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Door open to same-sex marriage

RESULTS OFFICIAL THE OF H 2016 JUNE 7T DUM N REFERE

Dame Anita Allen says judges may have to rule on issue

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Tribune Staff Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

COURT of Appeal President Dame Anita Allen said last night the judiciary is likely to face challenges in determining whether samesex marriages are legal in The Bahamas, while pointing to “difficulties” inherent in the existing marriage laws that do not present any provision that parties to a marriage must be male and female.

Dame Anita said that,

arguably, the laws of The Bahamas do not discriminate on the basis of sex and facilitate not only marriages of every description but also consummation of the same.

Given the various challenges relating to the existing law, Dame Anita last night insisted that both the Marriage Act and the Matrimonial Causes Act require “reconstructing” to meet the needs of a changing society.

SEE PAGE SIX

DNA LEADER WILLING TO ACCEPT CIVIL UNIONS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney expressed openness yesterday to allowing homosexual couples to form civil unions, as opposed to marriage, so they could enjoy some of the rights that married couples do.

His statement came dur-

ing an appearance on the 96.9FM talk show The Revolution in response to a question from the host about same-sex marriage.

“Same-sex marriage I don’t believe in that, but civil unions, I think people should have rights under the law and I don’t think it should be taken away, but when it comes down to that marriage...” he said.

SEE PAGE SIX

PRESIDENT of the Court of Appeal Dame Anita Allen.

NOTTAGE SLAMMED FOR FAILURE TO TACKLE CRIME

By KHRISNA VIRGIL Tribune Staff Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday castigated National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage over his recent response to the worrying crime problem, saying the tone of the Bain and Grants Town MP’s remarks was “deaf” and “insensitive”.

Dr Minnis also criticised the Christie administration over its failure to address homicides in The Bahamas, saying this is a “frightening” reminder that the government is incapable of leading this country.

His statement came after three murders on Sunday, including the killing of a church minister at a Scotiabank ATM. On Monday, Dr Nottage had very little to say about violent crime when he was questioned by The Tribune, however he told a

local daily that overall crime was down this year compared to the same period in 2015.

He added that Sunday’s murders were “unusual” considering crime trends this year.

Sunday’s killings pushed the homicide count to 56 for the year. Up to this time last year, the country had recorded 69 homicides, a difference of 18 per cent. However, 2015 was a record-breaking year for homicides, with police recording 146 that year.

Dr Minnis further criticised the government saying it is an administration of “no action”, filled with rhetoric and broken promises.

Dr Minnis said: “Of all the words that could be used to describe this weekend’s three tragic murders in The Bahamas, this Progressive Liberal Party government chose ‘unusual’?

SEE PAGE SIX

RBDF IN SHOOTOUT AT SEA WITH POACHERS

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

ROYAL Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) marines were involved in a shootout and subsequent high-speed chase with suspected Dominican poachers in the Cay Lobos area on Monday night, National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage said yesterday.

Dr Nottage said Her Majesty’s Bahamian Ship (HMBS) Cascarilla, while on patrol in the Cay Lobos area in the southern SEE PAGE THREE

NO ANSWERS TO COST OF JURY FAILS TO REACH A REHABILITATION CENTRE VERDICT IN MURDER TRIAL

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

MONDAY’S opening of the Child and Adolescent and Robert Smith Complex at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre was overshadowed by the sketchy and questionable management of the project by successive administrations, Democratic National Alliance Leader Branville McCart-

ney said yesterday.

The state-of-the-art, 35,000 square foot facility was commissioned

by Prime Minister Perry Christie on Monday, ten years after work began on it.

Its opening came four years after Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez said the facility would open in a “matter of weeks”.

SEE PAGE SIX

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN’S defence at trial that a drug trafficker did not need to rob and murder a web shop manager for money was not completely sold on a jury yesterday, which returned unanimous guilty verdicts on charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

However, the jury returned a hung verdict of 7-5 on the murder charge, which is not acceptable in law, for Daphne Knowles of Cartwright’s, Long Island.

Knowles would have faced the death penalty if convicted of the brutal murder of Andrea Carroll in 2014.

On the remaining charges, where the jury returned 12-0 guilty verdicts, SEE PAGE SEVEN

PAGE 2, Wednesday, June 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

THE POPULAR Royal Kidz summer camp is in full swing this week at Gladstone Road with children from as young as three months up to ten years enjoying a range of activities. The two daily sessions from 7am to 3pm and 3pm to 6pm offer swimming, tennis, karate, ballet, conversational Spanish, baking and arts and crafts plus breakfast and lunch. The camp runs until August 19.

Photos: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff

HAVING FUN IN THE

SUMMER

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 15, 2016, PAGE 3

The rising cost of finishing Baha Mar

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net EACH day that Baha Mar sits unused is costing investors hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to a veteran engineering inspector, who urged the future buyer of the $3.5bn mega resort to demand due diligence.

Retired inspector Tom Rickards warned that lengthy delays at the stalled project increased the risk of the structure having to be stripped down and completely reconstructed from the ground up.

Mr Rickards insisted that due diligence was an inevitable step in maximising the value of Baha Mar, and advised that officials prepare for the process and assist in a professional manner. He underscored that openness would result in the greatest payoff to the citizens of the Bahamas, as he outlined testing techniques vital to such an endeavour in a letter to The Tribune.

“Any serious owner or buyer will demand due dili-

gence,” he said, “and bring in new and completely independent engineering resources to determine if the original engineering, including structural, HVAC, and all other design elements were in general accordance with commonly accepted building standards.”

“If the engineering is found acceptable, any serious potential buyer will then require detailed examination of the strength of the concrete used in the project, and the proper placement and coverage of the reinforcing steel within.”

Mr Rickards added: “If the supporting structure reveals the correct strength of concrete, and correct construction and coverage of the reinforcing steel, a rigorous examination of the air conditioning duct work will be required, so that the degree of mould and mildew present, if any, is manageable.”

Mr Rickards, 68, lives on Windemere Island, Eleuthera. Prior to his retirement, he managed the

physical testing section of Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory in Miami, Florida for more than a decade. At the testing lab, he evaluated and tested the materials and methods of construction in very large structures, some he said, even larger than the stalled Cable Beach resort.

“After investigating hundreds of projects overall, and dozens larger and more complicated than Baha Mar, we found many common findings and reached conclusions owners or potential buyers of a stalled project had to accept,” he said.

“Data was gathered over a period of days and weeks, sometimes months, depending on how long the project lay dormant, and the depth of the inquiry by the owner or potential buyer.

“We used a wide array of testing techniques, including x and gamma ray radiography, magnetic inspection, and multiple methods of testing concrete strength.”

Baha Mar was initially slated to open December 2014, but faced a series of

delays, which it blamed on its general contractor, China Construction America (CCA) Bahamas.

The resort filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a US court last June; however, the cases for the resort’s Bahamian properties were thrown out.

Last October, the Supreme Court put the resort into receivership at the request of the Export Import Bank of China.

A formal sale process for the project began in March when Baha Mar’s court appointed receivers hired a Canadian real estate firm to market the project to potential buyers.

Last month, Prime Minister Christie touted the government’s success in negotiations with the EXIM Bank and CCA’s parent company over the stalled resort, saying all parties have entered into a “framework agreement” to complete the project “as expeditiously as possible.”

However, he gave no concrete resolution on the issue of payment to unsecured Bahamian creditors,

TOM RICKARDS only saying they would be “considered” during the re-mobilisation process, adding that negotiations were underway to agree to appropriate timelines and a schedule for completion.

Yesterday, Mr Rickards said: “Assuming all engineering and architectural elements are found built to code, then the final question is asked: does the building work? Do the water and waste systems, electrical and air-conditioning systems, and the multitude of other elements all combine to produce a working

building? Is it cool, does it smell good, is it appealing to the eye?

“Everyday a complex structure like Baha Mar sits unused, it costs someone, a bank, investors, or owners, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars per day.

“Delay too long, and the structure may reach a point at which it will be stripped down to the bare concrete, assuming the concrete and steel themselves are acceptable, completely reconstructed from the ground up.”

RBDF IN SHOOTOUT AT SEA WITH POACHERS

from page one

Bahamas around 8pm on Monday, was “fired upon” by the crew of a vessel registered in the Dominican Republic after marines launched a sea boat in an attempt to board the vessel.

The crew of the vessel was engaged in illegal fishing at the time of the incident, he said.

The crew on board HMBS Cascarilla returned fire after being shot at with what RBDF officials told The Tribune were shotguns.

No marines were hurt, nor were any of the vessels damaged during the testy encounter, according to Dr Nottage.

Following the shootout, HMBS Cascarilla subsequently engaged the suspected Dominican vessel in hot pursuit south of Cay Lobos near the southern limits of the Great Bahama Bank. The chase continued towards Cuban territorial waters, Dr Nottage said.

The vessel eventually entered Cuban waters and HMBS Cascarilla called off the chase. The Cuban Border Guard was later informed that the

suspected Dominican vessel had entered their waters.

Dr Nottage said Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell, who is in the Dominican Republic on “government business”, has taken the matter up with the government there. Dr Nottage also said he has directed an “immediate and thorough investigation” into the matter by law enforcement agencies.

The state of the crew aboard the suspected Dominican vessel following the shootout is unknown, Dr Nottage said.

Nonetheless, reports received from a Bahamian fishing vessel in the area indicate that the suspected vessel may have been in the company of three other Dominican vessels.

Additionally, prior to engaging in the hot pursuit, the crew of HMBS Cascarilla took two Dominican nationals into custody who were on board two fishing skiffs in the Cay Lobos area.

RBDF Acting Commodore Captain Tellis Bethel said the force has encountered “minimal violence” over the years from Dominican fishing vessels; howev-

er, he said there have been a lot of reports by Bahamian fishermen of allegedly being fired upon by Dominicans at sea.

However, Capt Bethel said with the acquisition of vessels under the government’s Sandy Bottom project, the RBDF has been able to bring on stream additional patrol craft to enable the force to maintain a constant 24/7 presence on the Great Bahama Bank.

“Based on the reports we’ve received from the local fishermen, the Defence Force seems to have had some degree of success in that reported sightings have been significantly reduced,” he said.

“And in this latest incident, which has been a rare one over the past several months, certainly reminds us that we must continue to be vigilant with our patrols in the Great Bahama Bank area.”

Dr Nottage, meanwhile, said the government is committed to mitigating against such encounters.

“The obligations of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force are very demanding and are becoming more challenging as the Bahamas is increasingly threat-

MARIJUANA POLICE SEEK MISSING MAN POLICE in Grand BaSEIZED IN hama are seeking the pubassistance in locating GRAND BAHAMA lic’s 34-year-old Fabian Robeer POLICE in Grand Bahama seized 16 marijuana plants on Monday.

Officers from the Eight Mile Rock division, acting on information, found eight pots containing the plants around 1pm.

The plants were found down a track road in the Holmes Rock area.

Police said the Drug Enforcement Unit will continue with investigations into this matter.

Fox, who has been reported missing.

Mr Fox, also known as “W”, is 5ft 8in, weighs between 160lbs – 170 lbs, has a medium brown complexion and is of slim build with hazel eyes.

He was last seen at his residence on Rum Cay Drive in Freeport on Friday, April 8, around 9pm wearing a long sleeved shirt and long trousers.

If you know of his where-

FABIAN FOX abouts or have any information regarding Mr Fox, please contact the police in Grand Bahama at 350-3107 through 12, 911/919, or call your nearest police station.

ened with illicit activities including the poaching of our marine resources,” he said.

“The government’s commitment is to ensure that the Royal Bahamas Defence Force is equipped to effectively protect our territorial waters and meet the Bahamas’ obligations in the area of maritime safety and security.”

The government has previously engaged the Dominican government in discussions in an attempt to curb the long-standing problem of poachers from that country robbing Bahamian waters of hundreds of thousands of pounds of seafood.

In February 2014, Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray said he met with Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina, who gave his assurances that the Christie administration had the country’s full support in tackling the issue.

He said a memorandum of understanding was prepared, with one of the conditions being that Dominican vessels were to be outfitted with GPS systems to ensure that the fishermen do not venture out of their own borders.

MURDER VICTIMS NAMED POLICE have released the identities of two men who were killed during a shooting in Fox Hill on Sunday night.

They are Samuel Paul Rolle, 37, of Adderley Street, and Chavaz Hepburn, 30, of Dorsette Street.

Both men died after a gunman shot at them while they were standing on Adderley Street shortly after 9pm on Sunday.

Shortly after the incident, police revealed that they had a person of interest in custody. At the time, police said they did not have a motive for the shootings.

However, with the continued violation of the fisheries laws, Mr Gray said he was not sure whether officials in the Dominican Republic took the government’s warnings seriously.

In May, 11 Dominicans were fined a collective $170,500 in Magistrate’s Court after pleading guilty to five poaching related charges.

The Dominicans, including a 16-year-old, pleaded guilty to charges of engaging in foreign fishing in the exclusive fishing zone of the Bahamas, possession of Nassau Grouper weighing less than three pounds each, possession of fresh crawfish during a closed season, possession of crawfish measuring less than three and a quarter inches and possession of a shark.

They were each fined $10,000 with respect to illegal fishing, $1,000 for the undersized groupers, $2,500 for the closed-season crawfish, $1,500 for the undersized crawfish and $500 for the Lemon shark.

They were told failure to pay the fine would result in eight months at the Department of Correctional Services.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, June 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

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Florida bank issues first US credit card for use in Cuba HAVANA (AP) — A small Florida bank will issue the first US credit card intended for use in Cuba and make it easier for Americans to travel and work on an island largely cut off from the US financial system, the bank announced Tuesday.

Pompano Beach-based Stonegate Bank said its Mastercard, available Wednesday, will let US travellers charge purchases at state-run businesses and a handful of private ones, mostly high-end private restaurants equipped with point-of-sale devices.

Until now, Americans have generally had to bring cash to Cuba and change it either at state institutions that impose a 10 per cent penalty on the dollar or in informal exchanges with locals.

“This is going to be huge for American companies trying to do business down here,” Stonegate president David Seleski said.

The card’s utility will be limited for the moment, however. Cuba is preventing cardholders from using them for cash advances. And while the bank says there are 10,000 point-of-sale devices across the island, cashiers in state-owned stores often say they are out of service.

The 54-year-old US trade embargo has barred nearly all US financial transactions with Cuba, including direct bank transfers and the use of American debit and credit cards on the island.

A series of exemptions carved out by President Barack Obama after the declaration of detente with Cuba in Dec. 2014 allows American companies to unblock debit and credit card use and open direct links to Cuban banks that permit financial transfers between the two countries.

Stonegate opened an account for the Cuban government and last year became the first institution to issue a US debit card for use in Cuba. The bank says the debit card allows point-of-sale purchases and was briefly authorized for ATM withdrawals before Cuba shut down that capability in order to implement new security measures.

About 100 American individuals and businesses have opened Stonegate accounts with debit cards approved for Cuba, nearly half of them education institutions and travel companies that organize hundreds of trips a year to the island.

The Cuban government is exempting the cards from the 10 per cent government penalty on dollar transactions, making them the cheapest legal way for travellers to move dollars to the island.

Cubans receive hundreds of millions of dollars a year in remittances from relatives living in the United States and other countries.

Havana has said it will eliminate the 10 per cent penalty altogether once international banks allow the country to carry out international transactions in dollars.

The Obama administration has lifted a block on Cuban government dollar transactions, but banks are still declining to process them due to liability fears generated by the trade embargo, which can only be lifted by Congress. Similar fears have stopped other banks from authorizing the use of their credit cards in Cuba.

Cubans can open Stonegate accounts in the United States but are barred from

accessing them from Cuba.

Despite the thicket of regulations, Seleski said he is heartened by the fact that his bank is now issuing both credit and debit cards authorized for Cuba.

By Michsel Weissentstein *****

Britain’s pro-EU side nervous as odds slashed on ‘leave’

LONDON (AP) — Nervous “remain” supporters stepped up campaigning in Britain’s European Union referendum Tuesday after odds on a vote to leave the bloc dramatically narrowed following a string of polls showing a surge in “leave” sentiment.

The pound fell to a two-month low against the dollar on Monday, to $1.4131, and the FTSE-100 share index fell below 6,000 points for the first time in nearly four months, as bookmakers cut the odds of an exit vote in the June 23 referendum to as short as 6-5. “Remain” was still the favourite, but only just, after several phone and online polls suggested growing support among voters for leaving the 28-nation bloc.

Senior Labour Party figures warned that leaving the EU could cause a recession and trigger big public-sector job losses.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said trade unions across Europe had “bought us better working conditions, longer holidays, less discrimination and maternity and paternity leave.”

“We believe that a Leave vote will put many of those things seriously and immediately at risk,” he said.

Employment Minister Priti Patel, a “leave” supporter, insisted there would be “more than enough money to go round” if Britain doesn’t have to pay millions a week to the bloc.

Polls suggest the “leave” campaign has had success by focusing on public anxiety about immigration, which has soared from other EU countries over the past decade. Free movement of people within the bloc is a key EU principle.

In a bid to regain ground on the issue, a senior Labour politician suggested the party could seek to limit free movement if it formed a government after a “remain” vote. “I think a future Europe will have to look at things like the free movement of labour rules,” deputy leader Tom Watson told the BBC. The Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun tabloid on Tuesday urged its readers to vote for an EU exit, with a front-page editorial under the headline “BeLeave in Britain.”

The newspaper — which has a history of backing the winning side in elections — urged voters to reject a “dictatorial” EU that “has proved increasingly greedy, wasteful, bullying and breathtakingly incompetent in a crisis.”

Meanwhile, a top EU official said “the world needs the European Union,” in a remark seen directed at Britain ahead of next week’s vote. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini had so far declined to comment on the referendum.

By Jill Lawless

Response to CA Smith EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM compelled to respond to the unwarranted, baseless and belligerently scathing attack that Mr C A Smith launched against Sir Arthur Foulkes to whom he erroneously attributed the nom de plume of Front Porch by Simon.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me state that Sir Arthur is my godfather, an individual who has been a very dear friend, confidante and a political mentor, notwithstanding that we reside on opposite poles of the political divide.

Mr Smith, it greatly pains me that you have sought, presumably for self-serving reasons, to so falsely and so confidently accuse Sir Arthur of being the author of the column that appears in The Nassau Guardian under the pen name of Front Porch by Simon and to do so for the reasons contained in your ill-informed missive.

As a fellow columnist, it has been my immense fortune and profound privilege to regularly communicate with the author of that column, and I can most assuredly confirm that Sir Arthur is not the author of Front Porch by Simon.

It is wholly unfortunate that you have gotten your allegations so wrong and that you have done so in the most demeaning and

LETTERS

letters@tribunemedia.net vitriolic terms with such absolute assurance when you could easily have corroborated the facts by simply picking up the phone and discussing the veracity of your spurious allegations with Sir Arthur.

I need not recount the enormous contributions that Sir Arthur has made to the orderly development of our country, as a freedom fighter in the 1950s and 1960s and for the superlatively stellar role that he played in the Quiet Revolution which culminated in majority rule, as well as his contribution to the formation of the Free National Movement that is so inherently critical to our democracy and to his invaluable service in drafting the preamble to our Independence Constitution.

Sir Arthur has served our country with spectacular distinction as High Commissioner to the Court of St James, Ambassador to various European countries, the Republic of Cuba and the Peoples Republic of China, and unquestionably remains one of our most distinguished Governors General.

I vividly recall Sir Arthur’s address on the occa-

sion of the conferral of an honorary doctorate from Saint John’s University on October 2, 2011 when he noted that: “To seek to force one’s own expression of [these] values on others is not only an act of hubris, it often contradicts and destroys the very values one purports to uphold, such as liberty and self-determination. Furthermore, it does violence to other cultures and destroys much of the common heritage of humankind.”

Mr Smith, your infantile assault on Sir Arthur has greatly depreciated your national stature, and has relegated you to the status of a puerile political pygmy.

You should hang your head in disgrace and embarrassment at such unjustified and uncorroborated condemnation. I believe that most informed Bahamians would agree that if you were half the man that Sir Arthur is, you would be twice the man that you are.

Sir Arthur has achieved a stature of and remains a statesman’s statesman, a progressive nationalist who is undeserving of the inaccurate invectives that you have propelled against one of the most spectacular sons of the Bahamian soil.

PHILIP C GALANIS Nassau, June 14, 2016.

CA Smith has hallucinated EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM appalled! Cornelius Alvin Smith has lost it.

I cannot for the life of me fathom why a supposedly intelligent man, who seems to be stable, appears to have his wits about him, would suddenly “fly over the cuckoo’s nest” at an alarming speed and at a disturbingly very low altitude, risking his integrity, and an overwhelming experience of “crash and burn” politically, just to satisfy paranoia.

What could have been promised to C.A. Smith for him to hallucinate the way he did recently? Why did he try to draw a distinguished Bahamian like Sir

Arthur A. Foulkes, former Governor General of the Bahamas, into his confused world?

Why did C.A. Smith think that he should muddy Sir Arthur, just because he now sees himself sinking deeper into a sewer of confusion? Is it all in an attempt to bring credibility to what all is seeing as a total mess? Why did C.A. pick this target? He could not think for one second that he would get away with it. At least Sir Arthur now knows first hand what a phony Smith was all of this time.

Since Sir Arthur was accused of hiding behind a name, the million-dollar question is, has there been inconclusive proof that the

suspicions are really true.

What method was used to substantiate the conclusion?

The naked truth is, that all of the things that C. A. accused Sir Arthur with are exactly what he and Maurice Moore are doing.

Since democracy is the order of the day, and has been emphasized much in his sickening letter, how come anyone who does not support Minnis is not an FNM anymore? Even though the FNM cannot afford to lose any support, how come anyone who does not support the leadership are attacked and called names and even invited to “carry their behind”. Where is the democracy that C. A. is moaning

about? What rank hypocrisy.

Finally I would like to know, if Smith respected Sir Arthur so much in the past, what caused him to turn on Sir Arthur like a vicious, scorned and jilted lover?

This strange behaviour, really begs the mental state of anyone who, “trips out for no apparent reason.

Mood swing is a change in mood for no apparent reason. I would like to know, do men have mood swings?

This instability is troubling.

This behaviour has caused many to feel uncomfortable being in the company of anyone that can, in my opinion, go that deep bordering on insanity.

I pray that Mr. Smith,

stands in front of the mirror and comes to grips with his own insecurities. Then and only then will he find peace within himself? Of course it would be easier for him to criticize anyone once he clears his own head.

Mr. Smith, if you are to save what little is left of your name, and if you value your name more than the mission you are on to help destroy the FNM abandon being one of the supervisors of “driving the wedge” between FNM. The least you should do is disassociate yourself from the mission and start on the journey of doing all in your power to bring sides together. Then and only then would any of us see you as genuine? Oth-

erwise we would confirm that you are the selfish person that you have displayed to be in your letter.

Wow, I never thought I would live to see this much cannibalism in the FNM. You are the reason why many hardcore FNM don’t feel at home anymore in the FNM. You caused it. Can the FNM really afford to piss off all of us? Shame on you, Smith!

“Cowards die many times before their death”. - Julius Caesar. “The world has no room for cowards”. – Roberts Louis Stevenson.

IVOINE W. INGRAHAM Nassau, June 13, 2016.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 15, 2016, PAGE 5

Sands: Govt desperate to woo voters for 2017

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Senator Dr Duane Sands forecast yesterday that the government would attempt to prematurely roll out large-scale initiatives in a desperate bid to woo disenchanted voters ahead of the 2017 general election.

Pointing to the Christie administration’s revamped mortgage relief plan, Dr Sands said other programmes will be initiated with a life expectancy until just after Bahamians head to the polls.

“The referendum was a wake up call that demonstrated to the government that they have very little currency among Bahamian voters,” he said.

“Now Mr Christie made it very clear that he wanted to understand the message being sent by the voters.

I believe that he has gotten the message that every single thing you promised you have not delivered on, and so whether it makes sense, whether it’s carefully thought out, whether viable or not, some effort is going to be made to roll it out and the mortgage relief programme is the first of these.”

Dr Sands added: “If we were to ask independent

observers to look on and scrutinise this programme and opine I suspect there would be questions about prudence, viability, sustainability of this programme but we don’t have to get beyond May 2017.

“It only has to work until people have to get into the ballot box. The same thing will likely apply with NHI. Don’t be surprised if we have a very attractive appealing benefits rich NHI programme that’s rolled out even if it risks bankrupting the piggy bank.

Desperate people do desperate things.

“We are looking at a desperate administration right now,” he said.

Prime Minister Perry Christie announced the revamped mortgage programme during his budget contribution last month.

The programme is expected to provide financial incentives that will allow banks to offer borrowers who have some ability to pay, but have fallen behind, the chance to get back on track. Initial estimates indicate that more than 1,000 delinquent borrowers are slated to qualify for the plan, according to Mr Christie, who said the number could go higher.

The Christie administration introduced its first mortgage relief plan in 2012. At the time, 4,000

homeowners were in mortgage payment arrears and that year, State Minister for Finance Michael Halkitis said around 1,000 people would likely qualify for help under the plan.

However, in May 2013, Mr Christie told the House of Assembly he expected only “four or five” homeowners to benefit from the scheme.

Yesterday, Dr Sands, former chairman of the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation, questioned the source of funding for the programme, and why it was restricted to only delinquent mortgagers. He said the initiative appeared to be an exercise in “voodoo economics”.

“The proof of the pudding will be in the eating,” he said.

“I find it a little bit too good to be true and the timing also leaves me very suspicious or cynical so let’s see whether ordinary Bahamians actually benefit or whether this will be five or six people again that benefit.

“This is being rolled out with tremendous fanfare, it’s an interesting plan but let’s see details, what inducements are being provided to these commercial lending institutions to vary their contractual relationships with homeowners or mortgagers.”

DR DUANE SANDS

SENTENCING OF KILLERS DELAYED BY ABSENT LAWYER

By LAMECH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE sentencing of a couple convicted of having a role in killing businessman Kurt McCartney did not proceed yesterday due to a lawyer’s absence.

Thorne Edwards and Lyndera Curry made their third post-conviction appearance before Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs in the Supreme Court on respective charges of murder and manslaughter stemming from the accosting and fatal shooting of McCartney on October 24, 2013 in Gambier.

At the initial sentence hearing set for February 29, it was revealed that the psychiatric reports, requested by the lawyers for Edwards and Curry, were outstanding, resulting in an adjournment.

This was also the case when the matter was called before the judge at the second scheduled hear-

ing on April 11, when the judge suggested that the proceedings should begin with the presentation of the probation reports prepared by the Department of Rehabilitative Welfare Services.

However, Geoffrey Farquharson and Sonia Timothy, respective lawyers for Edwards and Curry, said they would prefer to have seen the psychiatric reports before putting any questions to a probation officer concerning the findings.

Mr Farquharson was absent from yesterday’s hearing, however.

It was revealed that Edwards’ attorney had requested a short adjournment of the matter by 24 hours.

Though the request conflicted with prior arrangements of the probation officer who prepared a report for Edwards, the request was granted.

“He took on the case he should be here,” Senior Justice Isaacs commented.

HOUSEBREAKING SUSPECT CHARGED A MAN was arraigned in a Grand Bahama Magistrate’s Court on 12 counts of housebreaking and stealing from a house.

Sean Lehenza Laing, 39, was arraigned yesterday before Magistrate Debbye Ferguson in Freeport.

He pleaded guilty to all

counts and his sentencing was adjourned to Wednesday.

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Edwards and Curry, along with Okell Farrington and Sumya Ingraham, were on trial for nearly two weeks for McCartney’s armed robbery and murder.

On December 14, a jury of 11 women and one man took three hours to return verdicts for each of the accused persons after they had been excused to deliberate on the evidence.

Edwards was unanimously convicted of murder and was found guilty of armed robbery on a majority verdict of 9-3. Curry was acquitted of murder but found guilty of the lesser charge of

manslaughter by 11-1. The same count was returned on her conviction for armed robbery.

Both Farrington and Ingraham were acquitted of murder, manslaughter and armed robbery. Businessman and community activist Terry Delancy, who had been accused of being an accessory to the murder after the fact, was acquitted of the charge following the close of the prosecution’s case for legal reasons.

It was alleged that Edwards shot McCartney in the face after he became involved in an argument

between Curry and the victim. The prosecution maintained that McCartney was crushed when Farrington, Ingraham and Curry allegedly rolled over his body as they fled the scene in the victim’s Hummer. It was alleged that Edwards ran away after the shooting.

At trial, the jury heard from anonymous witness “AB” who said the pharmacist was arguing with one of two women he was walking with, Curry and Ingraham, and that one of the women signalled to a man who approached and shoved McCartney before

shooting him.

However, a 12-year-old witness told the jury that there was a single assailant who startled McCartney as he was trying to get into his vehicle, shot him in the head and then sped off in the victim’s car after rolling over him.

Ingraham, Curry, Edwards and Farrington were respectively represented by Romona Farquharson-Seymour, Ms Timothy, Terrel Butler and Philip Hilton at trial. Delancy was represented by Ian Cargill.

Roger Thompson prosecuted the case.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, June 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Door open to same-sex marriage from page one

She also suggested that The Bahamas amend its Constitution similar to the way Jamaica did in 2008, in declaring that no marriage other than between a man and a woman is recognised and of legal effect. But this, she said, may similarly be susceptible to a constitutional challenge.

She said the country must choose what it wants to do in deciding the definition of marriage.

And after the highly controversial failed June 7 gender equality referendum – which saw a wave of pushback to question four that sought to prevent discrimination based on sex or being male or female – Dame Anita said this question neither opened nor closed the door to same-sex marriages.

Giving the eighth annual Eugene Dupuch Distinguished Lecture last night, Dame Anita stressed that her views were not endorsed by the Court of Appeal and were solely personal.

“Admittedly, Sections 20 and 21 (1) (C) of the Matrimonial Causes Act, empower a court on the petition of either party to declare a marriage void on the grounds that the parties to the marriage are not respectively ‘male and female’,” she said to a full audience at the British Co-

lonial Hilton.

“And indeed I have heard many argue that these provisions define what marriage is in The Bahamas.

However, I retort respectfully that while these and other provisions of the Act may be some indication of the premise, neither Sections 20 and 21, nor any other provision of the Act, substantively provide that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman.

Indeed, the purpose of Sections 20 and 21 appears to be the protection of an innocent spouse from the misrepresentation and fraud of the other.

“Significantly, Sections 20 and 21 are only activated post the celebration of the marriage and only on the petition of either party to the marriage. In the absence then of any statutory provision that a marriage which is not between male and female is void ab initio, a same-sex marriage is arguably valid unless or declared void.”

She continued: “In light of this, the proposition that the provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act declare that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman is arguably unsustainable on a true construction of the relevant provisions.

“Further, it bears noting that as long ago as 1991, Parliament, via an amendment to the Sexual Of-

fences Act, decriminalised sexual intercourse between consenting same-sex adults in private.

“And so considering all of the above, if the argument that there is no statutory definition of marriage, no statutory requirement that the intended parties to a marriage must be exclusively male and female; and no reception or adoption of the English common law definition of marriage holds, it would arguably follow that the laws of The Bahamas do not discriminate on the basis of sex and facilitates not only marriages of every description but consummation of the same.”

Dame Anita told the audience that should a same-sex couple succeed in obtaining permission to marry, then marry, remain married and happy, and neither party petitions to have the marriage declared void, their marriage would conceivably be valid.

“But even if the common law definition of marriage was incorporated into our law by the Declaratory Act, or even if the suggestion that Section 21 of the Matrimonial Causes Act substantively provides that marriage is exclusively between a man and woman this may not be sufficient to close the door to same-sex marriage.

“I am the first to acknowledge that unlike the

American Constitution, our fundamental rights provisions do not contain a specific right to family life or to the pursuit of happiness, though interestingly, the right to family life was included in our 1963 Constitution.

“It is therefore not outside the realm of possibility

that some courageous and astute Bahamian advocate might succeed in convincing a court that the right to marry is located in one or more of the aforementioned fundamental rights,” Dame Anita said.

She said marriage in The Bahamas is of a “juristic” nature and may not simply

turn on whether there is a definition of marriage in the Marriage Act, or whether the English common law definition of marriage is received as part of this country’s laws.

She said it may ultimately turn on whether marriage is a constitutional right guaranteed to all.

yesterday, Mr McCartney said it’s important to ensure people enjoy equal rights under the law.

“Marriage is different,” he said. “I have difficulty with any type of discrimination. I don’t think (discrimination) is what (prohibiting gay marriage) is, since (marriage) is made for a man and a woman, not otherwise. But in terms of gay persons, lesbian persons and transgender persons,

they should enjoy all the rights that straight people enjoy.”

However, Mr McCartney said that he hasn’t given much thought to the issue.

His comments came as he discussed the weekend massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida and stressed that humans should not play judge and jury for those with whose lifestyles they disagree.

On the issue of civil un-

ions, he told The Tribune: “I think people should have rights but that’s a very touchy situation and something I can’t see happening right now, civil unions and gay marriage. For me personally, when it comes to marriage I have a difficulty.

But we must always be careful with rights for people.”

Mr McCartney said he knows many homosexual people and believes that tolerance is necessary so

incidents like the one in Orlando that resulted in 49 people being killed does not take place here.

“I have many friends who are lesbians and gays,” he said. “It’s the world we live in. I pray to the Almighty that we exercise tolerance and we don’t put ourselves in the seat of judgment and we are not there to judge anybody. We cannot be judge and jury because they may have a different way

of life. We should not discriminate against a person because he is gay.”

With respect to the recent constitutional referendum bills on gender equality, Mr McCartney was one of the first politicians to raise concerns that the fourth bill could open the door to same-sex marriage.

He said last week that he voted “no” to all four amendments during the June 7 referendum.

DAME Anita Allen speaking yesterday.

Photo: Tim Clarke/Tribune Staff

DNA LEADER WILLING TO ACCEPT CIVIL UNIONS

from page one

Neither same-sex marriage nor same-sex civil unions are legal in The Bahamas.

Civil unions are legal relationships between two people of the same sex that gives them some of the same rights and responsibilities that married people have.

Contacted for further comment by The Tribune

NOTTAGE SLAMMED FOR FAILURE TO TACKLE CRIME

from page one

“Apparently Minister Nottage thinks that these three tragic murders were ‘unusual’ – as in out of the norm, or not an unordinary occurrence. Unfortunately, for many Bahamians the violent crime wave, an example of which we witnessed this weekend, has become the common occurrence in our communities.

“Ordinary Bahamians know that the Bahamas’ murder rate has continued to reach historic records for each of the last several years. They feel it when they leave their homes at nights, or walk the streets.

They do not feel safe in their communities, and they feel insecure in their own homes.”

He added: “Yet this government is telling them that the violent crime they see and feel is ‘unusual’. Not only is the tone of Minister Nottage’s words deaf and insensitive, but also his tone is a frightening reminder that this government is not ready to lead.

“The murder rate has increased every year they have been in power. There were 514 murders occurring under their rule, yet no response from this government. Sexual assaults against women are on the rise, yet this government does nothing to stem the tide of these vicious attacks.”

Dr Minnis commended Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade for proposing initiatives to combat crime, but said the government was not concerned with ensuring these initiatives were implemented.

“The commissioner of police recently proposed acquiring the services of a helicopter, and the acquisition and lawful deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles as well as the construction of a forensic science facility with emphasis on a state of the art DNA laboratory. As they have for the last four years, this government has failed to act on these important initiatives.

“We commend the commissioner for his proactive recommendations as anoth-

er arsenal in his crime fighting strategy. In the meantime we get no action from this government. No time line for the implementation of anything. Instead more empty rhetoric and broken promises from this government.”

“What’s ‘unusual’ is that the PLP government thinks that they can ignore the people. Bahamians know you can’t fix a problem if you continue to ignore it.

Under the FNM, there will be no more business as usual, we will take concrete steps to make our streets and communities safe and secure.”

When questioned by The Tribune about crime on Monday, Dr Nottage would only say: “We are constantly monitoring crime in the country. We are constantly instituting strategies and we will continue to do so.”

Apart from a murder count of 56 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records, police have also reported a recent spate of armed robberies, with ten recorded during the past weekend alone.

NO ANSWERS TO COST OF REHABILITATION CENTRE from page one

Officials have not said what was the overall cost of constructing and outfitting the facility or why it took so long to open it.

National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson did not respond to The Tribune’s questions about these matters when asked by messaging services yesterday and Monday.

The contractors for the facility at different times during its ten-year history were Edward Penn, a wellknown PLP supporter, and Floyd Wilmott, a wellknown FNM supporter.

“I could guarantee that that building, the cost far exceeds its value because of the change of persons involved and the bidding

process was very, very suspect,” Mr McCartney said when contacted yesterday.

“At the end of the day it’s a prime example of those two parties being two sides of the same coin, showing lack of transparency and accountability and ensuring their cronies get all of the bread, all to the detriment of the Bahamian people.

They used the building as a moneybag. When the PLP was in, they did it and when the FNM was in, they did it.”

Although the opening of the facility - which will provide numerous services to children and adolescents with mental and behavioural problems - should be “celebrated,” Mr McCartney said, the project has instead been overshadowed by what it represents about the actions of the two major

political parties.

In his speech during Monday’s event, Shane Gibson referred to the controversy surrounding the facility without divulging specifics.

“The facility, the Robert Smith Child and Adolescent Complex and Special Education Unit, had its fair share of challenges and controversy,” he said. “Regrettably, this adversely impacted timely completion. “…I am told that collaboration was not always easy, given changes in design and personnel over the life span of the project, and the increasingly evolving scope due to the project spanning so many years. However, today we are here to celebrate this collective success. The project is finished and the battle is over.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 15, 2016, PAGE 7

Good governance trumps politics in alleviating poverty

Your Say

By ROCHELLE DEAN POLITICS has been the driving force of the Bahamas’ economic development from its quest for independence back in the 1960s.

While the state of the nation was one of potential and development of major industries, politics was the means by which many of its leaders were able to give the people the power to influence the direction of the nation. This means of empowerment was the beginning of a strong democracy and the awakening of a strong nation.

As the years have come and gone, politics globally has been put aside for good governance, while the Bahamas remains stuck in a place of political partisanship that leaves the nation hostage to political pandering, misconceived ideas

ROCHELLE Dean and pre-conceived notions on all sides of the political divide.

The Bahamian people

are left to consider political affiliations before determining professionalism.

The country is over saturat-

ed with the polarised views of a highly sensitive people that translate to a hyperpartisan society fuelled by political allegiances.

The politics of the country continues to rob the country of progress and substantial progress in development.

The Bahamas must now move away from politics and seek to adopt good governance practices that will remove corruption and the meandering of government officials that continues to produce a culture of angry nationals who cannot take control of their economic activity due to bureaucratic controls put in place by politicians and those with political influence.

A partisan view is not to be questioned, it’s the means by which that view affects the people.

The Bahamas must adopt the policy of quality over

politics. The Bahamian people have become synonymous with making decisions relative to political views as opposed to making decisions for the good of the nation.

The country continues to engage in a rollercoaster ride of sorts while good ideas, practical policies and the country’s growth is toppled up and down and back and forth by dubious leaders, the educated ignorance of the politically influential and a confused people.

The Bahamas must look past the politics of the nation while looking toward good governance. The Bahamas must no longer dwell on the foundation of its forefathers and that of its first Prime Minister, Lynden Pindling, but it must begin to analyse its progression and where it is today as a nation.

The Bahamas must consider its industries, policies

and laws to determine the growth and future prospects of growth.

The Bahamas must determine its wellbeing and how politics has either impacted the nation’s success or has been a hindrance to its growth.

The country has one major question to ask itself: has politics contributed to the countries stagnation? A country full of opportunities and potential is unable to see beyond the politics.

Poverty alleviation begins with the end of politics and the beginning of good governance.

Rochelle R Dean is a Bahamian scholar, research fellow and peer-reviewer and a theory writer of economics presently completing a Bachelors of Science dual degree in economics and public administration with Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.

$55,000 OF AID TO HELP FEED THE HUNGRY

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas National Feeding Network (BNFN) yesterday distributed more than $55,000 in food vouchers to its members, allowing scores of soup kitchens, churches and feeding centres to continue feeding efforts throughout New Providence.

In a sombre address to the representatives of many of the core feeding centres that make up the BNFN, founder Frank Crothers said the fact that the organisation has long outpaced its existence proves that it needs to do all in its power to guarantee its efforts do not end.

“There are people who ask me, ‘Why do you do this Frank? Why do you give so much to people who could just go out and get a job and feed themselves or ask family for help?’”

“If only it were that simple. The reality is that there are thousands and thousands who fall through the cracks and in a nation of strained resources there is no net wide enough to catch them,” said Mr Crothers.

“For every person who isn’t trying hard enough, there are 10 more who are or who aim to try and still can’t make it. For every person who is hungry, there is a story that will break your heart. And so it is all we can do - each of us has something to give and to share

- to help one who has less than we do.

“It is not I who deserve the credit but all of you here today,” said Mr Crothers, the ambassador of the Order of Rhodes and Malta. “I donate money, yes, and I care deeply. I am proud to have committed myself to eradicating the pain of hunger. But you, the volunteers who fill this room - you give so much more. You give yourself.

Everyday or every week, you volunteer, you are God’s unpaid angels.”

Yesterday’s distribution luncheon marked the fourth such drive by the BNFN since its inception in 2013. To date, the organisation has raised and donated roughly $350,000 to aiding Bahamians unable to provide feed themselves.

The organisation sought to issue 105 voucher packages yesterday. However, that number grew to 110 by the time of the presentation.

In total, the BNFN distributed in excess $60,000 in vouchers.

The voucher package offers each feeding centre with a financial allowance to purchase grocery products or supplies that can go towards their activities.

Director of the BNFN, Philip Smith, told The Tribune that as the organisation continues to “up its profile”, it has attracted scores of donors that are “fully on board” with eradicating issues connected to hunger.

One such organisation, Humanity United Global

THE BAHAMAS National Feeding Network donates $55,000 in food vouchers to over 100 network partners to help combat the increasing scourge og hunger in the Bahamas yesterday at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort.

Project, insisted that donation would go “a long way in helping.”

Chairman of the project, Jermaine Davis said the voucher would go to immediate use in aiding the project to achieve its goals. The Humanity United Global Project provides after school activities and a hot meal to about 100 children through several communities in New Providence.

In 2014, the BNFN donated $30,000 in food vouchers to more than a dozen feeding organisations. On two occasions in 2015 the BNFC donated $40,000 and $100,000 respectively to organisations around New Providence.

Board members of the BNFN include Mr Crothers, Chairman Felix Stubbs, Mr Smith, Peter Whitehead, Shayne Davis, Patricia Hermanns, Sean Moree, Lester Ferguson, Elaine Pinder, Tony Myers and Pastor Timothy Stuart.

AMBASSADOR Frank Crothers Founder of thr Bahamas National Feeding Network.

JURY FAILS TO REACH A VERDICT IN MURDER TRIAL from page one

Knowles was informed

by Justice Bernard Turner that she will return to the Supreme Court for sentencing, scheduled for September 8.

The 12-member panel returned the verdicts within an hour after being excused to deliberate on three weeks of evidence.

Prior to excusing the jury to deliberate, Justice Turner told the panel that the accused could not be convicted on the weakness of her own case but based on the strength of the prosecution’s case.

On Monday, in a closing address to the jury, pros-

ecutor Cephia Pinder-Moss recalled the evidence of key witness Kelson Smith who spoke of his role in the alleged plot created by the accused to rob Carroll of web shop earnings.

Mr Smith was hired by Carroll to work as a security guard a week after Knowles was fired from her position as a sandwich maker for the web shop.

Mr Smith, the prosecutor said, recalled seeing Knowles and a man pull up one evening to the property before leaving when he had spotted them.

Knowles and Carroll were said to have behaved like sisters, “talking, laughing and smoking together”.

Knowles, said Mr Smith, had approached him and allegedly said “we need to rob Andrea” and he was instructed to leave the window open in exchange for a $2,000 cut.

After carrying out his designated task, Knowles allegedly told him that he could get the money anytime he wished and that the murder would be blamed on Carroll’s boyfriend, Noel Turnquest.

“You saw him giving his testimony. He said he felt horrible. He told us he did not even go back for the money,” the prosecutor said.

Ms Pinder-Moss said there was no dispute that the deceased died of the

harm inflicted on her and that the harm was unlawful and severe enough, as testified to by pathologist Dr Caryn Sands, to give the deceased cuts, bruises, a broken neck and a broken spinal cord. The prosecutor also urged the jury to remember that Carroll’s hands and legs were tightly bound by an electrical wire and belt respectively, illustrating the intentions of the perpetrator.

“The final element of murder is who did it? We say Daphne Knowles had a bone to pick, something to prove, had to teach a lesson and she had a motive,” the jury heard.

Sonia Timothy, in a closing address for her client,

stressed that the Crown’s case was riddled with a number of inconsistencies and lacked substance.

“Kelson did not give us the truth. His brother, Rafford, did not give us the truth. The truth is that Andrea Carroll was robbed and killed. And there was a conspiracy but it did not involve Daphne Knowles,” Ms Timothy said.

Ms Timothy said the jury was able to see for themselves that the money found in Daphne Knowles’ possession was not stacked or kept in an orderly fashion as described by Noel Turnquest, boyfriend of the deceased.

“How then are we able to say the money found in

joint property of Daphne Knowles belonged to Bowe’s Web Shop? You can go into the jury room with the exhibit and see the stacks of $100 bills in there.

That’s not money from gambling. That was money from drug trafficking,” the lawyer stressed.

Knowles’ defence witness, Stanley Pinder, said the accused was involved in a number of different enterprises and regularly travelled to Panama to restock.

Knowles’ lawyer said her client could not be convicted of the offences, considering the lack of forensic evidence and major inconsistencies with the Crown’s witnesses.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, June 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

The People’s Paper & Radio Stations!

IM GINE! My Voice! Endless Possibilities.....

The latest allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia could lead to suspension of entire national federations, heavy fines and lifetime Olympic bans, IOC President Thomas Bach said yesterday.

Bach declined to say whether the IOC would consider banning Russia entirely from this year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, maintaining such a move hinges on a choice between “collective responsibility” and “individual justice.”

“We are waiting for the facts,” Bach said. “We need a fair procedure for everybody. Should the allegations be proven true, we will apply our zero tolerance policy, not only with the athletes, but also with regards to

everyone implicated within our reach.”

Bach also said the final results of retests of doping samples from the 2008 and 2012 Games — which have caught 31 athletes so far — will be known early next month, in time for drug cheats to be barred from going to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August.

Bach said allegations that Russian officials subverted the drug-testing system at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi “represent a shocking new dimension in doping” and an “unimaginable level of criminality.”

Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Russian lab now living in Los Angeles, told The New York Times last week that he ran an organised doping programme for Russian athletes and helped switch tainted samples for clean ones. Rodchenkov said he was helped by people he believed to be Russian security officers.

The IOC has asked the World Anti-Doping Agency to carry out a full-fledged investigation and plans to retest Sochi samples stored

at the lab in Lausanne, Switzerland. Bach urged anyone with information about the allegations to come forward immediately to WADA and the IOC. “If these allegations are true, we will hold everybody responsible who is implicated,” Bach said in a conference call with reporters. he said sanctions could include lifetime Olympic bans on individuals, financial penalties on organisations and “suspensions or exclusion of entire national federations” — in line with the IAAF’s current suspension of the Russia’s track and field body.

The IAAF suspended Russia from global competition following an investigation by an independent WADA panel that detailed state-sponsored doping, corruption and cover-ups in the country’s track and field programme.

The IAAF is scheduled to decide on June 17 wheth-

er to maintain or lift the ban on the Russians for the Rio Games.

Bach was asked whether, in light of the Sochi allegations, the entire Russian Olympic Committee could be banned from Rio. “I will not speculate on the result because there comes a decision we have to make between collective responsibility and individual justice,” he said.

The IOC would have to consider “whether in such contaminated federations the presumption of innocence for athletes could still be applied, whether the burden of proof could be reversed,” he added.

Bach said decisions also have to be made taking into account “the clean athletes around the globe.”

“Whatever the results will be, we will do everything to provide a level playing field for all the athletes around the globe and in this way to protect the integrity of the competition of the Olympic Games in Rio,” he said.

The Russian sports ministry said Wednesday it supports banning

drug cheats but claimed it would be unfair to keep a blanket ban on all track athletes for the games.

“We strongly believe that clean athletes, who have spent years of their lives training for the games, should not be deprived of the right to participate,” the ministry said.

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told the state news agency Tass that Russia was prepared to appoint a foreigner to head its anti-doping agency.

Bach said he had no knowledge of a reported investigation by US federal prosecutors into allegations of state-sponsored doping of Russian athletes. The probe was launched by the US Attorney’s office for the eastern District of New York, The New York Times reported.

“We have no information on this,” Bach said.

“I don’t even know what it is. I don’t know about any legal grounds for this.

I don’t know about the scope. I cannot comment on something I do not know.”

Mutko said Russia was surprised by the reported US investigation and suggested the United States should investigate its own national team, because “things are not so rosy there either.”

Bach spoke a day after the IOC announced that 31 unidentified athletes in six sports could be barred from Rio after their Beijing doping samples

The Tribune Established 1903

Being Bound To Swear To The Dogmas Of No Master

THE THETRIBUNE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 2016, PAGE Wednesday, June 15,15, 2016, PAGE A99

A SMARTER SIRI

TECHTALK • LOS ALAMOS, a once secret city where scientists participated in the United States’ classified World War II nuclear development programme, can now be experienced much like it was then with a new app.

The “Los Alamos: The Secret City of The Manhattan Project” iPhone app takes users through an “augmented-reality” while visiting the northern New Mexico city to see it in its 1940s character. The app was created

by Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Packed with games, historical nuggets and role playing, the app is claimed to allow users to feel what it was like to join a secret project in an unknown location where the future of the world was at stake.

APPLE ROLLS OUT SOFTWARE IMPROVEMENTS

APPLE is working to make its iPhone and other gadgets smarter, responding to competitors’ recent moves by building more artificial intelligence (AI) into its Siri digital assistant, photographs, maps and other online services.

At its annual software conference this week the tech giant announced new software features for the Apple Watch and Apple TV as well, while unveiling a new design for the Apple Music service. It’s also extending Apple Pay to the web, so users can pay for purchases made on their Mac computers using the fingerprint authorisation on their iPhone or Apple Watch.

Most of these new features will not arrive until the autumn.

Apple is taking a cautious approach to integrating AI into its online services. While Apple is opening its text messaging service to outside app-builders, for instance, Apple made no mention of adding the kind of intelligent programmes, or “chatbots”, that competitors are all rushing to build in.

Apple executives also stressed their efforts to safeguard users’ privacy even while providing recommendations and suggestions based on individual user information.

The company says it’s committed to keeping most user data encrypted on individual iPhones or other devices, rather than uploading information to process on Apple’s servers.

Apple’s once-maligned Maps service, for example, will offer traffic

information, location-based information for things like restaurants, and let users connect with outside apps to do things like make a reservation or call a car service.

Siri, its wisecracking digital assistant, will play a larger role in Apple’s products. On Monday, Apple announced that Siri will be coming to Mac desktop and laptop computers, where it can locate files and perform other feats. Siri will also gain new capabilities with Apple TV, where it will let you launch live TV viewing with voice command and search YouTube and the iTunes store for videos.

Perhaps more important, Apple is letting Siri work with applications made by other companies with the iOS 10 upgrade. The change will open up new ways for Siri to help iPhone owners get things done more quickly.

Outside developers are eager to work with Siri but the move has trade-offs for Apple. Experts say the changes could make Siri more useful to consumers and help Apple learn more about its users. But it could diminish use of Apple’s homegrown apps, such as Apple Music or Maps. To start, Siri will only work with certain kinds of outside apps, like messaging, payments or ride-hailing services.

An update to the iMessage app will rely on machines learning to automatically suggest appropriate emojis to place alongside texts. It will also show graphics and thumbnails of the information contained

in a web link and automatically play online videos when opened by a recipient.

Apple’s photo app will also get smarter by adding the ability to analyse an individual’s photo library and group photos by people, locations or other subjects, automatically assembling them into albums and short movies. It’s similar to a feature that Google has offered users of its photo app, but with some new frills, like the ability to adjust the length of the album or select different kinds of theme music.

Other aesthetic changes include the messaging app letting users alter the size of the bubbles surrounding the text to help convey the feelings underlying the words.

An expression of love might get a large bubble while a message of condolence might be shown in a very small one. The feature is similar to an upcoming Google messaging app called Allo.

Apple Music, which now has 15 million paying subscribers, is getting a new interface that is intended to

XBOX ONE S: SMALLER, BUT MORE POWERFUL

XBOX ONE is shrinking in size and growing in power.

Microsoft has unveiled a new, slimmer version of the video game console coming later this year and teased a more powerful one that is due in 2017. The company said on Monday the white Xbox One S is 40 per cent smaller than the original black Xbox One and will feature support for high-definition 4K video.

Other changes include moving the USB ports to the front of the console, adding a built-in infrared blaster and eliminating the port for the motion-detecting Kinect camera system.

Microsoft says the console will go on sale in August for $299 to $399 depending on

the size of the hard drive.

The company also detailed Project Scorpio, a more powerful Xbox One that will feature support for 4K gaming and virtual reality, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The new console will feature six teraflops - or 6 trillion floating point operations per second - of power.

“Our vision for the future of gaming is beyond generations,” Xbox head Phil Spencer said. “When it ships next year, we believe it will be the most powerful console ever built.”

He promised that all Xbox One games would work across the three systems: Xbox One, Xbox One S and Project Scorpio.

be simpler and that will make it easier to find music you store on your phone, and not just tunes you can stream from the internet.

The retooled watch software, due in September, will include an “SOS” feature that will automatically call for help in emergencies.

It will launch software apps faster than before, and will also bring fitness tracking to wheelchair-bound users and let all users share their exercise activities with others people.

BRANDON BAILEY Associated Press

A PHONE THAT KNOWS ITS WAY AROUND A ROOM A LENOVO smartphone unveiled last week will be clever enough to grasp your physical surroundings, such as the room’s size and the presence of other people, and potentially transform how we interact with e-commerce, education and gaming.

The new Phab2 Pro phone will use software and sensors to track motions and map building interiors, including the location of doors and windows. That is a crucial step in the promising new frontier in “augmented reality”, or the digital projection of lifelike images and data into a real-life environment.

If Google’s Project Tango fulfils its promise, furniture shoppers will be able use the Phab2 Pro to download digital models of couches, chairs and coffee tables to see how they would look in their actual living rooms.

Kids studying the Mesozoic Era would be able to place a virtual Tyrannosaurus or Velociraptor in their home or classroom - and even take selfies with one.

The technology would even know when to display information about an artist or

a scene depicted in a painting as you stroll through a museum.

Tango, a three-year project, will be able to create internal maps of homes and offices on the fly. Google will not need to build a mapping database ahead of time, as it does with existing services like Google Maps and Street View.

Lenovo says the Phab2 Pro will sell for $500 when it begins shipping in the US in August. The device is expected to be available throughout the world by midSeptember, in advance of Apple’s anticipated release of the iPhone 7.

Lenovo also previewed the newest models in its Moto line - the Moto Z and Moto Z Force - which will let people snap on additional equipment called “Mods” to the back of the phones. The initial Mods include a speaker to amplify music, a projector for displaying photos and video from the phone and a power pack that provides 22 hours of additional battery. The phones will be available exclusively in the US through Verizon this summer before a global release in the fall.

• THE WORLD’S first “smart duck” - Edwin - arrives packed with technology, such as motion sensors, memory, Bluetooth and LED lighting and costs $100. Although Edwin looks like a rubber duck for children’s bathime, it’s designed to do much more. Edwin quacks, gurgles and makes other sounds meant to be soothing, such as wind blowing. It connects by Bluetooth to a phone or tablet app to play games, music and interactive stories.

An LED light in its head turns on so it can be used as a night light while it reads a bedtime story or plays a lullaby.

And, of course, it is waterproof.

• THE PILOTS of a solarpowered airplane on a globecircling voyage that began more than a year ago said their flight over the Statue of Liberty before landing in New York inspired them on their mission to promote a world free from reliance on fossil fuels.

“Today, liberty is about finding and promoting renewable sources of power,” said Bertrand Piccard, the initiator and one of the pilots of the Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2. “Our mission is to demonstrate that just the energy of the sun can give us enough power to fly day and night.”

Piccard and Andre Borschberg flew the plane overnight Friday-Saturday to John F Kennedy International Airport from Pennsylvania.

The pair hope to leave this week on their journey across the Atlantic Ocean toward Europe.

• A TEST pilot successfully flew a solar-powered prototype aircraft last week for a company that envisions manufacturing a fleet of drones to provide aerial internet service for an estimated 4 billion people worldwide.

The test flight by Luminati Aerospace LLC took place at a former Northrop Grumman defence plant on eastern Long Island, New York, that once made military aircraft. Pilot Robert Lutz flew the VO-Substrata aircraft for about 20 minutes in the first test flight opened to the public. The white aircraft features wing-mounted solar cells and has a wingspan of about 43 feet.

• THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has been recognised for its 26 years of support of the Technical Cadets Corps Programme.

BTC Fleet Manager, Steve Hepburn, who has been part of the programme for over a decade, was given Teacher of the Year award. BTC CEO, Leon Williams, spoke at the programme’s 2016 graduation ceremonies in New Providence and Grand Bahama on the topic “Advancing Technology, Embracing the Change”.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, June 15, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

A GRADE three student as Marie Antoinette.

TAMBEARLY STUDENTS BRING FIGURES FROM HISTORY TO LIFE HISTORY came to life at Tambearly School, Sandyport, earlier this month when grade three students presented their annual living history museum, which involves bringing back to life famous historical figures and their unforgettable contributions.

Flanking the school hall, the students came alive as famous personalities once parents and fellow students

tapped the red button in front of them. The students then shared key information about the person they had carefully researched and prepared.

This year’s characters included Queen Victoria, Rosa Parks, Walt Disney, Ben Franklin and Marie Antoinette. It weas, as always, an informative and memorable day for parents and students alike.

GRADE three students make their way to Tambearly’s school hall in character.

A PARENT and student listen attentively as Christopher Columbus comes alive.

READERS RESPOND TO NOTTAGE OVER THE ISSUE OF CRIME NATIONAL Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage’s reaction to the three recent murders in the capital prompted a lively reaction from readers on tribune242.com.

Calypso called for the political parties to work together: “Stop politicising crime . . . it is NOT a political issue! Both parties need to work TOGETHER to solve this problem. If we

remain divided as country the criminals will continue to tear us apart.

To which Licks2 responded with: “True . . . but when the PLP was told that they

disagreed . . . they just wanted to win the election . . . they insisted that they had it right by showing that the FNM was responsible for high crime! We the people knew that from 2012 . . . but DPM Davis and, by extension his party, insisted that the FNM were responsible . . . we elected them to do better . . . the rest is history!”

BMW said: “They do

not have a plan. We need foreign police from top on down – plain and simple!”

There was this from Sheeprunner12: “BJ stands guilty as charged . . . dereliction of public (safety) duty to the citizens of The Bahamas.”

And Soflablkman had some suggestions: “I have a few suggestions to reduce crime in NP. This is only my opinion. I am not an expert.

1) Reducing crime on the island should be priority #1.

Focus on prevention, small rewards leading to arrest, and anonymous reporting should be publicised and campaigned.

2) Conduct undercover sting operations . . . especially in high crime locations and during the time period that many violent crimes take place, for example during the

weekends/9pm–2am.

3) Focus on solving poverty and gun control on the island.

4) Use social media and DNA evidence as tools.

5) Don’t be scared of the criminals . . . enter their territory. Make your presence known.”

• Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

NEVER MIND THE

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 15, 2016, PAGE 11

“PLP STILL THE ONLY PARTY WITH A PLAN TO TACKLE CRIME”

PLP Bradley Roberts, 2015

*

# B @ ! ! * $

PLP says ‘Crime Down’ Say What? Dey Can’ t Be Serious!

PLP Cabinet Minister, Edward Fitzgerald, stands in front of elecVon sign in 2012

PLP SMASHED ALL TIME RECORD IN 4 YRS!!

MAY 7TH TO DECEMBER, 2012 JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 2013 JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 2014 JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 2015 JANUARY TO JUNE 12TH, 2016 ONE MORE YEAR TO GO 2017

** Royal Bahamas Police Force Stats**

70 MURDERS 70 119 MURDERS

189 123 MURDERS

312 146 MURDERS

458 56 MURDERS

514 WHO KNOWS!

514

MURDERS