THURSDAY
The
BOTH FACTIONS SHOULD COMPETE’
Bowleg and JCNP at odds on participation of Valley Boys groups
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
‘School safe’ after social media alarm
“Junkanoo is there for the people,” he said yesterday. “I mean, if it was my decision, in my opinion, I believe that both factions should have been given the opportunity to compete
YOUTH Sports and Culture Minister Mario Bowleg disagrees with the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence’s (JCNP) decision to bar one faction of the Valley Boys from competing as a Category A group in the upcoming Junkanoo parades, expressing concerns that the ruling would reduce turnout on Bay Street.
By JADE RUSSELL
Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net
FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said the United Kingdom’s introduction of an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) will be another “obstacle” for travellers, adding his ministry will be monitoring to ensure there is no discrimination. The UK government announced on Tuesday that nationals from 49 countries and territories will be eligible to apply for an ETA on November 27, 2024. From January 8, 2025, visitors to the UK will need an ETA. This new requirement applies to visa-exempt
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
CONCERNING social media posts from 9th grade Lyford Cay International School students prompted a police investigation.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Chaswell Hanna said yesterday that no
student was ever in danger, adding that police engaged school administrators, parents, and students.
“There are no firearms involved, contrary to what you may see floating around,” he said. “The long and short of it as much as I can say is, it’s just some inappropriate social media banter, some of it involving
some Google search photographs of some weapons, but there was no actual weapon. At no time did a student bring any weapon on campus or anything of that sort.”
In response to the report, the school increased security at the upper school
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE proposed $177m revival of Abaco’s Treasure Cay development was yesterday hailed as a “winwin all the way around” and greeted with shouts of “hallelujah” by the island’s Chamber president.
Daphne DeGregoryMiaoulis said the area’s restoration as a leading tourism and second home destination is “desperately needed” given the damage inflicted by both Hurricane Dorian and the pandemic as it was previously responsible for “putting Abaco on the map”.
By NEIL HARTNELL
BAHAMIAN petroleum retailers will be on Bay Street to protest the Government’s “unconscionable” failure to approve a margin increase vital to their survival when Parliament resumes next Wednesday after receiving formal permission from the Cabinet Office to hold a demonstration.
Photo: Dante Carrer /
26th Americas Regional Conference discussed organised crime and evolving threats
Kng Meal Deal
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
MORE than two dozen law enforcement leaders across the Americas and beyond gathered at Atlantis yesterday for high-level discussions on transnational organised crime and evolving threats, including artificial intelligence.
Delegates from 35 countries are attending Interpol’s 26th Americas Regional Conference, which runs through Friday, to strengthen partnerships and achieve collective goals in the crime fight.
This is the first time The Bahamas is hosting the conference.
Key topics on the agenda include human trafficking, drug and firearms trafficking, and cybercrime.
In his keynote remarks, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis highlighted the importance of building partnerships to address growing security threats.
“In the Caribbean and Latin America, we have seen firsthand how organised crime infiltrates our societies, exploiting economic vulnerabilities and eroding social cohesion,” he said. “The illicit activities we face not only undermine our economies but also compromise the very fabric
of our communities. This makes it all the more important that we address not just the symptoms of crime but the root causes that allow these networks to thrive.”
“By strengthening our cooperation through Interpol, we not only enhance our ability to dismantle criminal networks but also to protect the most vulnerable among us.”
He said the conference represents an exchange of ideas and a reaffirmation of their commitment to ensuring a safer and more secure future for their nations.
Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock spoke about the “unprecedented” rise in transnational threats and global crises and the need to tackle them.
“A convergence driven by a never-ending thirst of criminal networks to expand their transcontinental grip and maximise their illicit proceeds,” he said.
“This is where Interpol plays a vital role, providing a common voice for police –– for a safer, even if more complex, world.”
Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander hoped the conference would help the police force enhance its strategies and best practices.
“Our officers need to stay on the cutting edge, not only with technology but also in investigation skills and various policing initiatives. This is what you will continue to see as we move forward,” he said.
PRIME MINISTER PHILIP ‘BRAVE’ DAVIS
INTERPOL President Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and INTERPOL Secretary General Jurgen Stock pose for a group photo during the Interpol 26th Americas Regional Conference at Atlantis yesterday.
Photos: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
‘Both factions should compete’
from page one
for a prize. That’s just my opinion.”
He added: “Because, again, what there is to gain or what there is to lose and that’s the question I would ask each and everyone involved in Junkanoo, and I think the Bahamian people want to come out and see Junkanoo as the best and I think that’s what we should look at.”
Meanwhile, the lawyer for the “Way Forward” faction banned from competing in the A division said the group would challenge the JCNP’s decision.
Bjorn Ferguson, attorney for the group, said: “The fact that the group is getting $30,000 is evident that they will compete in the A category. Fun groups don’t get $30,000. The Bahamian people finance Junkanoo.
The JCNP believes they have the authority. They don’t.”
JCNP chairman Dion Miller has said only Brian Adderley’s “World Famous” faction would be allowed to compete in the A category, with the other participating as a fun group.
Mr Bowleg, however, stressed that excluding one faction could harm ticket sales and overall revenue.
“If less people come out to Bay Street because they want to see their group but can’t see them at their best, there will be less revenue,” he said.
“I don’t want to interfere too much as it relates to their rules and regulations that govern them. But again, we got to continue look on how we move forward and grow the development of junkanoo inside this country.”
“I would like to have an open conversation with the JCNP on the matter, and hopefully they will be open to looking at it.”
The Office of the Registrar General recently instructed Mr Adderley’s faction to stop using the Valley Boys name, as Mr Davis had registered it first. Former Prime Minister Perry Christie, a founding member of the Valley Boys, had suggested resolving the internal conflict through an election, but his proposal was ignored by Mr Adderley’s management committee.
‘School
from page one
campus and enhanced social media monitoring. Counsellors were also made available throughout the to support students.
“This speaks to one of the reasons why we continue to build out our school resource officer programme, where we want to strengthen the relationship between the police and our schools, parents, students, and teachers,” he said. “While we don’t have school resource officers posted at private schools, we do enjoy a good relationship with the school administrators of private schools, not only here in New Providence but on the Family Islands as well.”
Social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, were involved in the incident. ACP Hanna said the incident underscores the broader issue of social media management among children, urging parents to pay close attention to their children’s social media.
safe’ after social media alarm
“The kids of today are very sharp, they are very tech-savvy,” he said.
“Parents, it would do you good to learn about Snapchat, to learn about
you could be up to date with what is going on these
“You would be surprised to know what you would find in it if you picked up your child’s phone. You got to look at what they are searching, you got to look at what
they are visiting, you got to look at the pictures they’re forwarding and the videos they’re sharing, and you got to know who they are communicating with because that information would make you raise the eyebrows in some instances.”
Facebook and all the other social media platforms so
chat groups.
MINISTER OF YOUTH SPORTS AND CULTURE MARIO BOWLEG
ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Dr Chaswell Hanna speaks during a press conference at police headquarters yesterday.
Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
UK E-Travel authorisation will be an ‘obstacle’, says Mitchell
from page one
foreign nationals visiting or transiting the UK.
“It’s just another obstacle to travel,” Mr Mitchell told The Tribune yesterday. “But it appears that all countries around the world are going in that direction. We do not require visa to go to the UK but they now impose this new requirement which is something that Canadians imposed a couple of years ago. So, it basically, I suppose, assists them in their security arrangements, so that they stop you from actually getting on plane if they find some reason that you’re objectionable.” Previously, Bahamian travellers only needed a passport to enter the UK.
Mr Mitchell said he expects the transition to the ETA to be mostly smooth, noting Canada’s system worked well.
“The foreign ministry here will be watching it to see how it works and to be sure that there’s no discrimination,” he said. “One of the issues always with regard to these systems that require the use of digital platforms is that when there’s a problem, you can’t reach anybody on the phone, no human being on the phone. This is the problem with the processing of visas for our students going to the UK. So, you know, one will be watching that as well.”
Other countries affected by the ETA’s rollout include the United States, Brazil, Australia, Barbados, Japan, and Canada.
Lightbourne will remain senator despite taking a position with IDB and relocating to Washington DC
By JADE RUSSELL Tribune S taff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net
PROGRESSIVE Lib-
eral Party Senator Quinton Lightbourne said he would continue attending Senate meetings and make meaningful contributions to debates despite relocating to Washington, DC, for a position with the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB).
Mr Lightbourne was appointed alternate executive director for the IDB’s Caribbean constituency on July 1.
“While the appointment requires my presence abroad, I remain committed to my duties as a member of the Senate in The Bahamas, which I expect to continue with integrity and with the confidence of the party’s leadership,” he told The Tribune yesterday. “I will be present for Senate proceedings with the aim
of adding my voice and bringing meaningful and impactful contributions to debates expected to better the lives of Bahamians.”
The Office of the Prime Minister has said Mr Lightbourne is the youngest Bahamian ever to hold this IDB role. He is also the former chairman of the Bahamas Development Bank.
Progressive Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell said yesterday that he does not foresee any issues with Mr
Lightbourne fulfilling his duties abroad while serving as a senator.
“Once he is able to fulfil the requirements of the Senate, I don’t see what the issue is,” he said, calling the Senate a “deliberative” body.
“It’s not a body which requires residence for the purposes of constituencies,” he said. “There are requirements for attendance, and once he fulfils those, attendance within the law, I really don’t see what the issue is.”
PLP SENATOR QUINTON LIGHTBOURNE
FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER FRED MITCHELL
Collins’ alleged accomplices give contradictory testimonies
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A POLICE officer testified yesterday that Aliko Collins was a suspect in an attempted kidnapping and armed robbery shortly before he was shot and killed by an off-duty officer in Pinewood Gardens in 2017.
The inquest into the policeinvolved shooting of 21-year-old Collins continued before acting Coroner Kara Turnquest-Deveaux.
Now-retired Superintendent Basil Collie, the subject of the inquest, reportedly shot and killed Collins after he and two accomplices confronted the officer during a walk on Bamboo Boulevard in the early hours of February 8, 2017. The officer claims that Collins was armed at the time.
This is the second inquest into this shooting; the first jury was dismissed before reaching a verdict due to what the coroner deemed inappropriate behaviour during the officer’s testimony in May.
Superintendent Steven Carey, the lead investigator, read out the statements from Cevon Campbell and Demiko Nottage, the deceased’s alleged accomplices on the day of the shooting.
Superintendent Carey read Campbell’s statement, in which Campbell, the driver that night, said he and the other two men had gone to Laufey’s bar before confronting the officer.
Campbell recalled blocking Collins off with his car on Pinewood Drive, an action he said was suggested by Collins. Campbell claimed that Collins thought the officer was someone he had a dispute with.
Supt Carey noted that Campbell’s report indicated that the suspects were unarmed during the confrontation and that Collins only held up a wine bottle.
Campbell’s statement concluded with him fleeing the scene in his car after the officer began shooting.
However, Nottage’s statement contradicted Campbell’s account.
According to Supt Carey, Nottage said that Collins was armed that night and intended to rob the officer.
Supt Carey also said Campbell described Collins’s weapon as black, matching his shirt.
During cross-examination by K Melvin Munroe, Mr Collie’s attorney, Supt Carey said that the former officer told him he was exercising when Collins confronted him.
Supt Carey further noted that the suspects in this incident were charged with attempted armed robbery and attempted abduction, which occurred an hour before the fatal shooting.
Inspector Austin Bowles testified
that gunshot residue tests were taken from both Campbell and Nottage in relation to these incidents.
Inspector Bowles also showed photos of the crime scene, where Collins’s head was found in a pool of blood near a shattered glass bottle. Collins was also seen wearing a black Nike shirt.
Inspector Henrington Curry, a firearms expert, testified that the eight 9mm bullet casings and the fired bullet recovered from the scene were discharged from the same 9mm Beretta pistol.
The officer added that this policeissued weapon was tested and confirmed to be operational.
Angelo Whitfield marshalled the evidence.
BAHAMAS TO REVECEIVE SECOND CORAL REEF EARLY WARNING SYSTEM DONATED FROM USAID
By
LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter
lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas is set to receive its second $140,000 coral reef early warning station, which will collect weather data and support climate change efforts.
and must be removed before such events.
Jeffrey Simmons, acting director of the Bahamas Department of Meteorology, accepted the station on behalf of his department. He expressed appreciation
WSC GM testifies
to conduct investigation
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
THE Water and Sewerage Corporation’s (WSC) general manager testified that police officers used the corporation’s headquarters to investigate matters involving Long Island MP Adrian Gibson and others facing criminal charges.
Robert Deal, the latest witness in the trial, said during cross-examination by Gibson’s attorney, Damian Gomez KC, that police were at the WSC office for about two to six weeks, coming and going during that period.
Mr Deal confirmed that police entered the premises with a warrant but could not say whether authorities conducted interviews in the WSC boardroom. He told Mr Gomez that he had not been shown any documentation regarding the police using the boardroom but said that police had communicated with his superiors. He also noted that he communicated verbally with officers while they were at the headquarters.
Mr Deal could not specify how many WSC employees were interviewed by police. He said he did not witness anyone under arrest at WSC or observe any firsthand interviews.
Although Mr Deal recalled seeing three to four officers at the WSC each day, the only name he could remember was Deputy Commissioner Deleveaux.
During further questioning, Mr Deal said both the chairperson and deputy chairperson must sign documents bearing the WSC seal.
Mr Gomez is expected to continue his crossexamination of the witness today.
Mr Gibson, the Long Island MP, is on trial alongside Mr Donaldson Jr, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson, and Jerome Missick. He faces charges related to his tenure as WSC executive chairman, including allegations of failing to declare his interest in contracts awarded by the corporation.
The defence team consists of Mr Gomez, Murrio Ducille KC, Ian Cargill, Bryan Bastian, Ryan Eve, and Raphael Moxey. The Crown’s legal team includes Cordell Frazier, Karine MacVean, and others.
for the new equipment, noting that it will enhance forecasting capabilities and support the department’s mission.
“This will help us improve our forecasting. We have boaters out every day, and
one of the products the Department of Meteorology provides daily is a marine forecast that mariners rely on,” Mr Simmons said. He also said the data will be actively shared with relevant parties.
This project is a joint initiative involving the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, the government of The Bahamas, and The Island School.
Donated by USAID, this station is scheduled for installation in Eleuthera in October. It will join the existing station in Morgan’s Bluff, Andros.
The third-generation device will gather meteorological and oceanographic data, which will be transmitted every 10 minutes via cellular service. It will provide critical information before and after storms. However, while the instrument is waterproof, it cannot withstand hurricanes
ALIKO COLLINS
CORAL reef early warning system being donated to The Bahamas will capture weather and climate data.
The Tribune Limited
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Trump faces his own debate fallout just
months after benefitting from Biden’s
DONALD Trump emerged Wednesday from a rocky debate against Kamala Harris looking to regain his footing with 55 days until Election Day, the first ballots already going out in Alabama and other states on the cusp of early voting.
Not even three months ago, Trump stepped off the debate stage in Atlanta having watched President Joe Biden deliver a disjointed, whispery performance that led the 81-year-old Democrat to end his reelection bid and endorse Harris, his vice president. By the end of Tuesday night, it was the 78-year-old Trump on the defensive after the 59-year-old Harris controlled much of the debate, repeatedly baiting the Republican former president into agitated answers replete with exaggerations and mistruths.
The performance left many Republicans scrambling to pick apart Harris’ performance and insist that Trump still has time to refocus on the economy, immigration and other issues that could sway a closely divided electorate.
“I think the contrast could have been drawn more sharply on what her policies have done over the last three and a half years,” said Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia in a critique of the former president’s approach. “That’s what I would have focused on.”
Harris’ campaign immediately pitched the idea of a second debate. Fox News has proposed an October matchup but with moderators that Trump has indicated he does not prefer. And he said via his Truth Social account Wednesday that there is no need for a second round,
“In the World of Boxing or UFC, when a Fighter gets beaten or knocked out, they get up and scream, “I DEMAND A REMATCH, I DEMAND A REMATCH!” Well, it’s no different with a Debate,” Trump wrote, as he claimed victory. “She was beaten badly last night ... so why would I do a Rematch?”
Trump and Harris were together briefly Wednesday in New York, where they joined President Biden and other dignitaries to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. They shook hands for the second time in 12 hours, with the first coming when Harris approached Trump on the debate stage to introduce herself in the first sign of the aggressive approach she would take during the event.
The former president, who flouted convention with a surprise appearance late Tuesday in the post-debate spin room, insisted he won the night, though he also blasted ABC moderators as unfair. It was a tacit acknowledgement that he did not accomplish what he wanted against Harris. Trump and some of his allies in online posts speculated about punishing ABC by taking away its broadcast license — the network doesn’t need a license to operate but individual stations do — or denying access to its reporters.
“We had a great night. We won the debate. We had a terrible, a terrible network,” Trump said Wednesday on Fox News. “They should be embarrassed. I mean they kept correcting me and what I said was largely right or I hope it was right.”
Harris was jubilant late Tuesday, telling late-night rallygoers in Philadelphia that it was a “great night,” even as she repeated that she sees Democrats as “underdogs” against Trump.
She won the endorsement of music and cultural star Taylor Swift as a range of political commentators and strategists on both sides of the political aisle expressed a broad consensus that she bested Trump. Still, there was no evidence the debate yielded immediate broad shifts toward Harris among people who watched, and the Trump campaign pointed to news reports featuring voices of undecided voters not
being swayed for her.
His campaign was not considering any strategy or staffing changes, said an official who was not authorized to speak publicly by name. Trump hit the points he needed to hit, the official said, and the debate felt lopsided because Harris was not pressed by the moderators, especially on her moving away from her earlier, more liberal positions on some issues.
Harris senior campaign aides were pleased with her performance but still see a 50-50 race. The debate in their view was a maximized opportunity: Harris communicated her priorities and held Trump accountable in front of a national audience, including voters who were first tuning into the campaign. Their job over the next eight weeks, they say, is to capitalize on the performance by reaching and organizing their targeted coalition.
About 6 in 10 debate-watchers said that Harris outperformed Trump, while about 4 in 10 said that Trump did a better job, according to a flash poll conducted by CNN. Before the debate, the same voters were evenly split on whether Trump or Harris would win.
The vast majority of interviewed debate-watchers — who do not reflect the views of the full voting public — also said that the event wouldn’t affect their votes in the election. Perceptions of the two candidates remain largely unchanged.
“He says a lot of stuff. And he’s said so many things over the years. And if you want to internalize that in a way that you think is any different from the past — my point is, that doesn’t make much difference,” insisted Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.
Nonetheless, with pending battles for control of the House and Senate, Republicans on Capitol Hill found themselves answering for Trump’s most outlandish statements, notably his claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating domestic cats and dogs..
When Florida Sen. Rick Scott was asked about the appropriateness of Trump’s comments, he deferred questions to Hung Cao, the Republican Senate nominee in Virginia. “President Trump is President Trump, and you’ve got to admire him for that,” said Cao.
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire allowed that Harris won by traditional debate standards but fell short in convincing swing voters focused on their economic conditions.
“The majority of those swing voters are still results driven,” Sununu said on CNN, adding that Trump still has opportunities to sway voters if he concentrates on the economy, immigration and, especially, foreign policy.
Yet even when talking policy, Trump handed Democrats a cudgel with his answers on health care. After twice running for president on promises of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare,” Trump falsely insisted that he saved the 2010 law. At the same time, Trump stood by his longstanding promises to replace the law with something better but when pressed acknowledged that he still had no specific proposal.
“I have concepts of a plan,” Trump said in a remark that became quick fodder for online memes and merchandise.
Braun promised those voters will hear more about GOP accomplishments and proposals, but acknowledged that it may not be Trump leading that effort: “Whether he does it or the rest of us have to do it, the case will be made between now and November 5th.”
By BILL BARROW, MARY CLARE JALONICK, MICHELLE L. PRICE, ZEKE MILLER and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press
Wary over end result of conventions
EDITOR, The Tribune.
ON October 8, 2021, Prime Minister Davis and Attorney General Hon Ryan Pinder signed and supported the G20 & OECD’s ‘Statement on a Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy’. The statement endorsed by over 140 countries may be construed as an ‘agreement to agree’, which is contritely and inherently uncertain, on the Two-Pillar Solution (TPS) to stabilise the international tax regime (ITR). The TPS is now commonly known in tax literature as BEPS 2.0 or ‘Base Expansion and Profit Sharing’ rules that consist of a multilateral tax convention (Pillar 1) and a minimum effective tax rate of 15% on excess profits (Pillar 2) for large multinational entities (MNE).
At the time of writing and conducting three research studies on this topic, on each end of the pond, the UK and The Bahamas have either implemented, amended, or conducted open consultations on the future of the Diverted Profit Tax (DPT),[1] Commercial Entities (Economic Substance) Requirements Act, 2018 (CESRA),[2] corporate tax rates (CTR), and Pillar 2 rules in accordance with the BEPS Project. Fast forward less than 3 years later since the first installment of this financial services series many still may be pondering, What the BEPS is going on?
Well, I have found that many in society are concerned about BEPS 2.0’s purported equitable wealth distribution benefits, if any, in comparison to the negative impact and compliance burdens on the financial services industry and tech start-ups. The potential overall net loss for imposing such measures may be evident by higher compliance cost, reduced investment, and stagnant industry growth in exchange for potentially exaggerated revenue projections – particularly for developing capital
importing countries. Moreover, many stand against the BEPS Project’s illegitimate institutional creation story suffering from democratic deficits in an arbitrary grouping of old-school superpowers. Subsequently, as a legal scholar, tech start-up and climate justice advocate, I recommended to a United Nation (UN) delegate for The Bahamas that we all press breaks on BEPS because it infringed our tax sovereignty and negatively impact the ease of doing business.
Now The Bahamas is at the UN’s door trying to identify specific problems that a UN Tax Convention could address. The Financial Services Board (FSB) believes that the UN can establish a “global tax framework that is unbiased and linked to key global commitments and obligations, ensuring equity, transparency, and accountability.” They recommend, inter alia, “revisit[ing] the minimum global corporate tax requirement” or only implementing BEPS 1.0’s CESRA and transfer pricing rules. They also called for establishing a “holding” period on efforts for other international organisation’s tax agendas for willing participants of the UN Tax Convention. However, they support collaborations with said international organisations, which may undermine their purported objectives. If this is The Bahamas’ stance, I remain wary of another layer to the already incoherent ITR. Such a UN Tax Framework will most likely function on top of other countries uncoordinated unilateral measures (e.g., the UK’s DPT is anticipated to remain) in conjunction with the BEPS Projects (i.e., the 15-point action plan and Two-Pillar Solution) and other coordinated international tax rules to increase the minimum effective tax rate for entitles beyond the scope of the initial BEPS Project mandate. This proliferation
or as the Attorney General calls “combination” of taxation, unfortunately, can lead to double or multiple taxation, high compliance burdens, and uncertainty for businesses thereby significantly deterring activity in our financial services sector. Moreover, as far as I am aware, the government’s negotiation approach to champion the human right to development is unfounded and lacks locus standi.
In light of this, equitable voting rights, more noninclusive Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) system, regular review, updates, and dispute resolutions mechanisms will not negate real residual challenges such as political decision-making interferences, democratic deficits within the OECD nor the UN, tangible and practical resources to implement the rules and sustainably manage the impact of crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. During the latter events tourism takes significant hits making this sector our new number 1. In many ways, as the Chinese’s economic mode of development would suggest, we must protect key economic pillars at all costs. But who am I to know? I am not the researcher and strategist in this vital area of legal studies that conceptualised the Global Carbon Tax in the wake of Hurricane Dorian’s devastating impact on my country. Then, was able to lobby Caribbean Regional Youth Leaders to incorporate it into a duly published climate justice resolution addressed to global leaders and institutions. Only to discover, half a decade later, perpetual traveling, corruption claims, underperforming climate justice pledges, carbon credit and crypto-currency scams, and easier pathways to more debt and wasted expenditure leading to inflation. Yet, I am. More on all this in our next segment of #FiveCentsFridays.
BOYKIN G SMITH Nassau, September 8, 2024.
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THE TRIBUTE in Light is seen in the sky on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, yesterday, in New York.
Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AP
Oak Tree Medical Centre will provide 100K free mammograms
By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
OAK Tree Medical Centre will provide 100,000 free mammograms to Bahamian women in partnership with local organisations like the Cancer Society of The Bahamas and Sister Sister through its Million Mammogram Movement 242.
Though Breast Cancer Awareness Month is officially in October, Oak Tree has already committed $1m to support the initiative.
Oak Tree chief medical officer Dr Don Deveaux highlighted the need for the programme during a pres sconference yesterday, noting that cancer is the second leading cause of death in The Bahamas, with breast cancer being the most fatal form, followed by
prostate and colon cancer. He also revealed that 48 percent of breast cancer diagnoses occur in women under age 50, with an average diagnosis age of 42. Additionally, 44 percent of cases are diagnosed at stage 3 or 4, underscoring the importance of year-round screenings.
“We really want to make a dent in this vile condition, because wives, mothers, daughters, friends, family, and loved ones are being affected by something that is really preventable through appropriate screening,” Dr Deveaux said. Oak Tree’s clinical director, Dr Carmen Cartwright, emphasised the need for early detection, pointing out that almost 50 percent of Bahamian women are diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer, significantly lowering
their five-year survival rate. She stressed the importance of the free mammograms, saying: “This will equate to about 100,000 mammograms for women who would not have had access otherwise.”
Addressing concerns about overwhelming their system, Oak Tree officials revealed plans to introduce a voucher system to manage the distribution of mammograms. Dr Deveaux explained they would issue 25 to 40 vouchers per month to those in need, ensuring that the programme reaches those who require the service.
Dr Deveaux also praised the benefits of 3D mammogram technology, which improves breast cancer detection rates by 30 percent.
Breast cancer survivor Audrey Seymour shared her personal story at the event, crediting routine mammograms for saving her life. After a mammogram at Oak Tree Medical Centre last year, she was diagnosed with cancer and immediately underwent surgery. She encouraged others to prioritise their health and seek early detection, saying: “Trust the process and go through it.”
Bahamian women of all ages were urged to take advantage of the free mammograms and prioritise their health through regular screenings.
The dynamic spirit of Bahamian egalitarianism
EGALITARIANISM:
the doctrine that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
A dear friend tells the story of her trip overseas representing The Bahamas at a conference where she was the most senior official and was accorded considerable status by her hosts.
In gratitude to the four young protocol officers who accompanied her and the group of officials at the small conference, she gave each of them a small gift as a token of appreciation and affection.
The protocol officers were at first surprised, and then effusive in their gratitude. The surprise and effusiveness were born from the curious fact that in four years of hosting international visitors, this was the first time that anyone thought to give them gifts.
One of the protocol officers explained with her hands, one raised high and the other lowered: “You are up here and we are down here.” She continued, bringing her hands level approximating the equality sign symbolising various civil rights movements, “And you made us feel like this”, meaning she made them feel equal.
The Bahamian official’s gift-giving flowed naturally from her own dutiful and lifelong expression of the virtuous and intimate companions: generosity and gratitude.
It flowed also from something often second-nature in Bahamian culture: a general sense of equality and egalitarianism, that we are all one, made in the image and likeness of God, sharing an innate human dignity.
The wife of a Bahamian diplomat overseas recalls her Filipino housekeeper talking about throwing a party for a group of friends. When the wife of the diplomat offered the use of the diplomatic residence’s dining room, the housekeeper was bowled over. The diplomat’s wife thought it a relatively minor gesture.
Here again was this sense on the part of a Bahamian, of a spirit of egalitarianism. While certain status and respect for authority are
necessary, most Bahamians innately believe that we are first fellow human beings, with the same basic desires, needs, struggles and innate equality.
Daily interactions constitute a collage which when assembled reveal a portrait of Bahamian egalitarianism. The interaction between Bahamians of various economic groups is fluid and generally easy.
Most of us tend to view and treat each other as equals and treat also with equal respect and camaraderie others such as the service providers who may pump our gas, who pack our grocery bags, who serve us in restaurants. If one wants to understand this sense that we share a common dignity, get on the wrong side of a waiter or waitress at a restaurant.
A Filipino housekeeper notes that she and other Filipino service providers in The Bahamas tend be treated with greater dignity and mutual respect by Bahamian employers than by foreign employers including many who live in exclusive gated communities in the country.
To be sure, there are those puffed up and preening Bahamians who asininely deem themselves somehow superior because they are accented with cheap pretentiousness and expensive perfumes and colognes.
Sadly, even the most luxurious scents are unable to mask the stench of those who think that they do not share a common humanity
All people are equal and deserve equal
at the most basic level.
Contrast our greater egalitarian spirit with the racial, social and economic stratification and divide in Haiti and Jamaica. A former associate cites two examples.
He tells the story of a housekeeper who offers that Bahamians have always treated her with greater respect than her Jamaican employers and their Jamaican social friends in Jamaica. Whereas she is often invisible to this circle, Bahamian guests invariably engage her in conservation.
This former acquaintance also tells the story of travelling to Haiti to visit a friend serving as the head of an office of an international organisation. The host sent a driver to pick him up. But the driver seemed to be nowhere in sight and hours passed by with the acquaintance getting increasingly worried as the airport emptied.
He kept calling his host who assured him that the driver was at the airport. It was then that he glimpsed a sign under the arm of another man milling around the airport. When he snatched the sign from the man, he found his name on the placard.
The resulting revelation was stunning: the driver
though that he was looking for a white man because his employer, the head of the office of a prestigious international organization, could not possibly have as his friend a black man.
The well-known song proclaims: “All a we is one family, all a we is one.” It goes on to speak of he’s my brother and she’s my sister.
The song is a sort of Bahamian anthem expressing the best of the Bahamian spirit of egalitarianism, which, though incomplete, continues to be perfected in each generation. This spirit animated the struggle for majority rule and racial and economic equality.
In the campaign for racial equality some of the leaders expressly envisioned a multiracial society and saw majority rule as a means of liberating many white Bahamians from their prejudices and an unsustainable racial and economic order.
Correspondingly, never in the history of The Bahamas has there been any major organization of black Bahamians, whether church, civic group or otherwise, that has sought the explicit exclusion of white Bahamians.
In a relatively short period, The Bahamas has made enormous strides in terms of social and
economic mobility. A number of our prime ministers came from poorer Bahamian families, rising to lead the country.
For the most part, class lines are fluid in The Bahamas and we are not as stratified along such lines as are many other countries. While racial prejudice is still deeply ingrained in some we have made enormous progress since the attainment of majority rule. There is xenophobia among many Bahamians toward Haitians and Jamaicans but it is often less virulent than the xenophobia found in other countries toward foreigners, which does not make it any more tolerable.
Still, we generally tend to treat Jamaican and Haitian colleagues and employees with respect, even as we express concern about the level of illegal immigration, and can be viscerally intolerant.
The Bahamian spirit of egalitarianism lags in terms of gender equality and equality for gays and lesbians, but we have made extraordinary progress in a relatively short period of time, though there is still much ethical ground to cover.
Amidst entrenched misogyny, mostly fuelled by religious fundamentalism, Bahamian women have made tremendous progress. They have shattered many glass ceilings with more shattering of sexism still on the horizon.
Amidst homophobia and bigotry, gays and lesbians in The Bahamas are less stigmatized than the majority of Caribbean states, which is not to deny the depth of intolerance still resident in the country. To its credit the PLP decriminalized certain sexual acts between homosexuals in 1992.
A champion of the spirit of Bahamian egalitarianism is Hubert Ingraham who, through legislative,
executive and other action upheld the dignity and equality of women and gays and lesbians.
Ingraham’s ground breaking and expansive statement in the aftermath of the vitriol and hatred directed at a cruise of gay and lesbian visitors, is iconic of the spirit of Bahamian egalitarianism.
The tone and language of the statement is one of the most profound, classic and well-argued declarations of equality ever penned in The Bahamas. It was a significant moment in the greater flowering of the best of the Bahamian spirit.
The spirit of Bahamian egalitarianism can be retarded at times, stymied, held back, even for long and seemingly unbearable periods.
But it will not be destroyed nor will it be intimidated by the hobgoblins of little minds and stony hearts who cannot fully imagine how our one Bahamian family fully includes myriad skin tones, male and female, LGBT brothers and sisters and a kaleidoscope of individuals of various ethnic and national backgrounds.
For all our challenges, prejudices, xenophobia, misogyny, bigotry and fundamentalist shibboleths, we continue to make progress.
Such progress is in part inspired too by those advocates of equality who throughout our history have beseeched our individual consciences and national consciousness to love and to treat our neighbours as ourselves, no matter their circumstances, including that of birth.
This column was first published in 2015. It is reprinted with some changes.
Harris gives forceful case against Trump
DID you watch the much-anticipated TV debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on Tuesday evening? Who do you think won? And does the debate change in any way how you feel about this year’s American presidential race?
These questions are sure to be among the first to be asked by the thousands of pollsters who are this morning fanning out all across the US in an effort to gauge the effect of a debate between two people who have never actually met but seem to have developed quite an animosity toward each other already.
In some ways, the opening moment at Tuesday’s debate in Philadelphia was the most telling, and it set the tone for the 90 minutes that followed.
Both candidates entered the stage. Trump stayed on his side of the stage. Harris, hand extended, walked all the way across the stage to greet him and introduce herself for the first time.
For a moment, Trump seemed taken aback, almost as if he was considering not shaking her hand. Then he did so, apparently heartily.
But this is how the debate unfolded, with Harris on the offensive, making the points she and her team felt she needed to make to score with the so-called “undecided” voters in the half-dozen US states where all the sage pundits think this election will be decided.
Another key point, noted immediately afterward by most commentators including the post-game crew on ABC, was the fact that Trump did not once look at Harris. It was as though some neck malady limited his ability to turn his head leftward toward her. He also never really addressed her using her name. He referred to her as “she” or “her.”
One watch party guest, who is a well-credentialed psychologist, noted that Trump with this behavior essentially de-personalised Harris, denying her individuality and indeed her identity. Trump also never smiled during the entire debate, while Harris did so repeatedly.
Overall, Trump failed this test, just as most pundits thought he likely would do. He subsided back into the usual morass of lies, sweeping nonsensical generalities, personal invective and narcissistic bravado. Just like he generally does in his many public appearances. Harris skewered him on abortion, looked him in the eye and told him he “had been fired by 81 million people” in 2020, reminded the audience of Dick and Liz Cheney’s endorsement of her, and generally called him out to his face.
So she basically won a debate where almost anything less would have been a resounding setback, since Harris held all the cards in this setting. There was no audience for Trump to play to, and two moderators for ABC did a reasonably good job of holding Trump accountable for lies and various misstatements.
At one point, Harris looked directly at Trump and urged him to “stop with the continuing lying”. Harris also ducked questions about the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, inflation, and immigration. She generally avoided answering the moderators’ queries after a brief opening sentence. Often, Harris resorted to “let’s look at how we got here”.
In the run-up to Tuesday’s debate, Trump had a lot to say, as usual. But there was also some cleareyed insight.
Talking last week with Sean Hannity on a Fox News “town hall interview”, Trump repeated his outlook on the debate by again quoting the boxing champion Mike Tyson:
STATESIDE
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
“You can go in with all the strategy you want, but you have to sort of feel it out as the debate’s taking place,” Trump said. That made sense. But Trump failed to execute.
To most observers, Trump appeared to be also preparing for a possible bad night by engaging in the time-honored practice of lowering expectations. He has repeatedly attacked the debate sponsors by claiming that ABC News has been unfair to him; his criticism may also be an effort to intimidate the questioners.
Discussing his debate plans, Trump told Hannity and the town hall audience that “it depends a lot on ABC. Will they be fair or not? If they’re not going to be fair, I’m going to be a little bit different than if they are”.
Harris, whose experience as a long-time prosecutor and California attorney general appears to have prepared her exceedingly well for this or any other debate, had also gained much positive notoriety among liberals for her incisive, determined questioning as a senator on the US Senate Judiciary Committee of both Trump’s attorney general Bill Barr and Supreme Court nominee Brett Cavanagh.
Ahead of Tuesday’s showdown, virtually every pundit had at least implicitly expressed the feeling that Harris should win, and win decisively.
In her relatively few public comments in a radio interview last week, Harris said “there’s no floor for him (Trump) in terms of how low he will go. And we should be prepared for that. We should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth”.
“Ultimately, you know, what I intend to point out is… he tends to fight for himself, not for the American people. And I think that’s going to come out during the debate,” she said. “But I expect that he is — I think he’s going to lie. And he has a playbook that he has used in the past.”
Before the debate, a kind of consensus was emerging that Harris had overcome the lead Trump had built when his opponent was the more visibly aging Biden. While
GOP-affiliated pollsters continue to broadly report an even race or a slight Trump advantage, many other polls gave Harris the edge. One of the best-known of these pollsters spoke candidly but anonymously to some reporters recently. Here are some of her conclusions as of this past weekend:
I would say that Harris is ahead probably three, three and a half points nationally. There are some places where she’s pulling away, like Wisconsin, and there are some places that are really competitive, like North Carolina, and some places that remain sort of tight and hard to predict. But there’s certainly a clear path in my view to winning the presidential race.
“A key to Harris’s surge is the consolidation of the support of Democratic voters. In battleground states, Biden was getting somewhere between 80 and 85 percent of Democratic voters, and Harris is now getting 90 to 95 percent of Democratic voters. Furthermore, less-frequent and low-motivation voters are trending blue. Many of these less-frequent voters are young people, and they’re clearly more interested in Harris than they were in Biden.”
Poll-taking firms have been speaking out more than before recent elections. This may be because they have whiffed on identifying several important voter trends. But some of their conclusions are potentially quite significant.
For instance, maybe 20 years ago many Hispanic voters were probably Spanish-speakers and rather unpredictable. Now, they are more assimilated and are English-speaking. They will tend to become politically more like everybody else around them. This seems to hold true in South Florida.
And younger black voters obviously had no direct experience with the civil rights movement of the 1960s era. Polling has revealed that many of them don’t go to church, which is a major organiser and incubator of political activity and participation.
One respected pollster said: “Harris may need to expand her lead by another point or two, in order to win the electoral college. That involves getting more
independent women, more non-college women. It’s all women. I don’t do a poll where men move up or down very much at all in their views of the candidates. It’s all about the movement among women
voters.” Finally, there is a rough consensus among polltakers that Trump is basically getting what he got in terms of voter support in 2020. He got 47 percent four years ago and he’s getting 47 percent overall now. Nor has his overall favorability rating changed. It’s anyone’s guess at this point how much Tuesday’s
debate will influence the November election in the US. History says very few debates have had much lasting effect. In fact, several historians think the most influential debate was the first one televised, between well-known incumbent vice president Richard Nixon and Massachusetts upstart Senator John F Kennedy. That was over 60 years ago.
with Charlie Harper
REPUBLICAN presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris participate during an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, on Tuesday.
Photo: Alex Brandon/AP
ATTEMPTED MURDER A ND POSSESSION OF A GUN WITH INTENT TO ENDA NGER LIFE
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was remanded to prison after being accused of attempting to shoot at a car on Gladstone Road last week.
Senior Magistrate Raquel Whyms arraigned 31-year-old Wadlet Meris on charges of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Meris allegedly fired a handgun at Courtney Hall as Hall drove away following a heated argument on Gladstone Road on the night of September 5. The defendant was informed that the case would proceed to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). Meris will remain in custody at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until the VBI is served on December 10. Sergeant 2257 Wilkinson served as the prosecutor.
12-year-old dead after five-storey fall while on Royal Caribbean cruise
A 12-YEAR-OLD boy died after falling from a 13th floor balcony on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship as it headed toward Galveston, Texas, at the end of a seven-day cruise on Saturday. The vessel, the Harmony of the Seas, is registered in The Bahamas.
The boy reportedly fell five stories from a cabin balcony into the Central Park area of the ship. Efforts were made to resuscitate him by Royal Caribbean staff, but he died before the ship docked.
A Royal Caribbean statement said: “We are deeply saddened to confirm the
death of one of our guests. Our care team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.”
The cruise ship had been on a route in the western Caribbean.
FOUR-MONTH SENTENCE
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was sentenced to four months in prison after admitting to escaping custody in Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera, following an immigration breach last weekend.
Senior Magistrate Raquel Whyms arraigned Fedlin Alexandre, 29, on charges of escaping lawful custody. He also faced an immigration-related charge and was provided with a Creole translator during the proceedings. Alexandre reportedly escaped from authorities on September 7 while being held for an immigration matter. After pleading guilty to both charges, he was sentenced to four months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services for the escape and three months for the immigration violation, to be served concurrently.
Magistrate Whyms informed Alexandre that once he completes his sentence, he will be handed over to Immigration officials for deportation proceedings. Sergeant 2257 Wilkinson served as the prosecutor.
SPORTS
DAXON JOINS COWBOYS PRACTICE SQUAD
By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMIAN National Football League (NFL) pro Denzel Daxon officially cleared NFL waivers to be named to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. Initially, Daxon and the Cowboys severed ties on NFL Cutdown Day in August, but thanks to the league’s International Pathway Programme (IPP) the team was able to add an additional player to their practice squad roster.
The rookie defensive tackle made the practice squad along with teammates Armani Oruwariye, Josh Ball, Josh Butler, Dalvin Cook, Jalen Cropper, Malik Davis, Princeton Fant, Kemon Hall, Kelvin Harmon, Darrius Harris, Phil Hoskins, Emany Johnson, Carl Lawson, Brock Mogensen, Dakoda Shepley and Nick Vigil.
Players named to the practice squads have an opportunity to be called up to the gameday roster three times but on the third time they must be moved to the active roster, waived or released.
The Crooked Island native was picked up by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent (UDFA) in April.
During preseason play, the 6-foot-2 rookie showed some great signs in the three games he played in. He accumulated 7 tackles (two solo and five assisted) and 0.5 sacks.
Daxon began playing football at 17-years-old at the Miami Carol City Senior High School in Florida. His collegiate career started at Ohio University but he eventually transferred to the University of Illinois in Spring 2023 to play at defensive tackle for the Illinois Fighting Illini.
During his final season, he started in 11 of 12 games and recorded 27 tackles with three or more tackles earned in seven games. Additionally, he more than doubled his career members in college.
The 25-year-old is just one of 28 players to be given a roster spot courtesy of the IPP.
The NFL announced the expansion of the practice squad for 32 teams to include at least one international player in efforts to incorporate the talents of athletes from around the world.
EXTEND WINNING STREAK
By TENAJH SWEETING
BAHAMIAN Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) pro Jonquel “JJ” Jones and the New York Liberty are firing on all cylinders with just four games remaining on the regular schedule before the start of the WNBA postseason on September 22.
Coming off the heels of a big win against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, the Liberty extended their winning streak to four games against the (9-27) Dallas Wings 105-91 on Tuesday night at the College Park Centre in Arlington, Texas.
While the Wings dropped to a 9-27 win/loss record in the standings, the Libs improved to league’s best 30-6 record placing them just four games away from tying the Aces’ league record of 34 regular season victories which was achieved last year.
The Grand Bahamian centre posted 19 points, 5 boards and 2 assists. She shot efficiently in the
contest going 7-for-9 on her field goals and 3-for-4 on her threes. The WNBA Finals runners-up are now 17-1 in games where she scores at least 15 points.
League MVP Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 27 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. She drained three shots from long range in the win.
Stewart racked up 15 of her game-high 27 points in just the first quarter. She splashed three makes from long range in the opening period and gave the Liberty a sizable 28-18 lead to end the first.
Jones got in on the scoring action, making a 15-foot two pointer to give the Libs a 30-20 lead at the 9:28 mark. A few seconds later, she connected on a three from deep and pushed the lead to 11 (33-22).
While Dallas’ offence was stalling, the Big Apple team kept their momentum going. Jones was fouled by Teaira McCowan and proceeded to make her trip to the charity stripe count with two made freethrows. The
Liberty had a 16-point cushion (38-22) at this point.
The halftime score was 58-43.
Dallas managed to close the gap 72-64 with 5:14 remaining in the third quarter. However, the Liberty ran ahead with a 15-5 run to pull away 87-69. The game was a foregone conclusion after the third quarter. The Libs kept the lead safe in double digit territory to pick up their fourth straight win and eight win in the last ten games played. The difference maker was efficient shooting from New York. The Liberty knocked down 54.3 per cent of their field goals and 55.2 per cent of their threes. Collectively, they were even more efficient at the line shooting 13-for-14 at the charity stripe. They also dished out a season-high 33 assists in their latest win. Jones and the Libs will continue their run to clinch the league’s top seed tonight at 8pm in a rematch against the Wings at the College Park Center.
DALLAS Cowboys’ Denzel Daxon pictured during a preseason NFL football game on Saturday, August 24, 2024, in Arlington, Texas.
Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP
NEW York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones pictured on August 30, 2024, in Seattle. Photo: Lindsey Wasson/AP
DO-OR-DIE IN DEPARTMENTAL SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION
PLAY continued over the weekend in the Bahamas Government Departmental Softball Association (BGDSA) with a do-or-die situation in both the men’s and women’s championship series.
Both the defending champions were in the fight of their
lives to live to play another day in order to avoid being swept 4-0 by their opponent in games played at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. In the ladies’ division, it was the RBPF Interceptors taking full control of the Electro Telecom Invaders in a doubleheader and
defeating them in both games 15-14 and 11-8, taking a 3-0 lead out of a best-of-seven series.
In the men’s division, it was the BTC Lasers sinking the RBDF Floaters as they defeated them 19-9 and 17-10 in a doubleheader to deepen their lead 3-0 out of the best-of-seven series.
Junkanoo Boyz return home after Concacaf league battles
THE Bahamas Men’s National Soccer Team, the Junkanoo Boyz, returned to the Bahamas yesterday after two competitive matches in the 2024 Concacaf Nations League.
September 4, 2024 – US Virgin Islands 3-3
Bahamas
The Bahamas opened their Nations League campaign with an exciting 3-3 draw against the US Virgin Islands. Lesly St Fleur opened the scoring with an early penalty in the 3rd minute.
Wood Julmis added another in the 37th minute, and Brandon Adderley scored in the 58th minute to keep the Bahamas ahead.
However, the US Virgin Islands responded with goals from N Henry (27’), R Joseph (77’), and G Catone (86’), securing the draw in a thrilling encounter.
September 7, 2024 – Bahamas 2-3 Barbados
Playing what was technically a “home” match in Saint Croix due to stadium renovations, the Junkanoo Boyz put up a strong fight against Barbados. Brandon Adderley scored twice (42’, 66’), but Barbados capitalized with goals from Z Applewhite (10’), E Taylor (80’), and A Applewhaite (82’),
resulting in a 3-2 loss for The Bahamas.
Next Match: The Junkanoo Boyz will face the US Virgin Islands again on October 9, 2024, followed by a rematch against Barbados on October 15, 2024. Both matches will be critical as The Bahamas aims to advance in the competition.
On Sunday, Electro Telecom Telecom Invaders and the RBDF Floaters, who were both in the same dire position of being eliminated, dug deep to avoid a four-game sweep by defeating their respective opponents.
The Electro Telecom Invaders defeated the RBPF Interceptors
12-2 for the win, while the RBDF Floaters defeated the BTC Lasers 13-11 to take the win. Play continues this coming Saturday with either two champions being crowned or the Electro Telecom Invaders and RBDF Floaters aiming to extend their respective series.
BEACH SOCCER TEAM COMPETES IN RIO DE JANEIRO
THE Bahamas Football Association (BFA) proudly acknowledges the valiant efforts of the Bahamas Women’s Beach Soccer Team at the 2024 FISU World University Championship Beach Sports, held at Botafogo Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Throughout the week, the team displayed determination and resilience as they competed against top university teams from around the world.
Representing The Bahamas with pride, the team participated in the following matches:
September 3, 2024: Bahamas 7 vs El Salvador 15
September 4, 2024: Bahamas 0 vs Brazil 9
September 5, 2024: Bahamas 1 vs Argentina 3
September 7, 2024: Bahamas 1 vs Brazil (Semifinal) 10
September 8, 2024: Bahamas 0 vs Argentina (3rd Place Match) 6
Although the team did not secure a podium finish, their participation in this prestigious global event is a significant milestone for the development of beach soccer in The Bahamas.
Head coach Daria Adderley commended the players for their hard work, determination, and the invaluable experience gained on the international stage.
Competing at such a high level provided important lessons that will elevate the team’s future performances.
“This tournament was an incredible learning experience for our players,” said coach Adderley.
“The level of competition was immense, and though we faced tough results, the growth we’ve seen in our team and the unity they’ve displayed speaks volumes. We are committed to continuing the development of women’s beach soccer in The Bahamas.”
The Bahamas Women’s Beach Soccer Team’s participation in the 2024 FISU World University Championship Beach Sports is part of the BFA’s broader strategy to strengthen the women’s game and promote soccer at all levels.
This experience will serve as a stepping stone for future opportunities and growth for both the team and beach soccer in The Bahamas.
The BFA thanks all supporters and fans who followed the team throughout the competition. The journey continues as the Bahamas Women’s Beach Soccer Team looks forward to future tournaments, with their sights set on further development and success.
CENTURY-OLD RIVALRY
GAMES IN WEEK 3? WELCOME TO THE NEW REALITY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL
By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer
A MATCHUP between the Big Ten and the Pac-12 traditionally would be a clash of differing styles between schools from the Midwest and the West Coast.
Better yet, it could invoke images of the San Gabriel Mountains and the manicured grass of the Rose Bowl in “The Granddaddy of Them All.”
This year, it means a pair of century-old rivalry games oddly placed in Week 3 of the season between in-state schools now bitterly divided by the new reality of college football.
The game formerly known as The Civil War a nonconference game? The Apple Cup played at a neutral site with fans on both sides of the debate calling for an end to the yearly matchup? Neither game played in November or December?
What in the name of Keith Jackson is going on here?
“It’ll feel weird to play them at a neutral site so to speak, a non-campus site. It’ll be weird to play them in September and probably will be a little weird (overall),” Washington State athletic director Anne McCoy said. “But the general emotion and sentiment at the end of the day won’t be any different, which is this would be a great game to win.”
The rubble that remained from the collapse of the Pac-12 a year ago created the situation that will play out Saturday with the oddest of rivalry weekends.
Oregon State will host No. 9 Oregon in Corvallis, while a few hours’ drive up the road Washington State and Washington will play at a neutral site in Seattle that won’t feel very neutral.
They are both non-league contests for the first time since the early 1960s. The two remaining schools grasping onto the Pac-12 flag take on their two instate opponents that bolted for an opportunity in the Big Ten amid the chaos of realignment.
Left in the wake is an odd mix of emotions — anger, resentment and resignation are all part of the atmosphere that surrounds the two games. And no one seems to know the right feeling to have.
“Rivalry games are always personal,” Washington State centre Devin Kylany said.
“It’s still a rivalry game. I’m looking forward to playing in it,” Washington linebacker Carson Bruener said. “Obviously there is the difference of not playing at the end of the year and playing it Week 3, but the intensity is still there and we all know it.”
While there appears to be a cloud of apathy surrounding the Apple Cup, there seems to be some true buzz for the game in Corvallis. There are standing-roomonly tickets being sold for the matchup at Reser Stadium, and on the secondary market a seat in the lower bowl is going to cost at least $150 a few days out.
And there’s genuine intrigue, too. The Ducks started the season ranked third in the country and struggled in consecutive home wins over Idaho (2414) and Boise State (37-34). Meanwhile, the Beavers thumped Idaho State (3815) and shut out San Diego State (21-0) last week on the road.
Oregon State coach Trent Bray said there’s no need to explain the magnitude of the week to his players.
“They know of it. They’re aware of it. The biggest is the opportunity to go out and compete at the national level, (on) the national stage, and show what we can do and do it against a great opponent. I think that’s the bigger focus for our guys,” Bray said.
While Reser Stadium is likely to be buzzing — the sound of chainsaws will be prominent — the Apple Cup could be played in front of a half-empty stadium. Reported ticket sales for the game at Lumen Field — home of the Seattle Seahawks — are in the range of between 35,000 and 40,000 due in part to high prices, the neutral venue and the game not being part of the seasonticket package for either school.
It’s added to the overwhelming indifference about the future of the game that started almost immediately after the demise of the Pac-12 in the summer of 2023. There are segments of each fan base that would rather move on. Washington State President Kirk Schulz thinks that despite a feeling of apathy — and the oddity of Washington athletic director Pat Chun previously holding the same position at Washington State until six months ago — continuing the game is for the betterment of football fans in the region.
“They didn’t have to continue to do it and we could have both said, you know, screw the other school, and I think our fans at the end of the day would miss out,” Schulz said. “Look, maybe we win, maybe we don’t. But I just think it’s good for Division I football, for the Pacific Northwest, for our two schools to play once a year. I’m a big pro-rivalry guy.”
OREGON State running back Ryan Nall, top, dives over Oregon’s Danny Mattingly for a touchdown in the second half at an NCAA college football game in Corvallis, Oregon, in 2016. Photo: Timothy J Gonzalez/AP