Rodney Moncur and the Negros’ News Network / African-Bahamian News Network

By Dennis Dames:

Have you heard about the Negros’ News Network / African-Bahamian News Network?  It’s an online / Facebook publication with Mr. Rodney Moncur as the Editor / Publisher in Chief.  It provides current news on the happenings in the Bahamian society; and its main staging ground is presently Facebook.  Mr. Moncur is live 24/7 with the political juice, fresh off the vine; while The Tribune, The Punch, The Nassau Guardian, The Bahama Journal and the rest sleep straight through the night. 

He is loved by thousands of his subscribers, and many are encouraging him to compete with the Tribune, Guardian, Punch and all the rest who think that they are the apple of the Bahamian readership eyes.  Will the Negros’ African-Bahamian Network become a competitive newspaper in The Bahamas soon?  We shall see.

In the meantime, Mr. Rodney Moncur is reporting the news uncensored and undeterred, while gaining the love and respect of his vast clientele; and he is doing it free of charge.  Could I have a free Tribune, Guardian, Punch, Journal and whatever else of news exists out there please?

Peter Nygard and his Stem Cell Concept ...to introduce an Anti-aging Treatment Facility using Stem Cells

Nygard Talks Of His Stem Cell Centre

Tribune 242 Editorial



AT a press conference at his Lyford- Nygard Cay home last Monday Peter Nygard called The Tribune “silly” to think that he would create a stem cell centre in his own backyard.

In fact Mr Nygard expressed it in far more colourful language, so here goes – Nygard at his best:

“Stem cell facility here...there is another silly thing The Tribune wrote as if we are going to do a stem cell facility here as if there is a secret agreement...my goodness how can you stoop to such stupidity who in hell would ever even conceive that – it doesn’t make any sense at all to fabricate such a silly story if a stem cell facility and medical facility (will be built) it’s going to be a grand facility that will be a centre core to attract everyone else to it and it has to be a substantial business that would attract some of the smartest people in the industry but it needs to be the trophy of the Bahamas.”

So that is settled. This statement from the great man himself will obviously allow many Lyford Cay residents, who believed he had plans for an international youth rejuvenating centre at Nygard Cay, to sleep more peacefully tonight.

As a matter of fact, the only thing that makes The Tribune “silly” is that it believed Mr Nygard at all — and we even question whether we should believe him now. You see on June 19th last year, it was Mr Nygard himself who said that his spa was planned for Nygard Cay. He is recorded as having told the Bahamas Investment Authority: “The original concept is to house this facility in the same location as Nygard Cay, but to change the look and feel of some of the buildings.”

Are we to now believe that he has had a mind change? We hope so.

At least one Lyford Cay resident was also greatly relieved to learn that Mr Nygard is not a Bahamian, despite the assurances given in the House of Assembly last week by none other than MICAL MP V Alfred Gray that he was.

“Mr Nygard is a Bahamian,” Mr Gray told parliamentarians, “he is a philanthropist, and I think he has given more to this country than many other Bahamians – including those who criticize him.”

That was surely a mouthful from the cocky, little Mr Gray.

However, before the Assembly adjourned to this morning Mr Nygard’s Immigration file was pulled and the public was assured that Mr Nygard was in fact a permanent resident —not a Bahamian citizen. He had no more rights than any other permanent resident.

The Tribune, hearing the complaints of Lyford Cay residents, believed what it had been told about the location of the stem cell centre — which had been confirmed last year by none other than Mr Nygard. The argument was that the area was zoned as residential and private. Many a resident’s convenants would have been breached if the gates had been thrown open. There was much chatter of law suits if the area were commercialised.

The problem that residents faced was that the security, peace and quiet of Lyford Cay was about to be changed — a possibility that its Canadian developer EP Taylor could not have conceived in 1948.

Apparently, in developing Lyford Cay, Mr Taylor carved out for himself what is now Nygard Cay, minus all the restrictive covenants required of those buying property in Lyford Cay.

Mr Taylor also retained for himself, family and staff all the easement rights over the road and pathways in Lyford Cay, which led to his home. Mr Taylor could never have anticipated a Peter Nygard who would want to change all of that.

In June last year, Mr Nygard met with the Bahamas Investment Authority, headed by Sir Baltron Bethel, government’s senior policy adviser, to discuss his plans to restore parts of Nygard Cay damaged by fire. Also his proposal for a Medical Spa that would specialise in stem cell research and treatment.

Mr Nygard told the meeting that he planned to invest about $50 million in all — $29 to $30 million to restore Nygard Cay and $26 to $30 million invested in building a medical spa.

The whole concept seemed to be planned as one large unit at Nygard Cay. In fact that is what Mr Nygard told the Investment Authority last year. Obviously in view of last week’s statement when Mr Nygard virtually told The Tribune it was “silly” to believe his first statement, he has now changed his mind. If there is ever to be a stem cell centre it will not be at Nygard Cay.

It is understood that his stem cell concept was to introduce an anti-aging treatment facility using stem cells.

He said his vision “would be to put together an environment where the Bahamas can practice the most advanced medicine in the world, and do it within the regulatory lines of the government.”

The only problem is that we understand that there is another developer, whose plans have already been approved in principle by the Ingraham government. He has already invested millions into preparing a facility in Freeport and was just waiting for the legislation to be passed to proceed with his plans. We understand that his plans have also been approved by the medical ethics authority.

We shall now see if our legislators are in a position to objectively decide which plans will be best for the future of this country and its people.

July 22, 2013

Tribune 242

Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie on Protecting The Bahamas Natural Environment at All Times ...in the Best Interest of the Bahamian People

Bahamas Government Protecting the Environment of Bimini

By Llonella Gilbert
BIS

BIMINI, The Bahamas -- Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie said the Government and developers will ensure that the jetty and terminal to be constructed for the Bimini Superfast “will neither be obstructive in appearance nor cause damage to the environment, which must be protected at all times”.

The developers will complete, at their own expense, the construction of a deep water jetty and terminal for the berthing of the Superfast Ferry, the Prime Minister explained while speaking at Resorts World Bimini after the inaugural voyage of the Bimini Superfast with passengers from the Port of Miami, Saturday, July 20.

He said, “I do know that in the nature of things in The Bahamas, there will be the rumblings and the beginnings of some grouping that says it is concerned about the environment in Bimini.

“Well, I want them to know that as a prime minister, I anticipated them, I will continue to anticipate them and all of our efforts will be to ensure that even if they want to go to court, we will be able to take them on wherever they want to go and whatever they want to do, because all of our efforts are driven by a commitment to ensuring the maximum effort in protecting the environment of these areas being developed.”

He said it is important to the Government for future generations of Bahamians and visitors to enjoy the island and not have its beauty destroyed.

The Bimini Superfast, which has the capacity to travel with 1500 passengers, made the voyage with 600 specially invited guests, which included the Minister of Tourism the Hon. Obie Wilchcombe; Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Prime Minister Sir Baltron Bethel and Chairman of Resorts World; the Genting Group (a leading international resort, gaming, cruise line, agriculture and energy conglomerate based in Malaysia), K. T. Lim; government officials and the media.

Prime Minister Christie explained that the developers, which include The Genting Group and RAV Bahamas Ltd. led by Geraldo Capo, have been required to pay a substantial sum of money by Government appointed auditors to conduct an environmental impact assessment study of the jetty and terminal.

He added that the Government has also brought in its own experts and specialists, a well-known international firm from Canada, to do a microscopic examination of what the developers' experts have said should happen and how the development should take place.

“We are taking steps in the best interest of the Bahamian people.”

Minister Wilchcombe said the introduction of the Bimini Superfast represents a new era for the island.

“It is the giant step we have taken toward the economic sustainability of the island of Bimini.”

He also stressed that the people of Bimini would not be left behind as the developments take place.

“The Prime Minister based the entire programme upon causing for the involvement of the Foreign Direct Investment but also calling for Biminites and people of The Bahamas in their respective constituencies to be a part of the developments.”

Mr. Lim explained that the ship has been refurbished at the cost of $100 million.

He said they want to build the jetty and terminal because in the winter the waters will turn rough and the use of tenders to bring the visitors to the island would not be plausible.

The ship is now travelling to the island from Miami daily.

Mr. Lim also explained that the ship would bring a lot of benefits for Biminites and these include getting fresh produce from Florida daily and more tourism dollars as more visitors make their way to the island.

He added, “We want to do more. We are in the process of getting a private jet that will bring people in from Mexico City and New York City directly to you.”

July 21, 2013

Bahamas.gov.bs

The Coalition to Save Clifton reissues the call for Cabinet to reject an application by Lyford Cay resident Peter Nygard ...for a lease of Crown land in the area

Renewed call for govt to refuse Nygard’s land application

BY TANEKA THOMPSON
Guardian Senior Reporter
taneka@nasguard.com

The Coalition to Save Clifton believes that the government does not need an environmental assessment of Clifton Bay and reissued calls for Cabinet to reject an application by Lyford Cay resident Peter Nygard for a lease of Crown land in the area.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Perry Christie told reporters that he “intervened” in the conflict between Nygard and his billionaire neighbor Louis Bacon.

Christie also said he engaged an American firm to conduct an environmental assessment of the Clifton area, which is located near Lyford Cay.

“There is no need for a discussion,” said Coalition President Rev. C.B. Moss, when contacted for a reaction yesterday. “We ask the government to not approve that application.

“I would assume that the Government of The Bahamas would already have sufficient scientific information to arrive at a conclusion. And the conclusion was arrived at by the government in 2010.”

The previous administration told Nygard that because the work was unauthorized, he must stop doing additional work, according to Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn, who raised the issue in the House of Assembly on Wednesday.

Moss said yesterday, “We are saying to the government, refuse his lease, if the government wants to consider leasing him land on Carmichael Road or anywhere else, that’s a different story.

“Refuse that three acres of land and allow that land to go back to its natural state.”

The prime minister did not say when he intervened or when the environmental assessment was conducted. He also did not name of the American firm or say what its findings were.

“He (Nygard) and Louis Bacon were having problems,” Christie said.

“Those two were having problems, and I intervened with both of them and their problems. The next thing I know, there was a legal action, but I anticipated there would be a legal action, so I engaged an American firm to do a comprehensive environmental assessment.”

Christie told reporters it is up to the court to determine if any environmental damage has occurred at Clifton Bay, but the government has to decide what to do with the land in question.

Lightbourn said yesterday he did not think it was appropriate for Christie to intervene in the Nygard, Bacon dispute.

But he said action needs to be taken on what becomes of the land.

“Some decision needs to be made, but whether you lease it, whether you sell it to him or whether you order him to remove it, government needs to address it,” he said.

“This is not the appropriate time for the government to become directly involved because it would seem that they are taking sides in determining whether there is in fact any environmental damage being caused by virtue of Nygard having extended his property.”

Members of the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay allege that Nygard Cay has doubled in size since Nygard purchased the land.

The billionaire acquired the most western tip of Lyford Cay in 1984.

However, Nygard’s attorneys have argued that additional land formed as a result of the gradual and imperceptible deposit of materials from the ocean onto land.

July 20, 2013

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

Dr. Duane Sands on modernized views on abortion ...after physicians in The Bahamas were accused of profiting from conducting illegal abortions in the country

Dr Sands Joins Call For Dialogue On Abortion

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

WOMEN should not be forced to break the law in order to exercise rights over their own body, according to Dr Duane Sands, who yesterday joined activists in their call for national dialogue on the abortion issue.

 

Dr Sands spoke to the need for modernized views on abortion after South Beach MP Cleola Hamilton accused physicians of profiting from conducting illegal abortions in the country.

 

During her contribution to the stem cell debate on Wednesday, Ms Hamilton told parliamentarians that the practice was rampant, unchecked, and lucrative.

 

Dr Sands said he felt that Ms Hamilton “sucker punched” the medical community, instead of taking a “responsible” approach and initiating national consultation on the issue.

 

He charged that the current legislative environment created an economic disparity between those who can access legal services in other jurisdictions, and those relegated to “community abortions”.

 

“This is a conversation that as a people we simply have not had in terms of a woman’s right to choose, and so we pretend that Bahamians don’t have sex, we pretend that they don’t have unprotected sex, we pretend that they don’t get pregnant, and we certainly pretend that they don’t have abortions,” said Dr Sands, admitting that his strong stance on the issue could harm his political future.

 

He said: “(Hamilton) raised a very important issue in the Bahamas and it is one of the serious issues that we need to contend with at the age of 40. In the Bahamas it is said that numbers is illegal and yet you have web shops on virtually every street corner in the inner city.”

 

The decision of whether or not a woman has the right to decide to bring a pregnancy to term is an intensely controversial, moral and legal issue in many parts of the world. While abortions are legal in the United States, some states have varying regulations.

 

A major argument against outlawing the practice is that it increases the rate of unsafe abortions, and ultimately maternal deaths.

 

In an interview with The Tribune, Bahamas Crisis Centre director Dr Sandra Patterson explained that victims of rape and incest should not have to depend on a physician’s “goodwill” or legal interpretation to terminate a resulting pregnancy.

 

Dr Patterson said: “Women should have the choice, when they don’t have the choice awful things happen like abandonment of children, and unsafe abortions. It’s time for us to be talking about that and looking into legal provisions that could provide conditions under which it would be available instead of leaving it up to a doctor’s goodwill.

 

“If you’re an incest victim,” she said, “you miss your period and you tell someone about it, if you don’t want to have that baby you shouldn’t have to do it, and you shouldn’t only be able to have it because you have money and can pay a private physician to do it.”

 

In a report submitted by the government last year to the international committee of the United Nations governing discrimination against women, it was revealed that officials are aware of cases where licensed physicians perform abortions in private and public hospitals for justifiable reasons.

 

The report stated that the code does not define what constitutes medical or surgical treatment, and in practice, the law is interpreted very liberally.

 

The report was presented in compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), an international human rights treaty that focuses on women’s rights and women’s issues worldwide, ratified by the Bahamas in 1993.

 

According to a Tribune feature article on the report, the CEDAW committee expressed concerns over the government’s failure to provide statistics on state-sanctioned abortions, and called on the government to “broaden the conditions under which abortions can be legally available.”

 

Abortion is criminalised in the Bahamas through the Penal Code of 1924; however it allows “for abortions to be lawfully permitted under specific circumstances relating explicitly to the preservation of the mental and physical health of the woman and to save the life of the woman.”

 

The law also states that acts that lead to an abortion or are intended to cause an abortion that are done “in good faith and without negligence for the purposes of medical or surgical treatment” are justifiable.

 

Dr Sands said: “I’m calling for a mature national conversation on a very challenging issue that has moral and religious implications, so that we can bring our current view into the 21st century.

 

“I am not suggesting that we are going to change our approach but I think that because this is such a political hot potato that nobody wants to touch it.”

 

He added: “We as a country have been prepared to sacrifice one or more 
young women every year on the altar of ‘I’m not touching that’.”

 

Melanie Griffin, Minister of Social Services, could not be reached for comment as she was out of the country.

 

Requests for comment from the Bahamas Medical Council were also not returned up to press time.

 

July 19, 2013

 

Tribune 242

 

Caribbean Blog International

 

Matthew Feshbach, CEO of the Okyanos Heart Institute; the only stem cell facility to have received government approval to operate in in The Bahamas ...is in the midst of a court battle to have $3.8 million in debt to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) discharged ...due to alleged inability to pay

Stem cell investor fights IRS debt

U.S. tax agency claims $3.8 million owed

Alison Lowe
Guardian Business Editor
alison@nasguard.com

The co-founder and key financial backer of a stem cell treatment facility in Grand Bahama is in the midst of a court battle to have $3.8 million in debt to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) discharged due to alleged inability to pay.

As Parliament yesterday debated the Stem Cell Bill, which would put in place the legal framework to govern stem cell research and treatment in this country, it emerged that Matthew Feshbach, CEO of the Okyanos Heart Institute, declared bankruptcy in the Florida courts in June 2011.

Since this time, Feshbach and his wife have been seeking to have a $3.8 million debt relating to 2001 tax liabilities discharged, alleging that in 2011 their joint assets amounted to just $138,000, according to documents filed in the Middle District of Florida’s Tampa Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

A government minister, who declined to go on record, said yesterday that the Christie administration is unaware of Feshbach’s court battle with the IRS.

Okyanos Heart Institute is at present the only stem cell facility to have received government approval to operate in this country and was mentioned by name several times during yesterday’s parliamentary debate.

In an April 4, 2013, filing for a motion for a summary judgment on Feshbach’s desired discharging of the IRS debt, the Feshbachs’ attorneys describe the pair as “honest and unfortunate debtors” who cannot pay their creditors.

In a declaration dated November 12, 2011, Matthew Feshbach stated the “massive tax liability from 2001 arises from ‘phantom income’ triggered by changes in the tax code that affected some of the hedge fund positions I was managing”.

“We are not millionaires,” said Feshbach in the declaration to the court. “In fact, the very generous appraisal of our assets recently obtained by the Chapter 7 trustee in our case showed that all of our assets totaled $138,000.”

In support of his claim that he is unable to pay the IRS, Feshbach stated in court filings that he became “seriously ill with chronic pelvic pain syndrome” in 2008, “curtailing his ability to restart and investment business, interview for employment with an investment firm or otherwise engage in meaningful business opportunities.”

Court documents show a hearing took place on Tuesday relating to the motion for a summary judgment on the question of discharging Feshbach’s IRS liabilities. The outcome of that hearing is at present not clear. The matter was previously set down for trial on August 20, 2013.

Feshbach has stated that he has not sought to evade his debts and engaged in “numerous attempts to work with the IRS prior to seeking bankruptcy.” Court documents filed on his behalf state that he paid the IRS $5.62 million in principal taxes due, interest and penalties since 1999.

The former hedge fund manager has described the Okyanos Heart Institute, set to be based in Freeport, Grand Bahama, as offering “a new option, standard of care and quality of life to patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), utilizing cell therapy technology from the growing field of stem cell therapeutics.”

According to information on the Okyanos Heart Institute website, Feshbach co-founded the facility with Manuel Vianna, who lists Feshbach’s now defunct hedge fund operation – MLF Investments – as a former place of work on his LinkedIn profile.

MLF Investments was liquidated in 2008, according to Reuters news agency, after it “suffered a reversal of fortunes”. Prior to founding MLF Investments, Feshbach, the article notes, had been “one of the most famed short-sellers of the 1980s” gaining “praise and vilification” for his strategy of betting on stock declines.

In a statement to Guardian Business on Tuesday, Okyanos spokesperson Erika Mansur had described how Okyanos Heart Institute intends to undertake a hiring drive should the Stem Cell Research Bill be passed by the government.

Mangrum said that construction of the facility would be completed by “the end of the year.” Late last night the Bill was still being debated in the House of Assembly.

Contacted for comment yesterday Mangrum said she would supply a statement to Guardian Business today on the issue of Feshbach’s court case.

July 18, 2013

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

Peter Nygard on Stem Cell Research and Therapy in The Bahamas

‘No personal interest in stem cell bill’

By Taneka Thompson
Guardian Senior Reporter
taneka@nasguard.com

Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard yesterday said he has no self-serving interests in the government passing a law to govern stem cell research and therapy in The Bahamas.

Nygard said any advice Prime Minister Perry Christie has sought from him on stem cell research is due to his knowledge of the science and well-placed contacts within the international medical community.

Nygard, who said he uses stem cell therapy to slow the aging process, told reporters that the prime minister should be congratulated for advancing such “historic” legislation.

The Lyford Cay resident said he has given advice to numerous world leaders and helped set up laws in St. Kitts, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Panama.

Nygard said Christie approached him two years ago and asked his advice on possible opportunities for medical tourism in the country.

He said he told Christie that a stem cell research and therapy industry would make The Bahamas a world leader in the science.

“I said this will be a big coup for you if you could do it,” Nygard told reporters at his compound shortly after announcing his financial support of the upcoming Acklins regatta.

“I don’t know why anybody would paint that as doing it for me. I think he is doing for [Bahamian] people, for The Bahamas. If I can help and I will then that’s a whole different issue. There is nothing in it for me. This is not a money venture for me at all.

“There’s no promise to me. The promise that I made to him (Christie) is that I will do everything that I can to spur and bring like-minded people like myself to invest in this place to be the leading edge, to be the catalyst [to bring investments] here.”

On Friday, Christie confirmed that Nygard promised to bring experts in stem cell therapy and research to The Bahamas if the government passes legislation to govern the sector.

Christie said that Nygard approached him two years ago, while he was then leader of the opposition, and told him of his problems trying to find reputable stem cell treatment for his sick mother.

That ordeal prompted Nygard to pledge to bring top doctors and researchers in stem cell therapy to the country once there were laws in place, the prime minister said.

Two weeks ago, during the House of Assembly’s debate on a stem cell bill, Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis accused the government of “rushing” the law to appease Nygard.

However, this claim angered several government MPs who denied it.

Minnis said on Sunday the prime minister’s comments validated his concerns on the stem cell legislation.

“I was very shocked,” he told The Nassau Guardian. “What he (Christie) said is open for interpretation.”

Debate on the legislation is expected to resume when the House meets on Wednesday.

July 16, 2013

thenassauguardian