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VOLUME:114 No.237, NOVEMBER 1ST, 2017
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CULTURE CLASH: TWERKING TEENS - WHAT’S THE REAL QUESTION? PAGE 8
Cops hunt gunmen after street battle
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Power & Light expects to save $3.3 million by replacing three of its expatriate employees with seven Bahamian employees, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold revealed yesterday. This comes as BPL’s board prepares to restructure the company, moving further away from PowerSecure’s short tenure as manager.
BPL board Chairwoman Darnell Osbourne said yesterday: “When you add all the salaries of the executives and also the management fee, we were paying close to $5m per annum. When you look at the replacement of the CEO, the COO, four new directors and even a new manager, you still only come up to about $1.1m, so you’re talking about saving well over three million.” PowerSecure was paid a base management fee of $2m per year. SEE PAGE 10
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MORE than a dozen employees of the Gaming Board, including some who hoped to become permanent staff, have been let go, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold confirmed yesterday. Though Mr Newbold didn’t give details of the matter, a source familiar with it said 18 people were let go last week. These included people whose contracts had expired as well as some SEE PAGE SIX
TAXI PLATE LEASING MAY END By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Minnis administration is eying regulations to manage the issuance of taxi plates, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said yesterday, adding the government is also considering ending the controversial practice of leasing the plates. Cabinet, he said, has “requested an audit of the taxi plates issued and their activity status.” “The need to take the hustle out of taxi services is noted. There may be a need to issue new taxi SEE PAGE SIX
PICTURED above are two of the lawyers called to the Bahamas Bar at Friday’s ceremony held at the Supreme Court. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune staff ROYAL Bahamas Defence Force Commodore Tellis Bethel, his executive command team and other members of the RBDF have extended congratulations
to Woman Marine Tamika Davis, one of several people who were called to the Bahamas Bar on Friday October 27. SEE PAGE TWO
EIGHT DIE IN NY TERROR ATTACK
BTC URGED TO RETHINK JOB CUTS
NEW YORK is from Uzbeki(AP) — A man in stan and came to a rented pickup the U.S. in 2010. truck mowed He has a Florida down pedestrians driver’s license but and cyclists along may have been a busy bike path staying in New near the World Jersey, they said. Trade Center The driver barmemorial Tuesreled along the day, killing at least bike path in a eight and seriously rented Home injuring 11 in what Depot truck for the mayor called the equivalent of “a particularly about 14 blocks, cowardly act of AUTHORITIES investigate the scene near a covered or around eightterror.” tenths of a mile, body on a bike path after a motorist drove onto the The driver was path near the World Trade Center memorial, striking before slamming shot in the abdo- and killing several people in New York. into a small yellow men by police after (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) school bus. The jumping out of the mayhem and the truck with what turned out to be a fake gun burst of police gunfire set off panic in the in each hand and shouting what witnesses neighbourhood and left the pavement said was “Allahu Akbar!,” Arabic for strewn with mangled bicycles and bodies “God is great,” authorities said. He under- that were soon covered with sheets. went surgery and was expected to survive. “I saw a lot of blood over there. A lot Officials who were not authorised to of people on the ground,” said Chen Yi, discuss the investigation and spoke on con- an Uber driver. Eugene Duffy, a chef at dition of anonymity identified the attacker a waterfront restaurant, said, “So many as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov and said he SEE PAGE 11
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By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter Sdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE government is working with management at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company and union officials with the hope of resolving the conflict for more than 100 employees who are allegedly being forced to sign new contracts or face termination, according to Labour Minister Dion Foulkes. Meanwhile Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) President Bernard Evans said the union SEE PAGE SIX
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TWO men are wanted in connection with a shoot-out with police which resulted in the arrest of a third man and damage to a police vehicle. According to Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean, the incident occurred shortly after 8.30pm Monday when officers with the Mobile Unit on routine patrol in the Market Street area identified a car operating in a “suspicious” manner. He said police pursued the vehicle through several side streets, ultimately bringing it to a stop on King Street where two
men got out of the vehicle and exchanged gunfire with police. Senior ACP Dean said those two men later eluded officers on foot, but a third suspect was captured. That man was taken into custody where he is now being questioned about his involvement in the matter. “Police were able to capture one of the males in the vehicle and got a loaded handgun from him,” Senior ACP Dean told reporters Tuesday.”We are still looking for those two persons, we can tell you that during the process, the police vehicle was damaged by gunshots.” He continued: “We want to thank our officers for SEE PAGE FIVE
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PAGE 2, Wednesday, November 1, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
HONESTLY YOU’LL LOOK GOOD IN THIS . . . CALLED TO THE BAHAMAS BAR FROM PAGE ONE Ms Davis joined the RBDF on January 12, 2013. She joins a growing cadre of officers and marines who were called to the Bahamas Bar during their tenure in the RBDF after attaining their law degrees, including Lieutenant Commander Floyd Moxey, Senior Lieutenant Shawn Adderley, Leading Seaman Angelo Whitfield and Able Woman Marine Akeyra Saunders. Other officers who were called to the bar during their tenure, but have since retired, include Commander Loren Klein and the present Minister of Foreign Affairs Lieutenant Commander Darren Henfield.
Halson Moultrie, speaker of the House of Assembly, presented Ms Davis’s petition and robed her. She previously served in the Prosecution Office of the RBDF and currently assists in the office of the staff officer of legal affairs. Other lawyers called to the Bahamas Bar on Friday include: Morgan Curry; Rashied Edgecombe; Dominique Farmer; Cyd Ferguson; Jayel Gibson; Palincia Hunter; Fania Joseph; Perry McHardy Jr; Janessa Murray; Raven Rolle; Denisha Smith; Ciji Smith-Curry; Latia Williams and Berchel Wilson, according to a public notice.
LAWYERS are called to the Bahamas Bar at Friday’s ceremony held at the Supreme Court. PHOTOS: Shawn Hanna/Tribune staff
THE TRIBUNE
‘TOO SOON’ TO TELL IF GLENYS RESIGNATION A SIGN OF PLP FRACTURE FORMER PLP MP George Smith yesterday said it was too soon to tell whether Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin’s resignation as leader of opposition business in the House of Assembly was a sign of fracture within the party. Mrs Hanna Martin’s resignation was described as a procedural step in line with the Westminster system following her loss at the Progressive Liberal Party’s national convention last week. “It’s a tradition in our system,” Mr Smith said, “sometimes the leader would ask the person or persuade them to hold on but in this case maybe Glenys needed some time. I think the defeat of both her and Obie was a little more pronounced than they expected. “But I don’t think you should make anything of it,” he continued, “she’s a treasured member of the party and in time we’ll put aside the little
“Sometimes the leader would ask the person or persuade them to hold on but in this case maybe Glenys needed some time. I think the defeat of both her and Obie was a little more pronounced than they expected.” George Smith
differences at convention and there’s always the next convention.” At a 2009 convention, former Bain and Grants Town MP Dr Bernard Nottage launched his third challenge for the party’s leadership against former Prime Minister Perry Christie. Ahead of his unsuccessful challenge, Dr Nottage resigned as leader of opposition business and was replaced by former Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe.
Following a chaotic final day of the PLP’s national convention last Wednesday, Philip ‘Brave’ Davis emerged as the elected PLP leader having won 1,004 votes to 300 in favour of Mrs Hanna Martin. In the chairman race, Senator Fred Mitchell received 627 votes, while Mr Wilchcombe got 419 and former election candidate Glendon Rolle received 261. On Monday, Mr Davis said he accepted Mrs Hanna Martin’s decision
GROUP WARNS AGAINST FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF GB POWER COMPANY By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
THE Coalition of Concerned Citizens is urging Bahamian shareholders in ICD Utilities not to sell their shares and allow a foreign company to have 100 per cent ownership in a vital utility infrastructure in Grand Bahama. Pastor Eddie Victor, CCC convener, believes that complete ownership of the energy sector by Emera would not be in the best interest of Grand Bahama and its residents. He appealed to Bahamian shareholders not to give in to the strong-arming tactics of the Canadian-based energy giant, which wants to buyout their shares in the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC). “We say to the Bahamian shareholders do not sell your shares, vote ‘no’ at the upcoming AGM for ICD Utilities,” appealed Pastor Victor. CCC is strongly opposed to Emera’s pending bid and transaction to acquire the shares of Bahamian shareholders of ICD Utilities, and describes the move “as a hostile take-over.” Pastor Victor said many ICD Utilities Bahamian shareholders had contacted the CCC expressing their concerns with the way Emera is going about the entire process. He said shareholders are upset and experiencing great anxiety and distrust with Emera, which owns some
Coalition of Concerned Citizens urges Bahamians not sell shares in ICD Utilities 80 per cent of the shares in GBPC. In September 2008, Emera announced the purchase of 25 per cent of the Grand Bahama Power Company Limited through its acquisition of 50 per cent of the shares of ICD Utilities Limited of the Bahamas. In December 2010, Emera acquired an additional 55.4 per cent interest in GBPC, bringing Emera’s direct and indirect interest in GBPC to 80.4 per cent. According to Pastor Victor, the GBPC is one of two power plants in the Bahamas in which Bahamian citizens have an ownership interest. The other is the Power Plant in Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, he said. “If a foreign company is allowed to take ownership of Bahamian owned shares in ICDU then Bahamian ownership in the energy sector will go backward,” he said. Pastor Victor said if Emera is so eager to buy-out Bahamian-owned shares, then the shares are more valuable than anyone thinks. He explained that ICD Utilities’ Bahamian shareholders were to receive dividend payments annually, but it has not been the case under Emera’s management of the GBPC, with shareholders receiving only a few annual dividend payments. Pastor Victor stated that before the Emera/GBPC rate
application was approved by the regulators, the Grand Bahama Port Authority, in January 2016, the main power plant on West Sunrise Highway, was operated and managed by Emera Utilities, a separate company from the GBPC. He said the business model incurred more operational costs, resulting in less profit for the shareholders. He also questioned claims about the reduction in power rate by Emera and suggested that while there was less than one cent decrease in the all-in price, there had been no reduction in the base rate. Pastor Victor stated that the CCC was formed with the purpose of being an advocacy group that would work for the betterment and social justice for citizens. The Tribune reached out to a GBPC public relations spokesman, but calls were not returned up to press time. Last week, Tribune Business reported Emera’s documents make clear that the ICD Utilities ‘buy out’ will only be consummated if a majority of minority, non-Emera investors vote in favour of it at a special and annual general meeting (AGM) on November 8. If the vote is favourable, then 75 per cent of ICD Utilities’ investors, including Emera with its 60 per cent-plus interest, must back it.
NURSE DIES AFTER COLLAPSING DURING SHIFT By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter Sdorsett@tribunemedia.net
A NURSE died yesterday afternoon at the Princess Margaret Hospital shortly after collapsing at a community clinic during her shift, The Tribune understands. The nurse, identified as Melvina Clarke, lost consciousness while working at the Flamingo Gardens Clinic. She was rushed to hospital where she died a short time after her arrival. When contacted, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands confirmed the nurse’s death, but could not provide any additional information.
MELVINA Clarke
Wednesday, November 1, 2017, PAGE 3 GLENYS Hanna Martin pictured at the recent PLP convention. She resigned as leader of opposition business in the House of Assembly shortly after losing the party leadership race to Philip ‘Brave’ Davis.
“with regret,” adding South Andros MP Picewell Forbes had been appointed to the post. Former Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller also told The Tribune that it was too early to speculate over party division, adding it would be petty and trivial at this stage. “I don’t think there’s anything there,” Mr Miller said. “I think she just didn’t want to be bothered with it. We gotta regroup, we gotta regroup and they gotta get themselves together.” In response to the suggestion that Mrs Hanna Martin’s resignation did not have to be accepted, Mr Miller said: “Well, they always accepted mine.”
PLP Leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis after being elected at the convention.
PASTOR Eddie Victor has described Emera’s pending bid to acquire ICD Utilities Bahamian shares in the Grand Bahama Power Company as “a hostile takeover” and appealed to Bahamian shareholders not to sell their shares. PHOTO: Denise Maycock
PAGE 4, Wednesday, November 1, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
The Tribune Limited Perry Christie NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”
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Sir Henry Taylor’s view of the party he created IN THIS column on Monday we discussed the elusive “core principles” that the PLP in their recent three-day convention urged their leaders and supporters to rediscover and put into practice. As we pointed out in that article these “core principles” were only alive and well on the printed page of a newspaper — at no time in its history did the PLP put their written principles into practice. The Bahamian people were fooled by their leaders and year after year one injustice or scandal followed the other — until these beautiful islands were being advertised to the world as “a nation for sale.” In that article we mentioned the disenchantment of Sir Henry Taylor, who eventually left the party he had founded, declaring that he had created a “monster” that had to be crushed. “I was forced out of the PLP,” he wrote in a letter published in The Tribune on August 4, 1967. After reading that editorial, a few young Bahamians commented that they did not believe that history “went like that.” They did not believe that Sir Henry was betrayed by his own party. And so for the sake of history we shall let Sir Henry tell his own story, in his owns words, in this column today. We hope it will encourage today’s PLP supporters not to waste their time searching for something that did not exist — but to write a new charter for their party dedicated to the “service of all Bahamians and not to a privileged few.” On the night of Wednesday, October 17, 1967, Mr Henry Taylor, as he then was, told an audience of over 1,000 persons that he had built a “monster”. “And since I was instrumental in building this monster I feel that I must do my best to destroy it. I am dedicating my future years to its destruction,” he said. Sir Henry, one of the founders, and chairman of the party for 10 years,
was speaking at the United Bahamian party’s convention. He said the “monster” had left the old age pensioners of Crooked Island without pensions for three months. It had sat at its “fat tables eating the best of the land” while the pensioners had to go to their friends and neighbours “to beg a little sugar to put in their cold tea.” “I want every man and woman to promise themselves that this condition must not last – that it must be changed. “You know that I have been very close to the PLP. I ran it for 10 years, I know what is going on… I know the inside story of the party… and I thank God that I am out of it and allowed to be speaking here on this platform tonight.” He said that he and the founders of the PLP “did not build the organisation of today.” Sir Henry spoke those words 50 years ago. We wonder what he would have to say of today’s PLP. But at that time the transition of the party from what they had intended was “like the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,” he said. He predicted “ruin and desolation” for the Bahamas under the PLP. Bradley Roberts, retiring PLP chairman, must have spoken tonguein- cheek recently when he sent in a statement for publication to remind the FNM government that the broadcasting corporation was for the Bahamian people. It is a shame that Mr Roberts had to wait until the end of his political career to learn this truth. According to Sir Henry — words spoken 50 years ago – “Station ZNS is now the PLP’s propaganda machine.” And so our advice to the new generation of PLP’s is to look at the PLP’s disgraceful past and vow never to repeat it. It is now time to move into the future with a new PLP — something that former prime minister Perry Christie promised, but failed to achieve.
PUT A SMILE ON THE FACES OF THOSE WHO PAVED THE WAY FOR US EDITOR, The Tribune. THERE are not many guarantees in life, but I can think of two that will happen to most of us who are lucky to live long enough. We will get old and we will die! But what cannot be guaranteed is what mental or physical state we would be in or who we would be treated by those who claim to love us. There are enough stories here in the Bahamas of parents and grandparents who have been discarded or abandoned when they reach the afternoon of their lives. Many have just been deemed useless and then “dumped”. The sad part is that these people have given their lives and have now been relegated to the
heap of rejects. This cannot help them toward maintaining their sanity or having anything to hold on to. The least we could do is help to keep these people in good spirits at least for the remaining years and days ahead. Therefore I am compelled to give back to these people the respect, love and dignity they deserve for their efforts. They should be allowed to continue to feel good about themselves and feel appreciated until… I am appealing to all to join us with clearing our consciences in insisting that the people who gave their lives for us can feel the love for their efforts, this is the least we could do. How do we measure how important this
exercise really is? Think of how we would want others to treat us when we reach that dreaded “old age”. It is high time to move the selfishness that has been shown by insensitive family members when their loved ones are slowing down. Today is them, tomorrow is you. How would you like to be treated. I am definitely going to continue to do my part, and if you are interested contact me, let us put a smile on the faces of those who paved the way for us. God will smile! IVOINE W INGRAHAM Nassau, October 30,2017.
out of touch with the people
EDITOR, The Tribune. I READ and listened with interest to Perry Christie’s remarks about the recently-concluded PLP convention and he just confirmed for everyone how out of touch he is with us, the people. I am a 29-year-old Bahamian from a traditionally diehard PLP family. I voted in 2007 and 2012 once each for the PLP and FNM. As much as my family hoped that I would vote PLP this time, I just could not do so, disappointing them again as I did in 2007 when I voted FNM. I told my parents that the PLP they told me about since I was a child is not the same PLP that exists today. Leslie Miller was 1000% correct when he said plenty PLP’s either voted FNM or just didn’t vote this time. To read and hear Mr. Christie criticize Monique Pindling for saying what she said publicly at the Convention shows how out of touch Mr. Christie is and confirms that the country made the correct decision on May 10th. He says that comments at Convention should be given “to inspire people”. As a millennial who has no allegiance to any party, but who voted PLP once before, I found Miss Pindling’s comments
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net
extremely inspirational. She spoke the truth and echoed the feelings of thousands of people in the Bahamas ….. PLPs and non-PLPs. Mr. Christie, why hide those comments and restrict them to internal sessions? That way, those of us who aren’t delegates or in the PLP inner circle would never hear them. But clearly, Mr. Christie just doesn’t get it. Then he said, she should have come to him to talk privately about it. What a joke! My uncle told me he did just that two years ago and Mr. Christie totally dismissed him and stopped speaking to him after. Mr. Christie, you did the honourable thing after the election and accepted full responsibility for your party’s election defeat. Your recent comments make me and others wonder if your apology was sincere. Lastly, my grandmother was talking to me about his comments and laughed, commenting that Mr. Christie must have a short or convenient memory. She then told me about the stinging criticisms Mr.
Christie (and Mr. Ingraham) made of Sir Lynden in public after the 1983 NBC television report on the drug trade in the Bahamas. The same way many people agreed with Mr. Christie’s criticisms of Sir Lynden back then, is the same way many people agree of the criticisms of Mr. Christie today. Plenty people are saying that the PLP just can’t change their ways and their thinking. If they do not do so, and listen to the Monique Pindlings and the Leslie Millers in their party, they will never see Government again. In closing, a word to Dr. Minnis and the FNM Government. Please stop telling us over and over how corrupt the PLP are or were; we know that and that is why we voted them out. We voted you in for change and to improve our country. Please let us know what your plans are for us because you know we Bahamian people don’t have much patience. Continually bashing the PLP is now old and played out. Okay? Young, Educated & A Thinking Bahamian Freeport, Grand Bahama, October 30, 2017.
The battle started by Martin Luther is still alive today EDITOR, The Tribune. OCTOBER 31, 2017 will mark the 500th anniversary of the German monk, Martin Luther, nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church. It was a list of objections he had of the prevailing Church practices of the Catholic Church at the time. It is hard to imagine that his objections could have caused him his life if not for the protections afforded him by persons who were supportive of his views. In this age the question arises as to the relevance of the Reformation. It is treated primarily as an historic event and is viewed as such, by many Christians, Churches and Pastors. However, at the time of Luther’s defiance the Church was in a different place. There were practices that were not allowed. Roman Catholic priests were not allowed to marry, it was possible to pay for the sins you would commit in advance; through a system of “ïndulgences”, Priests were able to forgive sins, and the Pope was the ultimate spiritual authority on earth. The “Reformation” challenged this. What is the challenge today? For those Church leaders who see their theology in a light that is similar to Luther
and John Calvin the ongoing struggle is the conflict that arises when they attempt to reconcile a “right theology” with the “rightness of the theology” that they subscribe to and practice, and for many it is difficult, especially when a “balance” between the temporal and spiritual is attempted. Many who espouse a Reform theology perspective are essentially pragmatists when it comes to paying bills and maintaining a particular lifestyle. The battle started by Luther is still alive as the media driven environment that we find ourselves in is unrecognizable from that which came into being, when another German who was a Catholic invented or refined the printing press, almost a century before Luther made his move. We now see a modern theological framework in which everyone can be a theologian, and the rightness of our personal theology impresses, controls and modifies any right theology we may claim to have. However, the mantra of “Reformers keep on Reforming” is as important today as it was at the beginning of the movement. EDWARD HUTCHESON October 30, 2017.
Thanks to outgoing Commissioner Greenslade EDITOR, The Tribune. THE public will be remiss, not to thank Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, the outgoing Commissioner of The Royal Bahamas Police Force. In his time certainly the physical upgrading of Police equipment, training and the scholarship of the senior Officers, has to be a credit to the Commissioner. He was an ever respectful Commissioner to the ranks. There are some who will critically say that he was the boss and there were 600+murders – crime of the young persons became an issue; yes, however you
think or anyone else may think, that one man in the chair of Commissioner can change those issues, which are squarely in the hands of the parents and guardians – then I say they are living in a Mary Poppins world. History repeats - when Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham became Prime Minister, the Commissioner was packed off to the Court of St. James. When Dr. Hon. Hubert Minnis became Prime Minister it happens again. Critics of the politicos are convinced that there was a personal clash, between the inherited Commissioner and
the incoming Minister. Anyway he and Doc have their choice. Let us see whether anything improves, because we have to admit we cannot go further deeper into the quagmire. One hopes that the FNM government will allow their Commissioner to be the Commissioner, and not interfere in operational and management issues. The Minister is the Minister, Sir, stop there! Thanks Commissioner Ellison Greenslade... we are proud of this Bahamian son. W. THOMPSON Nassau, October 30, 2017.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, November 1, 2017, PAGE 5
THE DEFENCE FORCE ARRIVES IN DOMINICA By MORGAN ADDERLEY
SENIOR ACP Dean (left) speaks to the media about the incident and (above) bullet holes on the police car after the shooting. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune staff
COPS HUNT GUNMEN AFTER STREET BATTLE
FROM PAGE ONE
their courageous efforts because it could have been much worse for our officers. “This just shows the complexity of the crime we are dealing with out there, that our officers are under constant threat, in some cases, danger; but in most cases we are prepared for such situations because our officers are well trained for these types of situation.
“So we can say to the criminal element: ‘Don’t take chances at the police. Don’t take your chances at the police.’ The police are well trained to respond to such incidents. We continue to warn persons who get involved in crime. “We continue to talk to parents, we continue to talk to family members of… children who are involved in crime, they are causing great havoc on our communities by using firearms and in some cases causing the death
of individuals, causing the death of family members; causing the death of their friends in some cases.” Senior ACP Dean also said newly appointed Commissioner Anthony Ferguson has “hit the ground running.” He stressed the new police chief had already held meetings with the force’s senior executive leadership and presented senior personnel with their mandates. Commissioner Ferguson on Monday became the
seventh person to ascend to that office, succeeding Ellison Greenslade who has been appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and permanent representative to the International Maritime Organisation. Meanwhile the investigation into Monday’s incident continues. Anyone with information on this incident or any crime is asked to call police at 919 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS.
Supreme Court judge to give ruling on Nygard’s absence By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A SUPREME Court judge will give her ruling today on whether she will accept an application for Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard to be excused from attending recusal proceedings or accept his legal opponent’s objections to his absence. Justice Rhonda Bain, in day two of a hearing into Mr Nygard’s recusal application against her, which he has been ordered to attend but was again absent, heard from Mr Nygard’s lead attorney, Damian Gomez, QC, of his filing of an application in a bid to have Mr Nygard excused from attending the proceedings. According to Mr Gomez, Mr Nygard was out of the jurisdiction – in Canada – and has been “for some time,” thus explaining his absence from yesterday’s proceedings. Mr Gomez said the application was filed yesterday morning.
Role However, Fred Smith, QC, lead counsel for the Save The Bays (STB), objected to Mr Gomez’s application on the grounds that acceding to it would be prejudicial to STB, that he gave no reason for Mr Nygard’s absences despite the “pivotal” role he plays in the recusal proceedings, and that he proffered no apology for his absence. Mr Smith further submitted that Mr Nygard’s notable absences, the consequent application for him to be excused, and the subsequent hearings on application, had reduced the recusal proceedings to “a trial within a trial,” and are preventing the substantive matter from being dealt with. “We’ll never get this off the ground at this rate,” Mr Smith argued. After a brief adjournment, and responding to Mr Smith’s prior submissions, Mr Gomez said Mr Nygard’s application is an interlocutory application, and is “ancillary” in nature to the recusal application.
from 3.25 acres to 6.1 acres, since he acquired it in 1984, by allegedly reclaiming Crown land from the sea. The advocacy group alleged that Mr Nygard achieved this without the necessary permits and approvals, claims that have been denied by the fashion designer. In 2015, Justice Bain was asked to recuse herself from committal proceedings involving Mr Nygard through a notice of motion filed in the Supreme Court
FRED SMITH, QC, lead counsel for Save The Bays, pictured outside of the Supreme Court on Monday. Mr Gomez also submitted that given the circumstances, Mr Nygard’s absence and consequent application can cause no prejudice to STB. He said he was “at a loss” about STB’s claims on the matter. Maintaining that “orders of the court are to be obeyed”, however, Mr Smith insisted on STB’s opposition of his excusal application. He thus suggested that a “practical solution” would be for Justice Bain to dismiss both the application for his excusal and his recusal application as he was not present in court to prosecute neither. After hearing further submissions from both parties on the matter, Justice Bain said she would give her decision either for or against Mr Nygard’s application or Mr Smith’s preliminary objections to it at 11.30am today. Mr Nygard has filed two recusal applications against Justice Bain on the grounds of bias, the latter of which was launched in March of this year. His first application for recusal, which ultimately failed, was filed in 2015. Both recusal applications stem from Mr Nygard’s battle with STB over allegations that the construction/ development activities at his Lyford Cay home have led to a substantial growth of the property. The group claims Mr Nygard has almost doubled the size of his property,
by his former lawyer on the grounds of bias. However, in January 2016, Justice Bain said Mr Nygard had not proved there was evidence of bias or apparent bias towards him and found the accusations to be “scandalous.” The Court of Appeal, six months later, affirmed Justice Bain’s rejection of the application in an appeal of the decision by the Lyford Cay resident. On the last occasion concerning Mr Nygard’s second
recusal application, Mr Smith had accused the billionaire Lyford Cay resident of playing “cat and mouse” with the court and treating it as his own personal “convenience”. At the time, Mr Smith said Justice Bain should not “countenance” Mr Nygard’s absence over his own recusal application, as he said the Supreme Court is not a “see-saw” that Mr Nygard can merely “pivot” on when he sees fit.
A Royal Bahamas Defence Force vessel, led by Lieutenant Commander Milton Munroe, arrived in Dominica on Monday. The docking of HMBS Lawrence Major vessel fulfils the promise of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis made in Parliament on September 27, that the ship would be deployed to provide aid to Dominica after the island-nation was ravaged by Hurricane Maria. According to Press Secretary Anthony Newbold, LCDR Munroe and his 40-member team arrived shortly after noon and were “welcomed by the Dominican National Disaster Coordinator Fitzroy Pascal, and the officer-in-charge of security at the Port for Disaster Relief Operation, Lt Colonel Kester Weeks of Trinidad and Tobago defence force and other officials.” Mr Newbold also said “in the days ahead, the RBDF’s technical team will join with those Caribbean forces already on the ground, to affect repairs to the prison and other government buildings.” “According to LCDR Munroe, there is a great need for the carpenters on board HMBS Lawrence Major. The Mobile Containerised Unit will be set up and the galley (kitchen) will be functional. The unit can prepare up to 1,000 meals per day. The team also has two extra medics on stand-by to assist the five Bahamian doctors.” In his address to Parliament on September 27, Dr Minnis described HMBS Lawrence Major as a “198 feet landing craft in length…and a carrying capacity of approximately 14 x 40 foot containers or 28 x 20 foot containers of equipment and supplies. The vessel can also transport 50,000 gallons of potable water and 22,000 gallons of fuel.” On September 18, Dominica was devastated by Hurricane Maria. The category five storm left 28 people dead and the island in ruins. Dr Minnis’ decision to relax immigration restrictions for some citizens of Dominica and accommodate displaced students stirred local controversy. On October 10, Education Minister Jeffrey Lloyd suggested that only “about four, maybe five” Dominican students have expressed an interest in accepting the Minnis administration’s offer to relocate temporarily to continue their studies.
PAGE 6, Wednesday, November 1, 2017
GAMING BOARD ‘AXES 18’
THE TRIBUNE
BTC URGED TO RETHINK JOB CUTS BAHAMAS Communications and Public Officers Union President Bernard Evans.
FROM PAGE ONE who had been on probation, according to Mr Newbold. The Minnis administration has taken a conservative approach to public sector hiring and has not shied from letting workers go since the May 10 general election. Since that time, more than 100 people have been let go for various reasons, according to The Tribune’s reports. In August, at least 27 employees of the Ministry of Tourism were let go. Fifteen people were let go that month from the Bahamas Agriculture and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) as well. The contracts of 21 workers at the National Insurance Board (NIB) were terminated in June after their agreements expired and in recent months the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has let go at least 42 people in its bid to make its budget work. The backdrop to the firings is the Minnis administration’s belief that the previous administration hired thousands of people over the last five years and especially in its last six months to boost its election chances. Brensil Rolle, minister of the public service and National Insurance, has said between December 2016 and May 2017, the government’s payroll ballooned by $16.5 million due to the Christie administration’s hiring of new public service workers during that period. More than 1,700 people were included in this count. According to Mr Rolle, the public service increased by 6,500 people over the last five years, during the last Christie administration. Nonetheless, the employees have been let go at a time when the economy remains weak and employment prospects bleak. The unemployment rate, according to the latest Labour Force survey, is 9.9 per cent, however this is a decline from 11.6 per cent. The problem was symbolised by last week’s Island Luck job fair when about 1,000 people went to the Kendal G Isaacs Gym hoping to fill 150 available jobs.
LABOUR Minister Dion Foulkes. FROM PAGE ONE
has written to BTC asking for an extended deadline before a decision is made. Speaking with reporters before heading into a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr Foulkes said while he does not have “full carriage” of the situation, he has met with Mr Evans and the management of BTC in an attempt to resolve the situation. On Monday Mr Evans told The Tribune BTC had threatened to terminate contracts with 147 workers if they did not sign a new agreement by 1pm on Tuesday. Mr Evans said at the time the employees have all agreed to “stand their ground” and not sign the new contracts until they have “proper representation” and time to renegotiate. He said the employees accepted voluntary separation packages (VSOP) from BTC some time ago, under the guise that they “could become entrepreneurs”. However, he said two years later, BTC seems to be “going back on their word”. Yesterday Mr Evans said the union has sent a letter to the management at BTC asking for an extended deadline as well as a “meeting of the minds”. He said so far, he has received no response. Mr Evans also said he has not heard of anyone being terminated yet but fears the firings could come. “Right now, we are waiting for a response from BTC but I know they are refusing to allow BCPOU to be recognised as the bargaining agent for the employees,” Mr Evans said yesterday.
“However, a letter was drafted and sent to BTC, petitioning them and letting them know about the concerns the workers have. “There have been no discussions and the employees want to go through everything item by
“Right now, we are waiting for a response from BTC but I know they are refusing to allow BCPOU to be recognised as the bargaining agent for the employees. However, a letter was drafted and sent to BTC, petitioning them and letting them know about the concerns the workers have. There have been no discussions and the employees want to go through everything item by item. So hopefully they will be allowed go through the contract, item by item.” BCPOU President Bernard Evans item. So hopefully they will be allowed go through the contract, item by item. The deadline for the employees to sign the contract was at 1pm and we sent the letter before then so we are just waiting on BTC to respond. We do anticipate to hear from them.” The Tribune contacted the management at BTC but no calls were returned up to press time.
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Mr Foulkes said he hopes the situation can be resolved quickly and in everyone’s best interest. “The board at BTC and the management team have made certain decisions with respect to a certain group of employees and I
MOTOR I HOME I COMMERCIAL
spoke with Mr Evans who is the spokesman for that group and I will speak with him again this evening (Tuesday) to see what extent we can bring a resolution to the matter,” Mr Foulkes said. “I am trying to get full carriage of it, at this time I do not know what all the issues are, it came to my attention on Friday but I think we can get it resolved. I am going
to speak with them again and I am hopeful we will get it resolved. We (the government) are going to explore some options but I would be premature if I announce that now,” Mr Foulkes added. On Monday, Mr Evans explained the situation. “About two years ago, 147 employees in the technical field were made to accept voluntary separation packages and were told that BTC would outsource the department,” the union leader told The Tribune. “They were also encouraged to form into a company and BTC would give them the contract to perform the same services. “At the time, the union negotiated that the workers would continue to make salaries until they put together the company and BTC was able to prepare the RFP. “Well, two companies emerged from among those persons, however two years later BTC took the RFP off the table and now they want to change the terms and conditions of the agreement and sign a new deed of release and have a new contract.”
TAXI PLATE LEASING MAY END FROM PAGE ONE
plates in select Family Islands. Government is also looking at doing away with leasing taxi plates,” he said during his weekly media briefing. The taxi cab industry has long been frustrated by various issues. In May the Minnis administration announced in its Speech from the Throne that it would “review and give consideration to the ownership of taxi licence plates by persons who have been leasing those plates for many years.”
Election Philip Watkins, president of the Bahamas Taxicab Union (BTU), reacted previously saying: “The issue of taxi franchises has come up election after election. That statement is nothing new for us. “You have persons right now managing plates which are owned by retirees,” he said. “In some instances, the husband may have died and transferred the ownership of the plate to his wife, who is receiving those funds to supplement her pension. “Sometimes maintaining a vehicle can prove to be a challenge, and because people find they could end up getting less money, they just let someone use their plate and
PRESS Secretary Anthony Newbold
get paid something every month. “To what extent the government is proposing to regularise the taxi plates, I have no idea. If the union can be any assistance to them regularising the industry, we would be more than happy to do so.” Mr Watkins said a moratorium on the issuance of taxi cab plates has been in existence for the past 20 years. “Of the 1,135 plates issued for New Providence there are at least 200 not in the system for whatever reason,” he added. “They are not on the road, and some may have
been removed for whatever reason. “The government needs to look at the Road Traffic Department, clear up the plates not operational and, if they see fit, to issue new plates. “That’s their prerogative, but they should look at cleaning up the system. “I wouldn’t advise them to go issue new plates because between one and 1,135, there are 200 or more plates that are in the system and haven’t been on the road in 15 years or more. “They should bring them out, let’s start with them, and then we go from there.”
PAGE 8, Wednesday, November 1, 2017
THE TRIBUNE
A twerking schoolgirl where’s the real problem? O
NCE again a video of high school students has made its rounds on social media. As usual, many clicked the play button with the intention of getting another excuse for perpetual disdain for anyone younger than them. The general public is alltoo-ready to point fingers at them, blame them for their circumstances and allow negative story lines to completely eclipse successes, progress and actions worthy of celebration. This time around the country is scandalized by a video of high school girls participating in a dance competition on an in-school fun day. Even if you haven’t seen the video, you probably have an image in mind and it’s probably no more exaggerated than the view of those who have seen it. While it is perplexing that such an event took place on public school grounds, much of the conversation about it has blown it out of proportion and conveniently oversimplified some elements while amplifying and projecting preconceived ideas and prejudices on to others. Rather than examine the content of the video and its implications, I’m interested in focusing on the way we, Bahamian people of other (older) generations, talked about it and revealed our own truths. OBJECTIFICATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS The bodies of women and girls have long been seen as dual-purpose — meant for the enjoyment of men during sex and repopulating the earth through its reproductive functions.
Misogynoir complicates this for black girls who deal with a double whammy — the intersection of gender and race. As girls’ bodies change, they are subjected to the lustful attention of men and boys, but also to the judgment of society at
“Being shamed for the ways our bodies move, for whatever reason, is an assault on ancestry, culture and body autonomy. Reducing dance to a mimicry of or motivation for sex is a gross misinterpretation at best and misogyny in the form of the objectification and dehumanization of women at worst.” large which makes absurd assumptions about them. As breasts grow, hips widen and curves form, people start to wonder about their sexual lives. Are they having sex? How? Do they have boyfriends? Do they know how they look, particularly to men and boys? Are they dressing appropriately, deflecting attention and avoiding the male gaze?
In conversations about the video, there were far too many comments about the bodies of the girls shown dancing. Most people seemed to mistake one of the students for a teacher. They decided, of course, this was her fault. How could her body be that size and shape? Why would she move it in that way? What made her wear that? Didn’t she know how she would look? Already, before getting to the content or the context of the video, this student was at fault for something. She is deceptive. She made us think she was an adult. She is a teenager living in a body that could easily belong to an adult. She might be considered sexy by boys and men alike. Whose fault is this? Who should be punished? What could she do better, or just differently, to stop our minds from arriving at the wrong conclusions? Is it her job to fix or control our thought processes? GIRLS GET THE BLAME This is not unlike the recent debates in the US about girls being sent home for wearing clothes school administration considered potentially “distracting” to boys, or the trial women and girls are on when they report sexual assault. There are always people and policies
Brexit pros and cons as negotiations continue By PETER YOUNG
THE recent depiction of Brexit as “a disaster of unprecedented scale in peacetime” was enough to shock any objective observer of the current process of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. The fact that it came from a former senior Conservative Party government minister was disturbing because such hyperbole seems not to reflect the reality. So, to follow up my recent column about Brexit developments, the competing arguments about Britain’s departure from the bloc are perhaps worth re-examining after a look at the state-of-play of the negotiations. Even though last year’s referendum resulted in a majority in favour of the United Kingdom leaving the EU, the debate about this divisive issue continues since the result was relatively close. However, in accordance with the views of the 17 million who voted to leave, the government started the process of withdrawal by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty and the UK is on course to quit the bloc by the end of March, 2019. At last week’s EU summit meeting it was evident that a standoff remains about the size of payments to be made by the UK to meet its obligations and liabilities arising from EU membership. Prime Minister Theresa May has offered some 25 billion dollars in return for a transition deal. She has also indicated that after leaving the bloc and ceasing to make annual contributions to its budget the UK might make some payments for participation in “specific programmes”. But the EU wants greater clarity about the terms of a transition
period and apparently will not agree to move on to talks about a trade deal without agreeing a specific financial settlement first. The next round of detailed negotiations is due in November – including not only the so-called divorce bill but also such issues as citizens’ rights and the Northern Ireland border – with a view to obtaining a commitment from the remaining 27 EU states to trade talks by the time of the next EU Summit in December. Thus, with the Brexit negotiations now gathering pace and Mrs. May expressing optimism despite saying that there is “some way to go”, can the apocalyptic words of that former government minister be justified?
Membership The case for Britain to stay in the EU is based on the perceived benefit to the nation of being inside the single market. Remainers argue that membership of this Europewide free-trade area and of the customs union allows UK companies to trade tariff-free and without trade barriers on the same basis as all other companies in a market of 500 million people spread over 28 countries – and they maintain that, since some 43 per cent of the UK’s exports go to the EU, its single market has become the cornerstone of the UK economy. They warn, therefore, that it would be foolish unilaterally to withdraw from such a body. That would damage the UK economy and lead to a fall in GDP while discouraging investment by foreign companies seeking access for their products to the whole single market. Remainers also argue that Britain’s more than forty years of EU membership involving co-operation on many fronts makes it stronger as a member of a bloc that has become
insisting we must have done something wrong to attract unwanted attention, and that it is our job to regulate the behaviour of men and boys because they, by nature, have no self control. From a young age, girls are taught to dress, sit, walk and speak in specific ways so that as girl, and later on as women, can protect ourselves. We are told to make ourselves smaller and quieter. The goal is to go unnoticed. Girls are not to laugh too loudly, speak too much, or show too much of their bodies. By doing any of these things, we become human and our existence is noticed. When our presence it noticed, the first thing people see is our bodies because it is the most visible part of ourselves. Still, our bodies are not seen like the bodies of men and boys. Our bodies are automatically reduced to orifices and incubators and some would have us believe this is the natural order of things, that men and women are wired this way, but that is far too convenient for one sex. It is far too dehumanizing for the other. It is the easy way out of a serious conversation about the outright refusal to see women and girls as human beings. SEXUALIZATION BY ADULTS The girls in the video dance, and the way they dance is not unlike the way people in their 20s or 30s dance, or danced when they were in high school. It is not a great departure from the body movements of our ancestors, or their celebrations of womanhood. There has always been gyration, expressions of happiness and what we may now see
as theatrics. The dances practised now are obviously inspired by more than our history, including trends in music and music videos and new takes on old moves emerging across the African diaspora. Being shamed for the ways our bodies move, for whatever reason, is an assault on ancestry,
“Why can’t we acknowledge we are sexual beings? How can we all have sex, but pretend no one else does? Even for those among us who are not sexually active, is it impossible to be sexual?” culture and body autonomy. Reducing dance to a mimicry of or motivation for sex is a gross misinterpretation at best and misogyny in the form of the objectification and dehumanization of women at worst. There is no way to look at the video and determine the sexual histories or proclivities of the people in it. The way they danced did not provoke this kind of thinking. Adults are responsible for the sexualization of children and it can start in small ways. Look at the onesies that label babies as “sexy” and the like. Note the comments on baby pictures advising parents to get a gun, or predicting which infants will be heartbreakers. Who is really the problem? FEAR OF SEXUALITY? We are afraid of sexuality. This fear has held
us back from necessary action. It has prevented parents from talking to their children about sex. It has locked schools and teachers into teaching abstinence only, knowing it is not realistic for everyone. It has made room for men and boys to wear their sexuality proudly and boast about sexual experiences while encouraging women to either be “pure” or pretend to be pure to avoid disparaging labels men and boys do not worry about wearing. Why can’t we acknowledge we are sexual beings? How can we all have sex, but pretend no one else does? Even for those among us who are not sexually active, is it impossible to be sexual? Do we think sexuality is specific to or limited to sex? Were there not women before us who celebrated their daughters’ first periods, and their own fertility? Did they never dance, without inhibition, in whichever ways the music moved them? We have a problem with sexuality, and we are not the only ones. This difficulty is tied to misogyny, homophobia and historical trauma. Until we, as adults, abandon our comfort zones of suppression and false superiority, we will not be able to raise sexually aware children who can assert themselves to practice body autonomy, seek consent, care for their bodies, and make healthy decisions for themselves. They don’t have to wait for fun days or dance competitions to express themselves sexually. Perhaps we should be more concerned about what we don’t see, all because we’ve taught them to be invisible.
basis for the political merger of member states and is the logic of the whole EU project whose aim is full political integration and creation of a United States of Europe. In case of any doubt, the details were set out unequivocally in last month’s State of the Union address by the President of the European Commission. But this should come as no surprise because the EU has already acquired the trappings of nationhood in the form of a president, a foreign minister, citizenship, a passport, treaty-making powers, a criminal justice system, a written constitution, a flag and a national anthem.
BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May has offered 25 billion dollars in return for a transition deal. (AP)
Immigration
a political force in the world and gives its member states enhanced status at the global negotiating table. Moreover, within the EU and its single market Britain has a say in the way it is operated and is better placed to work for reform. As for the issue of independence, they maintain that this is already curtailed by Britain’s membership of a range of international organisations which involves a diminution of sovereignty in varying degrees. These different arguments are convincing and at first sight appear overwhelmingly to support the case for remaining. But there are other aspects to consider. Even though being in the single market enables UK exporters to compete on an equal footing with competitors in 27 other countries, the downside is that the EU regulations which an exporter must adhere to are applied across the whole UK economy including those parts of it not involved with exporting to the EU. Since, reportedly, only some 12 per cent of the UK’s GDP is directly accounted for by exports to the EU, this is seen as an unacceptable burden on the economy as a whole. Furthermore, a major catch is that single market membership requires the free movement of people within it so that the individual state has no control over such immigration. Leavers point to the fact that other countries trade successfully with the EU without having to pay for the privilege through a large budgetary contribution and that, given that the UK has a large trade deficit with the EU, the latter’s member states will be forced in
their own interests to strike a postBrexit deal with the UK despite the bloc’s creation of a tariff wall to outsiders and its requirement that the EU Commission in Brussels should negotiate trade matters for all 27 member states collectively. They also argue that outside the EU Britain will be free to strike its own individual trade deals with
“Remainers also argue that Britain’s more than forty years of EU membership involving co-operation on many fronts makes it stronger as a member of a bloc that has become a political force in the world and gives its member states enhanced status at the global negotiating table.” major economies like the US, China and India, to name just a few, and to regain control of its borders as well as over matters like fishing rights around its coast. As for sovereignty, the EU is different from other international associations and treaty organisations to the extent that its law reaches into the essence of the national life and jurisdiction of its member states because it has primacy over their domestic legislation. Such legal supremacy is the
Leavers want Britain to be a free-trading, sovereign nation again without the constraints of EU laws and regulations in so many areas. They want their country to make its own laws, justiciable in its own courts and over which the European Court of Justice has no say, and to control immigration; and, above all, they do not want to be part of a federal Europe. Despite the narrowness of the referendum result, there is some evidence that these arguments in favour of leaving have been gathering support recently. Some maintain that the emphasis on the importance of the single market is partly fallacious since, as the world’s fifth largest economy and a major player on the international stage, Britain is not only strong enough to survive on its own but is well placed – with its connections in the rest of the world including the Commonwealth – to prosper outside the EU though still trading with it. However the Brexit negotiations end up, the hard fact is that a majority of British (or certainly English) people are not prepared to sacrifice the nation’s sovereignty by participating in an EU superstate. It remains to be seen whether a satisfactory trade deal can be struck with the EU outside the single market, but it is clear that the British government wants a new, amicable, co-operative relationship across-the-board with the remaining 27 EU states that is mutually beneficial. The UK brings much to the table, not least in areas like defence, intelligence, counterterrorism and policing as well as nuclear research and scientific development. The future is uncertain and the stakes are high. In such circumstances prediction is unwise -- and that extreme warning by the former government minister looks at this stage to be unfounded. • Peter Young is a retired British career diplomat living in Nassau. From 1996 to 2000 he was British High Commissioner to the Bahamas.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, November 1, 2017, PAGE 9
TECHTALK
NIGHTMARE MACHINE
WRITES BONE-CHILLING TALES By MATT O’BRIEN, AP Technology Writer DON’T throw away your Stephen King collection just yet. But the Master of the Macabre might want to keep an eye out behind him, because scientists have just unleashed a nightmare machine on a mission to churn out its own bone-chilling tales. MIT researchers have applied the electrodes and brought to life a new fiction-writing bot they call Shelley — after “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley. To keep the bot busy — no wandering the countryside terrorizing villagers! — the team gave it a crash course in the horror genre, forcing it to read 140,000 stories published by amateur writers on a popular online forum. Now Shelley’s artificial neural network is generating its own stories , posting opening lines on Twitter, then taking turns with humans in collaborative storytelling. COLD, CALCULATING HORROR “She’s creating really interesting and weird stories that have never really existed in the horror genre,” said Pinar Yanardag, a postdoctoral researcher at the MIT Media Lab. One strange tale, for instance, involved a pregnant man who woke up in a hospital. The lab’s experiment, launched in time for
CO-CREATOR of a fiction-writing ‘chatbot,’ Massachusetts Institute of Technology postdoctoral associate Pinar Yanardag, of Istanbul, Turkey, sits for a photograph in front of a graphic from the home page of the site called ‘Shelley’. Named after ‘Frankenstein’ author Mary Shelley, the chatbot has been trained on more than 140,000 horror stories written by amateur writers on a popular online forum. Now Shelley is generating its own stories on Twitter, taking turns with humans in an experiment to find out if artificial intelligence is smart enough to make someone feel scared. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Halloween, follows a similar project to create scary images last year. But can all that deep-learning technology and powerful computation truly turn out terrifying tales? Let’s just say the experiment is still in progress. King, the world’s most famous living horror writer, has said it can take him “months and even years “ to get a novel’s opening paragraph right. Shelley takes a couple of seconds — and the results can be a little awkward.
“The doll came at me with a syringe,” the bot posted on Twitter on Friday. “Its blood shot out of its mouth, and it began to uncover itself. It was then that it began to dance.” ITS INSATIABLE APPETITE . . . FOR DATA Shelley’s sentences are inspired by the hive mind it’s learned from: a crew of horror hobbyists who participate in Reddit’s “r/ nosleep” forum . Machinelearning algorithms are
fueled by big troves of data, and these amateur writers have produced about 700 megabytes of homegrown horror over the past decade. The researchers didn’t train Shelley in the genre’s classics, both for copyright reasons and because there just aren’t enough of them. “If you look at all the literature by Lovecraft or Stephen King or Edgar Allan Poe, it would be just a few megabytes,” said MIT research scientist Manuel Cebrian. “We
would still not have enough data.” Yanardag and Cebrian are themselves aspiring horror fiction writers. While readers might not be buying Shelley-produced books anytime soon, the system learns from the feedback it gets, and might help nudge a human writer into thinking more creatively. “You tend to get stuck,” Cebrian said. “This kind of technology helps you write the next paragraph so you don’t get so-called writer’s block.”
GOOGLE-BRED WAYMO AIMS TO SHIFT ROBOTIC CARS INTO NEXT GEAR
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer
ATWATER, Calif. (AP) — Google’s self-driving car spin-off is accelerating efforts to convince the public that its technology is almost ready to safely transport people without any human assistance at all. Waymo, hatched from a Google project started eight years ago, showed off its progress Monday during a rare peek at a closely guarded testing facility located 120 miles southeast of San Francisco. That’s where its robots complete their equivalent of driver’s education. The tour included giving more than three dozen reporters rides in Chrysler Pacifica minivans traveling through faux neighborhoods and expressways that Waymo has built on a former Air Force base located in the Californian Central Valley city of Atwater. The minivans smoothly cruised the roads — driver’s seat empty and passengers in the back — at speeds of up to 35 mph. By contrast, the Waymo-powered minivans that have been driving volunteer riders in the Phoenix area still use safety drivers to take over control if something goes wrong. But Waymo’s real goal is to get to the point where people in cars are nothing but passengers.
• INVESTORS will soon have another way to make or lose money on the digital currency bitcoin. CME Group plans to open a futures market for bitcoin before the end of the year, if the Chicagobased exchange can get approval from U.S. regulators. Tuesday’s announcement is likely to give further credibility to bitcoin, a high-tech creation spawned about a decade ago as an alternative to government-issued currencies. Bitcoin initially was used primarily to buy illegal goods and services online. But in recent years, it has been a hot investment among speculators betting it will become a mainstream form of payment, causing its value to soar. Digital asset specialist CoinDesk says the trading price for a bitcoin soared above $6,400 for the first time Tuesday. • MOST Americans believe their jobs, and the jobs of those they live with, are safe from automation — at least for the next decade, according to an Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. And more than half think automation could make their work easier or more efficient in the future. The findings suggest that while Americans express concern about how automation technology might cause some other people to lose jobs, they are less worried about its effect on themselves. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they thought it unlikely that they or someone in their household will be replaced at work by automation within the next 10 years, the survey found. A nearly identical proportion — 56 percent — said they consider it at least somewhat likely that their job will be improved by automation. Many think, for example, that such technology has made jobs safer. • The Top Paid iPhone Apps for the week for the week ending October 29: 1. Minecraft, Mojang 2. P lague Inc., Ndemic Creations 3. H eads Up!, Warner Bros.
A CHRYSLER Pacifica minivan that is equipped with Waymo’s self-driving car technology, being tested at Waymo’s facility in Atwater, Calif. (Julia Wang/Waymo via AP) Waymo CEO John Krafcik told reporters that the company will be making some cars and freight trucks totally driverless fairly soon, though he didn’t provide a specific timetable. “We are really close,” he said. “We are going to do it when we feel like we are ready.” Since Google began working on self-driving cars in 2009, dozens of established automakers such as General Motors and Ford Motors
have entered the race, along with other big technology companies, including Apple and ride-hailing service Uber. The competition is so fierce and the stakes so high that Waymo is currently suing Uber, alleging that one of its former managers stole its trade secrets and took them with him when he joined Uber in 2016 as part of an elaborate scheme. The trial in that
high-profile case is scheduled to begin in early December. Waymo is hoping to infuse its technology into ride-hailing services such as its current partner, Lyft, and big-rig trucking companies. It also intends to license its automated system to automakers such as Fiat Chrysler Automobile, which is already using it in 100 Pacifica minivans.
4. kirakira+, Kentaro Yama 5. Bloons TD 5, Ninja Kiwi Top Free iPhone Apps: 1. Snapchat, Snap, Inc. 2. Y ouTube: Watch, Listen, Stream, Google, Inc. 3. M essenger, Facebook, Inc. 4. I nstagram, Instagram, Inc. 5. Dune!, Voodoo
PAGE 10, Wednesday, November 1, 2017
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CAPTAIN Edward Sears.
DAUGHTER OF THE FIRST BAHAMIAN COMMISSIONER OF POLICE DIES AGE 92 DAPHNE Sears Lee, the last surviving offspring of Gladys and Captain Edward Sears, first Bahamian commissioner of police (then titled commodore), died quietly in her sleep in Austin, Texas on September 21. She was 92. Mrs Lee was raised on Sears Road in Nassau during an age when children swam in Nassau Harbour, dove conch from Montagu Bay and were free to ride bikes across the island to Lyford Cay when there was little more than a horse stable. Like her friends, few of whom lived to be her age, she sailed, fished, danced and gave little thought to crime, riding with her dad in the police vehicle. A graduate of Queen’s College in Nassau and The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, she assisted the Bahamas Development Board with visitor hospitality services and worked as an airline hostess during World War II. She married Huylar Lee, a geologist from Texas, now deceased, and the couple lived in several exotic countries, including Pakistan and Libya where his oil
career took the family and where she often performed in local productions. After returning to the Bahamas, she sang with the St Andrew’s Presbyterian Kirk choir. The couple had one child, Huylar Lee III, who predeceased Mrs Lee. She was also predeceased by her sister, Helen Phillips. Mrs Lee is survived by her daughter-in-law, Dr Ann Hathcock-Lee, grandson Huylar Lee IV, Jon Adamo and wife Brittney, granddaughter Gabby and spouse Jordan Greenlee, great-grandchildren Brenlyn Adamo and Gia Greenlee, all of Texas, niece Anne Bruce and her husband, Graham Bruce nephews Lawrence ‘Larry’ Phillips and wife Diane Phillips, all of Nassau, and Richard Phillips and wife Dorothy ‘Dee’ Phillips of Cedar Point, NC, grandnieces Kirsten Seebald, Alexandra Callender, Tanya Molnar, Kelly Dodge and J Brooke Phillips. She also leaves behind close friends, including Barbara Robnett, Austin, Texas, and Skip Wrinkle, Linda Turtle and Brenda Bethell among many others in Nassau.
LOSING EXPAT STAFF HELPS BPL SAVE $3M FROM PAGE ONE
Mrs Osbourne suggested that in addition to cost-savings, the company will reap qualitative improvements because new positions, which did not exist under PowerSecure, will be created in the new era. “You were paying these individuals that amount of money, bearing in mind you were also paying Bahamian executives, but you didn’t have attention to things like the environment which was supposed to be addressed by the management of PowerSecure and renewables were not being addressed either,” she said.
Corporation “In the best interest of the corporation, they need to be put in place. We are also looking at the risk function of the organisation and a position is planned to address that as well. Given issues with procurement we have decided we need somebody directly over that.” PowerSecure removed the position of assistant general manager with responsibility for Family Islands when it managed the company. BPL’s board intends to bring that position back and make the person responsible for Family Islands a director. “Some positions will be filled in due course,” Mrs Osbourne said. “We need the CEO and COO in place.” BPL’s board recently announced that Whitney Heastie has been appointed CEO and Christina Alston will be the COO. Two weeks ago, the board made a presentation to Cabinet explaining its plans for BPL, although the final version of its business plan has not yet been released. Mr Newbold said yesterday: “Board members spoke to various aspects of BPL’s proposed business plan… Directors would be responsible for each of the following areas under the COO: generation services, transmission and distribution, Family Island operations, technical planning/renewables, and procurement/supply chain. An additional five directors with responsibilities for customer service, security/investigations, human resources and internal communications, health, safety and environment and information technology would report to the chief financial officer. Some of the posts would have to be advertised.”
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TRUMP ADMIN TO DEFEND CUBA EMBARGO AT UN, REVERSING OBAMA
Wednesday, November 1, 2017, PAGE 11
EIGHT DIE IN NY TERROR ATTACK
By MATTHEW LEE AND JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration will defend America’s decades-old economic embargo on Cuba in a United Nations vote this week, the State Department said Tuesday, in a reversal from the Obama administration that reflects deteriorating U.S.Cuban relations. Every year the U.N. votes to condemn the embargo, and for years the U.S. predictably voted “no.” But last year, under President Barack Obama, the U.S. abstained for the first time, as Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro moved forward with the historic warming of relations. A “no” vote Wednesday from U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley will return the United States to a place of extreme isolation within the global community over its policy toward Cuba, potentially undermining the Trump administration’s broader goals for engagement with Latin America. The U.S. embargo on Cuba is almost universally opposed throughout the world. The vote comes as an ongoing crisis over U.S. government workers in Havana harmed by invisible “health attacks” has created a new rift between the U.S. and Cuba, putting the restoration of ties in jeopardy. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert did not mention the attacks in announcing the “no” vote, instead emphasizing the need to promote rights and democracy in Cuba. “For far too long, Cuba has engaged in human rights abuses — human rights abuses that perhaps past administrations have turned and looked the other way,” Nauert said. Still, she said the U.S. would continue pursuing engagement with the island that advances American interests.
PUERTO RICO FACES CASH SHORTFALL AFTER HURRICANE MARIA By DANICA COTO, Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s struggling government warned on Tuesday that it will face a cash shortfall by the end of the year and will seek billions of dollars in additional federal funds to help it cope with the expenses caused by Hurricane Maria. Officials said the devastating storm imposed enormous emergency costs while causing an estimated 50 percent drop in the U.S. territory’s collections of taxes and fees, worsening an 11-year recession. “The severity of the storm dislocated the island’s economy,” said Gerardo Portela, executive director of Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority. “The lack of electric power has further deepened the crisis.” Portela said it was not yet clear how much it will cost to rebuild Puerto Rico, but he said the island suffered an estimated $45 billion to $95 billion in damage. So far, U.S. Congress has approved nearly $5 billion in aid to the island. Tens of thousands of people have left Puerto Rico, thousands of businesses remain closed and the island’s power company is generating only 30 percent of its normal output. In addition, some 20 percent of people remain without water. Puerto Rico’s government said it will see an estimated reduction of $1.7 billion in cash as a result of reduced collections, with an additional estimated $1.18 billion reduction in power and water income, with those two agencies currently running on cash reserves. Portela said Puerto Rico will inevitably face a cash crunch.
AUTHORITIES stand near a damaged Home Depot truck after a motorist drove onto a bike path near the World Trade Center memorial, striking and killing several people in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) FROM PAGE ONE police came and they didn’t know what was happening. People were screaming. “Females were screaming at the top of their lungs.” Argentina said the dead included Argentine citizens. Police closed off streets across the western edge of lower Manhattan along the Hudson River, and officers rushed into the neighbourhood just as people were preparing for Halloween festivities, including the big annual parade through Greenwich Village. “This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
New York and other cities around the globe have been on high alert against attacks by extremists in vehicles. The Islamic State has been exhorting its followers to mow down people, and England, France and Germany have all seen deadly vehicle attacks in the past year or so. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called it a “lone wolf” attack and said there was no evidence to suggest it was part of a wider plot.
Statement New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill said a statement the driver made as he got out of the truck and the method of attack led police to conclude it was a terrorist act. On Twitter, President Donald Trump called it “another attack by
a very sick and deranged person” and declared, “NOT IN THE U.S.A.” While police did not specifically blame the Islamic State for the New York bloodshed, Trump railed against the extremist group, tweeting, “We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!” Police said the vehicle entered the bike path at about 3 p.m. on West Street a few blocks from the new World Trade Center, the site of the deadliest terror attack in U.S. history. The truck then turned at Chambers Street, hitting the school bus and injuring two adults and two children. A paintball gun and a pellet gun were found at the scene, police said. At least two covered-over bodies could be seen lying on the
bike path, and the front end of the pickup was smashed in, as was the side of the school bus. Tom Gay, a school photographer, heard people saying there was an accident and went down to West Street, where a woman came around the corner shouting, “He has a gun! He has a gun!”
Running Gay said he stuck his head around the corner and saw a slender man in a blue track suit running on West Street holding a gun. He said a heavyset man was chasing him. He said he heard five or six shots, and the man in the tracksuit fell to the ground, gun still raised in the air. He said a man came over and kicked the gun out of his hand.
TRUMP: AIDE AT CENTRE OF RUSSIA PROBE ‘PROVEN TO BE A LIAR’
By STEPHEN BRAUN AND STEVE PEOPLES, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a former campaign aide thrust into the center of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe “has already proven to be a liar.” On Twitter, Trump sought to dismiss George Papadopoulos, who has provided key evidence in the first criminal case connecting Trump’s team to alleged intermediaries for Russia’s government. Said Trump: “Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!” Papadopoulos was approached by people claiming ties to Russia and offering “dirt” on Hillary Clinton in the form of thousands of emails, according to court documents unsealed Monday. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about the conversations and has been cooperating with investigators, the documents said. Papadopoulos’ guilty plea and the possibility that he’s working with Mueller’s team came as an unexpected twist in the mounting drama surrounding the criminal probe. A separate welter of charges Mueller announced Monday against Trump’s ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his longtime aide Rick Gates do not appear directly related to their work for Trump. But Papadopoulos’ case cuts close to the central question of Mueller’s investigation: Did Russia try to sway the election? Did Trump’s campaign know? “The Russians had emails of Clinton,” Papadopoulos was told by a professor with ties to Russia during a breakfast meeting at a London hotel in April. U.S. investigators said that the following day, Papadopoulos then
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump
emailed a Trump campaign policy adviser, “Have some interesting messages coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right.” The court papers do not name the professor. But a comparison of conversations cited in the court papers and emails previously obtained by The Associated Press show the professor is Joseph Mifsud, honourary director of the London Academy of Diplomacy. Mifsud did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Files Papadopoulos was arrested in July and has been interviewed repeatedly by authorities, the filing said. After entering his guilty plea he was ordered not to contact other Trump officials and prohibited from foreign travel. In one of the unsealed files, an FBI agent working for Mueller bluntly hinted that more former Trump associates could soon be questioned. Papadopoulos’ lawyer, Thomas M. Breen, based in Chicago, declined to comment on the guilty plea but noted that “we will have the opportunity to comment on George’s involvement when called upon by the court at a later date. “We look forward to telling all of the details of George’s story at that time.” The incident echoes elements of a June 2016
meeting involving Donald Trump Jr. and other campaign officials at Trump Tower. The president’s son
organised that sit down with a Russian lawyer who was offering negative information about Clinton.
The White House immediately cast Papadopoulos as a mere volunteer with little influence during last year’s campaign. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said his role was “extremely limited” and that “no activity was ever done in an official capacity on behalf of the campaign.” Trump named Papadopoulos to his foreign policy advisory council in March 2016, among a short list of experts amid growing public pressure on Trump to demonstrate he had a bench of foreign policy expertise.
PAGE 12, Wednesday, November 1, 2017
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2.2 MILLION UB, ALIV PARTNERSHIP BOOSTS EDUCATIONAL AND ATHLETIC ENDOWMENTS UNIVERSITY of The Bahamas (UB) and Aliv on Monday inked a three-year, $2.2. million agreement which will broaden the nation’s top tertiary institution’s reach in some critical areas, including athletics and online education. It is an agreement that UB President Dr Rodney Smith said proved Aliv does indeed “believe in the best” – in this instance, the best institution for tertiary education in the Bahamas. The agreement was signed during a ceremony held Monday at noon in the Harry C Moore Information Centre’s auditorium, before a crowd of faculty, students, staff, UB alumni, Aliv board members and others. Even the UB Mingoes mascot was on hand to celebrate the deal, which has implications for the UB Athletics Department, and which Athletics Director Kim Rolle said was a timely agreement for the institution and Aliv. Indeed, the UB president
asserted that athletics at UB is also growing. “We will continue to provide scholarships to stellar athletes so that the Mingoes will become an athletic power-house, nationally and internationally. Aliv stands behind our commitment to grow both online learning and athletics – these are two of the reasons they have partnered with us,” he said, placing the partnership in its broader context. “This is indeed a welcome boost to our endowment, as the endowment allows us to give scholarships, grow academic and athletic programmes and fund some of our greatest needs, in perpetuity,” Dr Smith explained. “Aliv continues to prove themselves as responsible corporate community builders, and we are delighted that they have chosen to make a significant investment in education, and specifically in students here at UB. “What makes this partnership truly dynamic is that our
UNIVERSITY of The Bahamas President Dr Rodney D Smith (fourth from left) with Aliv Chief Executive Officer Damian Blackburn (third from left) and other officials. Aliv recently announced a $2.2 Million agreement with UB to boost educational and athletic endowments. alumni can help to increase Aliv’s donation to UB simply by choosing to renew and maintain their mobile phone service with Aliv.” Dr Smith added as UB continues to grow and develop new programmes that will impact national development, the university is also feverishly
working on a comprehensive programme of online learning, so that wherever one may be in the Bahamas, one can work towards a university degree. Chief Aliv Officer Damian Blackburn pointed out UB and Aliv share nearly the same birthday: where UB received its charter on November 10,
2016, Aliv started doing business as on Aliv on November 11, 2016. “It’s only fitting that we should partner,” Mr Blackburn said at the ceremony. “I’ve given my personal pledge to the president of University of The Bahamas that we will absolutely live up to everything we say in this
agreement…The importance of access to a high quality education is vital. “It’s even more vital now, with the ever increasing realisation that the global village is here. “We’re furthering that Aliv commitment to connect the Bahamas to the world. “Really, I see this as a magnificent opportunity for Aliv to ensure that all the people of the Bahamas who want to pursue tertiary education will be able to do so, and I’m particularly excited about the online initiatives that the university is going to be pursuing to ensure that everybody has an equal chance in the Bahamas to gain qualifications of a tertiary academic level,” he said. Aliv has also chosen to donate $50,000 to the President’s Gala Soiree on November 11, which will be specifically given to the Student Scholarship Endowment, which will provide scholarships to first generation university students.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
WOMEN RESCUED BY NAVY DEFEND THEIR ACCOUNT OF ORDEAL AT SEA
HONOLULU (AP) — Two women from Hawaii who were rescued after being lost at sea defended their account of the ordeal Tuesday, insisting that a storm was whipping up 30-foot waves and near hurricane-force winds on the night they set sail, despite records that show no severe weather in the area. The Coast Guard is reviewing records from the days after Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava put to sea in a 50-foot sailboat, but NASA satellite images for the days around their departure show no organised storms in the region where they planned to travel. There was a tropical cyclone, but it was near Fiji, thousands of miles west of Hawaii. Localised squalls are known to pop up, but a storm lasting three days would have been visible on satellite and would have elicited mass warnings to the public to brace for the weather. “We got into a Force 11 storm, and it lasted for two nights and three days,” Appel said. Coast Guard officials told The Associated Press on Monday that the two women had an emergency beacon but never turned it on because they did not fear for their lives. If they had, rescue would have been headed their way in a matter of minutes.
The woman “stated they never felt like they were truly in distress, like in a 24-hour period they were going to die,” Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer 2nd Class Tara Molle said Monday.
Beacon The women said Tuesday that they did not use the beacon because they never felt they were in immediate danger, yet they have been quoted as saying they did not think they would survive another day, and that they were fearful during a dramatic tiger shark attack that lasted for six hours. Furthermore, the pair said they had been flagging vessels and sending distress signals for at least 98 days. “We knew we weren’t going to make it,” Appel said. “So that’s when we started making distress calls.” The Coast Guard outlined other inconsistencies, most notably on the timing of events. Appel’s mother, Joyce, told the AP that she called the Coast Guard to report her daughter missing a week and a half after they departed for what they believed would be an 18-day trip to Tahiti.
However, the Coast Guard never got a call from the elder Appel. They received a call from a “family friend” they identified as a male on May 19, still several days before the women expected to arrive. The women said they filed a float plan listing their course and other details with some friends and relatives. However, in an interview with the Coast Guard, the women said they had filed no float plan. They also defended their claims that their boat would not fit into harbors on some Hawaiian islands, places where much larger vessels come and go regularly. Their description of 20- to 30-foot tiger sharks ramming their boat in a coordinated attack for more than six hours could simply be misperception, but scientists who study sharks say that behavior has never been recorded and that tiger sharks grow to only about 17 feet in length. University of Hawaii professor and veteran shark researcher Kim Holland has never heard of any kind of shark repeatedly attacking a boat hull throughout a night. He also said tiger sharks never jump out of the water and do not make coordinated attacks. Sometimes sharks will congregate around a food source like a whale carcass, but Holland said that was
unlikely in this case “if there’s nothing there to attract the animals. I mean this is just an inert boat hull.” As time goes on, new details emerge in the women’s account, and other details change. They have now reported making contact with someone at Wake Island but previously said no one responded to their calls for help. Their account of receiving a tow from a Taiwanese fishing vessel changed as well. They originally said the crew was kind, but later said they were worried for their safety and thought that the crew might be making an attempt to harm them. They added that the fishing boat had backed into their sailboat, causing significant damage.
Help “I also believe that they knew they were damaging the boat. And if we couldn’t get additional help, that boat would sink, and they would get ... two girls to do whatever they wanted to,” Appel said. The captain of the fishing vessel, the Fong Chun No. 66, who identified himself as Mr. Chen in a satellite phone call from the AP,
said his boat received a mayday radio call but did not understand it. They then saw someone waving a white object on a boat about a nautical mile away. When they approached, the women asked to use the satellite phone on the fishing vessel and for a tow to Midway Island. The larger vessel towed the smaller sailboat overnight. In the morning, the women wanted to stop the towing and called for a naval vessel. “We offered to get them on board the fishing boat and asked whether they needed water or food, but they refused,” the captain said. The fishermen left after the arrival of the U.S.S. Ashland. Hawaii sailing experts say the trip itself was a bad idea. Mike Michelwait, owner of the Honolulu Sailing Company, a sailing school and charter company, has sailed the route from Hawaii to Tahiti several times. He said the trip would normally take about 17 days with sailors who could stay on course. But, Michelwait said, he would not take such a trip with any less than three experienced sailors. “There’s only two of them on board, and it’s a 50-foot boat,” he said. “That’s a lot of boat to handle.”