Keeping the Police safe

December 22, 2004

Dear Sir,

I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to the letter entitled ?Uniform and Fashion? (Royal Gazette, December 21) written by ?Skink and the Lobster Party?.

It is abundantly clear that the writer does not have a ?clue? about policing. In fact the Commander believes the writer was previously a Policeman (not a very good one), tried to be Policemen (wannabe) or has simply read the entire Nancy Drew collection on numerous occasions (well done!), all of which, whilst interesting, hardly qualifies him to be an expert in Police tactics or equipment.

If he did have a ?clue? about such matters, he would know that one of the most dangerous people any Officer is likely to face would be: ?One simple fool with a handgun.? Unfortunately, ?the one simple fool with a handgun? has been responsible for many deaths, shooting and injuries worldwide, as well as in our gentle Bermuda.

Contrary to his views, all the equipment that the Officers use is necessary to ensure their personal safety. Many of our families and children are happy that their parents and loved ones have the necessary equipment to protect them whilst they do their job. Incidentally, so are we!

In a free country such as Bermuda the press is able to take pictures and make reports. I am sure if the Police started to stop the freedom of the press the ?Skink and Lobster Party? would rightly be up in arms. As an additional ?clue? the press are able to use long lens cameras which enable them to take pictures from a considerable distance away! Hence, from time to time in a free country you will see armed Police Officers in a newspaper. I would frankly be more concerned if Bermuda did not have the properly equipped and trained officers to deal with the ever changing and complex police challenges that a modern Police Service faces.

The rest of your ramblings may be of more interest to you and your party followers (your Mum and Grandmother!) than the rest of Bermuda. However, I will say that most of the tourist and visitors to Bermuda are used to seeing officers equipped with firearms and protective vests. Visit any major city in the world and let us know what you see! It is quite obvious that you find it stressful to see PSU Officers properly equipped to deal with spontaneous acts of violence, which usually involve one drunken male stabbing another or possibly ?zapping? him with a stun gun. All these circumstances require an Officer to be properly equipped and protected to deal with them. Welcome again to our gentle Island!

You also seem to be alarmed by the Regiment and Sousa?s Landscapers, especially when you seem them after dark. The Commander would therefore advise that you go to bed early and re-read your Nancy Drew collection; this will ensure that you are not exposed to the realities of living and Policing in Bermuda, especially after dark!

The Commander requires that you leave your contact details with the Editor. In the event that we are required to again deal with ?one fool and a gun? we have decided you should be first through the door. We will provide you with a standard issue police shirt (a mix of polyester and cotton.) Here is the ?big clue? ? it offers no ballistic protection whatsoever! But you wouldn?t need such protection or would you?

Setting record straight

December 8, 2004

Dear Sir,

With reference to article ?Logic under fire over ?misleading? price cuts?, Tuesday December 7, 2004, I?d like the opportunity to set the record straight and dispel the alarm among some of our customers that has been generated by the story.

After many months of careful consideration and planning, Logic took the bold step of slashing an existing revenue line, effectively by half, in a genuine effort to deliver value to Bermuda?s consumer and to encourage those who aren?t online to enter the technology age. It is Logic?s desire as a company to help families in Bermuda use technology to their advantage and to enhance their lifestyle. We are working on this one step at a time.

It saddened me to see inflate a customer complaint to the magnitude of these headlines. We spoke with the customer directly and resolved her concern to her satisfaction. She was concerned about Logic?s move to deliver higher bandwidth for the same price where she thought true fair practice would be to reduce the price; feedback that we?ll consider in our next initiative. We were confident it was the right move after doing the same in June for all 256K customers, which generated an unprecedented amount of customer praise. Alas, the Royal Gazette chose to run with the complaint story regardless.

The result? Exactly as we anticipated - alarm among some existing customers whose accounts had already been adjusted to the new lower rates, but as the story itself was grossly inaccurate, they were led to believe that the price cuts were for new customers only.

To set the record straight, Logic?s rate changes (per month), as filed with the Ministry of Telecommunications on December 1, are as follows (all new rates have been automatically adjusted):

P*This rate has since been reduced further to $99.95 effective January 1, 2005. The option to upgrade and downgrade plans is always available at no charge to customers by sending an e-mail request to supportlogic.bm.

We look forward to more accurate reporting in the future.While stands by the story on the basis that other customers who were upgraded in the summer may have had the same concerns and may not have been aware that they could downgrade their service, the story should have made clear that they were the only current customers affected by the change.

Change Timeshare Act

December 7, 2004

Dear Minister,

You will have seen the Mid-Ocean News article on the Daily Mail suggestion that Bermuda tourism is not ?HOT?. Indeed, it certainly is NOT.

Such an article, when compared to all of the current rumblings about the tourism problem, continues to send a clarion call that changes will have to be implemented. And soonest ... rather than later! A great start of the process would have been the review of the 1981 Timeshare Act and the companion Club Rules and Regulations during the current session of Parliament. Alas, such has not come to pass.

I understand the reluctance for any Bermuda agency to give up direct management of a $35 million portfolio ... However, it has to be given up for a Tourism Authority to be created to manage tourism, including the timeshare portion, as a business entity. The increasing calls for such a business entity are increasing daily.

As the new Minister, we are hopeful that you will recognise and support the concept of a Tourism Authority. The failure to do so will seriously impact Bermuda?s ability to reverse the overall tourism debacle under way.

As I indicated in my July 25 fax, I would suggest an Internet look at the Group?s web site at www.sgcmembers.org. Click on the Newsletters link from the home page to review issue articles that will provide a thumbnail sketch of our concerns.