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Volume: 120 No.210, November 2, 2023

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MITCHELL: CHAIRMAN NEEDS PM’S SUPPORT Fox Hill MP asks ‘why switch’ as he prepares ‘penultimate campaign’

By RASHAD ROLLE AND EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporters FRED Mitchell suggested that if Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis does not support the victor of the Progressive Liberal Party’s upcoming chairmanship race, that person would struggle to function and carry out their duties as a vital party agent.

Mr Mitchell will face

HOMELESS FEARS OVER SHANTY TOWN DEMOLITIONS

PLP deputy chair Robyn Lynes and former Cabinet minister Shane Gibson at the party’s convention on November 10 in what he said is likely the “penultimate” campaign of his career.

While insiders say the PLP’s leadership is not panicking about the race, signs –– including activity from media outlets connected to

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net IMMIGRANTS rights advocate Louby Georges said displacement and homelessness might rise when the government evicts shanty town residents next week. He said there are unanswered questions about how the demolitions will affect people.

Mr Georges, a protection assistant for the International Organisation for Migration, also insisted he supports eradicating shanty towns despite his

SEE PAGE FOUR

STUDENTS IN JAMAICA DENIED FLIGHT HOME AFTER EARTHQUAKE

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net SOME Bahamian students in Jamaica asked to be airlifted to The Bahamas after an earthquake shook that country earlier this week.

However, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said he told them it would be detrimental to their education to leave the country

while it is still functioning.

Stephen Smith, the president of the Bahamian Students Association of the University of the West Indies Mona, told The Trib une yesterday that many students wanted to be airlifted to The Bahamas after a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit Jamaica on Monday.

He confirmed that no one was seriously hurt and there SEE PAGE THREE

SEE PAGE THREE

TOWN PLANNING REJECTS HOTEL PROPOSAL BY BALMORAL CLUB

Gibson in court as jury selected ADRIAN Gibson entering court yesterday. Gibson is facing corruption charges in connection with his tenure as executive chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation under the Minnis administration. Story see PAGE FIVE. Photo: Dante Carrer

emerged as the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Philip Davis KC’s son, Christopher, did meet with Mr Bankman-Fried to discuss the possible use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) - a form of digital assets - in helping to generate revenue for Junkanoo artists, straw vendors and others whose works could be sold online.

THE Balmoral Club’s eight-storey, 50-unit condo hotel expansion has been rejected by the planning authorities because it is “incompatible” with land use and development trends in the community.

Keenan Johnson, the Town Planning Committee’s chairman, yesterday confirmed to Tribune Business that site plan approval was refused because the project’s scale and “height in and of itself” did not fit with the existing gated residential community on Sanford Drive.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

FTX TRADER BREACHED BAHAMAS IMMGRATION RULES

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AN FTX executive breached Bahamian Immigration regulations by working outside the scope of his work permit, court documents have revealed.

John Ray, head of the 134 FTX entities in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, produced evidence in

legal filings that Ross Rheingans-Yoo had obtained a Bahamian work permit to act as a trader for Alameda Research (Bahamas).

Yet Mr Ray is alleging that Mr Rheingans-Yoo was actually working for “a sham Bahamian non-profit” to help channel $71.55m in purported charitable donations to life sciences companies.

The purported violations

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

PAGE 2, Thursday, November 2, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

FNM leader offers bipartisan support to regulate banking sector

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement Leader Michael Pintard said the Davis administration would get bipartisan support to

regulate the commercial banking sector, so it should act more and talk less about the need for better banking services in The Bahamas.

His comment in the House of Assembly yesterday came after Fox Hill MP and Foreign Affairs

Minister Fred Mitchell reiterated his concerns about how banks treat customers.

“We stand with the government if they will take action,” Mr Pintard said.

“The problem is when we listen to the member

for Fox Hill, what he is saying is aspirational. He desires this, but clearly the Cabinet has not made a decision yet to support what he is saying. When the Cabinet comes on board in addressing the banking issue, we will

support them.”

Mr Mitchell, during the debate on the Consumer Protection Bill, noted that Bahamians do not answer telephone calls at some banking institutions. He said to speak to a top bank official, the message must be delivered from abroad to a local official.

“The complaint is, nine times out of ten, you never get the call back,” he said.

“So the question is whether or not there’s going to have to be a more strenuous intervention so that consumers have a right when they are consumers of a bank to get a Bahamian voice on the phone or have the right to see a human

person to get their issues resolved.”

He also highlighted the cost of banking services, calling them “out of control.”

“The worst example,” he said, “is you have a savings account. You get no interest now but every month there’s $10 or $7 taken out of the account for them keeping your money. That’s not the way it used to be.

The question is whether that is a fair practice.”

In April, Mr Mitchell said his constituents are agitated by the lack of banking sector regulation.

He said at the time the legislature might have to intervene.

OPPOSITION Leader Michael Pintard speaking during a sitting of the House of Assembly yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 2, 2023, PAGE 3

Homeless fears over shanty town demolitions from page one concerns.

“I do agree that something needs to be done,” he said yesterday. “People should not be living in those conditions.”

“Informal settlements should not be a norm. It must be dealt with.”

He spoke after Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs Clay Sweeting said 162 structures in the Kool Acres and All Saints Way

shanty towns will be demolished starting Monday and that only Bahamians in those communities will get housing assistance.

Mr Sweeting suggested the Department of Immigration would deal with those who lack legal status and that work permit sponsors are legally required to care for those they employ.

Mr Georges said: “What happens to those permit holders whom employers have not secured

housing for? We don’t necessarily know the number of persons that fall in that category. Maybe the government knows, but I don’t think we know. No such information has been divulged at this time.

“Whether it be for a prolonged period, or a short period, whether it be for a day, whether it be for a week, you know, there are many questions that are still left unanswered that we are not sure can be

answered in five days.

“Who knows, whether it’s one day, it’s a week, it’s a month, it’s a year, there is the scary potential of displacement and homelessness happening, and we’re talking about women, children, girls, elderly.”

He also said it is unclear what will happen to permanent resident holders.

“That’s a different kettle of fish,” he said. “Those individuals fall between the citizens and the permit

LOUBY GEORGES IMMIGRANTS rights advocate Louby Georges said displacement and homelessness might rise when the government evicts shanty town residents next week. He said there are unanswered questions about how the demolitions will affect people.

Students in Jamaica denied flight home after earthquake

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER FRED MITCHELL from page one were no reports of damage to people’s belongings.

He said one student told him a sheetrock panel fell on his leg when he tried to evacuate, but he was not seriously injured.

He said the students were psychologically affected by the earthquake, calling them “emotionally distraught”.

“Everyone’s still on edge,” he said. “Just to lay down in the bedroom is still a fright because any kind of sudden movement, loud noise, or bump, you feel

like the earthquake is about to happen.”

“There wasn’t any loss of life. There’s moreso emotional damage that occurred, but there wasn’t any severe building infrastructure damage.”

Mr Smith said there had been over 50 aftershocks since the earthquake.

He confirmed that Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis shared a voice note with him expressing concern.

He said Mr Davis said he spoke to Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness,

who assured him everything was operational in the country and at the university.

Mr Mitchell encouraged students to stay put.

“The better view is for them to remain in place,” he said yesterday. “Follow the instructions of the authorities. Keep as safe as they can. If something catastrophic happens, we’ll intervene, but at the moment, it doesn’t appear to call for that.

“It’s a scary thing, but if you’re going to go to school in Jamaica, it’s an earthquake zone so it’s a part of the reality.”

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holders. What happens to them as permanent residents? Is social services beholden to them also? I don’t know the answer to that. Are they subjected to the same rules as work permits? I don’t necessarily think so. Are they subjected to being repatriated? I don’t think the immigration laws would say so because they’re not necessarily in breach of any immigration policies or laws.”

Mr Georges said he is uncertain whether Haitian community leaders will help shanty town residents with living accommodations. Many residents in those communities told The Tribune they are unemployed, temporarily employed and have nowhere to go.

Mr Georges said he does not believe Haitian leaders “have the resources to assist hundreds of persons at this time.”

PAGE 4, Thursday, November 2, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Mitchell: Chairman needs PM’s support from page one the party’s establishment –– show they are treating the challenge seriously.

Some admit part of the PLP’s base wants to unseat Mr Mitchell and challenge Mr Davis. Since the party was elected in 2021, complaints about not doing enough to take care of party members have been a simmering theme and was one reason some reacted bitterly to Kingsley Smith getting the West Grand Bahama and Bimini byelection nomination, given his past FNM affiliation.

The Tribune was told by a source close to the prime minister that when Ms Lynes discussed a potential chair bid with Mr Davis, he said he supported Mr Mitchell and did not want a contested election.

Some opposed to Mr Mitchell believe a twoway race best serves their interests and there is growing expectation that Mr Gibson could drop out of the race and endorse Ms Lynes, although the former Golden Gates MP has not

confirmed this.

Last night, during a meeting of the PLP’s Fox Hill branch, Mr Mitchell said the chair must be someone the prime minister wants.

“I’ve had the experience in, I think, 81 or 82, where one of my friends defeated the then prime minister on the floor and for one year, he became chairman but could do nothing,” he said.

“Nothing happened. He was totally frozen out of the decision-making. That’s the way the party is structured, and so anyone who thinks otherwise, if you get advice from the leader of the party that says I do not want you to run, then you know that you’re in problems if you go ahead and run, because it just can’t function.”

Mr Mitchell said the chair runs National General Council meetings and is the spokesperson for the party.

“You got a new constitution,” he said, discussing his strengths. “You got a chair that understands his role and executes the role

flawlessly, if I may say so myself, never scared of anybody, never shy about responding, of being the punching bag for the party because that’s the role that you’ve taken on.”

“Things are going smoothly. We’re in the midterm. What is the reason people would want to switch midstream? Boat’s going on fine, no rocking from side to side. The wind is with us, so what would be the reason you want to switch midstream?”

“Selfishness. Not wanting to take advice. Are those perhaps reasons, and to rock the boat and to ruin our own forward course? Is that the reason?”

Economic Affairs Minister and Senator Michael Halkitis attended the Fox Hill meeting to support Mr Mitchell’s reelection.

On Sunday, Ms Lynes, 40, said she would not be intimidated running for chair, insisting her bid is not “anti-leadership”.

She said the party needs an internal reset and someone who could focus singularly on the chair role.

CURRENT PLP CHAIRMAN FRED MITCHELL

BIMINI RESIDENTS VOICE CONCERNS AND NEEDS AHEAD OF UPCOMING BY-ELECTION

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net AS the West Grand Bahama and Bimini byelection approaches, Bimini residents say they need a working ambulance, improved financial services and repairs to dilapidated government buildings.

Bimini, which has four

of the 14 polling divisions in the constituency, could determine who will win the seat –– the FNM’s Bishop Ricardo Grant, the PLP’s Kingsley Smith, or an outsider.

West End Grand Bahama has been a bastion of support for the PLP. FNM insiders hope to get a lead in Bimini and Eight Mile Rock that overcomes

the PLP’s typical strength in West End. Yesterday morning, Bishop Grant canvassed in Bimini, meeting residents before an evening rally.

Fabrice Stuart, the proprietor of Stuart’s Conch Stand in Bailey Town, claimed the island’s lone ambulance had been down for the entire year.

She said a seawall is also

needed around part of the island where the shoreline is being eroded by rising sea levels.

Residents also expressed concern about the rundown condition of the old administrator’s building and customs compound in Bimini, calling it is an eyesore.

“We feel that needs to be torn down,” Ms Stuart said.

“They keep repainting it, but work needs to be done to the building because it is the first thing that tourists see when they come on the island, and it looks horrible.”

She said she is still undecided about who she will vote for.

“It does not matter who wins for Bimini because our money still goes to Nassau, and it is never

invested in Bimini,” she said.

She said financial services on the island hurt her business, calling for another bank or ATM. “When one goes down, it takes a long time for us to get cash,” she said.

Pat Griffith, the owner of Ebbie and Pat Bonefish Club, said she would not vote in the by-election despite her traditional support for the PLP. “Every vote I ever cast was for the PLP,” she said.

“I will be 64 in 16 days, but I will not vote for them this lap. I am not doing it because they taxing the Bahamian people too much and it is overbearing.”

“The PLP and FNM are just the same. We need a new party, that’s how I feel.”

Sarah Lee Pinder, a loyal FNM supporter in Alice Town, said she will vote for Bishop Grant.

Asked about her concerns, the senior citizen said paying bills is challenging for customers without a bank card.

“They need to have someone in the office so you can pay your bill because I have been there several times to pay my bill, but you can’t pay it like that. You have to go online or have a card,” she said.

She expressed concerns about road conditions and the allegedly high number of illegal taxi operators on the island.

The by-election to replace Obie Wilchcombe will be held on November 22.

Jurors sworn in after lengthy selection process in Gibson trial THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 2, 2023, PAGE 5

ADRIAN Gibson entering court yesterday. Gibson is facing corruption charges in connection with his tenure as executive chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation under the Minnis administration.

Photo: Dante Carrer

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net A NEW jury was empanelled yesterday in Adrian Gibson’s corruption trial after a lengthy selection process that dismissed several candidates because of their ties to the accused or witnesses.

The jury of five women and four men was selected months after Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson discharged the initial jury when one member admitted to discussing the case out of court and another claimed to know Tanya Demeritte, a witness who took a plea deal last year to avoid prosecution.

The new jurors were sworn in after defence lawyers exhausted their peremptory challenges and Justice Grant-Thompson

asked candidates if they were conflicted about hearing the case because of a connection to the defendants or witnesses.

One male juror was replaced after admitting to being related to one of the defence lawyers.

A female juror was excused after claiming she knew an inspector witness.

Another left after she said her children went to the same school as one of the co-accused.

A juror claimed she worked closely with the wife of former Works Minister Desmond Bannister.

Another said she was a classmate of Mr Gibson’s mother and communicated with her frequently while they plan an upcoming class reunion.

Mr Gibson is facing corruption charges concerning his tenure as executive chairman of the Water

and Sewerage Corporation under the Minnis administration.

The charges stem from his alleged failure to declare an interest in contracts the WSC awarded.

He is charged with WSC’s former general manager, Elwood Donaldson Jr, Rashae Gibson, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson and Jerome Missick.

Since the defendants were charged last June, the trial has been delayed many times, mostly because of legal challenges.

Together, the group face 98 charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, fraud, receiving and money laundering.

Damian Gomez, KC, Murrio Ducille, KC, Raphael Moxey, Christina Galanos, Ian Cargill and Donald Saunders represent the defendants.

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PAGE 6, Thursday, November 2, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited

PICTURE OF THE DAY

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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What do the people want or need?

AS the by-election in West Grand Bahama and Bimini approaches, there are a lot of voices striving to be heard.

This candidate proclaims what they’ll do if elected, that candidate blasts the rival party.

Of course, the most important voices are those of the people in the constituency.

What do they want? What do they need?

The Tribune’s Grand Bahama reporter, Denise Maycock, took the time to go and talk to some of the voters to find out what the sentiment is on the ground ahead of the upcoming vote.

It can come down to very simple requests. Take the call by one constituent however to deal with the situation that has seen Bimini’s only ambulance be left out of action for the whole of the year.

Imagine that situation – a vital emergency service simply not available.

That same resident called for a seawall around parts of the island where the shoreline is being eroded by rising sea levels.

Our leaders travel the world and talk and preach about the importance of action on climate change – well, here is a constituent pointing to the problem here on the ground. Will any action follow?

Another voter said she would not vote for the PLP – even though she has traditionally supported the party.

She said the government was “taxing the Bahamian people too much and it is overbearing”.

Not that the FNM gets her support, as she dismissed the pair as “just the same” and said: “We need a new party, that’s how I feel.”

Yet another constituent raised the problems people face who do not have a bank card with paying bills because everything is directed to pay by card or going online – which leaves some people behind.

She also talked about poor road conditions – a concern familiar to many Bahamians – and what she says is the high number of illegal taxi operators.

These are bread and butter issues that the candidates seeking to fill the role ought to face up to.

Voters such as these don’t need broad talk of dreams and visions, whether it be about a new day or about your future, whichever slogan is being used.

They need answers about when the ambulance will be working, when will action be taken to prevent flooding, when will so much money no longer be taken from our pockets, who will fix the roads, who will make sure the laws are obeyed?

One of those The Tribune spoke to was equally frustrated by both parties, saying: “It does not matter who wins for Bimini because our money still goes to Nassau, and it is never invested in Bimini.”

It would be beneficial to voters, of course, if they could see exactly where funds went. Sometimes, that can be down to the MPs themselves.

Each MP gets a fund to spend within their constituencies. It is intended that it should be spent on upgrades and maintenance.

In 2017, that added up to an investment of $3.9m a year over five years.

How did your MP spend theirs? How is your current MP spending their constituency fund?

When a prospective MP doorstepped one of our editors during the election run-up there were promises of a local park – that has not materialised yet.

Just as MPs are supposed to be accountable in making declarations each year – though this year’s has perhaps been the worst failure in that regard in years with still no account of who followed the law correctly – why not require MPs to publish what they have spent their constituency funds on each year, so that those who cast their votes for them can see how those funds are being used?

Even if it is not required – MPs can simply do this if they wish. Tomorrow.

They can show people how they are directly helping in their constituency.

Politics is too often detached from the voters on the ground. It doesn’t need to be. It can be simple and honest in terms of what is being spent, and what voter concerns will be tackled.

The hopefuls in West Grand Bahama and Bimini would do well to remember that.

Politics and church don’t mix EDITOR, The Tribune.

POLITICS and church?

Should never mix so the PLP going to a church pretheir launch of their West End-Bimini campaign is certainly not appropriate dividing the community on religious grounds, stupid, but we do it and too many churches allow politicians in their pulpits when Revs may not go into the pulpit

of the politician - House of Assembly.

Is Immigration keeping a watch on any Palestinians trying to enter The Bahamas? It is well known many have infiltrated Mexico and crossed the US border.

What is our policy on entry?

Marco Pizza-Wendy’s Paradise Island .... sense prevailed.... Did we hear

any noise when the Number’s houses set up shop?

When Atlantis built the parking garage? When Hurricane Hole is developing a supermarket, not small? Watch when Marco’s opens, prices of pizzas at Atlantis will drop considerably!

M THOMPSON Nassau, October 27, 2023.

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CUBA’s Gretel Mendoza competes in the rhythmic gymnastics individual all around event at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile yesterday.

Photo: Esteban Felix/AP

Lest we forget what FNM did EDITOR, The Tribune.

I FIND it very amusing every time I listen to talk shows and people are ranting and raving about one issue or the other.

They call out and cuss out MPs and Cabinet Ministers, religious leaders and whomever else they deem fit. Lest we forget, it was the Free National Movement (FNM) that opened the airwaves and gave Bahamians true freedom of speech. It was the FNM administration under the leadership of Hubert Ingraham that saw fit to unleash silent tongues and allow persons to speak freely about issues, not only on ZNS but through the formation of many new radio stations. We, the Bahamian people, became unshackled.

It was this same administration that worked to remove the stigma of “A Nation for Sale”. The Ingraham-led administration also dredged the harbour to allow bigger cruise ships to enter our port. The Atlantis resort was also under this FNMled administration and became one of the largest private employers. We saw the implementation of picture drivers licences and permanent licence plates.

Lest we forget the recreation site at Saunders Beach, which met with quite a bit of PLP-led protest, is now a popular family spot that is seldom ever empty.

Many family islands received much-needed infrastructure and roads under the FNM. The highways from East to West that we enjoy daily were done under the FNM, though many cried and complained. These new roads and thoroughfares eased traffic congestion and made travel easier and smoother.

Lest we forget, we saw the

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net increase in NIB benefits and the re-evaluation of the scale to allow a more feasible product. We saw the introduction of pre-school in some districts in the Ministry of Education. This initiative gave mothers, especially single mothers, the opportunity to work earlier.

Then along came Dr Hubert Minnis. Under this FNM administration, we saw the expansion of the port to allow a new port of entry. We saw free tuition to COB/UB and the assistance of pre-school in the private sector. We saw exemptions on Small Business Licence fees, we saw Overthe-Hill redevelopment, in particular, the Southern Recreation Grounds and we saw an end to the hazardous and unhealthy dump fires. We saw free wi-fi in the parks. We saw new legislation to protect the rights of our fishermen and we saw legislation to protect the environment. We saw a removal of VAT from bread-basket items and prescription drugs which allowed families to stretch their incomes a bit more.

We heard of plans to introduce hot breakfast to all students in Government schools every day from Monday through and so many more initiatives. Yes, lest we forget it has always been the Free National Movement (FNM) that has improved the way of living and opportunities for the Bahamian. This movement does not just give you a fish, but rather teaches you how to fish so that you can secure a brighter and

better future. More importantly, we saw prudent fiscal planning.

When I hear this PLP administration bragging about the new port of entry and the increase in visitors, I am in awe because the very numbers that they brag about are made possible by ventures they opposed.

They are talking about free wi-fi in the park. Well that was already in existence … ask Halson Moultrie. They are talking about free hot breakfast two days a week to some schools; the blueprint was left for all schools, every day. This PLP administration has only one clear vision and that is to see the world at the expense of the Bahamian people.

Everything good that they are bragging about accomplishing, was left in place by the Free National Movement. They are like a ship without a sail being tossed amongst the waves.

They have found an easy way out by taxing and taxing and taxing. The every day necessities and comforts are almost out of reach due to taxation.

Lest we forget, despite a world pandemic, curfews and lockdowns, not one government employee (civil servant) was laid off.

My fellow Bahamians, lest we forget, the Free National Movement is the better choice for governing this Bahamas. Let us put personal feelings and emotions aside and look at the bigger picture … that of country.

Let us look at the blueprint for sustainability and let us make head decisions and not heart decisions. Lest we forget.

VANESSA A SCOTT, JP Nassau, October 30, 2023.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 2, 2023, PAGE 7

Criticism of PHA as man claims blood donors turned up but lab techs did not

MARK Da Cunha claimed that although several donors turned up at the Rand Memorial Hospital to donate blood, lab workers did not show up.

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A MAN criticised the Public Hospital Authority for closing the Rand Memorial Hospital’s blood bank on weekends, saying his father desperately needed blood when he died one day after having elective surgery on December 10, 2022.

Mark Da Cunha claimed that although several donors turned up to donate blood, lab workers did not show up.

His father died in the

hospital on December 11, never receiving the blood transfusion.

“As my father held on for life, the attending nurse tried to comfort me by saying though they had no blood to give my father, they could give him plasma (the liquid portion of the blood sans the life-giving oxygen-carrying red blood cells),” Mr Da Cunha told The Tribune.

Mr Da Cunha said his family found donors after being told their father’s blood type was unavailable at the blood bank.

He said they were told the blood bank would only be open half-day on Saturday and would reopen fully on Monday.

When contacted for a response, the PHA told The Tribune a phlebotomist is always on call for emergencies.

The authority said the blood bank reported having an adequate blood supply for the hospital, but voluntary donors are needed to maintain the supply.

“Any emergency case requiring the services of our blood bank outside

of our standard operating hours will action an urgent call for blood donations for as many donors as possible as one pint of blood can save up to three lives,” the PHA said in a statement.

The authority said the Rand Memorial Hospital blood bank’s operating hours for the public are Monday through Friday from 10am to 4pm.

“If the PHA had an ‘oncall’ policy, the doctors and nurses didn’t know about it,” Mr Da Cunha countered.

“Perhaps this policy is a

best-kept secret, only to be revealed in statements to the press or to be discussed by the administrative staff in the Rand Hospital’s newly built cafeteria, as suffering Grand Bahamians to this day continue to wait in hallways due to the Rand’s lack of hospital beds.”

“The PHA’s statement does not define what they consider to be ‘on call.’

‘On call’ means that when you receive a call for an emergency, you come in immediately, not Monday morning during regular office hours or the next

afternoon, or when convenience suits you. A patient whose oxygen saturation is low because of a lack of blood in a critical condition qualifies as an emergency.”

“If the PHA had Rand blood lab workers ‘on call’, the first one to be contacted should have responded, as should have the second.”

He said friends and strangers to his father were ready to help, and that RMH nurses and doctors were ready to deliver blood to him.

PAGE 8, Thursday, November 2, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Labour on Campus

MAN FINED $2,000 FOR BODY ARMOUR HE CLAIMS HE FOUND IN THE GARBAGE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was fined $2,000 yesterday after admitting to having police body armour that he claimed he found in the garbage last week.

He was also fined $500 for stealing two car batteries from government trucks at the Department of Marine Resources.

Magistrate Lennox Coleby charged Dwayne Johnson, 36, with possessing body armour and stealing.

Johnson was arrested SENIOR high school students attended “Labour on the Campus” at the Andre Rogers National Baseball Stadium yesterday, an initiative near Hammerheads bar on to assist students entering the job market. The career fair was organised by the Ministry of Labour in partnership with the Ministry of Bay Street after police on October 29 found black Education to help students plan for the future.

Photos: Moise Amisial body armour with the letters CDU printed on it in his car. Following his arrest, Johnson told authorities he found the body armour in the trash and claimed he was going to give it to

police.

He is accused of stealing two car batteries from government Nissan trucks at the Department of Marine Resources on October 27.

After pleading guilty, the accused apologized. He said he was intoxicated during the incidents.

He was fined $2,000 on the body armour charge and could spend 12 months in prison if he fails to pay the fine. Half of this debt must be paid before his release.

He was further fined $500 for the theft charge and could spend three months in prison if he fails to pay.

He was also ordered to compensate the government $300 for the batteries or risk an additional three months in jail.

The accused must return to court for a payment report on November 3.

WOMAN GRANTED $4K BAIL AFTER ALLEGEDLY STABBING BOYFRIEND

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A WOMAN was granted $4,000 bail yesterday after she was accused of stabbing her boyfriend during a fight last weekend on Carmichael Road.

Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr, charged Dornitta Burrows, 30, with causing grievous harm.

On October 29, Burrows is accused of stabbed Alvon

Emmanuel in the back and head with a knife after the two fought at his residence on Alexandria Road.

Emmanuel was last listed in stable condition in hospital.

After pleading not guilty, Ms Burrows was told she must sign in at a police station every Wednesday by 6pm under the terms of her bail. She was also warned not to contact the victim or any witnesses.

Her trial begins on December 12.

MAN CHARGED WITH BEING FOUND WITH LOADED GUN, GRANTED BAIL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was granted bail yesterday after he was allegedly found with a loaded gun last weekend.

Acting Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley charged Keith Mullings, 31, with possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition and possession of dangerous drugs.

Mullings was allegedly

found with a black Taurus G2C 9mm pistol on October 29 and 10 rounds of 9mm ammunition. He also allegedly had marijuana.

After pleading not guilty, his bail was set at $9,500 with one or two sureties. His bail conditions require that he sign in at the Elizabeth Estates Police Station every Wednesday and Sunday by 6pm.

His trial begins on December 13.

MAN IN JAIL FOR LARGE AMOUNT OF DRUGS SENTENCE LOSES APPEAL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net THE Court of Appeal upheld a man’s two-and-ahalf-year prison sentence after he was convicted while being a passenger in a car that had $340,000 worth of marijuana in North Bimini in 2017.

Justice Bernard Turner dismissed Ivan David’s appeal of his conviction for possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

Police saw David and his co-accused, Antwon Dames, leaving the Admiral Hotel in North Bimini on September 20, 2017.

They were in a green Toyota 4 Runner SUV when they were stopped on a dirt road. When police asked David, the front seat passenger, if there was anything illegal in the car, he said: “Yes, sir, some weed”.

Police seized nine

nylon crocus sacks from the backseat and hatch area containing 340 lbs of marijuana.

During his trial before Magistrate Samuel McKinney, David maintained that he did not know about the drugs. However, it was said he kept shifting his story as proceedings continued.

Both Dames and David were found guilty of the offence on May 26. As part of his conviction, David was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He faced an additional $10,000 fine and would risk an additional six-month prison term if he fails to pay.

Justice Turner agreed with the magistrate that the appellant had knowledge of the drugs in the car due to their quantity and proximity to him.

Justice Turner also found that the sentence was not unduly harsh. He said it was lenient, given the circumstances.

PAGE 10, Thursday, November 2, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Removal of pride is necessary to experience mercy PRIDE is a master of disguise. It cloaks itself in all manner of outlandish costumes, intending to mislead oneself and others. Its powers of obfuscation are immense. Pride is so clever, so insidious that it tricks and befuddles our truer selves like a distorting funhouse mirror at a carnival.

Our failings and patterns of sin are often so profound that they can leave us reeling, wounded, defeated, ashamed, hardened. Our compulsions, addictions, weaknesses, and pitfalls are lifelong companions that typically accompany us all the way to our final days.

The devastating mistakes we make often have enormous consequences, the pain of which is cancerous to others and ourselves, including our sense of self-worth and lovability. Ashamed and wounded, we pridefully are often incapable of allowing the light of mercy and forgiveness to cauterize, bind and heal our wounds.

We may carry the burden of guilt for years, decades, a lifetime, a form of self-flagellation. This is sometimes a manifestation of pride, a failure to remorsefully release our mistakes and to more fully recognize how loved we are by those who help to heal our wounds.

The gift of mercy is a gift of love. When we do not allow this gift and its myriad healing properties to fill our bloodstream and the very marrow of our lives, we are exhibiting the arrogance of pride.

How could I have been so weak, so foolish to make such and such a mistake? Because we are weak, fragile, vulnerable and complicated beings often driven by family history, psychological states, and a brain and

sociobiology of which we are often not in control, none of which means that we should deny responsibility for actions or inactions.

But the mercy of God, of another, and self-mercy have the power to wrestle our pride to the ground, to lift us up off the floor, helping us back on our wobbly clay flat feet cojoined to certain Achilles’ heels, ready to fall again, and always in need of forgiveness, reconciliation and friendship.

When we are genuinely remorseful, penitential, and desirous for growth and change, mercy is better able to penetrate our defences and our spiritual pores and open spaces.

There is another form of pride which excels at preventing and blocking off mercy like a massive impervious dam prohibiting the flow of water. It is the pride of ignoring or denying one’s patterns of sin and pathologies, and pretending that we have not done harm to others.

Even Frank Sinatra sang, “Regrets, I had a few.” Though he went on to say: “But then again, too few to mention. I did

what I had to do.”

One imagines that Sinatra, the person, not the singer, may have had more than a few regrets and unmentionables precisely because he did a number of things “my way” and not the better way.

To be more fully human is to have genuine remorse for our self-absorption and failure to love more fully.

A friend recalls another, who constantly boasted that he had no regrets in life. It was comical, though sad, because the person who boasted of no regrets had done considerable harm to quite a number of people throughout his life but he had to breezily and endlessly pretend that he had not.

The acknowledgement of his hurt of others was too difficult for him to bear. So he anesthetised himself with all manner of excuses for his behaviour, and lies and denials, constantly repressing parts of his life, always pretending to be on top of the world, despite his secrets and secret pains, which most of us possess and carry for a lifetime.

The inability to admit one’s errors and patterns to another is one of the greatest forms of pride.

We touch the divine if we are fortunate enough to have a spouse, partner, friend, relative, minister or another to whom we can disclose our true and fuller selves, and who loves and forgives us, repeatedly, in the midst of our brokenness.

Leonard Cohen’s Come Healing is a spiritual anthem of brokenness and invocation of mercy: “O, gather up the brokenness Bring it to me now The fragrance of those promises You never dared to vow “The splinters that you

At the foot of the cross we meet fellow weak and loveable souls seeking, searching for mercy.

carried The cross you left behind Come healing of the body Come healing of the mind “And let the heavens hear it The penitential hymn Come healing of the spirit Come healing of the limb “Behold the gates of mercy In arbitrary space And none of us deserving Of cruelty or the grace “O, solitude of longing Where love has been confined Come healing of the body Come healing of the mind …”

Mercy is a virtue of mutuality; a wellspring of communion and liberation. Pride is the sworn conniving enemy of mercy.

How frequently do we refuse to take or receive or offer the cup of mercy.

It oft takes many dry seasons and mustard seeds before we are receptive to the gentle rains or showers of mercy from heaven and from loved ones here on earth, a loving photosynthesis of healing waters and penetrating light.

We sometimes arrogantly believe that mercy is like a mighty favour which we can dispense from on high to those who have wronged us.

But is not mercy more like a gift we mutually and simultaneously grant ourselves and others, as Shakespeare reminds us: “It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”

Poet David O’ Haolin Whalen cautions us in, But for the Grace of God Go I: “There, but for the grace of God go I …

Is a thought I oft used to

think As I cast a hasty, judgmental eye Roundabout the coffee shop And o’er the brim of my morning drink. “… I used to judge those so-called ‘sorry souls’ And ascribe to them sad histories In blissful ignorance that Some were likely looking back And doing the same to me …”

Mercy can make old eyes, habits and attitudes profoundly new; unsettling and refreshing the terra firma on which we live and move, daring to have our being. If we are fortunate, we grasp with new eyes, what has been at work since creation, and which unfolds and continues in our being and consciousness.

At the foot of the cross we meet fellow weak and loveable souls seeking, searching for mercy.

Blessed by our falls and terrible mistakes, we are invited to become more merciful toward ourselves and others.

When we are open to and accept invitations of mercy, we upend and disarm the many disguises of pride, many of which try to seduce cum trick us into believing that we are well or good or better than others, though we may actually be spiritually numb or considerably unwell.

As has been said in another space: “The quality of mercy is many times borne from the trembling desire to transform our pain, struggles, tragic disappointments and brokenness into empathy, solidarity, forgiveness – and redemption and resurrection.”

Brokenness can be transformed into beauty:

“Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery. If a bowl is broken, rather than discarding the pieces, the fragments are put back together with a glue-like tree sap and the cracks are adorned with gold.

“There are no attempts to hide the damage, instead, it is highlighted.

The practice has come to represent the idea that beauty can be found in imperfection. … Kintsugi makes something new from a broken pot, which is transformed to possess a different sort of beauty.

Leonard Cohen soothes: “O, see the darkness yielding “That tore the light apart Come healing of the reason Come healing of the heart.

“O, troubledness concealing An undivided love The heart beneath is teaching To the broken heart above.

“And let the heavens falter Let the earth proclaim Come healing of the altar Come healing of the name.

“O, longing of the branches To lift the little bud O, longing of the arteries To purify the blood “And let the heavens hear it The penitential hymn Come healing of the spirit Come healing of the limb “O let the heavens hear it The penitential hymn Come healing of the spirit Come healing of the limb.”

Mike Pence’s withdrawal not likely to cause a ripple for GOP THE TRIBUNE

MIKE Pence “suspended” his candidacy for next year’s presidential race over the weekend. When the former vice president exited the current GOP presidential race, Pence was in some danger of missing the cut for the next Republican debate which is set for next week. His withdrawal hardly caused a ripple.

Pence was reportedly chosen by Donald Trump as his 2016 running mate in order to reassure evangelical Christians – a growing and stout presence in national Republican politics – that Trump could somehow be trusted as a God-fearing man and

Thursday, November 2, 2023, PAGE 11

STATESIDE with Charlie Harper politician. Also, Pence’s fundamentally quiet, bland, cautious personality complemented Trump’s bombast quite neatly. They actually created a potent political alliance, and a successful one.

That Pence could never escape Trump’s

long political shadow is now taken as a matter of political gospel. And Pence’s political future was doomed from the moment he refused to break the law to decertify Joe Biden’s election in 2020.

American evangelical Christians need not

be especially concerned at Pence’s departure from the national political scene, however. Their seat at the big table of Republican politics got a big boost with the election last week of Louisiana congressman Mike Johnson as the new

MIKE Pence. compromise speaker of the House of Representatives in Washington. He is a relentless Christian and devoted follower and supporter of Trump.

Johnson has quietly and almost invisibly been involved in most of the extremism in recent GOP

Photo: Alex Brandon/AP politics in the US. He’s a diligent advocate for abolishing abortion. He tried assiduously to round up supporters in the effort to delegitimise Biden’s victory in 2020.

Johnson’s early steps offer little hope of improvement in the House.

Delightful distraction of Swift and Kelce BUT enough of all that.

Rather than wallow in the world’s current bad news, let’s instead return to the delightful distractions of Taylor Swift.

In Denver over the weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs were upset by the Broncos, snapping a six-game winning streak. And Taylor Swift was not in attendance.

Fortunately for us, however, Cosmopolitan Magazine was quick to reassure fans of both the reigning American princess and the Chiefs’ standout tight end Travis Kelce that all is well with this most watched US couple.

“Travis and Taylor are all in,” the magazine gushed, citing a TMZ report. “The two are very into each other and are enjoying their time together but are also planning for the future. Taylor starts her international tour in November, and Travis is planning to be there to spend time with her. Travis and Taylor are very serious about their careers, and the two bond over that and want to show support for each other whenever they can.”

Swift and Kelce’s romance has captivated America and boosted the profiles of both, though Taylor Swift is by far the bigger star. According to numerous biographies, she grew up on a Christmas-tree farm near Philadelphia, where she would listen to predecessor country music goddesses Shania Twain, Faith Hill and LeAnn Rimes, watch VH1’s “Behind the Music,” and record demo tapes to send to Nashville. At 12, she sang the national anthem at a Philadelphia 76ers game.

Here’s how one critic described her work: After a heartbreaking betrayal by a pack of adolescent “mean girls” at a suburban mall, Swift was reborn as someone for whom there was not enough love and approval in the whole world. “She would write a song about the experience, and she

TRACIS KELCE AND TAYLOR SWIFT would feel better. She would realise that this new person she had become was someone whose best work would come from her reactions to the world, her urgent metabolization of her pain into poetry.”

Now Swift has received this week a new accolade previously accorded to music legends of the caliber of the Beatles. The University of California at Berkeley has announced that it will next year offer to its students the option of a course about the pop icon, whose current Eras tour has reportedly made her a billionaire.

Appropriately the course is being offered by Berkeley’s business school. It will be called Artistry and Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version and start next spring, according to a report

by NBC. Here’s how the course is described by the university: “Swift’s ability to connect with listeners is unparalleled. Through lyricism, branding, and craft, we’ll explore how art and authenticity create enduring value

and a viable enterprise.”

The phenomenon of the Swift-Kelce romance has led observers to search for a similarly profound alliance between pop star and athletic star. Some of the speculation has surrounded Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson, who were an item from 2007-2009. He was the quarterback of “America’s Team”, the Dallas Cowboys. She was an aspiring pop princess.

According to In Style magazine, Romo had a crush on Simpson before they even met. According to Jessica, she was watching a football game at home with her family in November 2007 when the former NFL star told reporters that she was his dream celebrity match.

“My family was like, ‘Did you just hear that?” Simpson said in the June 2008 issue of Glamour. “His picture came up, and I’m like, ‘He’s really cute.’ Then I heard [that I was his crush], and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh!’”

When the couple went on their first date, “I had butterflies that you would not

imagine,” Simpson recalled to Glamour. “I wanted to puke in the cup holder …

It took me forever to put together an outfit!”

Alas, they broke up. But Simpson married another football star, and Romo has become the NFL’s best colour commentator on CBS’s lead game each Sunday.

Neither Romo nor Simpson was as accomplished in their fields as are Swift and Kelce. So maybe a better comparison can be found in Spain, home to the long relationship between talismanic Barcelona soccer star Gerard Pique and pop diva Shakira. Strikingly handsome and beautiful, these two were perhaps the most talked-about couple of the 2010s in Europe.

Pique, a brilliant defender, represented Spain 102 times and won the World Cup among many other distinctions. Shakira, born in Colombia, has compiled a catalog of 145 songs.

She has sold over 95 million records, making her one of the most successful singers ever. Billboard magazine reported that as of 2023, she is the best-selling female Latin artist of all time.

This pair is also no longer

together, but they were incandescent for over a decade together.

But it says here that the better comparison to Swift-Kelce may be found 70 years ago. That was Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe.

DiMaggio compiled a peerless Hall of Fame baseball career as a New York Yankees outfielder. He was nicknamed “The Yankee Clipper” and “Joltin’ Joe.” DiMaggio is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time and may be best known for his 56-game hitting streak which still stands today as the longest in baseball history.

Marilyn Monroe was, well, Marilyn Monroe. She married Joe in 1952 on the eve of her greatest fame.

The American dream was real for both of these superstars, as both had risen from humble backgrounds to achieve great fame in their chosen careers.

Before their first meeting, Monroe said “I expected a flashy New York sports type and instead I met this reserved guy who didn’t make a pass at me right away. He treated me like something special.”

Though sceptics at the time often highlighted their differences, Marilyn recalled strong common values including a shared desire for a stable home and children. “The truth is that we were very much alike,” Monroe said to author Ben Hecht in her memoir My Story. “My publicity, like Joe’s greatness, is something on the outside. It has nothing to do with what we actually are.”

The couple divorced, but after Marilyn died, Joe had roses delivered three times a week to her crypt for 20 years. He revealed that even after their divorce, the incomparable Frank Sinatra told him Marilyn had never stopped loving him.

Taylor and Travis have some distance to cover in order to emulate Joe and Marilyn. We can only wish them well as his fans in America (and perhaps in Germany after the Chiefs play the Dolphins in Frankfurt on Sunday morning) and her fans around the world obsess about them, partly to escape the deflating realities of American politics and of wars real and threatened all over the globe.

MARILYN MUNROE AND JOE DIMAGGIO

Strategic Business Consultant Established Bahamian Organization seeks person for the position of CONSULTANT. The successful individual must have: t 1SPWFO FYQFSJFODF JO TUSBUFHJD QMBOOJOH BOE FYFDVUJPO JODMVEJOH BENJOJTUSBUJWF PWFSTJHIU QSFGFSBCMZ XJUIJO B OPOQSPĕU PSHBOJ[BUJPO t &YDFMMFOU BOBMZUJDBM BOE QSPCMFN TPMWJOH TLJMMT t 4USPOH DPNNVOJDBUJPO BOE QSFTFOUBUJPO BCJMJUJFT t "CJMJUZ UP XPSL DPMMBCPSBUJWFMZ XJUI EJWFSTF UFBNT Education and Experience: t .BTUFS T EFHSFF JO CVTJOFTT OPOQSPĕU NBOBHFNFOU PS B SFMBUFE ĕFME

#BDIFMPS T %FHSFF BDDFQUFE XJUI XPSL FYQFSJFODF t 5FO UP ĕęFFO ZFBST FYQFSJFODF JO TUSBUFHJD MFBEFSTIJQ PS NBOBHFNFOU SPMFT XJUI B USBDL SFDPSE PG TVDDFTTGVM TUSBUFHZ EFWFMPQNFOU BOE FYFDVUJPO For more information, please contact (242) 801-3794.

PAGE 12, Thursday, November 2, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

MAKEOVER MAGIC TAKES TO AIRWAVES ALIV Business has been on the air with weekly instudio visits to Y-98.

The visits have been part of the company’s Ultimate Business Makeover campaign.

“The UBM campaign is more than just a contest; it’s a platform that showcases the potential of local businesses and the positive impact we can achieve when we work together,” commented Jennifer Basden, head of B2B marketing.

“As we visit Y-98 studios each week to announce the winners, we witness the tangible excitement and transformation that this campaign brings to our local business landscape.”

The campaign is in partnership with companies including Easy Car Sales, Aliv, OurTV, OurNews, SBDC, Sign Island, Margaritaville, Think Simple, Huawei, Bahamasair, Tribune Media, Y-98, and 100 Jamz.

The company said in a statement: “The enthusiastic participation of all partners has been instrumental in making this initiative a resounding success and reinforces the strength of collaboration in driving meaningful change in our community.”

The campaign is tailored to support local businesses and enhance operational efficiencies through innovative WiFi, fixed, mobile and SMS solutions. It provides the tools and resources needed for day-to-day operations, bolstering their productivity and connectivity. Through this campaign, businesses have the opportunity to subscribe to the “Business In A Box” bundle or upgrade their services, all while having the chance to win incredible prizes including the grand prize electric JAC SUV, compliments of Easy Car Sales.

To date, winners during

this campaign include Gourmet Management AKA Swagg who won $500 cash prize compliments of Royal Bank of Canada.

Capstone Academy was our second winner and won a $600 gift card courtesy of Aliv and Phillippa Mortimer was our third-place winner of two complimentary round trip tickets from Bahamasair.

“We are delighted by the remarkable impact the Ultimate Business Makeover (UBM) campaign is having on local businesses,” said Charnette Thompson, vice president of ALiv Business.

“Our commitment to the growth and success of SMEs has always been a top priority and the UBM campaign is a testament to our dedication to empowering businesses with the essential tools they need for operational efficiency and success.”

As the world continues to embrace sustainable living

REGULAR visits to Y-98 have been part of the Ultimate Business Makeover campaign.

“This initiative embodies and supporting local enterand environmental responsibility, Aliv Business said the spirit of collaboration prises, we are contributing it is thankful for the support and community that we to the growth and prosperprovided by Easy Car Sales, hold dear in The Baha- ity of our nation.”

There’s still time to take the nation’s leading electric mas. The UBM campaign not only offers the oppor- advantage of the BIAB vehicles dealership.

“At Easy Car Sales, we tunity for businesses to bundle and be a part of the are proud to stand along- thrive but also encourages UBM for your chance to side Aliv Business and our the responsible adoption win a brand new electric valued partners in support- of electric vehicles, setting JAC SUV. For more inforing the Ultimate Business a precedent for a sustain- mation on BIAB, contact Makeover campaign,” said able and eco-conscious Aliv Business at 601-8911 Pia Farmer, general man- future. We believe that by in New Providence and 602ager for Easy Car Sales. promoting electric vehicles 8811 in the Family Islands.

ALIV COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING BUSINESS OUTLOOK ALIV Business has reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to supporting the Bahamas Business Outlook events. The company said the recent event in Exuma on October 19 emphasised the critical role of staying connected in the modern business landscape.

The Bahamas Business Outlook is an established platform that brings together business leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals to exchange ideas and insights that contribute to the growth and development of the local business community.

In a statement, the company said: “Aliv Business recognises

the significance of family island businesses and their unique needs and is excited to contribute to this event.

“As part of the commitment to family island businesses, Aliv Business aims to amplify the voices and opportunities of enterprises beyond the capital, Nassau.

Understanding that these businesses are the backbone of local economies on the family islands, the telecommunications and technology front-runner is committed to supporting them and contributing to the overall prosperity of the Family Islands.”

It added: “The Exuma Business

Outlook Event was particularly significant as it focused on the theme of ‘Staying Connected: The Lifeline of Modern Business’. In today’s fast-paced and interconnected world, the ability to communicate, collaborate, and adapt to evolving technologies is essential for business success. This event offered valuable perspectives on harnessing connectivity for business growth.

Additionally, the Exuma Bahamas Business Outlook featured discussions and presentations centered around the challenges and opportunities specific to family island businesses.”

Media Technical Lead Our innovative and growing organization is looking for a MEDIA TECHNICIAL LEAD. Thank you in advance for taking a look at the list of responsibilities and qualifications. We look forward to reviewing your resume.

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PASSING BATON AT TRINITY CITY AFTER serving as Senior Pastors of Trinity City of Praise for 35 years in Nassau and 23 years in North Eleuthera, Apostles Ed and Lee Watson have announced they will pass the baton to their Pastor of Administration, Pastor Necole Watson, and Philip Darren Bethel at the North Eleuthera Campus.

The transition will occur next year.

In a statment, the church said: “Senior Pastor-Designate Necole is a certified administrator, mentor, life coach, conference host and speaker, and prophetic psalmist. She has served in various capacities within Trinity City of Praise. In February 2016, she was installed as the church’s Pastor of Administration, and in February 2021, she was ordained as a Prophet in the Lord’s Church.

“Pastor-Designate Philip Darren Bethel, a native of beautiful Lower Bogue Eleuthera, is characterised by his steadfast dedication to spreading the message of the Kingdom of God, which reflects his unwavering

APOSTLES Ed and Lee Watson are passing the baton at Trinity City of Praise to Necole Watson and Philip Darren Bethel. faith. Since committing to Christ in 2013, he has demonstrated a deep and abiding duty to serve the Lord.

“Pastor-Designate Bethel displays humility and kindness and is highly regarded by many for his compassion and genuine care for others. With a wealth of experience

serving as a devoted armour-bearer, bus driver, and president of the Men’s Ministry, Pastor Designate Bethel has also completed a pastoral course at “Christian Life School of Theology.”

Pastor Designate Bethel is married to Agnes Bethel, and they have seven children and one grandchild.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 2, 2023, PAGE 13

Investigating the truth about lies

By CHRISTIAN B MILLER Wake Forest University

Prominent cases of purported lying continue to dominate the news cycle.

Hunter Biden was charged with lying on a government form while purchasing a handgun. Republican Representative George Santos allegedly lied in many ways, including to donors through a third party in order to misuse the funds raised.

The rapper Offset admitted to lying on Instagram about his wife, Cardi B, being unfaithful.

There are a number of variables that distinguish these cases. One is the audience: the faceless government, particular donors and millions of online followers, respectively.

Another is the medium used to convey the alleged lie: on a bureaucratic form, through intermediaries and via social media.

Differences like these lead researchers like me to wonder what factors influence the telling of lies.

Does a personal connection increase or decrease the likelihood of sticking to the truth? Are lies more prevalent on text or email than on the phone or in person?

An emerging body of empirical research is trying to answer these questions, and some of the findings are surprising. They hold lessons, too - for how to think about the areas of your life where you might be more prone to tell lies, and also about where to be most cautious in trusting what others are saying.

As the recent director of The Honesty Project and author of “Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue,” I am especially interested in whether most people tend to be honest or not.

FIGURING OUT THE FREQUENCY OF LIES Most research on lying asks participants to selfreport their lying behavior, say during the past day or week. (Whether you can trust liars to tell the truth about lying is another question.)

The classic study on lying frequency was conducted by psychologist Bella DePaulo in the mid-1990s. It focused on face-to-face interactions and used a group of student participants and another group of volunteers from the community around the University of Virginia. The community members averaged one lie per day, while the students averaged two lies per day. This result became the benchmark finding in the field of honesty research and helped lead to an assumption among many researchers that lying is commonplace.

But averages do not describe individuals. It could be that each person in the group tells one or two lies per day. But it’s also possible that there are some people who lie voraciously and others who lie very rarely.

In an influential 2010 study, this second scenario is indeed what Michigan State University communication researcher Kim Serota and his colleagues found. Out of 1,000 American participants, 59.9 percentclaimed not to have told a single lie in the past 24 hours. Of those who admitted they did lie, most said they’d told very few lies. Participants reported 1,646 lies in total, but half of them came from just 5.3 percent of the participants.

This general pattern in the data has been replicated several times. Lying tends to be rare, except in the case of a small group of frequent liars.

DOES THE MEDIUM MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Might lying become more frequent under various conditions? What if you don’t just consider face-to-face interactions, but introduce

some distance by communicating via text, email or the phone?

Research suggests the medium doesn’t matter much. For instance, a 2014 study by Northwestern University communication researcher Madeline Smith and her colleagues found that when participants were asked to look at their 30 most recent text messages, 23 percent said there were no deceptive texts. For the rest of the group, the vast majority said that 10 percent or fewer of their texts contained lies.

Recent research by David Markowitz at the University of Oregon successfully replicated earlier findings that had compared the rates of lying using different technologies. Are lies more common on text, the phone or on email? Based on survey data from 205 participants, Markowitz found that on average, people told 1.08 lies per day, but once again with the distribution of lies skewed by some frequent liars.

Not only were the percentages fairly low, but the differences between the frequency with which lies were told via different media were not large. Still, it might be surprising to find that, say, lying on video chat was more common than lying face-to-face, with lying on email being least likely.

A couple of factors could be playing a role. Recordability seems to rein in the lies – perhaps knowing that the communication leaves a record raises worries about detection and makes lying less appealing. Synchronicity seems to matter too.

Many lies occur in the heat of the moment, so it makes sense that when there’s a delay in communication, as with email, lying would decrease.

DOES THE AUDIENCE CHANGE THINGS? In addition to the medium, does the intended receiver of a potential lie make any difference?

Initially you might think that people are more inclined to lie to strangers than to friends and family, given the impersonality of the interaction in the one case and the bonds of care and concern in the other.

But matters are a bit more complicated.

In her classic work, DePaulo found that people tend to tell what she called “everyday lies” more often to strangers than family members. To use her examples, these are smaller lies like “told her (that) her muffins were the best ever” and “exaggerated how sorry I was to be late”. For instance, DePaulo and her colleague Deborah Kashy reported that participants in one of their studies lied less than once per 10 social interactions with spouses and children.

However, when it came to serious lies about things like affairs or injuries, for instance, the pattern flipped. Now, 53 percent of serious lies were to close partners in the study’s community participants, and the proportion jumped up to 72.7 percent among student volunteers. Perhaps not surprisingly, in these situations people might value not damaging their relationships more than they value the truth. Other data also finds participants tell more lies to friends and family members than to strangers.

INVESTIGATING THE TRUTH ABOUT LIES It is worth emphasising that these are all initial findings. Further replication is needed, and cross-cultural studies using non-Western participants are scarce.

Additionally, there are many other variables that could be examined, such as age, gender, religion and political affiliation.

When it comes to honesty, though, I find the

PHOTO: JAMETLENE RESKP results, in general, promising. Lying seems to happen rarely for many people, even toward strangers and

even via social media and texting. Where people need to be especially discerning, though, is in identifying

– and avoiding – the small number of rampant liars out there. If you’re one of them yourself, maybe you

never realised that you’re actually in a small minority.

UÊ"À } > ÞÊ«ÕL Ã i`Ê Ê www.theconversation.com

PAGE 14, Thursday, November 2, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Opposition mounts in Arab countries that normalised relations with Israel

PROTESTERS shout anti-Israel slogans during a rally to show solidarity with the people of Gaza after Friday prayers at Azhar mosque, the Sunni Muslim world’s premier Islamic institution, in Cairo, Egypt on Friday. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel’s war with Hamas.

Photo: Amr Nabil/AP MOROCCO Associated Press ARAB nations that have normalized or are considering improving relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel’s war with Hamas.

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Rabat and other Moroccan cities in support of the Palestinians. In Bahrain — a country that almost never allows protest — police stood by as hundreds of people marched last month, waving flags and gathering in front of the Israeli Embassy in Manama.

The demonstrations, which mirror protests across the Middle East, present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years.

In Egypt, which has had ties with Israel for decades, protesters rallied in cities and at universities, at times chanting “Death to Israel.”

A parliamentary committee in Tunisia last week advanced a draft law that would criminalise normalization with Israel.

In Morocco and Bahrain, the public anger has an additional dimension; activists are demanding the reversal of agreements that formalize ties with Israel, underscoring discord between the governments and public opinion.

The US-brokered Abraham Accords, aimed at winning broader recognition of Israel in the Arab world, paved the way for trade deals and military cooperation with Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates starting in 2020.

Their autocratic rulers — as well as American and Israeli officials — continue to frame the deals as a step toward a “ new Middle East “ in which closer ties could foster peace and prosperity.

The accords marked a major diplomatic victory for Morocco because they led the US — and eventually Israel — to recognize its autonomy over the disputed Western Sahara. Morocco’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to questions about the agreement or protests.

The accords also led Washington to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, presenting a lifeline for the ruling military junta fighting a pro-democracy movement and spiralling inflation.

Large protests against the Israel-Hamas war have not erupted in Sudan or the United Arab Emirates.

A highly sought-after agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia has become less likely due to the war and regionwide protests, Steven Cook, a senior fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told The Associated Press in October.

“I think this dynamic of normalization will likely slow down or come to a halt, at least for a period of time,” Cook said.

Opponents of normalization say the protests make clear the governmental wins that resulted from the accords did little to move public opinion.

“Hamas isn’t terrorists. It’s resistance to colonization.

Imagine someone enters your house. How would you behave? Smile or make them leave by force?” said Abouchitae Moussaif, the national secretary of Morocco’s Al Adl Wal Ihsane, a banned but tolerated Islamist association that has long supported the Palestinian cause.

The group, which rejects King Mohammed VI’s dual authority as head of state and religion, organizes throughout Morocco, where undermining the monarchy is illegal.

Morocco has not always been so lenient with opponents of normalization.

Before the war, authorities broke up protests and sitins outside Parliament and a judge in Casablanca sentenced a man to five years in prison for undermining the monarchy because he criticized normalization.

Now, law enforcement personnel mostly stand aside as the large daily protests take place.

“Normalization is a project of the state, not the people,” Moussaif said. “The protests touched on a project of the government, more specifically a project of the King.”

Zakaria Aboudahab, a professor of International Relations at Universite Mohammed V in Rabat, said the protests likely won’t lead to Morocco overturning normalization but that allowing them works as a “safety valve” to temper public outrage.

“The Moroccan state knows very well that when popular anger reaches such proportions and people express injustice and so on, it has to listen to the people,” he said.

Bahrain had banned protests since the 2011 uprisings, when thousands poured into the streets emboldened by pro-democracy protests in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. But in recent weeks, demonstrations have been allowed again.

“Now people are taking some risks to be in the street and participate,” said Jawad Fairooz, a former leader of Bahrain’s outlawed Al Wefaq Party who lives in exile in London.

“Governments want to give some relief to people’s anger by allowing them to get together.”

As the war intensified, Arab leaders moved from condemning violence and calling for peace to more pointed criticism of Israel’s attacks in Gaza.

The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry initially called Hamas’ Oct. 7 raid in southern Israel a “serious and grave escalation,” and its finance minister told reporters the country does not mix trade with politics. After Israel struck Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp on Tuesday, the UAE warned that “indiscriminate attacks will result in irreparable ramifications in the region.”

Morocco’s Foreign Ministry initially said it “condemns attacks against civilians wherever they may be.” But it later blamed Israel for the escalation of violence — including an explosion at a hospital in Gaza City — and highlighted its humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza.

In a statement last week, Morocco called its delivery of food, medical supplies and water part of the king’s commitment to the Palestinian cause.

SPORTS PAGE 15

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2023

NBA, Page 18

Top sailor Spencer making some waves

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

T

op sailor Spencer Cartwright has made a name for himself on the waters and will now look to make his mark as an assistant coach for the Brown University sailing team.

The four-time Bahamas National Optimist champion was immersed in the national sport since his start at the Bahamas Sailing Association summer camp programme at 8-years-old.

After experiencing success at multiple international regional and world championships, Cartwright is ready to serve in his new role as the Davis Emma assistant coach chair for co-ed and women’s sailing for 2023-24.

“It’s an honour to be brought on board to one of the most prestigious programmes in all of college sailing. It is rewarding to see all the hard work and dedication that I put into the sport come full circle and open doors for me in other aspects of my life,” he said.

The transition to coaching was a relatively easy one for the decorated Roger Williams University graduate.

While attending the private university, Cartwright served as the captain of their sailing team for three years, displaying his leadership ability.

Upon culminating his pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in engineering along with a mathematics minor, he achieved the 2022 College Sailing All American Open Skipper and 2022 All-New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) First Team Skipper honours.

He was fuelled by the freedom and independence felt on the boat in the open water and will use his

Cartwright joins coaching staff at Brown University passion to pass his knowledge and skills onto others.

“I am hoping my input can help the team continue to perform at the highest level of college sailing.

The team finished on the podium at three out of the seven national championships across the different sailing disciplines last year.

“I am looking forward to building on that great showing and walking away with a national championship win this year,” the newest assistant coach said.

Cartwright credited his journey in sailing for the understanding he has developed over the years from the sailor and captain perspectives.

Despite all of his accomplishments overseas, he has been equally impressive at home. With four junior national championships in the Optimist Dinghy Class, he has won more than any sailor at that level.

Additionally, he was ranked top in the Laser, Snipe, Sunfish and Optimist classes. He also represented The Bahamas at the Laser Junior World Championships, Optimist World Championships, World Sailing Youth Championships, and Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games.

After representing the country at numerous competitions, the top sailor is determined to thrive in his new role.

“At this point I have developed a keen understanding of not just the sport itself but the steps it takes to be a successful sailor. Recently, the sailing community back home has really kicked off thanks to the increased support when it became a national sport but it was quite small

TOP sailor Spencer Cartwright has joined the Brown University sailing team as the Davis Emma assistant coach chair in 2023-24. when I started out. In order to compete internationally I had to be more regimented, structured and efficient with my time on the water,” he said.

Despite the initial setbacks, Cartwright is grateful for his journey in the newly-named national sport and will utilise that experience to lead the Brown University sailing team in the right direction.

“It is always an honour to represent my country internationally, whether I am competing or coaching. I take pride in how my

upbringing in The Bahamas has shaped who I am as an athlete and person and will do my best to let that shine wherever I am on the water,” he added.

Mingoes soccer prevails with first perfect tour in UB history MIRAMAR, Florida — The University of The Bahamas men’s soccer team completed its twomatch tour in South Florida undefeated after beating United International College 3-1 Saturday at The Miramar Regional Park. It was the first time a Mingoe team completed a tour with only wins.

Midfielder Ronaldo Green turned in another hat trick for The Mingoes his second in international play - to give the team the 3-1 win.

Grand Pierre scored two goals - his first two as a Mingoe - to lead The Mingoes to the 8-2 win over Fort Lauderdale University Thursday at Lauderhill Park in the largest win for a Mingoes soccer team.

The match against The UIC Eagle Rays started bumpy with lots of contact between players. However, Green was able to break free from a tackle to connect for the first goal in the 19th minute.

The Eagle Rays’ defence turned on the pressure after that goal and that

turned in a few offensive opportunities for The Eagle Rays. The Eagle Rays connected in the 39th minute to tie the match at 1.

The teams would carry that tie into halftime when The Mingoes made several adjustments.

The Eagle Rays were a bit more aggressive in the middle third coming out of the half, but Green was able to receive a short pass from Stanley Grand Pierre in the 51st minute to connect for a second goal to put The Mingoes up 2-1.

Green was not done at that point. Eight minutes later, he scored off a chip shot in the 59th minute to give The Mingoes the commanding 3-1 lead.

The Mingoes defence would hold on to pick up the second win of the tour and become the first team in UB history to finish an international tour with only notches in the win column. Three weeks ago, The Mingoes finished the tour with a tie and a win.

Head coach Alex Thompson said the team is

Cartwright joins many other Bahamians transitioning from partaking in sports to serving as coaches either here or across the world.

By DAVID BRANDT AP Baseball Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi pitched six gutsy innings, Mitch Garver broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh and the Texas Rangers are World Series champions for the first time in their 63-year franchise history after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5 last night.

Marcus Semien homered late and the Rangers, held hitless for six innings by Zac Gallen, finished a record 11-0 on the road this postseason by capping the Fall Classic with three straight wins in the desert.

One night after Texas took a 10-run lead by the third in a Game 4 snoozer, it finished the Series by outlasting the Diamondbacks in a white-knuckle pitchers’ duel through eight innings, piling on four runs in the ninth for good measure.

Gallen took a no-hitter into the seventh before giving up an opposite-field single to Corey Seager, whose weak grounder found a hole.

Rangers rookie Evan Carter — all of 21 years old — followed with a double into the right-centre gap.

Garver then delivered the first run, pumping his fist as a hard-hit grounder got through the middle of the infield to score Seager and make it 1-0.

Garver was 1 for 17 at the plate in the World Series before his huge hit.

The Rangers tacked on four more runs in the ninth to break open the game.

Semien’s two-run homer off Paul Sewald made it 5-0.

The outburst was typical of the Texas offence, which scored at least three runs in an inning 13 times this postseason.

Eovaldi pitched out of trouble all night before Aroldis Chapman and Josh Sborz finished it.

It’s the first title for the Rangers, whose history dates back to 1961 when

SEE PAGE 18

NO VACATION FOR AMERICAN TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES COMPETING AT PAN AMERICAN GAMES

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer

UB midfielder Ronaldo Green, left, moves the ball against United International College midfielder Felipe Sette Ribeiro on October 28.

Photo: UB ATHLETICS clearly growing with each and again Nathan Wells match and is looking for- was very solid for us today. ward to big things from the “This shows that teams squad. from The Bahamas can “They executed what we definitely compete interworked on in training and nationally with the right they tried to take a very structure and with the professional approach too correct organisation. We so I couldn’t be happier,” can not only compete he said. but we can definitely be “A few players stepped successful.” up today like Ronaldo The team now waits for Green with the hat trick, The Bahamas Football Peter Julmis and Evelt Association season to start Julmis played very strong later this month.

TEXAS RANGERS WIN FIRST WORLD SERIES

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Most of the top track and field athletes in the world are taking a much deserved vacation since September.

With the Pan American Games running so late in the sport’s calendar, opportunities came for other competitors who are enjoying their time in Chile as they win some medals to take back home.

Tuesday marked the second day of the programme, with two thirds of the National Stadium filled with fans who didn’t seem to know much about the competitors, but were still excited to come with their Halloween costumes and loudly cheer for the locals as the Andes mountains overlooked. The 27-yearold Kasey Knevelbaard is the unofficial winner of the 5,000-metre race — a Mexican runner is protesting after he finished first and was later disqualified.

Knevelbaard found out he would be racing in Santiago in the middle of September after a very long season.

“It’s challenging, but I don’t want to be someone who’s afraid of not doing anything. You don’t want to miss out on opportunities,” Knevelbaard told The Associated Press.

“I had a conversation with my coach. I said I really wanted to do this.

He said we were not going to prepare for it, so I was going to have to do it off our normal training.”

The athlete from California clocked 14 minutes, 47.69 seconds in the cold Santiago weather, almost two minutes longer than the American record set by Grant Fisher last September in Brussels.

“A lot of people are in the same boat, like we’re all kind of just testing to see what we can do. I’m grateful that we all got

SEE PAGE 18

PAGE 16, Thursday, November 2, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

NEW PROVIDENCE SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION

Black Scorpions knock off I-BAP 7-5

THE BLACK Scorpions knocked off the I-BAP 7-5 in New Providence Softball Association regular season action on Saturday night. League play will continue with the following games starting at 8:30pm tonight with Chances Mighty Mitts vs Cyber Tech Blue Marlins and at 7pm on Saturday with University of the Bahamas Lady Mingoes vs I-BAP.

Photos by Dante Carrer

PLAY ACTION: The New Providence Softball Association continued its abbreviated regular season action in the Bankers Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex with just one game played on Saturday night. The Black Scorpions knocked off the I-BAP 7-5 as Vashawna Bastian went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Thela Johnson was 2-for-3 with two runs scored as well and Maria Forbes helped out with a 1-for-2 outing. In a losing effort, Breshae Stubbs was a perfect 2-for-2, Sophia Cartwright was 2-for-3 with a run batted in (RBI) and a run scored and Ashanti Evans was 1-for-2 with a pair of runs scored.

Laurel Hanchell picked up the win on the mound as she out-duelled Grace Chea. In her seven innings of work, Hanchell tossed a six-hitter with a walk. Chea surrendered seven hits with six strikeouts, a walk (base on balls) and five runs scored. Both Hanchell and Chea struck out six batters.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 2, 2023, PAGE 17

Pro Picks: Steelers at home will be too tough for Will Levis, Titans

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer WILL Levis has a quick turnaround to follow up an impressive debut.

The Tennessee Titans’ rookie quarterback makes his second start tonight on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He won’t have to face injured All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, but he can expect to see plenty of T.J. Watt. Levis revived Tennessee’s passing attack, showing off his big arm with four touchdown passes in a win over Atlanta.

The Titans (3-4) don’t have to put all the pressure on Levis and DeAndre Hopkins because they still have star running back Derrick Henry, who wasn’t moved at the trade deadline.

Kenny Pickett plans to start for the Steelers (4-3) despite finishing a loss to Jacksonville on the sideline with a rib injury.

The Steelers are 2 1/2point favourites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Pro Picks leans toward the home team.

STEELERS, 20-16 MIAMI vs. KANSAS CITY, in Germany Line: Chiefs minus 1 1/2 A potential preview of the AFC championship game featuring two of the league’s most prolific offences and quarterbacks.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (6-2) look to get back on track after their six-game winning streak ended in Denver last week.

The Dolphins (6-2) have the league’s highest-scoring offence and are No. 1 in rushing and passing.

Kansas City’s No. 4 ranked defence gives the Chiefs a slight edge.

BEST BET: CHIEFS, 31-23 TAMPA BAY at HOUSTON Line: Texans minus 3 Despite a three-game losing streak, the Buccaneers (3-4) are in the mix in a mediocre division. Baker Mayfield and the offence have struggled but the defence has 13 takeaways.

The Texans (3-4) are going the opposite direction, having won three of four after an 0-2 start. Rookie QB C.J. Stroud is coming off his least productive game as a pro.

UPSET SPECIAL: BUCCANEERS, 20-19 LOS ANGELES RAMS at GREEN BAY Line: Packers minus 3 The Packers (2-5) have played sloppy football during a four-game losing streak and slow starts have hurt them. The Rams (3-5) could be without QB Matthew Stafford because of a thumb injury.

PACKERS, 24-17

TENNESSEE Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) celebrates with Tennessee Titans offensive tackles Nicholas Petit-Frere (78) and Daniel Brunskill (60) after throwing a touchdown pass against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half on Sunday, October 29.

(AP Photo/George Walker IV) WASHINGTON at NEW ENGLAND Line: Patriots minus 3 1/3 The Commanders (3-5) pushed Philadelphia to the limit and then traded their two top pass rushers. QB Mac Jones and the Patriots (2-6) will benefit most from Washington’s fire sale this week.

PATRIOTS, 23-22 CHICAGO at NEW ORLEANS Line: Saints minus 7 1/2 Derek Carr and the Saints (4-4) seem to be coming around on offence.

Their defence is already among the best in the league. Maybe Montez Sweat can bolster Chicago’s defence. The Bears (2-6) won’t have QB Justin Fields for a third straight game.

SAINTS, 27-13 MINNESOTA at ATLANTA Line: Falcons minus 4 1/2 No Kirk Cousins for the first time and no Justin Jefferson for the fourth straight game for the Vikings (4-4). Rookie QB Jaren Hall gets the start for Minnesota, which has won three in a row. The Falcons (4-4) are turning to Taylor Heinicke over Desmond Ridder.

FALCONS, 23-20 ARIZONA at CLEVELAND Line: Browns minus 7 1/2 Too many questions at quarterback for both teams. Deshaun Watson or P.J. Walker for the Browns (4-3). Rookie Clayton Tune or Kyler Murray for the Cardinals (1-7). Arizona has no reason to rush Murray back to the lineup.

BROWNS, 26-12 SEATTLE at BALTIMORE Line: Ravens minus 5 1/2

The first-place Seahawks (5-2) don’t seem to be getting much respect from oddsmakers. The Ravens (6-2) have won three in a row and kick off a three-game homestand.

Baltimore’s formula for success is consistent. They have the league’s No. 2 defence and No. 3 rushing offence.

RAVENS, 22-20 INDIANAPOLIS at CAROLINA Line: Colts minus 2 1/2 Colts QB Gardner Minshew has been a turnover machine during a threegame losing streak yet Indianapolis is a road favourite against a team that finally earned its first win of the season.

The Panthers (1-6) are sure going to want to win one for coach Frank Reich, who was fired last season by the Colts.

PANTHERS, 23-19

DALLAS at PHILADELPHIA Line: Eagles minus 3 The Cowboys (5-2) have to go through the Eagles (7-1) to get where they want to go. Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown have carried Philadelphia’s offence lately. Micah Parsons and Dallas’ defence present a difficult challenge. The Eagles should be up for it.

EAGLES, 30-26 NEW YORK GIANTS at LAS VEGAS RAIDERS Line: Raiders minus 1 1/2 The Raiders (3-5) are in disarray after firing coach Josh McDaniels.

The Giants (2-6) have plenty of issues of their own.

RAIDERS, 17-13 BUFFALO at CINCINNATI Line: Bengals minus 1 1/2 Joe Burrow and the Bengals (4-3) have hit their

stride after a poor start.

The inconsistent Bills (5-3) look to avenge a playoff loss in the divisional round.

It’ll be an emotional return for Damar Hamlin and his teammates.

BENGALS, 27-24 LOS ANGELES CHARGERS at NEW YORK JETS Line: Chargers minus 3 The Chargers (3-4) and Jets (4-3) could be fighting for the AFC’s last wild-card spot so the winner gets an edge. Justin Herbert has a tough task throwing against Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed and New York’s fifth-ranked pass defence.

Jets QB Zach Wilson made a couple of big-time plays in the clutch last week.

JETS, 19-18 UÊ *À Ê * V ÃÊ ÃÊ >Ê Üii ÞÊ column where AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi shares his picks for upcoming games.

PARIS MASTERS: DJOKOVIC OPENS UP WITH WIN PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic demonstrated his desire to finish the season as the No. 1 men’s player for a record eighth time by beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Paris Masters yesterday.

Djokovic was competing in his first singles match since mid-September when he played for Serbia in the group stage of the Davis Cup. “At the beginning of the match, it was a bit difficult for me to find the rhythm,” the top-seeded Djokovic said on court, “but at the end of the second set, it was really good.”

Djokovic won five straight games to take the opening set with an ace and lead 2-0 in the second set.

The Serbian player only faced one break point that he saved with a forehand cross-court winner at 1-0 in the second set.

A six-time champion at the Paris Masters, Djokovic increased his lead to 5-1 before converting his third match point when Etcheverry netted a backhand.

Djokovic can widen the gap with No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the race for the year-end top spot after the Spaniard lost to qualifier Roman Safiullin on Tuesday.

Alcaraz is the only player who can overtake Djokovic after Daniil Medvedev dropped out of contention after he was beaten by Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2) earlier yesterday.

Djokovic had racked up 500 more points than Alcaraz this season before the Paris Masters.

Djokovic won’t be able to clinch the year-end No. 1 spot in Paris since Alcaraz still gets 10 points for his second-round defeat.

There are 1,000 points for the Paris Masters winner and 1,500 points for a perfect run at the ATP Finals.

Djokovic holds the men’s record with seven year-end No. 1 finishes, one more than Pete Sampras. Women’s tennis great Steffi Graf holds the record with eight.

“Of course, my greatest motivation is still love for the game. I really like competing. So, as simple as that,” Djokovic had told a news conference on Saturday. “And then, you know, I always have goals, you know, and to win another slam, to be No. 1 again, to finish the year as No. 1.

Those are let’s say the big goals.”

Medvedev was booed off the court after remonstrating with the crowd during the match. The crowd got under Medvedev’s skin in the 11th game of the second set, jeering him as he was about to serve after he had thrown his racket.

The third-ranked Russian went back to his chair and complained to the referee before talking directly to the spectators in French.

Tyreek Hill voted the No. 1 wide receiver in AP’s NFL Top 5 rankings

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer TYREEK Hill hasn’t looked back since leaving Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s still leaving cornerbacks in the dust in Miami.

The four-time All-Pro was voted No. 1 wide receiver at the midpoint of the season by The Associated Press.

A panel of nine AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at wide receiver, making their selections based on current status through Week 8. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Hill, who finished third behind Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams in the preseason poll, received six first-place votes. Jefferson

got two first-place votes and Cooper Kupp got one.

Twelve receivers got votes, including rookie Puka Nacua, D.J. Moore, Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, Brandon Aiyuk, Mike Evans and Adams.

Hill has 1,014 yards receiving yards this season, becoming the first player in 62 years and fourth player in NFL history with more than 1,000 yards in his team’s first eight games.

Hill’s 2,724 yards receiving since joining the Dolphins last season are the most by any player in his first 25 games with a team.

1.

TYREEK HILL, Miami Dolphins: After posting career highs in receptions (119) and yards receiving (1,710) in his first season with Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins, Hill has 61 catches for 1,014 yards with eight TDs in only eight games.

MIAMI Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) heads out onto the field during player introductions before the start of an NFL football game between the Dolphins and the New England Patriots on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) He’s now had six 1,000yard receiving seasons in eight years, including four in a row.

2. JUSTIN JEFFERSON, Minnesota Vikings: Jefferson, the youngest

player in NFL history to lead the league in yards and receptions last season, has missed the past three games with a hamstring injury.

Still, he received two first-place votes. He has 36

catches for 571 yards and three TDs in five games.

3. A.J. BROWN, Philadelphia Eagles: Brown breaks into the top five after not making the preseason poll. He has 60 catches and

is second to Hill with 939 yards with five TDs. Brown is the first player in NFL history with at least 125 yards receiving in six consecutive games.

Brown got four secondplace votes and was only selected on five of nine ballots.

4. STEFON DIGGS, Buffalo Bills: Diggs also breaks into the top five after not making the preseason poll. Diggs leads the NFL with 64 receptions and has 748 yards receiving and six TDs. He received two second-place votes.

5. COOPER KUPP, Los Angeles Rams: The 2021 AP Offensive Player of the Year missed the first four games with a hamstring injury but earned the fifth spot by receiving one first-place vote. He has 21 catches for 316 yards and one TD in four games since returning.

PAGE 18, Thursday, November 2, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Women’s national soccer team in scoreless draw with USVI

NEWCASTLE ENDS MAN UNITED’S DEFENCE OF LEAGUE CUP WITH 3-0 WIN

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer

ALL TIED UP: The Bahamas women’s national team finished in a 0-0 draw with the US Virgin Islands in an away game at the Bethlehem Soccer Complex over the weekend. Both teams remain winless in League C, Group C of the CONCACAF Women’s Road to Gold Cup standings but have earned one point apiece after their last matchup. The rematch will be played on home turf November 29.

NO VACATION FOR US TRACK, FIELD ATHLETES COMPETING AT PAN AM GAMES

AYTON POSTS DOUBLE DOUBLE WITH 5 STEALS IN TRAIL BLAZERS’ COMEBACK VICTORY OVER PISTONS

FROM PAGE 15

By DAVE HOGG Associated Press

the opportunity to do that,” he said. The athlete frequently trains in the mountains in Flagstaff, Arizona, and he will soon go back to training.

“No, no vacations,” Knevelbaard said. “I’m gonna do about a month of training and I think I’ll run an indoor 5-kilometres in about a month. I hope I go after a fast time. And if not, you know, just get a really good block of training is the goal.”

Ryan Talbot, the decathlon Pan American bronze medallist, is not resting much either. Asked how he felt competing so late in the season, the 23-year-old said: “It’s crazy. Not a lot of people are wanting to do it. So it gives a good chance for a lot of people who are coming up in the sport to experience a big stage like this, especially in track and field and especially for the decathlon.”

Talbot, whose hometown is Alto, Michigan, also found out only a few months ago that he was coming to Chile. “Everybody here, they are warriors. This is so hard, but I enjoyed it all the whole time,” Talbot said.

So is a vacation next?

“We will rest a little, but then start training again for college. The indoor season begins soon,” Talbot said.

DETROIT (AP) — Shaedon Sharpe scored 26 of his 29 points in the second half and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 110-101 last night.

Deandre Ayton had 16 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, one assist and a block in his first game against Pistons coach Monty Williams since they both left the Phoenix Suns.

Sharpe was forced to pick up his offensive game with Scoot Henderson missing the second half because of sprained right ankle.

“They beat up on us in the first half, and I challenged my guys at halftime,” Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “We turned it around and Shaedon was incredible. He had to carry us and he did it.”

Former Piston Jeremi Grant added 24 points for the Trail Blazers.

Cade Cunningham had 30 points for Detroit, but missed 16 of 27 shots and turned the ball over six times. Detroit had 10 turnovers in the second half, including five from Cunningham. “The turnovers are starting to get

TRAIL Blazers centre Deandre Ayton, right, defends Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, left, in the second half in Detroit last night.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya) concerning because of the points in the quarter as the Cunningham missed a timeliness,” Williams said. Trail Blazers shot 68.2%. layup that would have cut “I might be playing guys “He had a really good it to 104-103 with 1:23 to too many minutes because second half, and I got play, and Camara grabbed they looked tired.” too relaxed on defence an offensive rebound, The Pistons shot 37.8% a couple times,” Pistons drew a foul and made in a 42-point second half. rookie Ausar Thompson both free throws.

“Cade really hurt us in said.

After Joe Harris’ miss, the first three quarters, “I’ve got to be better Malcolm Brogdon put it but Toumani (Camara) than that, because I know away with a short jumper. came in and was able to what he’s capable of Detroit led by 18 in the match up with physically,” doing.” second quarter before setBillups said.

Cunningham had five ting for a 59-47 halftime “He stayed with him points in the first two min- lead. step by step and made him utes of the fourth. but the Billups said after the work for everything.”

Trail Blazers took a 94-93 game that he didn’t know Portland trailed by 12 lead on Grant’s 3-pointer the severity of Henderat halftime, but outscored with 6:51 to play. Portland son’s ankle injury. the Pistons 36-25 to pull moved the margin to four Pistons guard Alec to 84-83 at the end of on Sharpe’s free throws Burks missed the game the third. Sharpe had 15 with 2:43 left. with left forearm soreness.

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United’s season descended deeper into crisis yesterday after a 3-0 home loss against Newcastle ended its defence of the League Cup and heaped more pressure on manager Erik ten Hag. Defeat in the round-of-16 game was United’s eighth loss in all competitions this season and the latest blow for English soccer’s most storied club.

“It is below the standards everyone expects from Manchester United. It is not good enough by far,” Ten Hag said.

“We have to put it right. I take responsibility for it. It is my team and they are not performing. I have to share it with my players, but I am responsible.”

It is 10 years since United was last competing for club soccer’s biggest prizes when it won the Premier League title in former manager Alex Ferguson’s final season. The wait to return to its former glories looks as far away now as at any point since then, with its current form pointing toward another season of disappointment.

The League Cup may not be a priority for a club of United’s stature, but it provided Ten Hag’s finest moment in the job when in February he led the team to the trophy by beating Newcastle at Wembley Stadium and ended its six-year wait for silverware. That is a distant memory as United’s season continues to slide.

United suffered a 3-0 loss at home to Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, and Saudi-backed Newcastle’s repeat of that scoreline raises further questions for Ten Hag. The Dutch coach, who won three league titles with Ajax, was mocked by Newcastle’s fans throughout the game as they chanted that he would be fired in the morning. While there has been no suggestion Ten Hag’s position is under threat, United’s poor form is of growing concern.

After the game he described himself as “a fighter,” adding he was confident he would overcome a troubled start to the campaign.

“At all my clubs I have done it and also last year here I did it as well, but at this moment we are in a bad place,” he said. “I see it as a challenge.”

Newcastle was too much of a challenge yesterday as first-half goals from substitute Miguel Almiron and Lewis Hall put the visitors in control by the break and Joe Willock completed the scoring after an hour.

RANGERS WIN FIRST WORLD SERIES TITLE WITH 5-0 WIN OVER D-DBACKS IN GAME 5 FROM PAGE 15 they were the expansion Washington Senators.

They moved to Texas for the 1972 season and came agonisingly close to a World Series championship in 2011, needing just one strike on two occasions before eventually falling to the St Louis Cardinals.

Now, after five stadiums, roughly two dozen managers and 10,033 games, the Rangers are champions.

It wasn’t easy. Texas led the AL West for a big chunk of the season, but coughed up the division title on the final day of the regular season to rival Houston. The Rangers also weathered injuries to key pieces, particularly ace pitcher Jacob deGrom.

That loss in the regularseason finale at Seattle left the Rangers with the No. 5 seed in the AL playoffs and it sent them across the country to open the playoffs at Tampa Bay, part of

TEXAS Rangers celebrate after winning Game 5 of the baseball World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks last night in Phoenix.

The Rangers won 5-0 to win the series 4-1.

(AP Photo/Ross D Franklin) two-week trip that took them to four cities — two on each coast.

Then Texas got its revenge against Houston, winning a hard-fought series in seven games that

brought them to the World Series.

Finally, the Rangers had to get past the Diamondbacks, who won just 84 games during the regular season but beat the

Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies in a remarkable postseason run that finally fizzled. Gallen was one of the best pitchers in the majors this season, starting for the National League in

the All-Star game. But the 28-year-old hadn’t been as sharp in the playoffs, with a 2-2 record and 5.27 ERA over five starts. That changed yesterday. The bespectacled righty was

at his best, mowing down the first 14 hitters he faced before walking Nathaniel Lowe. He got some help from his defence in the fourth — shortstop Geraldo Perdomo made a nice grab on a hard-hit grounder from Marcus Semien, and Christian Walker was there to snag the one-hop throw to first.

In the fifth, Lourdes Gurriel Jr tracked down Josh Jung’s shot into the leftcentre gap, catching it a few steps in front of the 413foot sign.

Eovaldi wasn’t quite as sharp, but still matched Gallen’s zeros on the scoreboard despite walking five, which was his most in an outing since 2013.

The D-backs had some juicy opportunities to score in the first five innings, but couldn’t convert, going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Eovaldi made it through six, giving up four hits and striking out five over 97 pitches.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, November 2, 2023, PAGE 19

ERIC BAIN TO REPRESENT THE BAHAMAS AT FIRST EVER PAN AM ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIPS

ERIC Bain is expected to represent The Bahamas today at the inaugural Pan American Esports Championships.

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN Eric Bain will represent The Bahamas today at the inaugural Pan American Esports Championships in Santiago, Chile.

Bain is set to compete this morning in eFootball as the group stages of the tournament’s debut begins.

The collaboration between the Global Esports Federation and Pan Am Sports is historic as nontraditional sports continue to garner more popularity and support globally.

The competition begins today for contestants vying for the eFootball 2024 and Dota 2 Esports titles and is slated to continue until November 4 at the National Stadium Sports Park.

Bain, who will be the first Bahamian to compete at this event, is ready for the experience at this level.

“It is an exciting experience to be able to be the first Bahamian to compete at this specific level of Esports, it is very exciting to know that all the years of playing games has paid off and Esports is becoming dominant due to more technology so it is great to see how it has grown in the last five years,” he said.

Although he was unaware of his opponent up to press time last night, the 26-year-old will compete in the group with top ranked teams from Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia.

The gamer started his journey playing FIFA and then made the transition to eFootball a few months ago. Most recently, he competed alongside Derdrick Ferguson, who played Street Fighter 6, at the Global Esports Games Online Regionals earlier in October. The eFootball gamer had a rough showing

MAKING A DEBUT: Eric Bain at the first ever Pan Am Esports Championships in Santiago, Chile. at the competition and was unable to collect a win in Group A, Americas in four matches played.

Despite his previous shortcomings, Bain is focused on a bigger goal at the Pan Am Esports Championships.

“Although I started with the mindset of winning, I want to continue to bring awareness about Esports to Bahamians, showing them the opportunities that exist, and to open doors for other Bahamians to experience these opportunities,” he said.

The eFootball experience involves a football simulation which aims for realistic and authentic gameplay. The game is available to be played on mobile, PC and console devices.

The 2023 Pan American Esports Championships is set to host more than 120 esports athletes from 25 plus countries competing in the open and women’s categories.

The gaming extravaganza began with a GEFestival on October 21 which celebrated the entire culture and community of Esports.

The championships will run along with the 19th Pan American Games which wrap up on November 5.

Your Next Career Move

FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRM IS HIRING! Position:

MLRO|RISK AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER

Position Summary:

The MLRO/Risk and Compliance Officer will be the person responsible in the daily management of the Compliance department and maintenance of the Company’s compliance and AML program.

Responsibilities:

All regulatory filings and reporting Review, investigation and onboarding of new customers and accounts Participate in the ongoing review of existing clients to ensure adherence to AML/CFT and regulatory requirements Ensure compliance with relevant guidelines and regulations issued by The Securities Commission of The Bahamas, Central Bank of The Bahamas, Compliance Commission of The Bahamas, and other applicable government bodies Collaborate with projects and other ad-hoc work as assigned by the CEO and Board of Directors Assist with the development, implementation and enhancement of Risk and Compliance policies and procedures Assist with monitoring and testing activities to ensure adherence to group policies and procedures Encourage and promote a compliance-oriented culture within the organization Report to Boards of Directors

Qualifications

Degree in Accounting, Business, Finance or Law Professional Designation in Compliance (e.g., ICA, CAMS, CIRM certification) 4+ years of relevant compliance experience in a financial institution or regulated entity Excellent understanding of KYC and customer due diligence requirements, as well as risks and internal controls relevant to a financial institution Working knowledge of CRS, FATCA and CESRA regulations and requirements Strong verbal and written communication skills Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Ability to think critically, with an analytical mindset and a keen attention to detail Excellent organizational and follow-up skills

Send your resume to bahamasmlro@gmail.com by November 17, 2023.