Compiled, edited and constructed by Russell Dames   Updated every Sunday at 2 p.m.

Volume 1 © BahamasUncensored.Com

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK - The 42nd President of the United States William Jefferson Clinton aka Bill Clinton visited The Bahamas for one day from Friday 4th April to 5th April.  He was here as part of the start of a campaign in the Caribbean to further the cause of the Clinton Foundation’s work in fighting the scourge of HIV infection.  His foundation raised one million dollars for the cause in The Bahamas.  The former President was greeted by enthusiastic crowds wherever he went.  This was quite a study in contrasts to the response to the United States Ambassador over the last year who has caused some resentment in US/Bahamian relations because of the manner and tone of the carrying out of his work.  Someone said as Mr. Clinton spoke you could feel the two nations were one.  Mr. Clinton is shown with Prime Minister Perry Christie, AIDS administrator Dr. Perry Gomez, Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez and Bahamian children in this Peter Ramsay photo taken at the public meeting at the Sir Kendal Isaacs gym on Friday 4th April.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

A STUDY ON CONTRASTS
Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States was in The Bahamas for two days.  His cause was fighting the HIV virus that has infected and affected some 6000 people in The Bahamas today.  That makes it about six percent of our population which is the second highest in the region behind Haiti.  Mr. Clinton pointed out that while we can talk about the war in Iraq and the cost in human lives and the damage and destruction it is causing, that is nothing compared to the catastrophe that HIV is causing for societies around the globe.  He gave a studied message against ignorance and short-sightedness.  His real worry beyond the Caribbean and Africa is that the leaders of India, China and Russia are hiding their heads in the sand as HIV spreads alarmingly in their countries, and this can have devastating consequences for the world economy.

Mr. Clinton called AIDS the most serious public health problem since the Black Plague killed one third of the population of Europe in the 14th century.

But Mr. Clinton’s visit was a study in contrasts to the present administration and its representatives abroad.  During the visit, it was clear that there was an obvious affection for the former President.  Large crowds greeted him everywhere in The Bahamas and many, many people were concerned that they did not get a chance to see him.  He promised that he would return.

The contrast is to the work of the present US administration that is responsible for the protection of the democratic world and for the peace, good order and security of this region.  The present administration is simply frightening everyone out of their wits with all the military action around the world.  They say they are doing it in the name of freedom but what we have is a demonstration of a power that is so overwhelming that what is going on Iraq can be described as nothing more than a slaughter of a people who are fighting for their own survival.

The present Mr. George Bush’s father stopped the destruction of the Saddam Government in 1992 because he and his advisors realized that you cannot destabilize Iraq without destabilizing the whole region.  And as much as we do not like this man Saddam, the fact is he brought stability to the region by containing armed opposing forces within his country.  When the US becomes an occupying power in Iraq, they risk becoming like Israel a country that will be shot at, picked off one by one by one as the various factions turn their attention from Saddam to the United States.

The campaign in Iraq is not well thought out, and the consequences for the world are not thought out.  And each country in the world wonders who is next, both friend and foe alike.  If the US administration does not like who you are, or what you say, there is then a pretext for them to invade your country and remove the Government.  The Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados Billie Miller spoke for many when she reacted furiously to the words of an envoy visiting the Caribbean that there would be consequences for Caribbean countries if they spoke out against the US war in Iraq.  So much for freedom and democracy.

Right now all Caribbean countries have their heads down, with the exception of Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados.  Even Canada is being blackmailed into submission with threats of economic boycotts.  They are all frightened out of their wits to say anything that would be remotely considered anti-American or anti-British for fear that this would cause some adverse reaction to their economies.  And so the forefathers of the independence movements in these countries must be turning over in their graves.

But in the defence of the present, it is clear their Governments argue that their societies have to survive and there is no point in picking a fight with the US that cannot be won.  And so the societies must simply stay out of the war debate, move forward and look to another less oppressive day and administration.  Those are the facts as many see it.

The Clinton visit was then an interesting interlude in the midst of all the war talk.  It shows that there is still some humanity and decency left in world leadership, and people long for the day when there will be a return to that kind of leadership at the very top of the world’s richest and most successful country.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 5th April at midnight: 21,409.

Number of hits for the month of March up to Monday 31st March 2003: 115,906.

Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 5th March 2003 at midnight: 10,580.

Number of hits for the year 2003 up to Saturday 5th April at midnight: 330,493.

A WEEK OF TALK ON TRAFFIC FATALITIES
    Justin Scott (shown at right) the 24 year old son of Michael Scott and his former wife Ann Bease nee Isaacs is dead.  He died in a traffic accident on Saturday 29th March in the early hours of the morning while returning from a social function.  His picture made the front page, another promising young man dead and gone in what seemed a senseless traffic accident.  It was timely then that Pierre Dupuch, the Member of Parliament for the St. Margaret’s constituency brought a request for a Select Committee to the floor of the Assembly on Wednesday 2nd April when the Government set aside the entire day to deal with Opposition business.  The request was to look into ways that the traffic fatalities on the roads of New Providence can be alleviated, and what legal measures need to be taken to stop the carnage on the streets.
    The fact is that there is too much speed on the streets of New Providence.  There is also too little enforcement of existing laws.  Drunk driving laws are routinely ignored and speeding laws are only sporadically enforced.  Existing laws on faulty mufflers, smoky exhaust systems, and loud noisy music coming from cars are all ignored.  But Bahamians have a great tendency to flap their gums about on problems that have obvious solutions about which they love to talk but about which they intend to do nothing. Mr. Dupuch (pictured at left) tabled his resolution last year shortly after Vanessa Fox, a young woman, got killed in a traffic accident one night after coming from a party, and the car over crowded with people, took the curve too suddenly and the SUV in which she was driving overturned.  There again, overcrowding of vehicles is an offence but one bets she passed a police officer who saw it and did nothing to enforce it.  Red lights are routinely run in The Bahamas without any enforcement.  There is a virtual revolt against the enforcement of seat belt laws in The Bahamas.
    Justin Scott, a bright young man, on his way to a Hollywood film career, made the 11th traffic fatality for the year. Since that there was another one, this time a young motorcycle driver on Friday 4th April, one of many who routinely ignore the helmet laws, remove the mufflers from their bikes and prance on the back wheel.  He met his death and was shown in the press covered like a dead puppy dog in a sheet on the side of the road, waiting for the mortician to come and pick him up.  But as we said, we will continue to talk about it and the carnage will no doubt continue and we will do nothing.  We have no hope or expectation that the select committee approved during the debate will do anything to stop the carnage.  It seems we are just a society full of impotent rage on this and many other questions.
 

NEW P.S. AT FOREIGN AFFAIRS
    The Prime Minister Perry Christie announced on Monday 31st March that A. Missouri Sherman Peter is to leave the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Bahamas on secondment to the Government of St. Lucia to serve as the Chef d’Cabinet (Chief of Staff) of the incoming President of the General Assembly of the United Nations at its 38th Session.  St. Lucia’s Minister of External Affairs Julian Hunte is expected to be chosen as the new President.  The Prime Minister said that the request was made by the Prime Minister of St. Lucia to the Government of The Bahamas.  Mr. Christie said that The Bahamas ought to be proud of the accomplishments of Mrs. Sherman-Peter.  He said that the service at the UN was a proud honour for the people of The Bahamas.
    The Government of St. Lucia saw the position of President of the General Assembly as a Caribbean wide honour and asked for the support of the region in manning Mr. Hunte’s Cabinet for the year.  The Government of The Bahamas will pay the salary and allowances of the Permanent Secretary while she is on leave.  There was a reception by the staff as the Minister of Foreign Affairs made the announcement to the staff following the Prime Minister’s announcement.  There had been speculation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for months that the Permanent Secretary would be leaving.  There was an article in the weekly rag in The Bahamas called The Punch that there were disagreements between the Minister and the Permanent Secretary on operational matters and that the matters had been resolved in favour of the Minister.  But none of that was present at the announcement; the two could not have looked more pleased.  Guardian photo.

 

PERMANENT SECRETARIES REDEPLOYED
    The Cabinet Office this past week released the following statement:
    Consequent upon the secondment of Her Excellency Mrs. A. Missouri Sherman Peter, formerly Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Government of St. Lucia, the Cabinet office announced for public information today that the Prime Minister has redeployed three Permanent Secretaries to new Ministries with effect from Monday, 7" April, 2003.
    Dr. Patricia Rodgers, now the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism is to move to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
    Mr. Colin Higgs, now the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Financial Services and Investment is to move to the Ministry of Tourism.
    Ms. Sheila Carey, now the Acting Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture is to move to the Ministry of Financial Services and Investment.
    Mr. Harrison Thompson, now the Under Secretary in the Office ofthe Attorney General will be transferred to the Ministry of Youth, Sports 62 Culture and will act as Permanent Secretary until further notice.
    A spokesman for the Cabinet Office said that there would be a more comprehensive review of the deployment of senior officers in the Civil Service in the not too distant future.

PLP KICKS OFF 50 YEARS
    The Progressive Liberal Party is the oldest political party in the country, having been founded on 24th November 1953.  The Party began as an idea in the minds of three mulatto politicians in The Bahamas.  They saw themselves as the champions of black men and women who were dispossessed in the country.  The idea was crystallized by a journey to Jamaica following a visit to London by the founders to witness the coronation.  H. M. Taylor, the late Governor General and the first Leader and Chairman of the Party, said that the party was formed to help to create public opinion in The Bahamas so as to remove injustice.
    The Progressive Liberal Party was soon embraced by the Black masses and ten years later it had transformed itself into a mass party, having won in the 1962 election more votes than the United Bahamian Party, the White oligarchy that ran the country.  They lost in the seat count in 1962 because the Out islands as the Family Islands were then called had more representatives in the House than New Providence where the majority of people resided.  That was resolved in 1967 and 14 years after it was founded, the party was elected to the Government of The Bahamas.  Since that time, the country was led into independence in 1973; the party lost office after 25 consecutive years in office and regained the Government under the leader Perry Christie in 2002.
    The party began its 50 years celebration with a church service at Golden Gates Assembly on Carmichael Road.  Party Chairman Raynard Rigby traced the party’s existence to the African struggle for freedom in The Bahamas dating back to emancipation in 1834.  Party Leader Perry Christie spoke of the devotion to duty of the many stalwarts who held the PLP dear to their hearts through thick and thin.  The Hon. A. D. Hanna, former Deputy Prime Minister in the first PLP administration spoke to the times that went before as the party grew to become the Government.  Today, there are second generation PLP leaders in the party’s leadership.  They include: Glenys Hanna Martin, daughter of the Hon. A. D. Hanna and Allyson Maynard Gibson the daughter of another former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Clement Maynard.  Mr. Hanna is shown being greeted by Prime Minister Perry Christie at the Golden Gates Assemby service in this Guardian photo by Donald Knowles.

THERE IS A LEADERSHIP RACE IN THE FNM
    Zendal Forbes has had a curious career in politics.  People would have sworn that he was about to be if not outright a member of the Progressive Liberal Party, largely because of his association with Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell.  He began his political career by resigning as a lecturer at the College of The Bahamas and daring to run in 1992 against the late Sir Lynden Pindling in Andros from which he hails.  He was defeated but even though the FNM won, they did not make him feel welcome because he was disliked by Hubert Ingraham the new Prime Minister.  He may as well as have been a PLP for all he got from Hubert Ingraham’s FNM.
    As the 2002 General Election drew near, it was felt by some that Mr. Forbes should have got the PLP's nomination for the South Andros seat.  Instead it was given to Vince Symonette who lost to Whitney Bastian.  Prior to 2002 and following the 1992 General Elections, he had gone back to his job at the College of The Bahamas where he became President of the Union and led the lecturers on a confrontational path for better working conditions, paying for the successful prosecution of the College for union busting tactics.  He has been quiet since that time but now he is back in the spotlight.
    Mr. Forbes has announced that he is running for the office of Leader of the FNM against Tommy Turnquest, the now Leader.  The Tribune seemed racist, describing him as a “dark horse”.  No doubt the play on words because he is darker complexioned as opposed to Tommy Turnquest who is brown skinned and Brent Symonette, the other putative candidate who is white.   But we have to give Mr. Forbes a plaudit for his courage, and we wish him well.  It appears that Brent Symonette has shall we say been persuaded to bow out gracefully and let Tommy Turnquest have a free reign.  Now with Mr. Forbes in the race, we shall have a contest.  The only other declared candidate is former Senator Sidney Collie who intends to run for Deputy Leader of the Party.
 

THE PLP MEETS IN SPECIAL SESSION
    The Progressive Liberal Party held a special conclave at the South Ocean Beach Hotel and resort on Southwest Road in New Providence.  The conclave was attended by all Members of Parliament and the Senate and the party's officers.  The idea was to get all persons on the same page and to talk about the future for the leadership of the party.  The Prime Minister gave the principal address about how the party could move forward in organizing its public relations, the communications internally between back bench and Cabinet and between the party rank and file and the Parliamentary group.  The conclave was well attended and Raynard Rigby, the Chairman of the Party (pictured) ought to be congratulated for having taking the effort to organize it.
    In a news release, Mr. Rigby said that during the conclave the party reaffirmed its commitment to its eight core pledges to:

    Rescue the economy;
    Create a safer society;
    Tackle poverty, ill health and ignorance;
    Make freedom real;
    Celebrate our heritage;
    Embrace our youth;
    Lift standards in all aspects of our national life; and
    Put Bahamians first.
    The statement said that Party Leader and Prime Minister Perry Christie gave a "spirited address" challenging the group to remain committed to good governance.  "The hosting of this conclave within less that one year of... government", said the release, "is... a recognition of our commitment to the Bahamian people."
 

SARS ALERT
    The Ministry of Health in The Bahamas has issued an alert for all ports of entry in The Bahamas with regard to the new respiratory disease that evidences itself mainly in Asia called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).  The Ministry said that the World Health Organization (WHO) had issued an alert that said that people who planned to travel to Hong Kong and Guangdong Province in China should avoid that travel for the time being.
    The SARS crisis has already had one casualty.  Members of the House of Assembly’s Select Committee on Foreign Affairs have postponed their visit to Beijing as a result of the crisis brought on by SARS.  The Ministry said that there was no need for alarm in The Bahamas.  It listed the symptoms that one must look for in the disease – temperature over 100.4 degrees, and some respiratory distress including coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, hypoxia (low oxygen in the blood) and x ray findings of pneumonia and respiratory distress.
    A card is to be filled out by all passengers arriving from the suspected areas into The Bahamas for use by the Ministry of Health.  No cases of SARS have been reported in The Bahamas.
 
 

COMPLAINT FROM THE STRAW VENDORS
    Ignorance is a hell of a thing.  Paper will sit still for any foolishness to be written on it.  Such is the reaction one gets from the comment made in the press on Thursday 3rd April from a spokesman for the Straw Vendors one Celestine Innis that the straw vendors were not consulted on the design of the straw market.  This is what she was quoted as saying: “I was disappointed that we did not have an input in the drawing of the market.  When the final design was announced they said that they would come and get input from us.  All the years the straw market always knew first hand what was going on, and then it was brought to the public.”
    The fact is that a straw vendor was on the board that chose the final design architect.  The fact is that the design is not final final, and that the architect has been chosen.  It is his job now to come up with the final, final design, which will require input from all the other designs, and Ms. Innis can still have her input.  But the fact is some people prefer to complain than have solutions to complaints.

NEW OPPOSITION LEADERS
    The announcement came on Monday morning last that Brent Symonette was to be the new Leader of Opposition business in the House.  It was a most curious announcement.  Tommy Turnquest, the FNM Leader (pictured top centre) who does not sit in the House and who is a senator, said that he had advised the Leader of the Opposition who is in the House that he should make Brent Symonette, the Leader of the Opposition business in the House.  Further, he advised Alvin Smith (top right) the Leader of the Opposition to appoint Brent Symonette the whip for the Opposition, relieving former Parliamentary Secretary Lindy Russell of the job.  This all seemed to have stemmed from the disastrous decision the week before by the Opposition Leader without consultation and in the absence of Mr. Symonette from the House chamber to walk out of the debate that the Opposition had scheduled to condemn the Government on Junkanoo.  Mr. Symonette was said to be going around privately saying that he did not agree with what Mr. Smith had done.  He issued his speech that he intended to give for publication in The Tribune.
    It is no secret also that Mr. Symonette has been saying that it was 99.9 percent certain that he would run for the office of Leader.  This threatened the fragile peace between Alvin Smith and Tommy Turnquest.  It is said that Hubert Ingraham, the former Prime Minister, went to Mr. Symonette and told him that he should not run against Mr. Turnquest.  He threatened to campaign against him, which would have ruined Mr. Symonette's chances.  In exchange Mr. Ingraham offered Mr. Symonette, the posts of Leader of Opposition Business in the House and Opposition whip, which carries for multi millionaire Brent an additional 14,000 dollars per year.
    Brent Symonette (pictured at right) was smiling from ear to ear as the Leader of the Opposition claimed in his communication to Parliament that he had appointed Mr. Symonette to the new posts.  The PLP asked him, which Leader did the appointing in fact, he or Tommy Turnquest who made the original announcement.  And if there were any doubt that Hubert Ingraham was still in charge, Mr. Ingraham got up to explain even after Mr. Smith sat down, more fully what had happened complete with a history of why the Public Accounts Committee changes the Opposition requested had a precedent.
    Mr. Smith also announced that Brent Symonette would now replace Mr. Smith on the Public Accounts Committee, and that Mr. Symonette should be the Chair.  This now reverses the position of the FNM that they would not participate in the Committee since there was an Independent on the Committee with whom they did not agree.  Mr. Symonette should be careful however and know that the Public Accounts Committee has the jurisdiction only to review historical data, not current data.  If he starts wandering into the present accounts of the Government he will run into serious trouble.
    Of all the curious things of the week, the Leader of the Opposition Alvin Smith having to go to the press to explain that despite what they thought and expressed in their headlines of Monday 31st March that he had been demoted, he was not in fact demoted.  That was like the late US President Richard Nixon’s famous line: “I am not a crook”.

PLP CHAIRMAN ON THE FNM LEADERSHIP
    The Chairman of the PLP Raynard Rigby has commented on the announcement by Senator Tommy Turnquest, the FNM’s leader that Alvin Smith, Leader of the Opposition had been directed to make changes in the Leadership of the FNM in the House of Assembly.  Mr. Rigby said that the FNM’s leadership is on the verge of political collapse.  Mr. Rigby said that the FNM has devalued the constitutional role of Opposition leader Alvin Smith by appointing Brent Symonette MP to control the business of the Opposition in the House of Assembly.  Here is what Mr. Rigby said in his own words:
    “Alvin Smith is the constitutionally appointed leader of the official opposition.  Tommy Turnquest is a member of the Senate and therefore Tommy Turnquest cannot be Leader of the Opposition…
    “The provisions of the Constitution are clear and it appears that Tommy Turnquest is bent on wielding the constitutional power of Office of Leader of the Opposition without being a member of the House.  This is [runs] afoul of the constitution.  His [Senator Turnquest’s] actions are unconstitutional.  The PLP invites the FNM to show respect for the Constitution and decide once and for all who it wishes to lead them in their days in the political wilderness.”
 

BAIL FOR MURDER ACCUSEDS
    According to a report in The Tribune, the bail applications over the years 2000-2002 show that some 36 persons charged with murder were let out on bail.  This usually happens when it takes too long for a person's case to come to court.  The Supreme Court has taken the view that rather than dismiss the case, they ought to let the person out on bail because the trial has not taken place within a reasonable time and is therefore in danger of crossing over the line of the constitution that says the trial is supposed to take place within a reasonable time. The criminal law attorney Wayne Munroe had something to say to The Tribune about the matter.  Here is what he had to say in his own words:
    “What happens is that you charge someone with murder, it’s set down for hearing and witnesses or people making the complaint, don’t show up to court. So it’s adjourned and courts are slow to throw a matter out because of what people might say about it.
    “In Canada, they would dismiss the case after six months regardless of what the charge is, but here the press would scream bloody murder, they throwin' out a bunch of murder a cases and the rest of that.  There is no backlog it’s just something politicians say”
    Things that make you go hmmm!
 
 

WHO IS THE HEAD OF THE JUDICIARY?
    There is a strange new development in the Judiciary that needs to be investigated and a fast stop put to the trend.  Notwithstanding the fact that the nomenclature is anomalous when one considers the functions of the Court, the Chief Justice as the Chairman of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission is in fact the head of the Judiciary.  The problem is that the constitution has him sitting as a judge of the Supreme Court and only ex officio at the invitation of the President of the Court of Appeal as an appellate judge. And so the Supreme Court is not really the Supreme Court at all in the sense that Americans would understand the Supreme Court as the highest court in the country.  That has led to an unfortunate practice where the Court of Appeal’s now President has been having a separate opening of the legal year, tending to treat the Court as a separate section of the Judiciary.  In fact when the Chief Justice opens the legal year, he is opening it as head of the Judiciary and there should be no other opening at all.  Someone needs to step in and make this fact known so that we don’t have this proliferation of opening ceremonies when in fact all we need is one and get on with the business at hand.
 

DION FOULKES TRIES TO DEFEND HIMSELF
    The outgoing Deputy Leader of the FNM Dion Foulkes (pictured) was on the radio on Thursday 3rd April. He was there to urge students who are now being charged the full 8 per cent for their loans instead of the four per cent they thought they would pay to sue the Government.  He also defended the FNM against the charge that they left the country broke saying that the PLP would not have found 1.2 million dollars to rent bleachers if the country was broke.  He also accused the PLP of hiring some 20 consultants over the last ten months, claiming that one of them was being paid over $60,000. Ho! Hum!
    What Mr. Foulkes needs to explain to the Bahamian people is how he as a Minister presided over a scheme for school loans in the Ministry of Education that almost bankrupted The Bahamas, and was so disorganized that it had no control over the disbursement of Governments funds.  Mr. Foulkes also needs to explain all those political contracts that he gave out in order to get himself elected Deputy Leader of the FNM. When and only when he begins to explain those things will the people of The Bahamas have some time to listen to him and his advice on what and what not to do.

 

ALGERNON ALLEN MUST BE CAREFUL
    The former Member of Parliament for Marathon in the FNM Algernon Allen gave an interview in The Tribune last week.  In it, he defended the right of Brent Symonette to be the leader of the FNM notwithstanding the fact that he is white.  Since no one said that he could not become leader of the FNM, it is quite interesting that the subject would be brought up by Mr. Allen.  Is there some faction within the FNM that says because Mr. Symonette is white he can’t be Leader of the FNM or Leader of The Bahamas?  We did not know that racism exists in the FNM.  Mr. Allen must be careful what he says or it might appear that he is singing for his supper.
 

THE CLINTON VISIT

    The visit of former US President Bill Clinton to The Bahamas has energized the people and the Government of The Bahamas in the fight against AIDS.  It has given a boost to the activists who have been fighting the valiant battle.  It has supplied new monies from old sources who went for his celebrity appeal.  But what is clear is that we all now recognize afresh the role we have to play in making sure that the ignorance that has led to this scourge is eliminated from our country.  The fact is that it continues to affect as many people as it does; it threatens to wipe out so many of our young people in their productive years.  It is already the leading cause of death in The Bahamas for people between the ages of 15- 44.  We must continue to work to save our young people.  We present photos of the range of things that the former President did here during the short stay, and we think that he did wonders to improve the relationship between the American people and The Bahamas that has taken such a bruising over the past year.  Mr. Clinton is shown at left sharing an observation with Prime Minister Christie during his public appearance at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs gymnasium Friday 4th April; on his way to meet Cabinet members accompanied by the Prime Minister; being greeted by Minister of Financial Services Allyson Maynard Gibson and other Cabinet members and finally speaking about the International Aids Foundation at the Kendal Isaacs gym.
 

VINCENT PEET ENDS WATER WORKERS' SIT-IN

    Industrial unrest which had been fomenting at the Water & Sewerage Corporation for years was brought to a swift end by Minister of Labour and Immigration Vincent Peet this past week.  Minister Peet intervened in a long standing dispute that had developed between the union and the former FNM administration since the 1990s over contract negotiations.  The intervention, which imposed a compromise solution, left the president of the water workers' union Huedley Moss singing the Government's praises in the press and wondering why the former administration had not provided the leadership necessary to solve the matter.  Mr. Moss (left) and Minister Peet (centre) are pictured in this Tribune photo by Omar Barr.
 
 

ST. ANSELM’S NEW CHURCH IN PICTURES

    We present a picture of the dedication of the new St. Anselm’s Church in Fox Hill.  The Catholic Church in Fox Hill was consecrated Sunday 23rd March by Archbishop Lawrence Burke.  The photo is by Peter Ramsay.

FRED MITCHELL COMMENTS ON THE CHURCH
    The Minister of Foreign Affairs & the Public Service is also the Member of Parliament for Fox Hill where St. Anselm’s is located.  Mr. Mitchell is shown with Roman Catholic Archbishop Lawrence Burke at the dedication service for St. Anselm's in this Peter Ramsay photo.  He wrote this letter to the press about the new church:
    "I wish to say that one of the proudest moments of my short life as the represenative for the Fox Hill constituency came during the dedication and consecreation of the new St. Anselm’s Church in Fox Hill on Sunday, March 23.  It is a reaffirmation for a community that has taken much battering over the last year.
    "The building of the church is a tribute to the leadership of Archbishop Lawrence Burke whom I have known from my days as an activist.  It is also a tribute to the fine leadership of Monsignor Preston Moss, the rector of the parish.
    "I said to Monsignor Moss that someone ought to write volume two of the history of the Catholic Church in The Bahamas.  In my view, that era would begin with the coming of Lawrence Burke and all the new construction that has come under his leadership and of course the establishment of the Archbishopric.  The Catholic Church’s early tradition was to invest in spare buildings for worship with the greater investment in schools, education and community outreach.
    "The new construction in Long Island, St. Joseph’s in Nassau. The new Cathedral at St. Francis, St. Anselm’s and a new parish church in Andros are a testament to a new thrust where the church clearly sees itself as a growing and established institution in The Bahamas as opposed to a pioneering or mission church.
    "It is great to witness this time in their history and says something also about the state of development in the country and the confidence of our people in the future of their church and their country.  The people of Fox Hill are proud of that church building.  The parish members, many of them Fox Hillians, contributed sweat equity.  It was simply a wonderful example of community outreach and self help.
    "I was doubly proud to see Deacon Leviticus Adderley out that day.  It was another one of those Dickensian moments that I have described in another forum.  I started out as one of his students back in 1965.
    "Finally, I pay tribute to the Catholic Church itself.  Though not a member, its young clergy embraced my coming to St. Augustine’s from public school in 1965, provided a scholarship for an experience that I could never have afforded and the rest for good or ill as they say is history.
    "Congratulations to the people of St. Anselm’s."
                                                                            Fred Mitchell MP
 

BAHAMAS B2B NEWSLETTER
    In a startling display of bad and yellow journalism, the 1st April edition of the Bahamas B2B newsletter online devoted its entire issue to lying, salacious and inane attacks on various personalities within the PLP and its Government, as well as business and cultural leaders.  While unsuspecting loyal readers were left to ponder the sudden and inappropriate material from a site that usually deals with news of community interest, the site announced in its next edition that it was all “an April Fools joke…”
    The newsletter was no joke at all.  The joke, if there is one to be found in this sordid mess, is on the editors of the site for such an asinine idea.  It has discredited any respect and reliability, which the newsletter may have built up under its former editor.  People block the site form their e-mail addresses to avoid this kind of insulting material again.
 

MAILBOX
Another interesting grab-bag this week, which seems to show that our readers are getting the point, for the most part.

From: 'A Bahamian Activist' - I agree with your statement of Bahamians reflecting our slave heritage as it relates to our attitude to the war… America is a bully, and for too long they have been going in and causing more harm than help to many of these struggling countries.  I think that these countries should be allowed to handle their own affairs and if that fails, the United Nations should be the only body that steps in and make any decisions that would affect the country… The point of the matter is, which is sad, is that America has a handle on too many countries in the world (including ours).  Continue doing such a great job with the website.

From 'Bahamian student in Minnesota':  Thank you so much for finally explicit[ly] expressing some critique on the war.  I would be interested to also see a discussion on your website of the implications of the 'failure' of the United Nations for small nations like us.  Keep up the good work…  It may not be worth [it] to alienate people over party politics when it comes to discussing something of such global impact as this unjust war.

From R. Troy Albury:  It's good to see that this site is still carrying-on!  I have been a supporter of this site from day 1 and I want to encourage you guys to continue to be provocative and show the PLP point of view. There's nothing wrong with that at all and the naysayers have to truly understand this thing called Democracy and Freedom of Speech.  As if that implies you must always be neutral.
     Everyday, Rush Limbaugh's radio show puts forward, very aggressively, the Conservative Right Wing point of view and his strong support of President Bush's programs.  And if you don't like his show, then you listen to Neil Rodgers’ extreme liberalism or you watch MTV…  People have to understand your site is a PLP site and has always been one.  If they have a different point of view then go to a ‘FNM site’, it's as simple as that… aaaaaaaaahhhh, the beauty of the right to choose!

From 'Piece Out':  The Bahamas will celebrate its 30th year of independence this year.  This is a milestone and I feel it is incumbent upon every individual to show pride and patriotism during this year especially for the month of July.
    I feel one of the ways the P.L.P. can stay in touch with the common man is to have an interactive site not only promoting the party but be a place for people to express their views on any and everything that is affecting them.  In order for the P.L.P. to stay on top, they need to always keep in touch with the 'common man'.  Please let Mr. Raynard Rigby know this.
 

B.S. NOTES FROM GENEVA’S IN FREEPORT…
NEWS FROM GRAND BAHAMA

Cocaine On Bahamasair
    Yesterday, Saturday 5th April, 2 kilos of cocaine was discovered in the bathroom waste disposal of a Bahamasair plane scheduled to fly from Freeport to Miami.  The flight was delayed while a new crew was flown in from Nassau to man the flight while the rostered crew was assisting police in their investigations.  Reports say that crew is still being questioned in connection with the find.  Authorities are now wondering why the sudden spate of attempts to use the national flag carrier in drug smuggling.  In the last month or two, several arrests have been made of people attempting to use Bahamasair to spirit illegal drugs into the United States.  All that we know of have been caught, but what is going on?

Brent Symonette’s FNM Leadership Bid
    He is a nice guy and should be allowed to run for the leadership of his party.  In fact anyone who wants to run for the leader’s position in the FNM ought to be able to do so in an open and democratic institution.  Ha!  That is the official line, but behind the scenes there is a ‘let’s keep Brent out’ movement at the highest levels of the party.  “A campaign is being waged”, one FNM insider told News From Grand Bahama, “we are certain that Brent could win the leadership of the FNM, but if he does we know he wouldn’t step down in two years to give way to black leadership.”  His words, not ours.  Another said, “If The Bahamas has an 85 percent black population, how are we going to tell the world that we can’t find one black man to lead us.”
    Behind the scenes, at the highest levels, we are told that Brent – if he hasn’t already been told – will be warned that he should be happy with his new appointment and under no circumstances should he allow himself to be nominated for the leadership of the FNM.  That must be racist for a party that prides itself on receiving ninety nine percent support from the white minority.  It will be interesting to see whether Brent Symonette will succumb to the pressure and not run.  We’d like to see how the FNM will get out of this end.

Hope For East Grand Bahama
    A new investment this week was announced for east Grand Bahama.  The investment was said to be worth some seventy million dollars with the potential of hundreds of jobs.  All over Grand Bahama this week, residents were making jokes and were asking the question, how many times are these politicians going to play the same old joke on the people of Grand Bahama?  In common cause with the Government however, FNM High Rock MP Ken Russell told News From Grand Bahama that he believes this is a real investment and this one should bear fruit because he had the opportunity to be in on part of the negotiations.

Bannister & BAAA Carifta
    As we went to press, News From Grand Bahama in an interview with BAAA’s president Senator Desmond Bannister predicted that about fifty athletes would be selected for this years Carifta track and field team to travel to Trinidad over the Easter weekend.  He told us that the selection process should be finished by the end of the day, Sunday 6th April, and that that team this year will be predominantly made up of under-17 athletes in an attempt to build a foundation for The Bahamas to return to its glory years in the sport.  He also said that because of Trinidad’s proximity to other Caribbean islands most of the other Caribbean countries would be fielding large teams and that The Bahamas should still see very good results.  We wish them well.
    This is apparently Senator Bannister’s last year as BAAA president and we hope that his successor, whoever it is will build on the strong foundation he leaves.   Final Carifta track and field trials were held Friday and Saturday 4th and 5th April in Nassau at the Thomas A. Robinson track in Nassau.  Noticeably absent were Ricky Moxey and his crew from Exuma who didn’t show up.  We wonder why?

Commentary on BaTelCo Cellular Service
    Five months ago it was an open secret that the cell system was at its capacity.  In fact staff members at the telephone company had anticipated the system would crash because it was overloaded.  They told us to expect that because of the system reaching its maximum capacity the level of service would be degraded significantly.  Then came the BaTelCo announcement that they could no longer accept applications for cell service and that a proposal was to be sent to Cabinet.  From that time to this there has not been any more public statement from the company, but for sure the cell service has certainly become worse.  We wonder why the company is taking so long to upgrade its system that is a sure cash cow.  It defies logic.  Why would the company allow the system first to collapse, then put new applications on permanent hold and do nothing?  We believe that the Government owes the public an explanation as to why this state of affairs is allowed to continue.  If it were any other company suffering from cash flow problems then that might have been a justifiable reason, but BaTelCo certainly does not have this problem… or is this part of a plan to try and justify the selling of BaTelCo to foreign interests which we believe based on the geopolitical realities now is not in the best interests of the Government of The Bahamas to have the telecommunications system in the hands of foreign entities for national security reasons.
BS

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK - U. S. Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship was on the front page of the Nassau Guardian on Thursday 10th April, and this time it was the kind of event in which Ambassadors are supposed to be involved.  The Ambassador was visiting the AIDS camp at Carmichael Road in New Providence run by Glenroy Nottage, aka Fr. Glenroy Nottage, the brother of former MPs Kendal Nottage and Dr. Bernard Nottage.  The story showed the Ambassador with with Jacqueline Moxey, one of the inmates of the camp and seeking to find out what he could do to help.  The Rev. Nottage was upset that on Friday 4th April former President Bill Clinton visited The Bahamas to raise awareness about the fight against AIDS but was not brought to the camp (see story on US politics below), one of the only facilities to care for indigent and homeless AIDS patients.  The Ambassador said of Rev. Nottage: “God is truly working through him.”  The photo is by Donald Knowles.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

A RETURN TO MAYHEM
Now that Bill Clinton has left The Bahamas and the video game war in Iraq seems to be winding to a close, the attention of the nation seemed to turn to the usual mayhem that occurs on the streets, in the homes and most importantly in the schools.  Teachers in Grand Bahama walked out from the St. Georges High School on Thursday 10th April and others joined them in a protest in Grand Bahama when two unauthorized men came onto the campus in revenge for something that was alleged to have happened on the school campus to one of their kin.  It seems the student used his cell phone to call in the enforcers and the security guards did not stop them.  The school’s Vice Principal was assaulted.  The teachers demanded better security.  Their union President Kingsley Black said that the Government should prosecute the parents of the students involved.  Two persons have been charged.

In Nassau, a woman came to The Tribune reported on Thursday 10th April that her daughter had been involved in an attempted rape.  The mother blamed the teacher who some students said left them locked and unattended for too long and while the class looked on and cheered, a young man tried to rape the young lady.  The mother was distraught.

Jacinta Higgs who is a former teacher of R. M. Bailey tried to explain what the problem is.  The most telling point was the fact that there are too many young parents, single mothers in particular who know nothing about raising children.  Another commentator made the point about the raging hormones in adolescent boys and the kind of culture that we have that encourages sexual penetration by males.

The President of the Christian Council Bishop Sam Greene said that society was unravelling.  He said: “The moral, ethical and spiritual fibre of The Bahamas is beginning to unravel on a daily basis.  Our crime rate is forever climbing, violence seems to be the order of the day and now we have violent situations in the schools.  It is now crucial that politicians, the church, the home and all citizens of this country become aware of the fact that when discipline goes, the country goes.”

That is well said as far as it goes.  But this column has made the point before that The Bahamas is full of impotent rage.  The kind of rage that is like the Bahamas Electricity Corporation and the power blackouts.  They can always tell you why the power is off but they can’t keep it on.

Then there was the sad picture on the front page of 30-year-old Valachi Theophilus, a flight attendant at Bahamasair.  He was handcuffed and his picture spread over the front page of the paper, charged for trying to smuggle dope to Miami on a Freeport to Miami flight last Saturday 4th April.  It is again a sad, sad thing for no matter whether he is ultimately exonerated or not, his career is finished and he has a host of troubles to overcome at 30 years old from now on.  His story is not likely to be the last one of a young person gone into horrible trouble.  One wonders how all of this happens.

In a column like this, it is easy for us to build up any kind of pattern we wish.  We certainly don’t want to scare anyone.  But it seems to us a scary kind of time when there does not appear to be the national will or discipline to keep things under control.  We are increasingly a society where the young tails are wagging the dog.  The Government is busy trying to put out fires everywhere.  They too are engaged in impotent rage at a people that are becoming increasingly impatient why more is not done for one thing or the next.  Its supporters are grumbling loudly that they have not seen the fruits of their struggle ten months after the great victory even as the Government has more fundamental problems to deal with like providing food for starving children whose parents have no work at all.

But you know, we should be comforted by this fact: those of us who are alive and live in The Bahamas are better off than those poor souls in Iraq, let down by their so called liberators to a life of anarchy, and food shortages, more death and destruction.  We at least have within our grasp, the ability to use our full intellectual power to get on top of the problems, which confront us.  The Government must simply get on with the business of governing, but it must also pay attention to the disintegrating signs in our culture that threaten to overwhelm us.

Number of hits for the week ending Saturday 12th April 2003 at midnight: 28,333.

Number of hits for the month of April up to Saturday 12th April 2003 at midnight: 38,871.

Number of hits for the year up to Saturday 12th April 2003: 358,784.

US POLITICS PLAYED OUT IN THE BAHAMAS?
    The photo of the week this week shows a picture of the U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas J. Richard Blankenship visiting the AIDS camp in New Providence that is run by the younger brother of former MPs Kendal and Bernard Nottage.  The man who calls himself, the Rev. Glenroy Nottage was upset that the former U.S. President William Clinton was not brought to the camp, which is the only kind of facility of that kind in The Bahamas.  Rev. Nottage has been reviled by many in the Bahamian establishment because of his unorthodox approach but in every showdown with Bahamian governments, he has managed to survive largely through the intervention of rich folk who live in exclusive Lyford Cay and like what he does, and by the fact that if he left the facility, the people who live there would have no other place to go.
    During the visit of the former U.S. President, the U.S. Ambassador didn’t seem to feature in any of the events.  If you looked through the press, you could not find his picture anywhere with the former President.  The fact is that Mr. Clinton is a Democrat, and the Ambassador is a Bush Republican.  One supposes that despite the formal availability of the Embassy’s facilities to a former President, it was not just politically palatable for either to contemplate any connection.  That is just speculation, but the fact is there was no public picture of them together.
    It was interesting then for the Bahamian public to see the U.S. Ambassador turn up at the AIDS camp to assist Rev. Nottage.  He said that he was moved by the visit.  He thought that the Rev. was doing good work and should be supported.  He invoked God’s name.  This was music to Rev. Nottage's ear and gave the facility a high profile boost, which we hope will help with donations.  As we said above this is the kind of work that an Ambassador should be doing, spreading goodwill and cheer.
    But back to the politics.  It was interesting that both Rev. Nottage and the Ambassador having not been connected to the official Clinton visit were connected in a story. The thrust of the story seemed to be that while the former President, a Democrat snubbed you; your real friends are the ones who are in power now, represented by the man who actually represents the real President in Nassau.  Far fetched maybe!  And some suggest that Americans don’t play their politics like that.  But as they say in Nassau: you stay right there! Nassau Guardian photo of former US President Bill Clinton waving goodbye to Nassau by Patrick Hanna.
 

THE WAR IN IRAQ THAT YOU DIDN’T SEE

    The World Wide Web has hooked people into all sorts of alternative sources that you can get for news that you will not normally get.  And so someone this week was circulating pictures that they said you would not normally see on CNN about the war in Iraq.  We show these pictures.  There is a belief amongst many that the real tragedy of this war is that it was an unnecessary show of strength that has caused tens of thousands of unnecessary civilian casualties and injuries, caused civil disorder and anarchy and breakdown in what was a stable state, and has caused economic harm to the world that could have been avoided.  But it is now done and we live with the consequences.  The photos are shown without further comment.

 

THE BAHAMAS CABINET WITH BILL

    Former President of the United States Bill Clinton, the 42nd President, paid a visit to the Cabinet Room of The Bahamas on Friday 3rd April in Nassau.  He spent about half an hour speaking with the Prime Minister accompanied by the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell and Health Minster Dr. Marcus Bethel.  Then he joined the Cabinet, sans Minister of Local Government Alfred Gray for a photo by Peter Ramsay.

FOREIGN MINISTER AND THE CHINESE AGREEMENT

    The Bahamas and China signed a Comprehensive Maritime Agreement on Thursday 10th April.  The agreement will be of some benefit for the ships registered on The Bahamas shipping register.  The main problem that it solves is that ships on the Bahamian register have higher port charges than other nation’s ships.  With the signing of the agreement, the  differential between Bahamian ships and other nation’s ships that have agreements will disappear.  That will mean Most Favoured Nation status for Bahamian ships.  China is the third largest ship builder in the world.  There are also three large Chinese ships on the Bahamian register with more to come.  The agreement was signed in the presence of Minister of Transport Glenys Hanna Martin who explained the agreement to the press.  Minister Mitchell was on the front pages toasting to the agreement with the Chinese Vice Minister of Communications. BIS photo by Derek Smith.

PANIC OVER SARS VIRUS IN THE BAHAMAS
    There were reports of SARS sightings in The Bahamas this week.  The acronym means Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome.  The disease, which is causing havoc in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province in China is said to be spreading to other countries and is causing panic in The Bahamas.  The newspapers reported that some taxi drivers were wearing surgical masks in their cars and spraying to ensure that they did not catch the disease.
    There was also the report, later proven false, that there was a case at the hospital because the press said that when they went to the Princess Margaret Hospital, they saw the security people in a lockdown with surgical masks.  The Ministry of Health was busy trying to allay fears that there was such an emergency.
    SARS is frightening to many Bahamians and when the Chinese official delegation (see story above) came a calling some people asked whether or not it was safe to have contact with them.  The Ministry of Health however continues to assure Bahamians that they are being as vigilant as they can be in the circumstances and that there is no need for alarm.

A YOUNG FLIGHT ATTENDANT ARRESTED
    Last week, we  reported on this site the fact that a Bahamasair plane had been grounded while waiting for a replacement crew in Freeport on Saturday 4th April.  The original crew was taken off to be questioned by the police because some 4.4 kilograms of cocaine were found in  the garbage of the plane.  Later in the week a flight attendant Valachi Theophilus 30 years old of Bethel Avenue was charged with taking preparatory steps to export cocaine to the United States. This is one of a spate of recent drug busts on Bahamasair and it has the Government worried that one day they are going to miss and the drugs are actually found in Miami and then the airline will be in big trouble.
    Bradley Roberts, the Minister for Bahamasair, warned the airline’s employees and the Bahamian people to cease and desist.  The question one always asks oneself as you see a young man who would have had a promising career as an attendant and a fairly ordinary life, is why would someone of that age be involved in something like this?  The unfortunate thing is of course that he may not be guilty at all and we like others are condemning someone by the mere arrest.  It is tragic all the same.  The courts denied him bail, and he has been remanded in custody until a bail hearing can be held.  The Tribune showed his photo by Omar Barr as he was being taken away from the courts.
 

UNION WORKERS ASSAIL THE GOVERNMENT
    The headline in the business section of The Tribune on Tuesday 8th April was startling.  It said that the Bahamas Financial Services Union charged that the Government of The Bahamas had left them high and dry.  The Government was particularly stung and stunned by this statement since the particular group of workers making the complaint was at the point they were with their employers as a result of the Government’s intervention.  The workers are the employees of First Caribbean, the merged product of Barclays Bank and CIBC in the Caribbean.
    You may recall that this column opposed to the end this merger of those two banks as anti-competitive.  The Government was convinced, however, that it was in the best interest of good business practices and the reputation of the jurisdiction to allow the merger to go ahead.  The Bahamas was the last of the Caribbean countries to do so.  Part of the deal was that the new bank had to conclude an industrial agreement with the union that represented the workers at the two banks within 30 days of the merger.  The union claims that the bank has reneged on that promise to the Government and the Government has been disengaged from the process.
    The stuff really hit the fan this week when it emerged that First Caribbean intends to close its credit card administration centre in The Bahamas and centre it in  Barbados.  This is where CIBC had already headquartered all of its activities in the Caribbean.  The fact is that the whole First Caribbean effort is controlled by CIBC.  The strategy of Barclays and CIBC was that the Caribbean was a low to medium profit centre with no big potential growth in the foreseeable future.  So they decided to concentrate resources and  get whatever business they can but contain costs.  And so the employees of The Bahamas have become expendable in that larger strategy.
    Some workers have chosen to accept lay off packages and gone their way but the normal attrition rate is not helping the bottom line.  The bank has decided that the credit card centre must go to cut expenses.  This column has been told in the words of our informant that this is just “the tip of the iceberg”.  Some 150 additional workers are expected to go.  The Bank was fooling with just the right one, of course.  Allyson Gibson does not hold her mouth and she called up the bank asked them in so many words where they were getting off at.  She is quoted in The Tribune saying that she had told the Bank that it was reneging on its agreement to the Government.  The bank held its action.  How long this will work, no one knows.  But before learning of that information, the union’s General Secretary made the comment about being left “high and dry” by the Government.
    The PLP is a labour friendly Government with former Labour lawyers in the Cabinet and a former Union Leader.  Shane Gibson is the former President of the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union and now Minister of Housing.  Alfred Sears was the bank union’s lawyer and is now Attorney General.  Fred Mitchell, a labour law attorney is now the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service.  Perhaps the union may think again about who its real friends are and rethink the comment that the Government left them high and dry.  The Nassau Guardian published this file photo from November, 2001 by Donald Knowles of now Minister Shane Gibson marching with the union in celebration of their recognition.

WILL BRENT OR WON’T HE?
    An announcement was certainly expected from Brent Symonette this week that would say that he had decided not to run for the Office of Leader of the FNM.  Running for Leader of the FNM would be the next step to succeeding his father as the Premier of The Bahamas.  Not if Senator Tommy Turnquest, the now leader of the party can help it, not if former Leader and Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham can help it.  During the past week, the troops have received a lot of attention from Mr. Ingraham.  He has been trying to keep them in line for Senator Turnquest.  But most people within the FNM are satisfied that Brent Symonette is their best choice because he is in the House of Assembly, he is a rich man and he is the former Premier's son.  The only problem they think is the colour of his skin.  But Sir Arthur Foulkes, a former FNM MP and former Ambassador wrote a long column in The Tribune on Tuesday 8th April providing a justification for Brent Symonette's run, notwithstanding his colour.  He joins former MP Algernon Allen and his son former MP Dion Foulkes in the Brent Symonette category.
    The last public statement on this matter was when Brent Symonette said two weeks ago that he was 99.9 per cent sure that he was running.  But that was before he became the Opposition whip and Leader of Opposition business in the House.  That came following a disastrous performance by the now Leader of the Opposition Alvin Smith when he led his colleagues in a boycott of the Junkanoo debate.  And so this week, the question still is very much will he or won’t he?  The PLP is looking at all scenarios and keeping its powder dry until this all plays itself out at the FNM convention which begins on 7th May. Late reports from Freeport say that Brent Symonette and Senator Turnquest were seen arm in arm in Freeport over the weekend.  The bets are that Brent will not now run.  Pity!  Tribune photo.

SIR ALBERT MILLER RETIRES
    The best and brightest of the country, the powerful and the up and coming turned out in full force at the invitation of the Grand Bahama Port Authority to say a fond farewell to Sir Albert Miller, their President and Co-Chair for almost three decades at the Our Lucaya Resort on Saturday 12th April.  It was a black tie affair and Sir Albert touched many people as he thanked God and his older sister Florie for all that was done to raise him and make him the man he became.  Sir Albert told the story of how he and his mother were caught in the 1926 hurricane when he was some three months old on his way in a sailing sloop to Nassau.  He fell overboard and a man by the name of Nathaniel Bain dove into the water to rescue him.  He said his mother never recovered and she died some three months later.  It was his older sister Florie now 92 who raised him and sacrificed everything so that he might make it.
    Earlier on another occasion Sir Albert had told the story of how his sister had received his weekly pay packet when he first joined the police force.  She saved the money and one day he came home to express an interest in buying a piece of property.  He said his sister told him that he could because she had been saving his money for him.  There is no doubt about Sir Albert Miller as a Bahamian success story.  He is a product of night school, hard work and determination that he said brought him to a remarkable life's journey that took him from Millers, Long Island to Buckingham Palace.  He was toasted by Edward St. George, the Chair of the Port Authority and his partner Sir Jack Hayward.
    Sir Albert's only regret was that he did not become the Commissioner of Police, a job that he had worked hard for and prepared himself for and a post that he had acted in on five occasions.  He said that it was politics (it was believed that he supported the United Bahamian Party during the height of the new PLP regime in 1967) that stopped him from getting the job but he learnt then that in life you have to prepare for disappointments.  He said that after 28 years and ten months on the Force he asked his wife to join him in a new life in Freeport and the rest they say is history.
    Present to speak on behalf of the Prime Minister Perry Christie was Allyson Gibson, the Minister for Financial Services.  Other Government Ministers there were Shane Gibson, Minister of Housing; Bradley Roberts, Minister of Works and Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  The Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham also paid tribute to Sir Albert.  Mr. Ingraham’s former Cabinet colleagues were there including C.A. Smith, David Thompson, Janet Bostwick and Frank Watson.  Present PLP MP Pleasant Bridgewater was there as were Ken Russell and Neko Grant of the FNM.
    We say best wishes to Sir Albert Miller for a remarkable life and wish he and his family; wife Lady Miller, sons Tony and Russell and daughter Debbie well.  The photo comes from the booklet distributed at the farewell banquet.
 

BIMINI BAY PROJECT TO BE SHELVED?
    The Ambassador for the Environment Keod Smith (pictured) is a real environmental policeman.  He doesn’t want anyone to cut a tree down, or kill an insect unless he gives permission.  So it was no surprise that one of the projects on the hit list of environmentalists would be the Bimini Bay project of Gerardo Capo, the voluble Cuban American.  The Ambassador made the announcement by way of a statement published in the Nassau Guardian on Friday 11th April.  The Bimini Bay project has been a sore point for the people of Bimini.  It appears that the project, which was announced by the Ingraham administration, is simply out of money.  But it has this low-grade killing of the environment going on for five years or more, with dredging of the mangrove swamp milking up the waters, and killing off the young fish including the shark population that flourished for study around Bimini.
    Residents are also incensed that the tree cover has been stripped from the north section of the island of North Bimini leaving a huge white limestone swath across it, exposed to the sun. Every time there was some public criticism, Mr. Capo would respond that he had not run out of money and that the project was continuing.  Not to be outdone this time, Mr. Capo was back in the newspaper on Saturday 12th April saying that the project had not stopped and that it was indeed continuing.  So who is right: the strong willed Ambassador for the Environment or the much talking Capo?

THE NATIONAL YOUTH CHOIR REPRISE
    Cleophas Adderley who is today the Director of Culture tells the story of the start of the National Youth Choir in 1983.  This year it is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a choir, along with the country that is celebrating its 30th anniversary as a country.  The choir came about  from an initiative of Winston Saunders when he was Executive Director of the Bahamas Quincentennial Commission, the body formed by the late Sir Lynden O. Pindling’s Government to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the landing of Columbus  on San Salvador in The Bahamas.  The choir almost disbanded after the 1983 initial performances but Mr. Adderley determined to keep it going and put out ads for a new group of people.  Now he has set rules and limits.  You must be 15 and not older than 27 years old.  The choir cannot be bigger than 38.  And there is pressure for slots every year.
    This year the performances for the choir's 20th year took place at the Dundas Centre for Performing Arts from Tuesday 8th April to Saturday 12th April.  The audiences were sold out each night.  The Prime Minister Perry Christie and Mrs. Christie attended the opening, as did the Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell later in the week.  The choir did a reprise of many of the numbers that made it famous over the years.  The favourite of many was the rendition of George Symonette’s Eight Babies.  Congratulations to the choir and the batch of fresh and vibrant young people including the Prime Minister's daughter Alex and to their effervescent director Cleophas Adderley.  The Nassau Guardian published this Donald Knowles photo.
 

WHERE IS THE BAHAMAS ON IRAQ?
    If you paid attention to the official Bahamas you would not know that there is a war going on in Iraq.  Since Prime Minister Perry Christie made his national address to the Bahamian people in March, there has not been a peep from the Bahamas Government on the subject.  The members of CARICOM have each issued their individual statements.  They are widely divergent.  Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have been very forthcoming on the subject.  Billie Miller, the Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados, was furious when she saw the statement of Otto Reich, the special envoy President Bush for the Caribbean that said that there are consequences for words spoken by Caribbean leaders, even as he insisted that the US was not planning sanctions against the Caribbean.  The Bahamas has chosen it seems to be officially silent although the radio talk shows have been almost 100 per cent against the war in Iraq.

BAIC LAYOFFS
    The Bahamas Agricultural Industrial Corporation (BAIC) is in the news again.  This time it is not about the war between Sidney Stubbs, its Chair and Leslie Miller, the Minister.  The truce declared is still holding between them.  But layoffs have been going on and it has allegedly affected FNMs more than PLPs.  Peter Carey and Fred Williamson said to be prominent FNMs are amongst those said to have separated from BAIC.  Most people did not kick up a fuss, however until Ricardo Dean, the Chief Councillor for North Eleuthera and a popular man about Hatchet Bay, was dismissed.  He was declared redundant he said when a few days before he had received a letter granting him an increment and telling him what a good job he had done.  Mr. Dean too is an FNM supporter but he is popular and well liked in the district.  And so it appears mud is on someone’s face again as BAIC comes into bad news once more.  There is less sympathy for Peter Carey.  This editor received a letter of protest from Mr. Carey, which we print below.
    A number of questions have to be asked of those who were hired by BAIC during the FNM era.  Did they perform their duties?  Did they report to work?  Did they finish the schooling that they were supposed to do when given the opportunity abroad?  The argument goes from the Corporation that if the public knew the answers to those questions there would be no hue and cry but a thank you to the Corporation.  Perhaps it will all come out in the end.  The fact is that BAIC makes no money.  It has a huge overdraft and is a drain on the resources of the Government.  The Government needs to bring this issue fast to a close.
 

A PROTEST FROM PETER CAREY
    As we say above, an e-mail of protest at BAIC was received from Peter Carey, one of the affected parties.  Entitled 'Stop Political Victimisation and AXE the Offenders', here is what he had to say:
    I would be most grateful to you if you would allow me the honour of expressing my personal outrage over the recent wave of political victimization of Bahamians in our beloved Bahamaland – at BAIC.  It is almost one year since the election of The “NEW PLP” to govern this country.  We recall the reminders of many Bahamians during the campaign that the PLP has a history of political victimization and regardless of new or old the PLP would soon turn to their old tricks.
    We recall, Prime Minister Perry G. Christie, requesting his party members to be magnanimous with persons who may support other political views.  I note that the majority of them have shown respect to their leader’s exhortations, but their lies a few who are determined to return to their evils ways in an effort to reward friends and families with opportunities that they do not have the vision to create i.e. provide meaningful and creative programs in the economy to provide jobs for them.
    With great despondency, Bahamians have learned about the axe given to employees of BAIC with letters signed by Executive Chairman, Mr. Sidney Stubbs.  Mr. Stubbs has since told the nation that he did not act alone.  We are all please when the Prime Minister, (“Chief Executor” as he called himself), reversed those decisions.
Now, using his power over the Board of Directors of BAIC, that same person, who acted along with Sidney Stubbs, is causing persons to be victimized in the name of “right-sizing”.
    It is even sadder that the new manager, in my mind a bright and upcoming professional is being used to advance the actions of his political masters, who is using BAIC a public corporation in a criminal way by terminating the services of Bahamians for no other reason then political victimization.
    It is the role now of our Prime Minister to bring to end the terror caused by those in his government who are abusing their political position and role as it leads to BAIC.  I am sure that many have advised the Prime Minister, (I note the remarks of Anglican Archbishop, His Grace Drexel Gomez) to have them resign. This political interference at BAIC is simply intolerable.
Staff at the Corporation are inevitably intimidated when political appointees are flexing their strengths to frustrate them.  My fellow Bahamians, these actions should concern us all. They are wrong and should be stopped. There is enough legitimate evidence to cause our Prime Minister to get involved and put an end to this madness.
    Then the advice of Bishop Gomez should be carried out and the axe should fall where it should have fallen since September 2002.
    Watching and waiting.
    Peter T. Carey
[Peter Carey needs to explain what he did when sent to school at Government expense in Canada?  Did he finish his course successfully?  Did he in fact attend the school at all? - Editor's Note]
 
 

RAPE AND ASSAULT IN THE SCHOOLS
    The Tribune’s lurid headline was CLASSROOM SEX HORROR. This is part of The Tribune’s continuing campaign to compete with the weekly rag called The Punch.  But within the lines of the story is indeed a horror story that is all too frequently coming out of our schools.  It is the story told by a mother to the Tribune  and printed on Thursday 10th April.  Here is what the mother said in her own words:
    “I was sitting on the porch Friday afternoon and she was walking home.  As she approached, I knew something was wrong by the expression on her face.  I said ‘What’s wrong with you, why does your face look like that?’  She said to me, ‘Mummy, I was attacked.  I was nearly raped at school…’
    “The young man was sitting in a group who were talking obscenities.  He left the group and sat on top of the girl.  He walked to my child’s desk and sat on top of my child and started to make all sorts of sexual moves and gyrations.  He pinned her to her chair in front of the other students.  My child tried to fight him off and the other students just sat there in shock and watched…
    “She got away and he pursued her a second time.  He had taken his shirt off and he attacked her again.  She ran to another section of the classroom and he cornered her… Only when the teacher came did the young man stop.”
    Meanwhile in Grand Bahama some 400 teachers walked off the job after an attack on teachers at St. Georges High School.  The community is with the teachers and want an immediate stop put to the violence.  Teachers are picture demonstrating in Grand Bahama in this photo by Derek Carroll.

 

FOREIGN MINISTER’S TRAVELS
    Brent Symonette asked a parliamentary question two weeks ago about the cost of travel by the Minister of Foreign Affairs… and he got an earful for an answer.  The total spent on foreign travel by the Minister out of his vote was some $63,000.  The Minister gave a full explanation to the public of how the figures were arrived at and said that Mr. Symonette does not need to access the cost of travel through a Parliamentary question.  He can simply access it directly from the Ministry.  Mr. Symonette got upset during the Minister’s presentation and said that he wished the Minister would stop the innuendo that he Mr. Symonette was making a personal attack.  He claimed that he had asked a simple question.  Bull…! The question was asked to try to make the Bahamian people feel that the Minister was spending too much money on travel.
    And so you can expect the usual hacks to come next week in the c