Pibo, the friendly dinner table ice-breaker.

Pibo is a charming little robot whose goal is to get you and your loved ones sharing your daily life more. “Are you tired?” he asks, “I will play music without boredom.”

Sure, he still needs to hone his English, but he’s always eager to ask about your day or provide updates on weather conditions.

Still a prototype, Pibo comes in a case, should you wish to take him along on vacation. He is, after all, a member of the family. For an expected $490 a pop.

JUST ADD WATER Growing your own veggies may become possible even for urbanites with tiny studio apartments.

Israeli startup Living Box offers a modular, unfoldable, solar-powered little greenhouse that you can use to harvest anything from tomatoes to tea and herbs.

“We have a slow release water system for irrigation, with a novel liquid nutrient solution and bacteria to avoid the use of pesticides, as well as an app prototype updating weather conditions and other relevant data right to your smartphone, so you don’t have to monitor it,” explained Nitzan Solan, CEO of the company.

The idea was to create a sustainable, affordable and simple mobile farming system that could be oper-

VISITORS look at vegetables growing up at Living Box, a mobile farming system. (AP) ated by anyone around the globe.

As of now, Living Box is testing in 50 sites around Israel, the U.S. and Nigeria, and aims to try locations in Spain and Fiji. It is expected to carry a market price of $300.

COOL HANG The hang, a metal percussion instrument shaped like a flying saucer, is beloved of street performers the world round and often associated with meditation practices like yoga.

Now it comes in a fully digital version.

When delicately tapped, the Oval can reproduce the sounds of a hang as well as other instruments, like drums, trumpets and even violins.

Musicians Ravid Goldschmidt and Alex Posada, the co-founders of the Spanish startup that makes the Oval, say they sought to start a “revolution of percussion” with this instrument.

Already on the market, the Oval is aimed at all kinds of consumers, with about 40 percent estimated to be amateur or professional musicians.

It goes for about $950.

TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE Samsung’s Relumino headset

A MUSICIAN plays an Oval, a new digital musical instrument replicating many others. (AP) aims to do nothing less than help the blind see.

The gadget, shaped like virtual reality glasses, recasts images of the world in a way that someone with vision problems can see more clearly.

The glasses are still in a developmental stage and, although it’s still too early to venture a market price for them, Samsung Senior Engineer Junghoon Cho hopes to compete with other more expensive visual aids out there.

Besides correcting blurred images, the headset can eliminate blind spots and improve peripheral vision.

“If we make our own project, people who are visually impaired can walk outside using our glasses... We want to help them have a better social relationship with other people,” said Cho. SHOPPING VISION Worried the new couch might not squeeze through door?

Sri Lanka-based startup Liveroom is trying to solve your angst.

Its virtual reality technology aims to give shoppers a live look at how products in online stores would fit into your home.

This is how it works: you shoot an image of the space in question via a liveview button and then consult their catalog on the app for the item you want. The item will pop up on your tablet or smartphone set in the image of your home. You can move and rotate the item and change its colors, fabric and material.

“If you’re buying online, via ecommerce, you have only images.

You have to visualize the product in your mind and maybe the dimensions and the colors are wrong,” said founder and CTO Sameera Nilupul.

“With this technology, you can see exactly how the products look in your own home.”

ALEX OLLER, Associated Press

SAMSUNG DELAYS ITS NEW PHONE AND SHOWCASES TABLETS INSTEAD NEW YORK — Samsung’s product showcase Sunday is notable for what’s missing: a new flagship phone.

Instead, Samsung is spotlighting new Android and Windows tablets after delaying the Galaxy S8 smartphone — an indirect casualty of the unprecedented September recall of the fire-prone Note 7 phone.

The new tablets will carry the Galaxy brand and come with many of the Note 7’s features, including the S Pen stylus and screens with rich colors.

Consumers will have to wait at least a few weeks longer for details on Samsung’s next major smartphone.

That’s partly so that Samsung wouldn’t have to share the stage with its

THE Galaxy Tab S3

smartphone rivals at the Mobile World Congress trade show, which begins Monday in Barcelona, Spain. The delay also gives Samsung more time to make sure it has done everything right, given that any minor bug will surely draw outsized attention.

“The microscope is going to be firmly on Sam-

sung,” said Geoff Blaber, an analyst with the research firm CCS Insight.

Samsung said the new tablets will go through extensive safety checks put in place after dozens of Note 7 phone overheated and in some cases exploded.

Those incidents prompted aviation authorities to ban them on flights; Samsung

eventually killed the product.

Samsung now wants everyone to focus on its tablets’ most notable features: • The new Galaxy Tab S3, running Google’s Android system, will have a glass back and metal frame, borrowing designs from Samsung’s smartphones. The screen technology, called AMOLED, offers richer colours and purer blacks than standard LCD screens. The display will support high-dynamic range, a feature that promises brighter whites, darker blacks and a wider range of colours — at least for the handful of video titles produced with that capability.

• For those wanting a laptop replacement, Samsung is releasing the Gal-

axy Book with Microsoft’s Windows 10 and more powerful processors from Intel. Only the 12-inch version will get AMOLED, though; the 10-inch Galaxy Book will use LCD. Both models come with a keyboard attachment, something sold as an optional accessory for the S3.

The Galaxy Book is Samsung’s answer to Apple’s iPad Pro and Microsoft’s Surface devices.

All models come with Samsung’s S Pen and include standard features from the Note phones, such as taking on-screen notes when the phone is locked. But unlike the Note, these tablets lack spring-loaded cavities for storing the stylus.

ANICK JESDANUN, AP Technology Writer

TECHTALK • PEOPLE fed up with paying for cable the traditional way will soon be able to subscribe to it from YouTube.

The Google-owned site known for cat videos and doit-yourself makeup tutorials is the latest company to offer a version of cable that looks and feels more like Netflix. Dish, Sony and AT&T already have internet cable alternatives, and Hulu has one coming soon.

None of these have been huge hits yet. YouTube is hoping its expertise in recommendations and search makes it stand out.

Its version will cost $35 a month for about 40 networks, similar to rivals. But it’s initially limited to a few cities where it has deals with broadcasters. And so far, Google doesn’t appear to have deals for popular channels such as HBO, AMC and TBS. • COUNTERFEIT goods, software piracy and the theft of trade secrets cost the American economy as much as $600 billion a year, a private watchdog says.

In a report out Monday, the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property says the annual losses range from about $225 billion to $600 billion. The theft of trade secrets alone costs the United States between $180 billion and $540 billion annually. Counterfeit goods cost the United States $29 billion to $41 billion annual; pirated software costs an additional $18 billion a year.

The findings echo those of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which in 2015 pegged the annual cost of economic espionage by computer hacking at $400 billion.

• THE arena has all the features that a professional sports venue needs: stands, warm-up areas for teams, massive screens for spectators and a broadcast platform for commentators. But what distinguishes this new Las Vegas arena is its dozens of video game consoles.

The 15,000-square-foot e-sports venue slated to open Friday will host competitive video game tournaments. It’s part of a trend that the casino industry hopes will attract the millennial crowd, the 15- to 34-year-olds who are becoming majority spenders in today’s economy but aren’t necessarily interested in traditional gambling.

“Las Vegas needs to consistently reinvent itself to remain relevant to the upand-coming generation,” said Seth Schorr, CEO of Fifth Street Gaming and a member of the board of directors of Millennial Esports, the company behind the arena.

“We’ve always come up with ways to maintain our position as the entertainment capital of the world.”

Athletes participating in a tournament at the arena will emerge from a tunnel surrounded by roaring crowds in the stands. They will then go on a podium and sit at stations equipped with game consoles, monitors and other equipment.

The venue will open its doors March 3 with a threeday, $50,000-prize-pool Halo World Championship qualifier and host an EA Sportssanctioned Madden 17 NFL tournament later in March.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, March 1, 2017, PAGE 11

PORTRAIT OF A 46-YEAR PAINTING CAREER AT BTVI

By HADASSAH HALL DAVID Barry became a student of the Painting and Decorating programme in 1969, when the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) was known as Nassau Technical Centre.

He went on to become an apprentice and today is an employee, who says he has had more highs than lows.

“This is the only job I know. I grew up here,” said Mr Barry, who retired as an employee of the Ministry of Education in 2015 after 44 years of service.

BTVI, which was once fully under the Ministry of Education, became semi-autonomous in 2013 and when Mr Barry retired two years later, the institution retained his services. So he has worked at the Old Trail Road campus for the past 46 years.

“What really kept me here are the students,” he said.

“I like to instill in them that painting and decorating is a profession. I like to awaken minds to the different skills I have.

“It’s been good. It’s been enjoyable … I’ve seen this place go through name changes.

“I have seen this place start as a simple training centre to today being an institute on par with institutes in the US and Canada because of the curriculum. I look at BTVI as a community college,” Mr Barry said. Questioned as to why the Painting and Decorating programme may not be as popular as others, Mr Barry suggested that people do not see painting as a profession.

“People believe anyone can paint. However, it’s beyond the surface. Bahamians tend to paint for beautification. Painting is about preservation.

“You can look around us; some buildings are deteriorating because

A YOUNG David Barry during his training at the then Nassau Technical Centre. of the lack of proper preparation for painting,” the expert painter said.

Mr Barry said painters must prepare against the elements. “Surfaces require specific preparation and materials. There is even colour theory. Some colours are not applicable to certain rooms or areas.

For example, darker colours make rooms seem smaller. Professional painters are colour advisors,” Mr Barry said, recalling doing interior painting at the house of the late Prime Minister, Sir Lynden Pindling.

BTVI’s Painting and Decorating programme includes drywall finishing, hanging wall coverings, decorative finishings and refinishing furniture.

Mr Barry, who grew up on Harbour Island, came to New Providence to study a trade but was unsure what he wanted to do. He was subsequently placed in the Painting

DAVID BARRY keeps a keen eye on a student during a practical experience at BTVI. Photo: Shantique Longley and Decorating programme.

With eight classmates and under the tutelage of Englishman John Hutcheson, Mr Barry was in the programme for a year before being chosen by the institution’s administration to become an apprentice.

He was the top choice of the two students who passed the Londonbased City and Guilds certificate in painting and decorating.

The apprenticeship lasted another year before Mr Barry became an employee of the Ministry of Education in 1971, spending over four decades as a public servant. During this time, Mr Barry was afforded opportunities for further training.

“This became C R Walker Technical College and it merged with the College of The Bahamas (COB) at one point. They wanted me to teach Auto Repair, so they sent me to study a diploma in the field at Al-

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP INVITED TO REGIONAL CONSULTATIONS A LEADING Bahamian human rights organisation has been invited to take part in high level regional consultations on the development of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) 2017–2020 Strategic Plan this week.

Representatives from select non-governmental organisations across the region have been asked to evaluate the proposals for the Plan, and to help generate a more democratic and transparent culture within the IACHR, which is the human rights arm of the Organisation of American States (OAS).

The IACHR has invited the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA) to take part in the event, which takes place on Friday in Kingston, Jamaica.

“We are thrilled that such an important regional body has invited us to take part in these crucial consul-

tations,” said Paco Nunez, the GBHRA Secretary. “It demonstrates that our work in the Bahamas is being recognised and appreciated by the international community. The GBHRA thanks the IACHR for its invitation and hopes it is the first of many such opportunities to contribute, in whatever way we can, to the further development of the Inter-American Human Rights System.”

In addition to the consultation sessions, delegates will take part in a workshop on the Inter-American Human Rights System and the Right to Freedom of Expression, to be led by the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Delegates will also attend the launch of the new Report on AfroDescendants, by Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination.

pena Community College in Michigan. That’s how I got another skill under my belt,” he said.

Mr Barry said heading the programme and eventually teaching on the Family Islands were highlights of his career.

“About four years ago, BTVI’s construction trades’ instructors conducted courses on the weekends on several islands including Andros, Abaco, Harbour Island and Eleuthera. From carpentry to drywall and plumbing to tiling. To see the faces of the islanders who were so pleased that we would come there and teach them these trades was a good moment,” he said.

“Another highlight is the fact that there is a graduate of mine named Patreka Ferguson, who is now supervisor of the painting section of the Ministry of Works. Now, her daughter is a student in the same programme,” Mr Barry said, beaming.

Over the years, he has also taught painting and decorating to at-risk youth, including residents of the Simpson Penn School for Boys and the boys of Program Sure. “Teaching young men is my passion. They want a father figure,” he said.

Mr Barry is so versatile that he is presently teaching 17 boys from Anatol Rodgers High School a Trade Career Path course. For the 15-week dual enrollment programme, they are introduced to the fundamentals of several construction trades including Electrical Installation, Plumbing, Masonry, Carpentry, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), Welding, and Painting and Decorating.

DAVID BARRY, expert painter Shanando Moss, who wants to become an Electrical Engineer, spoke highly of Mr Barry. “The class atmosphere is easy to learn in. Mr Barry, makes a difference.

Currently, we are learning about electricity. I am using this as an opportunity and I intend to come back in September for a year before hopefully going off to school,” said the teenager.

Mr Barry is particularly pleased with the students of Anatol Rodgers High School. “They really want to pursue the construction trades. I am finding it out through their research and enthusiasm. It’s a pleasure working with them. I am giving back and I think this group appreciates it,” he said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS ‘JOIN FORCES’ FOR NEW GREATNESS WASHINGTON (AP) — Heralding a “new chapter of American greatness,” US President Donald Trump issued a broad call for overhauling the nation’s health care system and significantly boosting military spending Tuesday night, swapping his trademark pugnaciousness and personal insults for a more restrained tone as he addressed Congress for the first time.

In an appeal to American optimism, Trump declared, “The time for small thinking is over.” Still, he employed dark language to describe the threat posed by “radical Islamic terrorism” — a term his own national security adviser rejects as inflammatory — and warned against “reckless” and “uncontrolled entry” of refugees and immigrants from countries with ties to extremist groups.

Trump’s overall message on immigration, one of his signature campaign issues, was unexpectedly mixed. He said he believed that “real and positive immigration reform is possible” and had suggested to news anchors earlier that he was open to legislation that could provide a pathway to legal status for some of the millions of people living in the U.S. illegally.

In his hour-long address, Trump defended his early actions in office and ignored the missteps that have set even his allies in Washington on edge. He outlined a populist agenda centred on promises to compel companies to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. He was unusually measured and embraced the pomp and tradition of a presidential address to Congress.

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump.

The president was greeted by enthusiastic applause as he entered the House chamber, though it was filled with Democrats who vigorously oppose his policies and many Republicans who never expected him to be elected. Most Republican lawmakers have rallied around him since the election, hopeful that he will act on the domestic priorities they saw blocked during President Barack Obama’s eight years in office.

Topping that list is undoing Obama’s signature health care law and replacing the sweeping measure.

Trump offered a basic blueprint of his priorities, including ensuring that those with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage, allowing people to buy insurance across state lines and offering tax credits and expanded health savings accounts to help Americans purchase coverage. He suggested he would get rid of the current law’s requirement that all Americans carry insurance coverage, saying that “mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for America.”

Making a direct appeal for bipartisanship, Trump turned to Democrats and said, “Why not join forces to finally get the job done and get it done right?”

Democrats, now firmly ensconced in the minority, sat silently while Republicans stood and cheered.

Some wore blue, pro-health care buttons that read “Protect our care,” and dozens of Democratic women wore white in honour of the suffrage movement.

Delivering Democrats’ formal response after the speech, former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear accused Trump of planning to “rip affordable health insurance” from Americans and being “Wall Street’s champion.”

Trump was vague in his call for tax reform, another Republican priority. He promised “massive tax relief for the middle class” and a reduction in corporate tax rates, but glossed over how he would offset the cuts.

The president also urged Congress to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure package financed through both public and private capital.

“The time has come for a new programme of national rebuilding,” he said.

First lady Melania Trump sat with special guests who were on hand to amplify the president’s agenda, including the family members of people killed by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

The widow of former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia also sat alongside Mrs. Trump, a reminder of the president’s well-received nomination of federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill Scalia’s seat.

PAGE 12, Wednesday, March 1, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

SHOWN in the engine workshop at the LJM Maritime Academy are cadets with their instructor. From left to right are Cadet Vandesha Whyte, Cadet Jasmaine Lord, Ambassador Tony Joudi, Cadet Hugh Sands, Cadet Dominique Beadle, Chief Engineer and Lecturer, Jurij Sinicyn, and Cadet Glenroy Rolle. Photo: Azaleta Ishmael-Newry

STATE-OF-THE-ART SIMULATORS ‘COULD PROMOTE MARINE ACADEMY TO QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE’ THE commissioner general for the Bahamian Pavilion that will be part of Expo 2020 Dubai, a world trade fair, says state-of-the-art simulators which teach students about shipping navigation and fire-fighting techniques in the Bahamas could be used to promote a marine academy to a quarter of a million people.

During a courtesy call to the LJM Maritime Academy at Maritime Cay in New Providence on Saturday, non-resident ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, Tony Joudi, was given a tour of the $31 million, hi-tech, wireless green campus where he learned first-hand what they offered.

“This was the first time I had visited this Academy and I was extremely impressed with their stateof-the-art technology, and the scholars that they have on board.

It is my hope that we can duplicate the type of simulators they use at the school in the Bahamian Pavilion in Dubai so that the experience can be shared outside the Bahamas,” he said.

The six-month world fair opens in October, 2020 and it 25 million visitors are expected to visit. “If one per cent of those visitors pass through the Bahamas Pavilion, it means that 250,000 persons could learn about the LJM Maritime School,” said Ambassador Joudi.

“The goal is to have overseas students experience life at sea using the simulators and register for the Maritime programme. They would live on campus and learn in a holistic atmosphere.”

According ­­ to the Academy’s prospectus, the LJM ­­ Maritime

SHOWN in the engine workshop at the LJM Maritime Academy are cadets with their instructor. From left to right are Cadet Vandesha Whyte, Cadet Jasmaine Lord, Ambassador Tony Joudi, Cadet Hugh Sands, Cadet Dominique Beadle, Chief Engineer and Lecturer, Jurij Sinicyn, and Cadet Glenroy Rolle.

Photo: Azaleta Ishmael-Newry Academy is a tertiary level maritime training institution that produces outstanding seafarers and industry leaders. It offers a topquality education and training programme that will enable seafarers to exceed international industry standards. Students would also be well equipped with essential theoretical knowledge and practical skills to compete as a maritime professional, globally.

AMBASSADOR Tony Joudi (third left) at the LJM Maritime Academy on Saturday with (from left to right) Cadet Perceival Ferguson, Lecturer Dr Alvin Hepburn, Librarian Willamae Johnson, Ian Mitchell, and Master Mariner and Lecturer, Captain Arun Bhatnagar.

Photo: Azaleta Ishmael-Newry

GOVERNOR GENERAL VISITS RONNIE BUTLER’S 100-YEAR-OLD MOTHER ROSALYN DAVIS, the mother of Bahamian entertainment icon Ronnie Butler, celebrated her 100th birthday in November. On Monday she was visited by Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling at her home in Culmerville.

PHOTO: Kristaan Ingraham/BIS TUESDAY

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