Bahama Pundit

Peter Nygard Embroils Lyford Cay in Controversy

by Larry Smith

A bitter dispute that has been simmering below the surface for years finally exploded this week when police raided the Lyford Cay home of billionaire American financier Louis Bacon, 52, apparently based on a complaint from his neighbour, 66-year-old international fashion mogul Peter Nygard.

Ten armed plainclothes police officers entered Bacon's home just after noon on Monday in search of lethal "ultrasonic weaponry". Although the owners were not present, police handcuffed and body-searched household staff for over three hours, before confiscating a set of industrial loudspeakers. The speakers were returned the same day.

Although an official police report was promised yesterday, the Tribune was unable to speak to senior officers, including the commissioner, on this matter despite numerous calls.

But Lyford Cay residents are incensed that someone could induce the police to act in this way. According to one email seen by the Tribune, "from the moment we heard of this action by a police team on the property of Mr. Bacon, we have vigorously expressed our strong objections and concerns to the highest level in government, and to various levels of police, including the commissioner. We will continue to pursue this matter in the strongest possible way."

Power Struggle on Abaco a Reflection of Larger National Issues

 by Larry Smith

BEC is more than a dirty word on Abaco these days.

For months during the busiest and hottest season of the year, the state-owned utility has been unable to provide steady power for the country's third largest economy. This has led to rising anger among the island's 15,000 residents as well as bitter complaints from departing tourists.

Craig Roberts, owner of the Bahama Beach Club in Treasure Cay, said customers were demanding refunds, with some saying they would not return. Peggy Thompson of Hope Town Hideaways, a property management business, said many guests had to either move to cottages with a generator, or were giving up and demanding their money back.

"BEC has effectively ruined our tourist season and that will reverberate for the next several summers. Our visitors are very angry and leaving," one resident told me. "We don't get any information from BEC on anything. They do not want to talk. Everything is referred to Nassau.

Sun, Sand and Sea

by Simon

Along with our strategic location and stability, The Bahamas is a generally prosperous country because of the sun, sand and sea on which our tourism industry is built.

It still amazes that many who should know better, including in the media, still do not understand the extraordinary and sustained benefits of tourism to The Bahamas.  Similarly, many do not understand what diversification actually means, and how the country continues to diversify within the tourism sector and beyond. 

For example, Inagua has near full employment though it generates relatively few dollars from tourism.  Its salt industry is an example of economic diversification within The Bahamas.

Still, the benefits the country receives from tourism have made The Bahamas a successful small island state, with a strong and large middle class.  We have quite a bit of sun, sand and sea in an archipelago rivaling most of Caricom in terms of geographical reach and territorial expanse. 

Newspaper Pioneer's Legacy on Lee Stocking Island in the Exumas

by Larry Smith

In 1963, the Twilight Zone ran an episode called the Printer's Devil. It told the story of a publisher who, when his linoptype operator quit, had to strike a deal with the devil to save his newspaper.

The point is that linotype operators were critical to a newspaper's survival. So what is a linotype, you ask? Well, it was a big noisy machine that cast lines of type from molten metal for printing.

Sounds medieval, right? But back then it was considered "the acme of perfection", and was a huge leap for the printing industry. For hundreds of years before the linotype was invented in the 1880s, typesetting had been a painstakingly slow process performed by hand, letter by letter.

Today, the entire newspaper production process is digital. But it took a long time for the industry to make the transition from complicated mechanical systems like the linotype to computers. And the changes were bitterly resisted by linotype operators and others, who took years to learn their trade.

The Great Mayaguana Land Give-Away!

by Simon

The contribution to the 2010/11 budget debate by the Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate was one of the more egregious examples of neo-colonial claptrap by a Bahamian political figure in the nearly four decades after independence.

It merits the Bait and Switch Award.  It would be granted to Senator Allyson Maynard Gibson on behalf of the PLP for using the bait of progressive rhetoric to camouflage a regressive mindset and then switch to reactionary policies. 

From women’s rights to land policy, the once progressive and liberal PLP continues to betray its roots.  It does so while ritually thumping its chest about a legacy it long ago abandoned and now mostly uses as window-dressing.

Civic Education

by Simon

From 1997 to 2000, one of the leading medical research universities in the United States hosted a novel project dedicated to a pair of perennial values critical to the ongoing renewal of our commonweal.

Under the leadership of Professor P. M. Forni, Johns Hopkins University sponsored the Civility Project which was dedicated to civility and good manners.  Why did this elite institution, bustling with discoveries in nanotechnology and genetics, devote resources to such seemingly mundane subjects?

Professor Forni and Johns Hopkins appreciated that cutting-edge advances and ancient values are necessary companions.  This is as true in bioethics, as it is in the basic ethical norms essential for socializing new generations and maintaining a civilized society.

The ability to extend life through scientific and technological advances does not mean that we will lead more moral or even happier lives.  This is why ethical reflection is imperative in these fields.

What's in Store for the Turks & Caicos Islands?

by Larry Smith

For those who were shocked at the recent Budget, be thankful for what we have. The Turks & Caicos Islands, which share the same archipelago with us, are politically and financially destitute, and no-one knows when or how they will be able to climb out of the hole.

The British suspended the TCI's constitution last year to clean up systemic corruption and political malfeasance. And now matters have worsened to the point where the TCI cannot meet its basic financial commitments, even though civil service pay was cut by 10 per cent in April.

Under the premiership of Michael Misick, public finances in the TCI were an absolute mess. Spending was consistently over budget and without prior legal authorisation, according to the 2008-2009 commission of inquiry. Public money was being used to support extravagant ministerial lifestyles, Crown land was being sold off to generate revenue, and public debt was skyrocketing.

Now the British are being forced to bail out TCI. "Without immediate UK support, TCI would fall further into economic crisis," Development Minister Andrew Mitchell said recently in London. "Our aim is to restore and firmly embed the principles of sound financial management, sustainable development and good governance."

Location, Location, Location!

by Simon

One of the Bahamian versions of the folk song This Land Is Your Land includes this verse:  “This land is your land, this land is my land, / From Grand Bahama down to Inagua. / From the Berry Islands, down to Mayaguana. / This Land is made for you and me.”

From Grand Bahama in the north to Inagua in the south, and from the Berry Islands in the west to Mayaguana in the east, The Bahamas has a fair amount of land, vast ocean resources, and valuable airspace.

But it’s not simply the volume of “undeveloped” land and the expanse of basically virgin oceans.  It’s also about a basic rule of thumb when it comes to the value of land: “Location, location, location.”   We are strategically located in terms of the world’s largest superpower as well as in relation to various shipping and air lanes.