December 19, 2003

Dear Sir,

I must confess that I was flattered to learn that I was thanked by the UBP parliamentary representative for Pembroke West, Mr. Jamahl Simmons, for my “tireless dedication to the political arena”. This tribute was particularly satisfying since I had fought unsuccessfully to unseat Mr. Simmons in the last election.

It was equally gratifying to learn that the Hon. Jennifer Smith, JP, DHumL., MP associated herself with Mr. Simmons' request as did the Speaker, the Hon. Stanley Lowe, JP, MP.

It is the highest tribute to receive praise from one's political antagonist. It was even more encouraging that the former Premier endorsed Mr. Simmons' comments.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of my former political colleagues, both Government and Opposition, for helping me ‘to be the best I could be' in the political arena.

CALVIN J. M. SMITH

Pembroke

Scott should have known

December 20, 2003

Dear Sir,

Surely Premier Alex Scott, although new to the job, must have known that the British Government would not change the constitutionally allowed decision made by the Governor they appointed.

Clearly, the Governor made the best decision for our courts. The Premier should never have gone public which only served to embarrass Mrs. Justice Wade Miller.

Had the Governor been contradicted from London he would have had no choice but to resign. The Premier made this mess.

WATCHING

Paget

Reasons for belting up

December 13, 2003

Dear Sir,

On July 25, 2003 I was firmly against the seat belt law. I was sure that we did not need it in Bermuda because we have a low speed limit which limited how much injury any law-abiding person in a car could receive. Then just before midnight on July 26, I ran into a parked car just west of Somerset Bridge and was paralysed as a result of hitting my head on the roof of my car. Experts differ about the benefit of a seat belt in such a case. Some say that if I had been wearing a seat belt and moved upwards the seat belt would not have restrained my upward movement. I do not know whether this is correct, but I must confess that my attitude to the law has changed and now I buckle up. My wife helped. She would not start the car until I had buckled up, so now I do it routinely.

Another scenario recently was brought to my attention. If a family has four children, they will not be able to travel legally in the car with their parents after January 1. They would need two cars. Is this really true? I am concerned because my understanding is that the chief danger in collisions is to persons riding in the front seats. The question I would ask our thinking public is this: Does our low speed limit lessen the danger to people riding in the back seats enough, that it would be practical to amend our law so that it applies to front seats only? Then daddy and mommy could take Jim, Sally, Jane and Peter for a family drive.

BERTRAM GUISHARD

Reasons for not landing

December 19, 2003

Dear Sir,

During the years that I worked at the Bermuda Airport, I must have seen hundreds of hairy approaches to the runway during extreme crosswind conditions.

This was especially true for aircraft attempting to land on RW 12 due to the hills at Ferry Reach and the almost always present wind shear encountered on final approach.

The comments attributed to the Airport General Manager in yesterday's paper saying that Air Canada Pilots were better trained is a slap in the face to all of the other carriers' pilots that service Bermuda.

To suggest that weather conditions encountered by Air Canada pilots are more extreme than the conditions encountered by the pilots of the other carriers, does not hold much water as far as I am concerned. I wonder whether there is a very remote reason why one or two carriers did land and others did not, and whether this could have anything to do with the fact that different aircraft have different handling characteristics in crosswind conditions, and each carrier has published performance minimums to which their pilots must adhere.

BILL NEARON

Pembroke

Judges have to be tough

December 3, 2003

Dear Sir;

I felt compelled to respond to the newspaper article, “Rammell Mulls Decision on New Chief Justice”, after I read the article on December 2, 2003. On two other occasions this year, I have written Letters to the Editor about taking action to reform the judicial system in Bermuda. Now that the position of Chief Justice is available for an appointment, this is a perfect opportunity for Bermuda to get a judge that is tough on crime and will enforce Bermuda's laws to the fullest degree.

One of the most devastating things that I have observed about some judges and magistrates in Bermuda is that they do not push the laws to their maximum potential. Two recent examples saw sexual offenders give reduced or suspended sentences for molesting teenagers.

I would like to request that Overseas Territories Minister, Bill Rammell, and others who are involved in the decision making process of appointing the new chief justice to not be influenced by the masses of Bermudians who just want a Chief Justice simply because he/she is a Bermudian citizen. Instead, I ask them to look at the person's track record of dealing with criminal matters while he/she was a judge, prosecutor, or criminal defence attorney.

Already this year, there have been improvements made to the Bermuda Judicial System as a result of Kulandra Ratneser taking over the Public Prosecutions Department from Khamisi Tokunbo. Now let us continue the improvements by appointing a Chief Justice who will get tough on crime and perform judicial activism, judicial review, and judicial restraint in order to reform Bermuda's laws for the better when it is necessary to do so.

KENNETH MINORS

Huntsville, Alabama

It's a two-way street

December 20, 2003

Dear Sir,

If key people in the Government are so incensed with the UK deciding on the new Chief Justice, it seems to me Bermuda should go independent.

Being a colony is a two-way street. Bermuda, or more strictly speaking the present government, can't pick and choose what the responsibilities the mother country should assume, like paying unforeseen bills.

Maybe this altercation confirms that the apple is about to fall from the tree: an analogy used by Adam Smith. Bermuda should stand on its own two legs and cut the apron strings to mix my metaphors badly.

MICHAEL BROOKE

Victoria, British Columbia