A target we should aim at

June 5, 2002

Dear Sir,

The Minister of Tourism's expensive year-long programme targeting wealthy African Americans has now culminated in the badly flawed Diaspora Trail and a barrage of local news stories, advertising and promotion, but where are the wealthy African Americans? Obviously this new boondoggle is failing, as have all his other attempts to revive tourism.

As long as he is targeting rich minorities it might make more sense for him to target gay communities in North American and Europe. After all, government is not only predominantly black; it also has an unusually high proportion of gays in its ranks. For it to target gay tourists would be no more unusual than for it to target blacks. The gay tourist is richer and more easily targeted through the gay press than is the minority of a minority now being aimed for by the Minister.

Here are some statistics (reported in the Washington Blade from surveys conducted by Community Marketing Inc.) to back up this suggestion:

Only nine percent of all Americans went abroad on vacation in 2000, but 45 percent of gay Americans travelled abroad in the same period.

15 percent of gay Americans took a cruise in 2000, but only two percent of all Americans did so.

87 percent of gay travellers used a travel agent in 2000, more than double the 42 percent of all American travellers who did so.

87 percent of gay Americans stayed in a hotel last year. 81 percent spent at least five nights in hotels and 45 percent reported they spent 15 nights or more in hotels in that period.

64 percent of gay travellers are members of frequent flyer programmes and their preferred carrier is American Airlines, Bermuda's principal carrier.

79 percent of gay Americans hold valid passports against only 29 percent of all Americans.

The United Kingdom, the Scandinavian countries and France all have very aggressive advertising campaigns aimed at the gay American market. Obviously it is a rich market that is easy to reach through the gay media. Why is the Minister spending his energies and our money in another probably futile effort to reach a market that is hard to target and thinly dispersed when there is a larger and, if I may make a politically incorrect pun, more fruitful market within his easy reach?

FRUIT PUNCH

City of Hamilton

Vision is distorted

May 15, 2002

Dear Sir,

When do you know that CableVision is low? When they decide to take off CNN-SI (a station where sports fan can see highlights from different sports) to bring a station only gifted for babies (Boomerang)? As if CableVision thought they were doing me a favour (sorry). Why couldn't they just eliminate channel 11 and put on that garbage since 11 & 6 seem to share the same shows?

CNN/SI WATCHER

Pembroke

Editor's Note: CNN-SI is being dropped by CableVision not out of choice but because CNN is closing the channel.

No need to panic

May 22, 2002

Dear Sir,

I have noticed increasingly hysterical warnings of the probability of flooding associated with future hurricanes. I am unaware of any reference to serious flooding associated with 'storm surge' in the historical record of hurricanes in this Island, except possibly for one during the First World War, and the record is fairly extensive.

It is my understanding that the 'storm surge' that does such terrible damage to coastal areas in the United States is caused by the higher tide normally found in the centre of a hurricane being pushed up over the long continental shelf surrounding the United States. This crests over the shallow water, rather the way a wave crests and breaks on a beach, into a massive surge of water twenty or more feet above normal high tides. Bermuda has no such continental shelf and the high tides found during a hurricane are rarely more than two or three feet above normal. Some insignificant flooding has been experienced at the End of the Lane, and flooding from rain in low-lying areas occurs not infrequently in any bad weather but I am not aware of any record of a 'storm surge' in the American sense.

Putting it simply, we are not at risk for 'storm surge' as it is experienced in America and it is a pity that we are subjected to all this scare mongering by American meteorologists extrapolating from their own conditions and experience.

ANDREW TRIMINGHAM

Warwick

Driven to despair

June 3, 2002

Dear Sir,

Having had the good fortune to be living on this gorgeous island of yours for a few years now, I have experienced a great number of various situations I have had the misfortune to come across lately.

Being a very careful and diligent driver, it has horrified me that I have nearly had two very near crashes with very stupid and careless drivers of cars, who are more concerned with their cell phones and the conversation they are having at the time, than the safety and predicament of other drivers on the road.

One driver in a large truck pulled out right in front of me, did not stop to apologise, or even acknowledge he had done wrong. I was able to brake just in time to avoid hitting him. Another driver, upon hearing her cell phone ring, stopped suddenly on a blind corner to answer it - and stayed there to have a conversation. Being a driver of a motorbike, either action could have easily killed me.

Why, as a civilised society, are we allowing this careless, stupid and unresponsible behaviour to continue?

Let's keep up with the state of New York and their good sense to ban all communication on cell phones while driving on our, at the moment, very unsafe roads.

FRIGHTENED EVERY TIME I DRIVE

Devonshire

Premier serves us all

June 4, 2002

Dear Sir,

There has been some comment in your columns about the complete failure of our Government to honour or even to recognise the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Why would anyone be surprised given the track record of Premier Jennifer Smith? Just consider her funeral record.

At Bermuda's expense she attended the funeral of the patriarch of the Bird family of Antigua, a family who has made a mockery of democracy in that island and who have an unenviable association with arms and drug dealing.

At Bermuda's expense she attended the funeral of the late Sir Lynden Pindling of the Bahamas PLP, whose long tenure in power saw a steady decline in the economy of his island.

When Pierre Trudeau, late Prime Minister of Canada, one of the world's foremost democracies and long a friend of this island and not inconsiderable contributor to its tourist economy died, his funeral was completely ignored by the Premier and Government of Bermuda.

When the late beloved Queen Mother died after a very longer and productive life, highlighted by her courage and fortitude during the Second World War, a courage that symbolised the strength and determination of all British people - including Bermudians - in that conflict, the Premier not only insulted the occasion by no attending herself, she added insult to injury by having the island represented not by the Deputy Premier or a Cabinet member, but by an unknown, unelected senator. She thus embarrassed and shamed her island.

Uniquely in the entire British Commonwealth, Premier Jennifer Smith chose utterly to ignore the Queen's Golden Jubilee. She couldn't even send the Gombeys to dance in the wonderfully brilliant celebratory procession up the Mall. Premier Jennifer Smith is entitled to have whatever political opinions she chooses, as is her Government. This does not absolve her from her duty as the leader of Bermuda's Government. Her duty is to represent the whole island. Her legal and constitutional obligation is to recognise and render dignified allegiance to the Queen, the head of State in Bermuda. She has been completely derelict in her duty.

Premier Jennifer Smith can be haughty, she can be secretive, she can be high handed and she can be horribly late in her dealings in Bermuda and get away with it. Premier Jennifer Smith and her Government should not be allowed to get away with what a plain, offensive rudeness in their abject failure to represent Bermuda with dignity and respect.

Not only is the Queen, but also we, the people of Bermuda are owed an apology by Premier Jennifer Smith and her entire Government for their boorish behaviour and gratuitous rudeness.

SHAMED BERMUDIAN

City of Hamilton

What's the score?

June 4, 2002

Dear Sir,

The ZBM /Cablevision kerfuffle has failed to address an important point; that matches are being shown without a continuing reference to the state of the game, that is, the time elapsed and what is more important, the score.

Last Sunday morning I tuned in to the England-Sweden game during the second half. For 15 minutes I strained to hear the score and time remaining but the only information forthcoming was that England were not playing as well as they did in the first half. Ten minutes later Sweden missed an opportunity to take the lead (so said the commentator) so I now knew the game was tied. But I still did not know the score - not so vital, but it's nice to know the whole story! Thus I had to wait 25 minutes to find out something that should have been available the moment I tuned in.

ZBM ought to make every effort to rectify this shortcoming in time for the important games coming up.

PETER J. WILLCOCKS

Smith's Parish

Expense not justified

May 31, 2002

Dear Sir,.

Thirty thousand voters, an election once every four years and the rare by-election does not justify a separate department with a highly paid head.

The money could be better spent elsewhere.

KEEN OBSERVER

Unsporting behaviour

June 3, 2002

Dear Sir,

Whenever Bermuda Broadcasting Company obtains 'Exclusive Bermuda Rights' to any world event they find a way to mess up the event for the Bermudian public.

Maybe now that the Minister and Ministry of Telecommunications are involved they can find a way to deny BBC an exclusive on some upcoming world events and see if Bermuda's viewing public is better served in an open market.

When BBC obtain 'An Exclusive' they wield that exclusive like a drunken man with a big stick. If I was to receive a court order which stated that I was not to show 'World Cup Coverage in any fashion', I would have done what Cablevision did. BBC and their lawyer made the mistake, not Cablevision!

SPANISH POINT VOTER