Hott?s loss of humour

October 26, 2005

Dear Sir,

I think it?s cruel what happened to Bootsie & Bro. Richie.

So now Bootsie?s Buggin? is Nefatari?s Buggin? even though she?s not as funny? Maybe not every topic from Bootsie I found humorous, but the one where he?s chanting cops regarding people being locked up long for ?erb, is funny plus the airplane one was funny too. No offence to her but I doubt she could be as funny as him. Regarding the Hott Squad, now it?s a one man squad because Mr. Magic has to do it alone unless Miss Thang does it with him.

This seems odd but,who else do you have now that you fired Richie? Oh well ... I guess Hott 107.5 will be less funny than before. Good luck without those two because you?ll need it to survive.

The right decision

October 26, 2005

Dear Sir,

Please permit me to respond to a letter ?What a wet Performance?.

1 CH 16:22: ?Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.?

I too was at the Donnie McClurkin concert and yes it was raining very hard when he came on to minister ? yes, minister, not entertain. There is a time in our lives when we all must use wisdom over our own preference. The Church (God?s People) are about saving souls but certainly not at the expense of losing lives.

There was much electrical equipment, had been consumed in the water, no telling what could have been the outcome not only for those ministering but also the worshippers. If you would take time to look and listen you would have heard the previous Minister say that Pastor McClurkin was in the audience in the rain, while he himself was singing/speaking. There is film showing Pastor McClurkin in the rain, drenched, reaching the crowd.

If you feel to miss out on your blessing by not coming to Christian events I cannot change your mind but will pray for you and your family.

Bishop Lambe: It was an excellent concert with a variety of ministering musicians, and I look forward to NCC 2006 and any future concerts to be held. I do believe the correct decision was made to call the concert, despite of disappointment, as wisdom must replace our own preference. God is a Good God All the Time. I pray that He will continue to use you in this Island and always remember your work will never go unnoticed in the eyes of the Lord. We aim to please God.

Sir/Madam, I pray that you will not be so critical of God?s people but seek and search your self and let God use you, to be kind.

How not to sell Bermuda

October 25, 2005

Dear Sir,

Since I can remember I have always carried a sense of pride that I was Bermudian. Being Bermudian meant being friendly, courteous and easy going, especially when it came to visitors to my beautiful island home. I say this because the story I?m about to tell you dismayed me and confirmed to me that ?my? Bermuda is fading fast and my children will not be able to experience what I did as a child.

Two weekends ago we had, what many report a successful Jazz Festival. That weekend, my mother was travelling and was awaiting her plane in the departure lounge when she noticed that one of the two young women seated next to her was Joss Stone. My mother, being the friendly sort, said hello and complimented her on her fantastic performance at the festival and asked her if she had enjoyed her stay here in Bermuda. The reply she got was expected: ?Oh, it?s such a beautiful place!? We Bermudians have come to expect such a response, so my mother of course agreed with her.

Later, Ms Stone and her companion got up to go and get some refreshments at the concession stand, and my mother noticed a rather heated exchange with the young women and the vendor. When she returned my mother asked if everything was all right and this was the reply: ?Why are all the people here in such a bad mood??

My mother, although trying to make light of it felt she had nothing to say that could make it better. I could say a lot of things about the tourism industry, people who shouldn?t work in the tourism industry, how most of our business is from repeat visitors, etc., but this has all been said before. We?ve seen and heard from many tourists about their poor treatment and no improvements seem to have been made. We are effectively shooting ourselves in the foot, but this is no revelation to anyone either. I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s where when I got on the bus, if any tourist got on (or any elderly person for that matter) I gave up my seat. We were told to do this at school and at home. We were told to say good morning or good afternoon to whomever we exchanged glances with and smile and be helpful to visitors especially. Does anyone else remember this?

My biggest disappointment will be that my children may never know what it?s like to feel pride in their country and countrymen/women. Pride in being the friendliest, courteous and most helpful people we once were. It actually didn?t matter that the woman my mother spoke to was a celebrity, it would have been sad regardless (although you?d think if anyone would have got good service it?d be a celebrity!).

As our Minister of Tourism put it: ?There is a big difference between service and servitude.? Perhaps the vendor forgot this, or perhaps he/she didn?t know there was a difference.

My point is if the Government is serious about reviving tourism at all, they must look at those in service, and remind them why they are there. Because whether it was Joss Stone or Jane Smith, she missed out on what once really made Bermuda beautiful ? her people.

Delusions of power

October 28, 2005

Dear Sir,

A thought on the decision of Independence: ?When one has reached the summit of power and surmounted so many obstacles, there is a danger of becoming convinced that one can do anything one likes and that any strong personal view is necessarily acceptable to the nation and can be enforced upon one?s subordinates.? ? Sir Winston Churchill

Accountability at last?

October 26, 2005

Dear Sir,

By replacing a Government Minister with a private citizen, elevated to the Senate at the expense of a sitting Senator, Alex Scott has just expressed a vote of no confidence against every one of his parties bench warmers and Senators!

Apparently none of our elected or appointed government officials is any more motivated or capable than the ousted junior minister who wanted to soldier on.

However, having established that the Government is actually familiar with the concept of accountability for failure to perform, when will Terry Lister be sacked as Education Minister for presiding over the other scandalous failure of this administration?

How about Ewart Brown?s tourism shell game or the deafening silence from Paula Cox in the face of spiralling inflation?

Don?t stop now, there are plenty more deserving heads to roll. Or perhaps accountability has to wait until the go-to man David Burch has finished his present role? When will the Teflon Don recognise his ultimate responsibility for the endless string of scandals, failures and insults inflicted on a weary and frustrated populace?

For all his lofty words about accountability, apparently ?P? is above reproach as long as he has lambs to slaughter. This is the measure of ?The Man? who wants to drag us kicking and screaming to Independence. The Government has revealed itself as a one trick pony, riding a hired gun while beating a dead horse.

Independence is the only issue they get out of bed for, despite the expressed wishes of both their grudging supporters and their largely ignored detractors. An unelected and therefore unaccountable David Burch is once again the only person they have to take up the challenge of the real issues facing this community. Let the accountability continue until the morale of the population improves!

Meaningful debate

October 26, 2005

Dear Sir,

I felt it necessary to respond to Mr. Starling?s letter. However, as I began to think upon the issues he raised, I must concede one vital point. As Mr. Starling adroitly states, intellectual debate is in a sense useless. I could transform this letter into an argument about the nuances of More?s prose (of which I have read more than the title) but, truly, what would be the point?

Shelving the interpretive dispute that Mr. Starling and I have embroiled ourselves in, it is important to highlight Mr. Starling?s emphasis that we need to not only recognise the concepts of social betterment, but actively work towards them. These concepts, I maintain, require practical temperance, a qualification that, by Mr. Starling?s own admission, is suggested in More?s work.

Perhaps our dispute arises because we approached More from different premises; I took Mr. Starling?s remarks to be gesturing towards an ideal state, a ?utopia?. This is an interpretative mistake of mine.

However, what we have collectively sparked of between us is, I hope, demonstrative of the essential qualities of social advancement. Ideas must not merely be allowed to exist; they must be actively challenged, their practical merits assessed. Similarly, these very assessments may themselves be open to evaluation and critical discourse. It is a credit to Bermuda that such an open forum is allowed.

I would merely request that Mr. Starling expound his ideas further, offering an example of how we, as a society, may work for a ?better world?. Such an example would help to move this debate beyond the confines of academia.