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VOLUME:116 No.265, DECEMBER 12TH, 2018
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‘Stop giving us the runaround’
Nurses allege deliberate bid to delay strike By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Nurses Union president Amancha Williams yesterday slammed labour officials for what she called a deliberate delay to certify her union’s strike vote, claiming officials were pandering to the public for support instead of doing the “right thing”. In a strong rebuke of the Department of Labour’s
actions over the past week, Ms Williams said officials were intentionally working to “keep us from getting our vote”, hitting out at claims made by Labour Director John Pinder over what grievances were filed with department. On Sunday, Mr Pinder asserted the BNU only sought to prevent the implementation of the Public Hospital Authority’s proposed new shift system.
DESPITE announcing in June that the Minnis administration would have a renegotiated Oban Energies deal in a matter of weeks, Labour Minister Dion Foulkes said yesterday the government is still looking to pin down a firm date to rework the Heads of Agreement. Speaking with reporters before Cabinet’s weekly
SEE PAGE THREE
MOST shanty town dwellers in unregulated communities across Abaco have legal status permitting them to reside in the country, according to Labour Minister Dion Foulkes, who yesterday revealed an estimated population size of around 3,500 residents. Mr Foulkes said around 20 percent of those surveyed during the summer census exercise were undocumented, adding the six shanty towns were home to at least 332 children. He remained tightlipped on how many shanty town residents were Bahamian, telling reporters outside the Churchill Building the full report was still before Cabinet. “The report has a breakdown of those residents
BTC FINED $100K FOR DELAYING ‘SWITCHERS’
SEE PAGE FIVE
meeting yesterday morning, Mr Foulkes, who co-chairs the Cabinet subcommittee looking into Oban, revealed a negotiation team has been appointed to renegotiate the HOA with the principals of Oban Energies, but noted no official date had been set to start those negotiations. Mr Foulkes said in the interim, the government has adopted a technical report produced
By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
SEE PAGE THREE
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
OBAN 2 DEAL? UMM, MAYBE NEXT MONTH By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
LEGAL STATUS FOR MAJORITY IN SHANTY TOWN CENSUS
GUNNED TO DEATH PEOPLE broke down in tears last night after a male was gunned down in a shooting in Fort Fincastle. Full story - Page 2. Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff
REGULATORS have ordered the Bahamas Telecommunications Company to pay 50 percent of its fine for last year’s Black Friday mobile number portability meltdown to affected consumers. The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority, in unveiling the total $102,004 penalty levied on BTC, said some $51,400 would be used to provide a $100 credit to each of the 514 impacted subscribers. The portability system’s two-day meltdown impacted what is traditionally viewed as the busiest sales day of the year. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
POACHERS’ JAIL TERMS CUT IN HALF By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
MORE than 40 convicted Dominican poachers have had their one-year prison sentences reduced by half on appeal. The Court of Appeal ruled on Monday that the 45 poachers will now serve six months behind bars. The basis for the shortening of their sentences, The Tribune understands,
POACHERS are apprehended was because the sentencing magistrate did not take into account any of the mitigating factors, nor their guilty pleas.
However, the 18-month prison sentence of the captain, Radhames Hernandez, for firearm and ammunition charges, still stands, as it was not interfered with by the appellate judges. Additionally, the appellate court found that the sentencing magistrate did not err to have the vessel the poachers were on, the ‘Ronnye’, forfeited, because it was under her discretion to do so.
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE SEVEN
ALICIA WALLACE WHEN SORRY STILL SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD
SEE PAGE EIGHT
PAGE 2, Wednesday, December 12, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Family in tears as man gunned down in street
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net A MALE was gunned down in the street last night in a shooting in Fort Fincastle, the 87th murder victim of the year. The cries of the man’s traumatised family filled the air at the scene. Police said that shortly after 8pm, police responded to a report of gunshots in the area of Fort Fincastle. Upon arrival, officers found the body of a man lying in a yard, with gunshot injuries to the body. Paramedics pronounced the victim dead at the scene in North Street. One woman screamed: “Y’all killed Rico, y’all my brother, they kill Rico, y’all kill my brother, y’all gon’ sleep good tonight, I hope y’all sleep good tonight.” As the hearse carrying the body departed the scene, family had to be restrained from grabbing on to it. Police did not confirm the identity of the victim at the time of going to press. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Central Detective Unit on 502-9991/2, Crime Stoppers on 328-TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station. The murder was the first in a week. Two men, one being electronically monitored, were shot to death in Jubilee Gardens on Wednesday last week in a car with a running motor. The homicides came a little more than a day after a man and his fiancée had been shot dead during a morning ambush at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre on Monday.
Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff and Koy Martin
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 12, 2018, PAGE 3
Legal status for majority in Abaco shanty towns
OBAN 2 DEAL? UMM, MAYBE NEXT MONTH from page one
by the technical branch of his sub-committee. According to Mr Foulkes, the technical team is composed of three Grand Bahamians who worked in the industry. “We are currently in the process of notifying the principals and speaking to the negotiation team to get our terms of reference,” he told the press. “I don’t want to go beyond that until I can get some specific information as to when we are going to start the renegotiation. We have a proposed date for January but, I have not spoken to the principals, nor the renegotiation team yet, so I do not want to release that information,” Mr Foulkes added. The government’s initial agreement with Oban Energies sparked intense criticism, including points of opposition from several environmental organisations that took issue with lack of an environmental impact assessment, given the project’s risk factors.
LABOUR Minister Dion Foulkes
ONE of the shanty towns on Abaco in the Mud and Pigeon Pea area. from page one who are on spousal permit, work permit and citizenship,” Mr Foulkes said. “Information on utilities, those employed and unemployed, but that information would be made available to the press. It is before colleagues now. He added: “One of the figures that I can release this morning is out of all of the residents, 80 percent of them have some type of legal status to be in The Bahamas, 20 percent of them are undocumented.” The preliminary results appear to follow population trends observed in New Providence shanty towns,
where an “overwhelming” 70 percent reportedly have a legal right to reside in the country. In the capital, Bahamian residents stood at 15 percent, and 3 percent of interviewees had a spousal permit. Yesterday, Mr Foulkes acknowledged the Abaco census figures were significantly lower than speculative estimates given by both local residents and pundits over the years, and insisted the survey was accurate. “This is the first time that we have actually done a report since the fires,” Mr Foulkes said. “The Ministry of Health did a report in 2013 and at that time there were 1,024 households, so as you can see there is a
Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff decrease of about 100 structures, and we think that is due to the two fires that occurred since 2013. “We think this survey is accurate. We heard many reports from persons who live in Abaco and persons who have visited that the figures could be anywhere from 2,000 to 7,000 (residents) but what I’ve given to you are the facts. We believe that they are the facts.” The SATF’s Abaco census started on June 13, and its report was compiled by Dr Cherita Moxey, of the Ministry of Health. Of the 915 structures recorded, 138 households did not participate, and Mr Foulkes said officials estimate those homes account for about 500 residents.
In the remaining 777 households surveyed in the communities of the Mud; Pigeon Peas; Farm Road; Sandbanks; L & H; and Elbow Cay, there were 3,039 residents. The South Abaco shantytowns of the Mud and Peas represented the largest population, accounting for 70 percent of the total households interviewed by the task force or around 2,600 residents, according to Mr Foulkes. Meanwhile, the government’s action plan for the eradication of Family Island shanty towns is still hampered by looming court action from 177 shanty town residents from both New Providence and Abaco.
The Supreme Court previously ordered the government and utility providers to halt any planned evictions, service disconnections or demolitions until the court hearing for a judicial review of the government’s decision. Yesterday, Mr Foulkes said: “There is a court injunction that has prohibited us from following our action plan but all of the things that we can do, that do not relate directly to the shanty towns, we are doing. One of them is a subcommittee that is considering alternative housing for the residents of the shanty towns on Abaco, but I do not want to get into any detail on that.”
The fallout prompted an admission from Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis that there were gross missteps in the government process. “While our heart was in the right place, these missteps should not have happened. We must, we can and we will do better,” Dr Minnis said in March. In the months following that admission, various Cabinet members have hinted at key improvements that would be made with a new HOA, but nothing concrete has been presented. Oban Energies has reportedly spent $10m on the project so far, according to its president, Satpal Dhunna, who said a significant amount of those funds were used to nail down the best location. Oban is proposing a $5.5bn oil refinery and storage facility in East Grand Bahama.
WE’LL AVOID FINANCIAL BLACKLISTING, SAYS TURNQUEST By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
THE Minnis administration is confident it has done everything necessary to avoid a financial blacklisting, according to Deputy Prime Minister K Peter Turnquest. Addressing the government’s continued efforts to comply with commitments made to various international organisations including the G20, European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Mr Turnquest told reporters outside of Cabinet yesterday the government has done what it needed to do and was now in a “wait and see” position. “(We are) as confident as we can be,” he said. “These things are somewhat subjective, unfortunately. We’ve been asking the EU, the OECD to tell us exactly what it is, that is exactly to be done; to give us a model law that we can benchmark off of and establish our legislation off of.” Unfortunately, Mr Turnquest said, these organisations have not been prepared to assist The Bahamas in that regard, to date. He said: “It’s been a back and forth kind of discussion where we are putting forth our position and they’re saying whether in their opinion it’s acceptable or not.
“So, we’re really, in real time, developing this kind of thing, which is always an uncomfortable position because the standard keeps moving, as you put forth proposals they come back with new positions and we keep going back and forth. There are different countries making proposals in the same vein and so based on what other countries put in their proposal then the standard for you changes and so it’s just a back and forth. “And I don’t think that we will know for sure whether we are at the goal post or have exceeded the goal post until December 31 when everybody would have had to put their cards on the table and we know exactly what the final results is going to be. “But we are confident,” he added. “because we’ve had the back and forth discussions.” He said the government has submitted legislation packages for the groups to review, which so far have been acceptable. “. . . So, we believe that we’ve done what we need to do in order to prevent that blacklist and where there are continued gaps, we’ve certainly signaled to them our intent to be at the table to further discuss these positions are, so that at the end of the day, we meet the national commitment as well as preserve our domestic system.”
DEPUTY PM KP Turnquest Of the EU and the like’s “ever-changing” goal post, Mr Turnquest did admit that while aspects of the system’s structure were beginning to wear on his team, it viewed the entire process as an avenue to guarantee a “level playing field” for the country. “We negotiate within the framework and the circumstance that is before us,” the East Grand Bahama MP stated. “… We do the best we can in trying to ensure that at the end of the day whatever position is arrived at is one that is shared by all countries so that there is, to the extent possible, a level playing field everybody’s playing from the same point.” Meanwhile, addressing the criticisms the government has encountered in its quest to accommodate these major organisations, Mr Turnquest dismissed claims that The Bahamas was “bending over backwards” to comply. According to Mr Turnquest, there have been
several instances in which The Bahamas has had to push-back against requests from foreign bodies. In these instances, he revealed, The Bahamas government has had to communicate its unwillingness to comply, insisting that it has adopted the position of not relenting on any request considered harmful to the Bahamas’ economy and sovereignty. He told reporters: “I keep making this point to the Bahamian public, particularly to our critics, that this is in fact a global standard, this is not a bilateral standard and to the extent to where we believe that our interest is being harmed, we are pushing back.” “Sometimes we do get in an argument, sometimes we don’t but when it comes to the sovereignty of The Bahamas we continue to assert that The Bahamas has every right and fiduciary duty as a government to the Bahamian people to ensure that our sovereignty is not infringed upon and that we maintain our right to make domestic law and to protect the interest of the Bahamian people.” On Monday, the Senate debated and passed four of the five bills it sought bring to law as a means to comply with international regulations. The Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Bill 2018; the Removal of Preferential Exemptions
Bill 2018 and the Register of Beneficial Ownership Bill 2018; and the Penal Code Amendment Bill 2018 were all approved by the Senate, leaving only the Non-Profit Organisations Bill “in committee” and open to changes. Addressing the issues with that specific piece of legislation yesterday, Mr Turnquest said the confusion surrounding the bill seems to dwarf the government’s true intent. Mr Turnquest said the government never intended the legislation to act as “watchdog” for NPOs, but rather a protectorate for them. He asserted: “(The) bill is rooted in the government’s obligation to ensure that there is no entity that exists in the country that facilitates willingly or unwillingly, the financing of terrorism of proliferation of financing. “… The whole idea is to ensure that there is a level
of transparency to identify where there is or there is any attempt to use The Bahamas as a financing place or place to introduce the financing for these illicit or nefarious activities.” He also said: “I guess we can only take a lesson from what has been said. Various organisations are saying that there wasn’t enough consultation, and so, from their perspective there wasn’t and we have to accept that. “So I think the attorney general in the Senate (Monday) has indicated that he will pull back the bill for a bit more discussion, but at the end of the day the provisions of the bill are going to have to go forward. Whether there’s amendments to the language to make some things more clear, that may happen, but the basic intent of the bill, the basic premises of the bill, unfortunately or fortunately, has to go forward.”
PAGE 4, Wednesday, December 12, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
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How Salvation Army’s red kettles became a Christmas tradition TINSELED trees and snowy landscapes are not the only signs of the upcoming holiday season. Red kettles, staffed by men and women in street clothes, Santa suits and Salvation Army uniforms also telegraph Christmastime. The Army is among America’s topgrossing charities. In 2015, its 25,000 bell-ringers helped raise an all-time high of US$149.6 million. That was part of the year’s almost $3 billion revenue from bequests, grants, sales, in-kind donations and investments as well as direct contributions. William Booth, an English evangelist, founded the Salvation Army in 1878 as a religious outreach to London’s poor. How a British evangelical church became an American icon is an ongoing interest of mine. Booth, who called himself “The General,” fashioned his Army on Britain’s military. From the start, his “soldiers” wore uniforms and they described their mission in martial terms. Salvationists marched through the streets of London’s East End, a neighborhood of poor immigrants, with brass bands and female preachers. Booth and his followers also pursued “sinners” and frequently preached in bars, brothels and theaters. Booth’s plan was to send his army worldwide, and his first stop was the United States. One of his early recruits had migrated to Philadelphia, and wrote to Booth about the residents’ need for salvation. In 1880, a small party of British Salvationists debarked at Castle Garden, New York’s first immigration center. The group immediately started singing hymns set to popular melodies and marching through lower Manhattan. During the next few days, the English “soldiers” tacked up posters, similar to ads for commercial entertainments, for a prayer service at Harry Hill’s, a popular dance hall, theatre and saloon. The venue was not only thick with drunkards, prostitutes and pleasure seekers, its unlikeliness as a religious meeting place guaranteed press attention. Such unexpected behavior did bring the Army to the public’s attention. Their boisterousness, even in service of saving
souls, was criticised by New York’s clergy and ridiculed in newspapers and magazines. That the Army featured female preachers at a time when most Protestant groups did not ordain women only added to its notoriety. But the Army did not surrender. Pressing their “invasion” beyond New York City, the soldiers traveled first to Philadelphia and later nationwide. Their exuberance attracted young people and women to the cause. Young people liked the notion of a military crusade for religious purposes, and women joined because the Army offered them positions of leadership and authority. In fact, William Booth’s daughter-in-law, Maud Ballington, followed by his two daughters, Emma and Evangeline, headed the American Salvation Army from 1887 to 1950. By 1891, Salvationists had outposts nationwide. In San Francisco, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was eager to serve a Christmas feast for a thousand of the city’s poorest residents. Frustrated by his lack of success, he decided to improvise. Grabbing a crab pot from the local wharf, he hung it from a tripod at a busy intersection. Above the pot was a sign: “Fill the Pot for the Poor – Free Dinner on Christmas Day.” McFee’s campaign was a success. Word spread and the kettles soon provided Christmas dinners for thousands nationwide. The kettle also helped rehabilitate the Army’s image. Instead of seeing Salvationists as an unruly pack of religious rebels, many Americans recognised their work with the poor. At a time when neither state nor federal governments provided a social safety net, the Army offered meals, beds, work and medical facilities to destitute men and women. Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee’s legacy lives on – providing inspiration to millions of Americans, whether they care about religion or not. By Diane Winston, the University of Southern California. This article first appeared on The Conversation.
Live life for the children is a good motto for us all EDITOR, The Tribune THE recent proliferation of crime committed by adolescents is taking a toll on society. Both young women and young men that look to crime as a way of life are being charged with serious offences. Youth barely in their teens are committing robbery, murder and rape causing mayhem in our communities The sound of gun shots echoes day and night. Crime and the fear of crime has a crippling affect on the country. But the big question goes unanswered. Were we blindsided by this rapid increase in youthful criminal activities or were there warning signs that we failed to heed. The majority of juvenile delinquents did not wake up one day and decide to commit a criminal offence. No! they did not, but just like any habit crime begins with just the first act and if unfettered it will grow until it’s fertile. Research has found over the years that there are many factors that increase the chances of young people turning to crime. And in most cases the reasons are right in front of our
nose. Unfortunately we, the adults, the gate keepers who are supposed to be the watchman on the wall for our children have fallen asleep. As kids growing up on East Street every parent was our parent and could discipline us whenever we got out of line without fear of being attacked by our birth parent. They were the watchmen on the wall and they instilled that in us. But somewhere along the way we were sidetracked, got lost in the melee and fell prey to the glitter. Forgetting what the old people taught us. Now we are paying for it. We can come up with a million and two reasons/excuses why our children are faced with the many challenges today. And we can say whatever we want, we are just not good watchmen and have fallen asleep at the gate. Their blood will be on our hands. Both victim and perpetrator. These are our children, they are our responsibility, not the teacher, pastor or government (even though we need their help). Youth 15/16 years of age with great potential are standing alone without a parent or
guardian before the magistrate charged with serious crimes. These are our children. They’re not just the kid up the road. We are all from the same village. Our children are their friends. Does it not matter that they might die in the street or spend the rest of their lives in some dungeon? Marvin Gaye had this to say: “When I look at the world it fills me with sorrow Little children today are really gonna suffer tomorrow.” But lets live everybody Live life for the children Let’s save the children” Let us become the watchman on the wall for our children . “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15 Heavenly Father I humbly ask that you keep our children safe in this increasingly unsafe world protect them from danger, harm and the viles of satan in Jesus name I pray. Amen. ANTHONY PRATT Nassau, December 8, 2018.
When freedom of speech will be put to the test EDITOR, The Tribune POPULAR Jamaican dancehall and reggae artist Buju Banton has finally been released from a US federal prison after serving seven years for conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute. Banton was incarcerated at the McRae Correctional Facility in the state of Georgia. The US promptly deported Buju after his release. With such a serious conviction, I am not sure if he would be allowed back into the U.S., where he performed in many cities before his 2011 conviction. I read that Nassau will be one of the stops in his upcoming Long Walk to Freedom Tour 2019. I believe the concert will be held at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in March. Buju’s popularity rivals that of the late Bob Marley’s. Undoubtedly, the concert in The Bahamas has the potential of being a sellout. One of the most controversial songs ever written in the Caribbean is Buju’s Boom Bye Bye - a song written in the early 1990s when he was about 15 years old. Boom Bye Bye is a very homophobic song which calls for the killing of
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net homosexuals. I don’t listen to reggae music. Buju’s songs are unintelligible to me, as I am not conversant in Jamaican patois. Buju, along with other dancehall artists such as Capleton, Sizzla, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, have been tenaciously dogged by the Jamaican advocacy group Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-sexual’s and Gays (J-FLAG) and Outrage!, a gay rights group out of Great Britain. I believe it was in 2007 when Buju signed the Reggae Compassionate Act - a document which called on dancehall artistes to cease from promoting homophobia in their music. Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton also signed the agreement, although I am not in the position to state if the four Jamaican artistes have complied with it. I don’t agree with songs which advocate violence against any group. While I agree with Buju and his fellow dancehall
artistes that homosexuality is immoral, I sternly disagree with their method in opposing the said lifestyle. It will be interesting to see if the local gay advocacy group Bahamas LGBT Equality Advocates will oppose the upcoming Buju concert in Nassau. If this group decides to flex its muscles, will the Free National Movement (FNM) administration cave in to its demands to call off the concert, in light of Buju’s anti-gay rhetoric while performing? His concert will no doubt attract hundreds or even thousands of tourists from the US and the Caribbean. Freedom of speech will be put to the test in March when Mark Myrie (AKA Buju Banton) sets his sights on Nassau. The FNM might be forced to choose between this fundamental privilege and the huge amount of tourist dollars which will be injected into Nassau’s economy or a small group of overly sensitive Bahamian LGBT advocates. KEVIN EVANS Freeport Grand Bahama December 9, 2018
Stand up for our rights as a sovereign country EDITOR, The Tribune IF YOU want to launder or hide money today where do you go - US, UK and Europe - forget The Bahamas - it is too small! Hypocrites they are. All they want to do is destroy the smaller countries. And the government in The Bahamas is unable to deal with this issue and instead of pointing this out to the people who are ruining our financial service industry and even possibly chasing away potential investors it is giving in to their demands.
In this letter the point I am making which is part of this issue is that the new Non-Profit Bill 2018 brought in to satisfy the US, UK and Europe where every charity of any kind in this country is to be forced to go through an outrageous process to register or face being fined up to $10,000 for failing to do so, in case they re laundering money. There are hundreds of small charities in this country that try to make life more interesting, pleasant and tolerable for the people and the politicians sit there without
thought and are going to destroy them. To start there are music groups, choirs, sailing clubs, kennel clubs and so on all who will be affected by this Act and many will close as the Act imposing too stringent a reporting requirement on them. It is a crying shame. Come on Messrs Minnis, Turnquest et al, give us a break!! Stand up for our rights as a sovereign country. PATRICK H THOMSON Nassau, December 8, 2018.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 12, 2018, PAGE 5
Nurses accuse officials of a deliberate bid to delay strike from page one Last week PHA said it would indefinitely defer the change but maintained new shifts were in the best interest of nurses and patients. Given the move, Mr Pinder told The Tribune: “They really don’t have an issue. They filed on the shift system and the PHA cancelled so there is really nothing to strike about.” In response yesterday, Ms Williams said she was disappointed and saddened to see the level public officials would stoop to win the support of the public. “This is sad, how could he say that? He saw issues in writing. He saw what we asked our members to vote to address, how can he say we only had on issue?” Ms Williams said. “We have several issues outstanding between PHA and the Department of Public Health. This is just an avenue the minister and Mr Pinder are taking as they try not to give us our strike vote. “Everything was done in an orderly fashion. We did it by the books. Now every day there is some other foolishness and run on; they want the public to side with them so they are trying to paint the picture that our issues aren’t there. “I mean that’s all I can say, because it has been a week and nothing. Why is it taking so long? I’ve call the minister, the prime minister and John Pinder too. Each one is pointing at the next, saying somebody still have to do something and all that time we sitting around without our strike vote, with no resolution and no help. “We aren’t angry, just like all those other unions the running around, we are frustrated.” Mr Foulkes, in an interview with reporters outside of Cabinet yesterday, said he was hopeful BNU’s strike vote would be certified at some point yesterday or today. However, up to press time last evening, no progress had been made on certifying the vote. Mr Foulkes said despite the Public Hospitals Authority’s recent decision to indefinitely defer its new shift system for nurses, the union was still seeking resolution on just two other matters. In a subsequent interview yesterday evening, Mr Foulkes said
NURSES with union president Amancha Williams, centre, outside Princess Margaret Hospital in earlier this year. he could not disclose the issues, but maintained that he would address the matters with Health Minister Dr Duane Sands. However, when he was asked of the issues, Dr Sands told The Tribune he was not aware of what those matters could be and referred all question on the matter to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Rena Glinton. Attempts to reach the Mrs
Glinton were unsuccessful up to press time. When asked about BNU’s outstanding issues, Ms Williams said the union was awaiting responses on at least six matters - chief among which was an agreement with Dr Sands that he would seek from Cabinet, a 5 percent salary increase for all nurses. The list of issues also included unilateral variation to the BNU industrial agreement;
outstanding payments for oncall hardships and disturbances allowance, unpaid increments; outstanding promotions and outstanding National Insurance Board payments. “These are matters we have communicated to anyone that would listen,” she told The Tribune. “If they say this new, they are not being truthful. They want to make us out to be
Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff the problem, but the public needs to know that we are just doing what we can to get what belongs to us. “Labour in this country is becoming too political. We need fairness and truth. Give us the right that we deserve. We did what we needed to do by the books and they are still trying to take advantage of us. “This is sad,” she added. “We want our strike.”
CULMER: McALPINE STILL HAS FNM SUPPORT
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
DECLARING that the Free National Movement needs to move forward from public fighting, party chairman Carl Culmer said he was prepared to fly to Grand Bahama to personally meet with FNM MP Frederick McAlpine, seemingly extending an olive branch to settle grievances. In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Culmer rejected the Pineridge MP’s assertion that relations with the party have been frigid, insisting that as long as he remains a member of the FNM, the party will support him. Mr Culmer also maintained that FNM executives, including party leader, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, have reached out to the MP to address his issues. However, he would not comment on what he believed to be the underlying cause of the friction between Mr McAlpine and his party. The chairman’s comments are a marked change in tone from his publicised remarks back in March when he told The Nassau Guardian that Mr McAlpine should seriously consider his future with the FNM after repeated attacks on the organisation. And just last month he declared that Mr McAlpine was a hypocrite for joining an anti-government march outside of Parliament. This public jostling, in addition to clear displeasure from three additional backbench MPs, has shown cracks within the party. Centreville MP Reece Chipman, Golden Isles MP Vaughn Miller, Bain and
Grants Town MP Travis Robinson and Mr McAlpine have all at times been critical of the governing FNM. However, Mr McAlpine has been the most vocal with his criticism. Nonetheless, Mr Culmer told The Tribune yesterday all was well with the FNM, maintaining differences of opinion did not mean it was not solidified. He said the FNM was still the best option for Bahamians. “The party is open for anytime McAlpine wants to sit down and talk,” Mr Culmer said. “I’ve extended the invitation to him. I know the leader has extended the invitation to him. The doors are opened. “If he wants me to come to Freeport, I will go to Grand Bahama and speak to him. If he wants to come here I will speak to him here as the chairman and I know the leader would do the same because we want to sit down and talk and move forward. There is nothing wrong, we are prepared to sit down and talk.” Asked if the MP had been afforded adequate opportunities to air his concerns, Mr Culmer said: “Again I really don’t want this to be a McAlpine/FNM issue. McAlpine comes to the caucus. He has been to a number of meetings that I have had in Grand
FNM chairman Carl Culmer
Bahama. There have been many opportunities. “McAlpine is an FNM. He has been voted in on the FNM ticket and we support FNMs. I don’t want this to be a McAlpine/FNM issue. A number of persons don’t see it like that. “The FNM has always been a party where persons are allowed to speak freely and we will always be that. McAlpine is an FNM we support him as long as he is an FNM. “The FNM is a party that is solidified. We are all together. There might be a difference of opinion, but does that break our togetherness, no.” Following Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis’ invitation on Saturday for former PLPs to return to the organisation, claiming that some FNMs who were once PLPs “want to come back home,” Mr McAlpine said on Monday he was keeping his “options open.” Regarding the invitation, Mr Culmer questioned why anyone would want to cross the political divide to join the PLP. He said before Mr Davis invites people to join him, he needed to answer burning question that remain unanswered. “Why would someone want to go backward after all the mess the PLP has left the country in? There are a number of unanswered questions. For instance BAMSI. We are still waiting to find out if the persons were qualified to build the facility. We also want to know what happened with the insurance and how was the bid process completed? When you look at the Ministry of Works what was the number of persons that
got contracts who were not qualified to get contracts from the ministry and without the bidding process? Those are the things we’re trying to get away from. The country does not need to go back to that. “The PLP, it was a failure (and) it continues to be a failure and hasn’t changed. They still have that same old mentality. We don’t need that kind of failure,” Mr Culmer said.
On Monday, Mr McAlpine also said Mr Davis’ appeal was “commendable” and the sign of a “real leader”. However, he said, he did not know if the comments were specifically directed at him, adding that he had not officially spoken with anyone in the PLP about becoming a member of the opposition party. Meanwhile Mr Miller added that although “politics makes strange
bedfellows,” leaving the party under whose umbrella he was elected was not on his radar. Mr Davis has declined to reveal if there were any FNMs in talks with the PLP, saying he did not want to breach confidential conversations. However, he told this newspaper he is aware there are disgruntled FNM ministers and MPs. He also said the backbenchers could join the PLP if they desired.
PAGE 6, Wednesday, December 12, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
NPO bill fraught with challenges - PLP leader By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net OPPOSITION leader Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday the decision to delay the passing of the Non-Profit Organisations Bill was “prudent,” noting the bill was “fraught with challenges”. Mr Davis also questioned whether The Bahamas’ “constitutional construct” was considered in the decision to put forth this bill and criticised the prime minister for not contributing to a package of bills inclusive of the NPO legislation in the House of Assembly. Mr Davis made these comments during his monthly press conference at the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) headquarters, while also addressing the compendium of financial bills that were passed in the Senate on Monday evening. Mr Davis noted the PLP senators abstained on three of the bills — Removal of Preferential Exemptions Bill; Register of Beneficial Ownership Bill, and Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Bill 2018. He added the PLP voted against the Penal Code Amendment Bill. This amendment brings tax evasion into the category of criminal acts, Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest said last week. Consequently, tax dodgers will be subject to criminal charges before the court. “In my view, this is 2000 all over again,” Mr Davis said. “We recall how former Prime Minister (Hubert) Ingraham sent a compendium of financial bills from Washington and compelled the House to pass them forthwith. Parliamentarians had not seen them before nor had an opportunity to consult on them. “I made a point in the Lower House about the reputation damage and extraordinary costs to persons who inadvertently fill out customs forms in a manner that could be perceived as tax evasion and called in by the relevant authorities,” Mr Davis continued. He added that although police will determine if the courts should deal with such matters, and although the individual may win his or her case, he questioned what cost this ordeal would bring to the person’s
“personal reputation, good name, job security and pocket book.” When asked why the PLP offered bipartisan support for these bills in the House of Assembly last week, Mr Davis said this was done with the understanding that the concerns raised regarding the bills would be addressed. “If you followed the proceedings, you would have noted that I recommended certain amendments or suggestions…and even asked that some of the bills remained in committee. We were told that most of those concerns, those concerns, (would) be addressed in the Senate…and they would deal with it by way of what they call the ‘slip rule’, requiring it not to come back to the House. “I didn’t think that that was possible, but I said ‘okay, we’ll see what happens.’ And on that assurance, we gave our support. Now, some movements were suggested in the Senate. I monitored what was going on and the movements did not meet all of the concerns that we had in respect to the bills. In fact, the one move that they did make was in respect to the Non-Profit Bill, which they…either will not be proceeding with or will be looking at for further amendments and consultations.” He added he was indeed consulted on this decision. The NPO Bill requires all such organisations to be registered with the registrar of the same name. To become registered, the legislation stipulates that all non-profit groups must show “evidence” that they are compliant with “Know Your Client” stipulations – meaning that they know the sources of their funding, and the background of these donors.
FORMER PM Hubert Ingraham
Mr Davis also provided his reaction to this Bill being shelved in the Senate on Monday. “The NPO Bill was fraught with challenges, and I pointed out some of them. In the parliamentary debate, there’s not sufficient time, in my view, for us to go through all of the issues— we have half an hour.” Mr Davis noted the House magnanimously allowed him to speak for longer than that to point out as many issues with the bills as he could. “The NPO Bill, I think it was prudent of them not to proceed with it because it has its challenges. And the churches have to be concerned about it. I know that the president of the (Bahamas Christian Council) they have their concerns about the bills… In fact, the sporting communities also have concerns about the bills, because if you’re part of a softball team, that’s a group of persons who come together to promote…that individual sport. And they could be captured by the bill. And so, more thought has to be given on it. “See the challenge is that our culture, our constitutional construct, are different from many of the groupings that formulate… initiatives to ensure that… revenues don’t leak from their jurisdiction to offset jurisdictions. And they don’t take into account those differences. “And sometimes we have to sit back…and look at these things in our particular construct… to determine whether or not it is repugnant to our constitutional revisions. And I don’t know that much thought would have gone into any of these things.” Mr Davis also criticised Dr Minnis for his lack of contribution to these bills. “Now what is significant, which ought to give all of us pause, is that with such significant incursions in a pillar of our economy that has served our country well, that the prime minister has yet to make a contribution to these bills. Have you heard from him? To this, a PLP supporter shouted: “He’s in the (Junkanoo) shack!” “Oh, sorry. I’m advised he’s in the shack,” Mr Davis replied, to chuckles from those in the room.
PLP leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis.
Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
Minnis & Co have ‘no clear vision for energy reform’ By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net THE Minnis administration has “no clear vision for energy reform” Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip Davis said yesterday, adding that if the current government had followed the former administration’s “blueprint,” the country would not be where it is today. Mr Davis made these remarks during a press conference at the PLP’s headquarters, where he condemned the current costs of energy and blamed the Free National Movement’s “political interference” and misfires for the country’s current situation. “Energy sector reform is another important issue to Bahamians,” Mr Davis said. “The cost of energy is too high and is preventing our economy from becoming globally competitive and contributing to the high cost of living. “Reducing the cost of energy is a game changer for our economy and the quality of life for average Bahamians but to date the government has delivered political interference; a promised investigation that has not materialised; a failed
and expensive voluntary separation programme that depleted the corporation of critical skillsets, competencies and organisational memory; a walk back of the voluntary separation programme through rehiring; four fires that resulted in the loss of more than 100 megawatts in power generation capacity; and warnings of increases in the electricity bill to as much as 70 percent. “There is no clear vision for energy reform — just in-fighting, interference, cover-ups and cronyism all at the expense and inconvenience of a very dissatisfied and disgruntled customer base. “Needless to say, this does not engender public confidence in either (Bahamas Power and Light) BPL or the political directorate charged with the beleaguered corporation’s superintendence and now we take note of the action being initiated by the former chair.” This month it was revealed that former BPL Chairwoman Darnell Osborne has hired attorney Alfred Sears to secure payment from the government for defamation and breach of contract relating to the shock dissolution of BPL’s board in August. The defamation claim springs from comments
Works Minister Desmond Bannister made after the board disintegrated. When asked what the PLP’s energy reform plan would be, Mr Davis pointed to the current framework, introduced by the previous PLP administration. “Our plan is the legislative construct that is presently obtained. When we came into office, we did a whole slew of legislative changes. We introduced a whole new legislative regime for energy reform that was based on a new entity called BPL, that would have produced reliable, affordable energy to the Bahamian people. “And you now hear the minister bragging about the fact that you could produce your own electricity. Well that was all part of our plan. If you look at the new electricity bill, there’s a new bill…to ensure that URCA would be overseen, the rate charges of BPL are to receive complaints about their services. “We introduced a bill called the rate reduction bond that was to be able to go into the money market to raise sufficient funds to take care of all of its legacy debt. Our plan, they met it in place. And all they needed to do was follow the blueprint and we would not be where we are today.”
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 12, 2018, PAGE 7
POACHERS’ JAIL TERMS CUT IN HALF from page one
On July 8, Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) vessel HMBS Madeira apprehended a Dominican fishing vessel attempting to flee into Cuban waters. After receiving information of three foreign vessels in the area of Guinchos Cay, HMBS Madeira, under the command of Senior Lieutenant William Sturrup,
was dispatched into the area to investigate. Hernandez and crew, on board a 70-foot steel hull fishing vessel, were subsequently apprehended approximately 20 nautical miles south of Cay Lobos. Approximately 33,000 pounds of fisheries were confiscated from that vessel. Two other fishing vessels which were in the vicinity fled into Cuban waters. The captain and crew of the
apprehended vessel were subsequently caught, and each charged with engaging in illegal foreign fishing within the exclusive fishery zone of The Bahamas and being in possession of one air compressor tank and one spear gun, with plans to use both devices to engage in illegal fishing in Bahamian waters. They were also charged with being in possession of 142 pounds of undersized Nassau Grouper
weighing less than three pounds each; being in possession of 29,104 pounds of fresh crawfish during the closed season (from April 1 to July 31, 2018); and being in possession of 12,973 pounds of undersized crawfish that measured less than three and one-quarter inches from the base of the horn to the end of the jacket. Hernandez was further charged with possession of an unlicenced,
black pistol grip 12-gauge shotgun and nine rounds of shotgun ammunition. At the August 10 hearing, all of the poachers pleaded guilty and were consequently convicted and fined $53,000, or face prison time. The fines totalled $2.3 million. Hernandez was sentenced to one year for possession of ammunition and 18 months for possession of an unlicenced firearm, the sentences to run concurrently.
Major crime on the way down, says AC Seymour By RIEL MAJOR MAJOR crime categories continue to trend downward, according to Acting Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour. AC Seymour indicated to reporters yesterday the commissioner’s policing plan has been effective noting a decrease in not only murders, but in other crime categories. “At the beginning of the year the commissioner of the police (Anthony Ferguson) mandated to ensure that he put in place a mechanism which (is) called the Commissioner’s Policing Plan for the year which speaks to how we intend to go about fighting crime and its vices here in The Bahamas,” said AC Seymour on the sidelines of an Interpol anti-smuggling workshop. “For the most part, the mechanism that we have employed under the direction of the commissioner of police would have been put in place and the fact that we have seen a reduction in not only murders but a number of our crime stats is an indication that the mechanism that was put in place is in fact working. I just came out of a meeting (this morning) with the team and we meet every Tuesday morning and we are encouraged by the signs that we are seeing and we’ll continue to see going into the end of the year.” He added: “One of the things you hear us say from time to time is that amount of crimes happening are caused by a small percentage of our population and so the vast majority Bahamian people are determined not to cause these elements of criminality to wreak havoc on the wider community and so in partnership with us all the programmes that we would have put in
place in the partnership with members of the public we will continue to see a decrease in the elements of criminality. “ He said Commissioner Ferguson will release the new crime statistics at the beginning of next year and “of course members of the public will be able to see exactly how well we did at the end of the year but until such time we will continue to do what is required of us and the organisation to keep the criminal element at bay. “We cannot allow, as I indicated, a small percentage of people to wreak havoc among the wider population, too much is at stake and so we will continue to fight.” Last week, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis told the press he was convinced Bahamians are no longer fearful of crime under his administration. AC Seymour echoed these remarks saying the public has seen a difference and is feeling a difference in their communities. “We are getting that every day from members of the public and so that fear will continue to minimise because as crime starts to go down and, of course, what they see us rolling out they can go about their business as usual without being in fear of being a victim of a crime. We are pretty sure that the fear of crime is decreasing across the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. “I can safely tell you that we are pretty pleased, pretty encouraged by the numbers we are seeing across the board in terms of the various categories of crime,” he said. At last count, police said 83 murders had occurred so far this year. This represents a decrease of about 30 percent compared with 2017.
ABACO POLICE INVESTIGATE AFTER MAN SHOT IN THE LEG ABACO police are investigating a incident during which a man was shot in the leg. According to police reports, shortly before 9pm on Monday, officers were called to Southside Road in Marsh Harbour where it was reported three armed men opened fired on a group of people outside a business. The gunmen fled the area on foot. A man was shot to the leg and was transported to local
clinic where he was treated and discharged. Police are investigating the matter. In Grand Bahama, police made two arrests on Monday. An American man was arrested for possession of ammunition at the Grand Bahama International Airport while another man was arrested by officers of the Mobile Division for possession of dangerous drugs. The men are expected to be charged in Magistrate’s Court this week.
PLANE MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING AT LYNDEN PINDLING
A PLANE carrying 21 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing at Lynden Pindling International airport early yesterday morning. Assistant Commissioner of Police Leamond Deleveaux confirmed the incident, telling The Tribune that Intercontinental Caribbean Airlines made the impromptu landing around 8.46am. Providing further details, Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said the aircraft experienced “hydraulic problems” and had to return to LPIA. This was done without incident, Mr D’Aguilar said. The Tribune was told the flight was headed to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.
LEFT, Acting Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour.
Anti-smuggling workshop focused on nuclear security By RIEL MAJOR THE International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) in collaboration with the Royal Bahamas Police Force held an opening ceremony yesterday at the Melia Nassau Beach Hotel for an anti-smuggling workshop. The aim of this three-day workshop is to focus on nuclear security and to protect Bahamian borders. Emrick Seymour, Acting Commissioner of Police, said: “This morning we have assembled 33 participants from the country’s
national security agencies of public and private sectors partners whom we are assured are acutely aware of the significance of this essential and timely work shop. “I submit to you that no country is safe or exempted from the ravages of terrorism in any capacity; no country. Not with standing archipelagic porous borders…we are wide open to any and every possibility. We are still grateful and thankful for the peace and safety we currently enjoy. Many countries around the world cannot boast this or are not as fortunate.
“(As) terrorism becomes more intricate and technical it beholds each country to take strategic, preventative and corrective measures to remain several steps ahead of the terroristic advances. This Counter Nuclear Smuggling Workshop will allow us in The Bahamas to do just that.” The acting commissioner said acts of terrorism and elements of criminality know no boundary. He told attendees over the next three days they will be taught how to detect and intercept smuggling of radiological and nuclear materials and to organise
the cohesive unit to counter the smuggling of this material across international borders. “The areas of approach for this workshop is targeted and concise so I encourage you to remain focused, alert, and to absorb all the information that the presenters maybe delivering to you during this three-day exercise. This will enable you to be ready professionally and accurately to counter a nuclear smuggling attempt. God forbid one should occur in the Bahamas. “(This workshop is) important because you are talking about terrorism and of course nuclear weapons and all of that. All of that is elements of criminality and the thing about is our 700 islands we are so porous our borders are so wide open and so I think it is a timely exercise that is happening in the Bahamas for the next three days where we have assembled all the national security stakeholders both private and public sector and to really sensitise them of the possibility of a threat. “Once that threat is eminent, once the threat meets our doorstep we will have the mechanism to effectively deal with it and so it is critically important for all of us to be aware of course to take the necessary steps once we are assured a threat is eminent.” AC Seymour said Interpol chose The Bahamas for this workshop because the group saw the need for such training locally. He concluded by expressing his gratitude to the Canadian Global Affairs Funding for financing the three-day exercise for The Bahamas.
PAGE 8, Wednesday, December 12, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
KEVIN HART, main picture with, below, Erin Greene and, bottom, Ranard Henfield
H
OW many times do you apologise in week? For stepping on someone’s foot, bumping into someone, hurting someone’s feelings, or failing to follow through on a commitment, we often have to say we are sorry. Apologies do not immediately repair damage, but they are not just words. They acknowledge wrongs and make it clear someone is taking responsibility for the wrong and expressing regret for causing harm. People do not like being wrong, so it is no surprise that no one likes making apologies for their wrongs either. They often find as many reasons as possible not to make them. I made a mistake. It is in the past. I am a different person now. They convince themselves, then try to convince other people that time, personal growth and good deeds erase their wrongs. An apology requires an admission of error. It means you now know, even if you did not know before, that what you did was wrong, it negatively affected someone or a group of people and they deserve to be told you are sorry and will take steps to make repair. For some, this seems like too much. Their fragile egos cannot take it. They interpret an apology as weakness. When an apology is demanded, they are even less inclined to offer one. It is a childlike instinct to refuse to do whatever was requested as a matter of principle and the principle is they may be smaller and younger, but you are not the boss of them. Last week, I wrote about the national desire for a hero and the letdown that is Ranard Henfield. I recounted the Facebook events that led to him using a homophobic slur, excusing his own behaviour and failing to apologise to the LGBTQI+ community. It was Erin Greene and very few allies who called for the apology, noting it perpetuates the danger that already exists in this environment and helps to embolden homophobic people to target LGBTQI+ people. He ignored this, posting what could only be called a weak attempt at deflection that made no mention of the people he hurt. Since the calls for an apology were so clear that others spent days arguing online, largely with Erin Greene, about the necessity for one, it cannot be that he misunderstood. Henfield chose not to do it. Again, ego is a factor. It may be he does not see an apology — an admission of wrong — as fitting the hero image he most wants to portray. It could be he believes he was justified in his comment. He may, like many Bahamians, think LGBTQI+ people are sub-human and do not deserve acknowledgment, much less protection. Whatever the reason, a proper apology did not come. This is one of many examples over the past few weeks. It was recently announced that comedian Kevin Hart was chosen to host the Oscars in 2019. When his old, homophobic tweets were circulated, the Academy directed him to apologise. He refused. In fact, he posted a video saying the Academy gave him an ultimatum. They told him to apologise, or he would be fired. In his words, he “passed”. He claimed to have addressed the issue before, but it was not clear when.
‘Sorry’ still seems the hardest word He obviously had not deleted the tweets. He said if he lost the job, “no harm, no foul”. It is too bad he missed the part where there was harm, very clearly stated in his tweet that he would beat his son if he tried to play with dolls because “that’s gay”. After losing the job, Hart decided to “sincerely apologise to the LGBTQ community for [his] insensitive words from [his] past”. Why would he choose not to apologise, lose the job, then apologise? A hint
may be in the apology itself. Before he got to the apology, he said, “I have made the choice to step down,” and suggested he did not want to be the cause of controversy at the event. This statement does multiple things. It demonstrates his autonomy. No one — including an employer — is going to force him to do anything, and even if he had planned to do it, he will drag his feet to make a point. It also suggests that he was not fired, but that he made a decision and that decision is not self-serving, but benevolent. The third job the statement did was provided a new headline to detract from the negative response received on the video in which he assertively stated there would be no apology. In both the case of Henfield and Hart, it is clear that there is a belief that apologies are to be avoided, especially when they are demanded. When an apology must be made, it seems to be generally understood that they can be done poorly by failing to address the wronged party, delaying it so it seems like a new idea, or presenting oneself as benevolent figure. This, somehow, helps to save face. Apologies are underrated. They are not just words. They affirm people who have been hurt, and send a clear message to others that what was done was wrong and needs to be corrected. It does not matter how much a person has changed in the hour, month, or decade since the wrong was done. It makes no difference whether or not the intention was to cause harm. There was an action or inaction, it resulted in harm to a person or group or people and those people deserve — at the very least — to have that harm acknowledged. Acknowledgement is the beginning. In CARICOM’s tenpoint plan for reparatory justice, the first item is “full formal apology”. It states that healing requires apology and rejects the “statement of regrets” offered by some European governments. The plan requires governments to take responsibility for crimes committed. Other points include repatriation, alleviation of the public health crisis, psychological rehabilitation, and
debt cancellation. The plan is quite comprehensive and it clearly communicates the importance of apologies, especially in placing it at the top of the list. There can be no repair without acknowledgement of the wrong. The acknowledgement of the wrong makes a strong case for the wronged party to receive damages. Why else would European governments refuse to apologise? In conversations about homophobic slurs, it has been interesting to see the n-word come up again and again. Black people are asking black LGBTQI+ people why they are addressing homophobia rather than racism, as if only one issue can be legitimate. It is as though one must come before the other, or black LGBTQI+ people must make a choice, much like black women are often pressured to make a choice between being black and being a woman. People experiencing multiple forms of oppression are constantly put in this position. In addition, people like Nick Cannon validate these kinds of imaginations of separate identities. In the wake of the Kevin Hart fiasco, he dug up old tweets from white comedians with homophobic statements, as if to say Hart should not be condemned because they had not been. Social justice, however, works in the opposite direction. We do not need black people to be held to a lower standard, but for white people to be held to the same standard. The issue here is the same as the suggestion, in 2016, that we take away men’s rights to confer citizenship instead of expanding the rights of women. We do not need to find people who are worse than us. We should not be engaged in oppression olympics. It is more important to look at who we are, who we have wronged, whose wrongs we have ignored, and whose oppression we comfortably observe. Apologies are not just about saying sorry, but acknowledging the wrongs and seeking to repair them. They are often about validating an experience and helping to shift a culture. Personal responsibility must not be taken lightly. We are capable of being and doing better. Let’s get to it.
THE TRIBUNE
DURBIN Associated Press BIOMETRIC screening is expanding to the rental car industry. Hertz said yesterday it is teaming up with Clear, the maker of biometric screening kiosks found at many airports, in an effort to slash the time it takes to pick up a rental car. Clear hopes it will lead more travelers to its platform, which has three million members in the US. It’s the latest place consumers will find biometric technology, which has migrated over the last 50 years from secure government facilities and banks to airports, stadiums and even smartphones that unlock with the touch a fingerprint. Hertz is the first rental car company to use the technology. Improvements in cameras and other technology have made it cheaper to install scanners that can read fingerprints, faces, and irises. More than 100 airports worldwide use biometric readers from Clear, Vision-Box and other companies to scan passengers. Walt Disney World verifies visitors’ identity by scanning fingerprints. And the advancements will likely keep coming. Microsoft is working with Australia’s national bank on cardless ATM machines that would let people withdraw cash using a facial scan and personal identification number. Universities in London and Copenhagen have on-campus groceries that let students pay with their finger. Some laptops can now be unlocked with a fingerprint scan. Hertz with Clear launched their biometrics scans this week at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Wednesday, December 12, 2018, PAGE 9
Hertz, Clear partner to speed rentals with biometric scans
A RENTAL car driver demonstrates a new biometric scanning machine by placing his finger on the reader at the Hertz facility at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in Atlanta. In a first for the rental car industry, Hertz is teaming up with Clear, the maker of biometric screening kiosks found at many airports and stadiums. Hertz says the partnership will slash the time it takes to pick up a rental car. Photo: Jeff Martin/AP Airport. It will be rolled out to 40 more US Hertz locations next year, including John F Kennedy Airport in New York, San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. Hertz Gold Plus Rewards loyalty programme members with access to Clear will be
able to bypass the counter, pick up their car and head to the exit gate. There, Clear pods equipped with cameras and touchscreens can read their face or their fingerprints. If they match up with Hertz’s reservation data, the gate will open. Hertz will have at least one lane dedicated to Clear members at
each location. Hertz President and CEO Kathy Marinello expects Clear to shave 1.5 minutes off what’s now a two-minute checkout process. “In the world of travel, I think time is of the essence,” she said. The service is free for members of the Gold Plus
Rewards programme, which also has no fee. Travellers can sign up for Clear at a Hertz location. To upgrade to airport service, which promises to move Clear members through security lines more quickly, travelers must pay a monthly fee of $15. Clear says it’s the first time it will be identifying members based on their face instead of their iris or their fingerprints. Clear CEO Caryn SeidmanBecker says the cameras can take measurements and identify minute differences in facial features. Amil Jain, a professor at Michigan State University who researches biometrics, says facial screenings work by comparing an original photo to a new one. That could be tough in a rental car lane, where the lighting may differ substantially and drivers could be wearing makeup or winter scarves that change their features. “If you don’t do the biometrics right, you’ll turn off the customer more,” he said. But biometric scanning done well could be more robust and secure than having an employee see if a driver’s face matches their license, he said.
China launches pioneering mission to far side of moon BEIJING Associated Press
CHINA launched a ground-breaking mission on Saturday to land a spacecraft on the largely unexplored far side of the moon, demonstrating its growing ambitions as a space power to rival Russia, the European Union and the US. A Long March 3B rocket carrying a lunar probe blasted off at 2.23am from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province in southwestern China, the official Xinhua News Agency said. With its Chang’e 4 mission, China hopes to be the first country to make a soft landing, which is a landing of a spacecraft during which no serious damage is incurred. The moon’s far side is also known as the dark side because it faces away from Earth and remains comparatively unknown. It has a different composition than sites on the near side, where previous missions have landed. If successful, the mission would propel the Chinese
THE CHANG’e 4 lunar probe launches from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Saturday. Photo: Jiang Hongjing/Xinhua/AP space programme to a leading position in one of the most important areas of lunar exploration. China landed its Yutu, or “Jade Rabbit”, rover on the moon five years ago and plans to send its Chang’e 5 probe there next year and have it return to Earth with samples — the first time that will have been done since 1976. A
crewed lunar mission is also under consideration. Chang’e 4 is also a lander-rover combination and will explore both above and below the lunar surface after arriving at the South Pole-Aitken basin’s Von Karman crater following a 27-day journey. It will also perform radioastronomical studies that, because the far side always
faces away from Earth, will be “free from interference from our planet’s ionosphere, human-made radio frequencies and auroral radiation noise,” space industry expert Leonard David wrote on the website Space.com. It may also carry plant seeds and silkworm eggs, according to Xinhua. Chang’e is the goddess
of the moon in Chinese mythology. China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, making it only the third country after Russia and the US to do so. It has put a pair of space stations into orbit, one of which is still operating as a precursor to a more than 60-ton station that is due to come online in 2022. The launch of a Mars rover is planned for the mid-2020s. To facilitate communication between controllers on Earth and the Chang’e 4 mission, China in May launched a relay satellite named Queqiao, or “Magpie Bridge”, after an ancient Chinese folk tale. China’s space programme has benefited from cooperation with Russia and European nations, although it was excluded from the 420-ton International Space Station, mainly due to US legislation barring such cooperation amid concerns over its strong military connections. Its programme also suffered a rare setback last year with the failed launch of its Long March 5 rocket.
• VIDEO review and goalline technology are coming to water polo to help the oldest Olympic team sport keep pace. FINA, the governing body of aquatics, says video monitoring can “identify and sanction incidents of brutality or extreme violence” that were missed by game officials or “not appropriately punished”. The system can also be used to decide when the ball crosses the goal line. In a statement, FINA president Julio Maglione says water polo — which debuted at the 1900 Paris Olympics — needed updating given “what is currently offered in a very competitive sport international environment”. The modernising changes were among wide-ranging rules changes approved by FINA member federations at a special meeting in China. • FOR the first time, average Cubans became eligible to sign up for internet service for their mobile phones last week, a development long awaited on the communistruled island. Users began receiving text messages in the morning from the state telephone monopoly informing them that they can buy an internet access packages for 3G service. Previously, nearly all Cubans could use their mobile phones only to get their state-run email accounts unless they connected to the internet at a limited number of government-sponsored Wi-Fi spots. Government officials and foreign businesspeople could use their mobiles anywhere to access the 3G network in recent years, though not always reliably. The new service is being made available gradually through Saturday depending on a user’s phone number, to avoid the congestion that struck Cuba’s mobile network during a series of heavily criticised tests this year. “It’s excellent news,” said Gustavo Andujar, who works for the Roman Catholic Church and was among the initial group of users to receive the announcement from the phone company, ETECSA. “It’s having the internet in your pocket!” Andujar said he will use the service to check email and check some information, but he will continue to use Wi-Fi for family conversations by video and other downloads because the prices for the new service are high for Cubans. The phone company is offering packages ranging from 600 megabytes for about $7 to four gigabytes for about $30, which is in line with charges elsewhere but high for most Cubans, whose salaries average $30 to $50 a month. Still, many Cubans have their mobile accounts paid by relatives living abroad. The internet is mostly uncensored in Cuba, although the government blocks a small number of sites like the US-funded Radio and Television Marti networks and others that advocate for systematic change on the island.
PAGE 10, Wednesday, December 12, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
UK’S MAY HITS NARROWING ROAD FOR HELP RESCUING BREXIT DEAL BRUSSELS Associated Press
BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May said she found “a shared determination” among some European leaders yesterday to persuade the British Parliament to accept a proposed Brexit deal, but her continental counterparts insisted any room for revisions was small. So many British lawmakers oppose the deal on the terms of Britain’s breakup and future relationship with the European Union that May postponed a planned vote in the House of Commons instead of seeing it rejected. While EU officials ruled out renegotiating the divorce agreement, European Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker gave May a crumb to take back to lawmakers: “room enough” might exist for “clarifications and further interpretations” to be made at a leaders’ summit tomorrow, he said. The kind of significant legal changes that would boost May’s position seemed out of the question, though. “Clear that EU27 wants to help. The question is how,” tweeted EU Council president Donald Tusk, referring to the 27-member countries that will remain in the EU after Britain leaves. May fought to save the deal by lobbying several fellow national leaders, racing from London to The Hague, Berlin and Brussels in search of any support that
would push the Brexit agreement through at home. Today, May plans to visit Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin amid her worsening political woes at home. Some proBrexit members of May’s’ Conservatives said yesterday that opponents had collected the 48 letters from party lawmakers needed to trigger a no-confidence vote in their leader. A claim of reaching the threshold turned out to be premature before, but anger over May’s handling of Brexit has been growing within her party. Asked if she had been informed the 48-letter requirement was met, the prime minister said: “No, I have been here in Europe dealing with the issue I have promised
THERESA May is greeted by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte upon her arrival in The Hague, Netherlands.
Parliament I would be dealing with.” If May survives a vote of noconfidence by Conservative colleagues, she can’t be challenged again for a year. If she loses the vote, she will be replaced. Despite the odds mounting against her, May remained defiant. “We are just at the start of the negotiations and the start of the discussions,” she said after meeting with the EU Council’s Tusk. Parliament has until Jan. 21 to vote on the deal, a little more than two months before Britain’s March 29 departure date. EU leaders have said the highly technical and legally binding agreement of almost 600 pages isn’t open for discussion.
Three dead after attack on French Christmas market STRASBOURG Associated Press
A MAN who had been flagged as a possible extremist sprayed gunfire near the city of Strasbourg’s famous Christmas market last night, killing three people, wounding 12 and sparking a massive manhunt. France immediately raised its terror alert level. It was unclear if the market — a popular gathering place that was the nucleus of an al-Qaidalinked plot in 2000 — was the intended target. The assailant got inside a security zone around the venue and opened fire from there, Mayor Roland Ries said on BFM television. Authorities did not give a motive for the shooting, though prosecutors said they had opened a terrorism investigation. Strasbourg is home to the European Parliament, one of several places that was locked down after the shooting. Authorities said they had identified a suspect, and he had a criminal record. The prefect of the Strasbourg region said the man also was on a watch list of people who had potentially radicalised. No other details about him were disclosed. Hours before the shooting, French gendarmes went to the suspect’s home to arrest him, but he wasn’t there, Stephane Morisse of police union FGP said. They found explosive materials during a search, he said. France, where most of Europe’s worst terror attacks of recent years took place, was raising its terror alert level and sending security reinforcements to Strasbourg, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said early Wednesday. The attack in Strasbourg came two years after a Tunisian man drove a hijacked truck into a busy Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people. Strasbourg, which promotes itself as the “Capital of Christmas,” is located on France’s border with Germany, about 500 kilometers east of Paris. The market is set up around the city’s cathedral during the Christmas season. Some 350 security forces and two helicopters were searching for the alleged assailant, who had been radicalized for “several years” and confronted law enforcement officers twice while he “sowed terror” in Strasbourg, Castaner said. The death toll stood at three early today, he said. Two police union officials said earlier there were four victims. Officials did not explain the conflicting numbers.
PEOPLE on the ground after a shooting at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France. Left, soldiers patrol after the shooting.
A dozen more people were wounded, half of them in “absolute emergency” critical condition, Castaner said. The shooter was also shot and wounded by soldiers guarding the Christmas market, according to Stephane Morisse of police union FGP. French military spokesman Col. Patrik Steiger said the shooter didn’t seem to be aiming for the soldiers patrolling in and around the market, but appeared to target civilians instead. Witnesses described hearing gunshots, screams and shouts of police officers ordering people to stay indoors before the area fell silent and the officers fanned out. “I heard two or three shots at around 7:55 pm, then I heard screams. I got close to the window. I saw people running. After that I closed the shutters. Then I heard more shots, closer this time,” Yoann Bazard, 27, who lives in Strasbourg. “I thought maybe it’s firecrackers,” he said, speaking by phone. “And then, as it got close, it was
really shocking. There were a lot of screams. ... There were police or soldiers shouting ‘Get inside!’ and ‘Put your hands on your head.’” Freelance journalist Camille Belsoeur was at a friend’s apartment when they heard the gunfire, which she at first mistook for firecrackers. “We opened the window. I saw a soldier firing shots, about 12 to 15 shots,” Belsoeur said, Other soldiers yelled for people to stay indoors and shouted ‘Go home! Go home!’” to those outside, he said. Another witness, Peter Fritz, told the BBC one of the four people killed was a Thai tourist who was shot in the head and didn’t respond to lengthy attempts to revive him. “We tried our best to resuscitate him. We applied CPR. We dragged him into a restaurant close by,” Fritz said. He said it took more than 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, during which time an emergency doctor advised by telephone “that any further efforts would be futile.”
The victim “is still here in this restaurant but we have abandoned all hope for him,” Fritz said. France previously endured several high-profile extremist attacks, including the coordinated attacks at multiple Paris locations that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds in November 2015. A 2016 truck attack in Nice killed dozens. President Emmanuel Macron adjourned a meeting at the presidential palace Tuesday night to monitor the emergency, his office said, indicating the gravity of the attack. Castaner and the Paris prosecutor, who is in charge of anti-terror probes in France, headed to Strasbourg. The prosecutor’s office said the investigation was being conducted on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise charges, suggesting officials think the alleged shooter may have links to extremists. In multiple neighborhoods of Strasbourg, the French Interior Ministry urged the public to remain indoors. Local authorities tweeted for the public to “avoid the area of the police station,” which is close to the city’s Christmas market. European Parliament spokesman Jaume Duch said that “the European Parliament has been closed and no one can leave until further notice.” It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were inside.
GUNMAN KILLS FOUR, THEN HIMSELF, AFTER MASS IN BRAZIL RIO DE JANEIRO Associated Press A MAN opened fire in a cathedral in southern Brazil after Mass yesterday, killing four people and wounding four more before taking a bullet in the ribs in a firefight with police and then shooting himself in the head, authorities said. The shooting happened right after the midday service had ended at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Campinas, a city about 60 miles north of Sao Paulo. “It’s so sad,” said Wilson Cassante, a press officer with the archdiocese. “It’s hard to imagine the pain this has caused.” Hours after paramedics were seen taking bodies and injured out of the church, authorities identified the shooter as 49-year-old Euler Fernando Grandolpho from Valinhos, a nearby city in the densely populated state of Sao Paulo. Grandolpho, a systems analyst, was not a member of the church, authorities said. According to public records, he had held various jobs with government entities, including a stint as an assistant to the prosecutor in the public ministry in Sao Paulo. Authorities said they had not determined a motive. A backpack found near the dead gunman had his identification but no note or other clues, police investigator Jose Henrique Ventura told reporters outside the church. “Thanks to the intervention of police, something much bigger was avoided,” Ventura said, adding that the four injured were in stable condition. Brazil has long struggled with gun violence, and is routinely the world leader in total homicides, though mass shootings are rare. Last year, nearly 64,000 people were killed. President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain, campaigned on promises to crack down on violence, in part by loosening gun laws so more civilians could arm themselves.
SPACEWALKING ASTRONAUTS TAKE HUAWEI CFO IS GIVEN BAIL AS CHINA FOUR HOURS TO CHECK CAPSULE LEAK DETAINS EX-CANADIAN DIPLOMAT CAPE CANAVERAL Associated Press
SPACEWALKING astronauts ripped through thick insulation on a capsule docked to the International Space Station yesterday, looking for clues to a mysterious drilled hole that leaked precious cabin air four months ago. The space station’s crew patched the tiny hole in the Soyuz capsule last August, using epoxy and gauze. Russian space officials wanted the site surveyed from the outside, before the capsule’s return to Earth next week with Russian Sergei Prokopyev and two others. That section of the capsule will be jettisoned as usual before re-entry, and so poses no risk for descent. Prokopyev and Russian Oleg Kononenko had to use a pair of telescoping booms to reach the Soyuz. It took
RUSSIAN cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko’s spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Tuesday. nearly four hours for them to cross the approximately 100 feet (30 meters) to get to the capsule. The insulation proved harder to remove than expected. Russian Mission Control outside Moscow urged the men to take their time and to rest, even though they were running behind.
The spacewalkers’ job was to collect samples of any epoxy sealant that may have protruded from the hole. To expose the external hull, Kononenko needed to cut away a 10-inch (25-centimeter) swatch of thermal insulation and debris shield, a slow and difficult task. Bits of shredded silver insulation floated away, as Kononenko slashed at it with a knife. The capsule leak caused a flap between the U.S. and Russian space agencies, following its discovery at the end of August. Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin observed that the hole could have been drilled during manufacturing — or in orbit. The space station’s commander at the time flatly denied any wrongdoing by himself or his crew. Rogozin has since backpedaled his statement, blaming the news media for twisting his words.
VANCOUVER Associated Press
A CANADIAN court granted bail yesterday to a top Chinese executive arrested at the United States’ request in a case that has set off a diplomatic furor among the three countries and complicated high-stakes US-China trade talks. Hours before the bail hearing in Vancouver, China detained a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing in apparent retaliation for the Dec. 1 arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei and daughter of the company’s founder. After three days of hearings, a British Columbia justice granted bail of $10 million Canadian to Meng, but required her to wear an ankle bracelet, surrender her passports, stay in
SUPPORTERS hold signs outside British Columbia Supreme Court during the bail hearing for Meng Wanzhou. Vancouver and its suburbs and confine herself to one of her two Vancouver homes from 11 pm to 6 am. The decision was met with applause in the packed courtroom, where members of Vancouver’s Chinese community had turned out to show support for Meng. Amid rising tension between China and Canada, Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale
confirmed yesterday that a former Canadian diplomat had been detained in Beijing. The detention came after China warned Canada of consequences for Meng’s arrest. “We’re deeply concerned,” Goodale said. “A Canadian is obviously in difficulty in China. ... We are sparing no effort to do everything we possibly can to look after his safety.”
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, December 12, 2018, PAGE 11
Over-the-Hill unit hires 42
THE OVER-the-hill area of New Providence By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE government’s Over-the-Hill unit has hired 42 people as environmental monitors after 80 applied for the job, according to Project Manager Rocky Nesbitt. Those selected include 24 women and 18 men, he said. One of the chosen is 42-year-old Evano Adderley, a father of three who struggled for four months to find a job. “To get a second chance, especially around the Christmas time when it ain’ much jobs around, I think that’s a great thing what they doing,” he told The Tribune this week. “Right now you can’t find no job nowhere. It was frustrating but when you believe in the Father he’ll do anything for you.” Mr Adderley heard about the environmental monitor programme on the radio. “I thought it was a good idea that they checking for the ghetto,” he said. “It will have a good impact. Sometimes the ghetto people be the last set they check for.” For the 52-week
programme, the monitors will identify and help get rid of bulk waste, derelict vehicles and other environmental hazards, helping the government to improve the look of the historically impoverished communities. They will be trained at the Grants Town Wesley Methodist Church for two months but will receive their first pay cheque before Christmas, Mr Nesbitt said. The training they receive will involve Department of Environmental Health specific training, CPR and first aid training and NEMA Community Emergency Response Team training. To be eligible for the programme, applicants had to be between 18 and 45, have a clean police record, be unemployed and live within the Economic Empowerment Zone, a part of the Over-the-Hill area that comprises Nassau Street to the west, Poinciana Drive and Wulff Road to the south, Collins Avenue to the east and Shirley Street, West Hill Street and Delancy Street to the north. The workers will be paid $220 a week, Mr Nesbitt said.
The most publicised component of the Over-the-Hill initiative has been its tax exemptions programme for residents and owners seeking to renovate their homes and businesses. But at the initiative’s recent town-hall event, the need for jobs was on top of many minds. One resident, Christopher, made his plea directly to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and other programme officials. “I’m a proud fella from Bain Town and myself and, Valentino Stuart, we been going around from January as of last year looking for contracts and work,” he said at the meeting. “We go through Ross Corner and we clean it up every month. No one ever paid us for doing it, but we do our part every day and all sorts of work going on, but unfortunately there is no work for us and we been going to every meeting, every Thursday and Tuesday and still to this day we ain’ get no reward.” Yesterday, Mr Nesbitt said both men have been employed through the new programme.