Give us Setanta, Cablevision

December 2, 2008

Dear Sir,

I mean no offence to the five or so people locally who, like Sarah Palin, love hockey. What I cannot understand, Sir, is why Cablevision would offer pay per view sports packages like hockey season after season, and yet football packages are never offered. It is estimated that just Manchester United alone has 330 million fans worldwide (which may be off as they clearly may have even more fans than that). Keep in mind that this is just one team. To keep it short, I would just like to ask the people over there at Cablevision to at least rethink their position on not bringing Setanta Sports back to the masses here in Bermuda. Sportsmax is good for cricket, but as far as football is concerned it shows the same EPL matches as Fox Soccer Channel.

UTD

Devonshire

Losing our allure

November 24, 2008

Dear Sir,

Once again my sister and I travelled back to our Island to enjoy Cup Match knowing that this time with the festivities taking place in Somerset we were in store for a great time. I returned home again, two years in a row and I can now categorically and equivocally say: "I won't be back for a third!" For some reason I just cannot understand Bermuda has continued to loose her allure and grace. The people are still back biting and not progressing toward a better Bermuda for reasons beyond my comprehension.

Bermuda, an island with a total area of 20.6 square miles where you would think that the people would have no other choice but to get along, is still wrapped in the preverbal blanket of bigotry and ignorance. Our leaders (PLP and UBP alike) are spouting hate and contempt and expecting the people of Bermuda to stand behind them and respect them and their decisions. I seriously believe that disillusionment has set in and the cure is no where in sight.

I believe that Bermudians elected the present political party based on their sense of what was right or wrong, in other words the Bermudian people voted their conscience, to have anyone make the statement that degrades the act of voting ones conscience by insinuating that the political party in power now, is only there due to the hue of their skin is appalling. This leads me to assume that this must have been the first time the people of colour voted in an election held in Bermuda, and you and I know that this is not the case. Are we still to be looked upon as people that cannot make intelligent decisions based on the facts?

Are we so inept that when we went to the polls to vote we did not have the presence of mind to think of our future or our children's future? That all we saw was a person that looked like us and all you had to do was remember what their name looked like to cast our vote? Truly those that did not vote for the reigning party could not possibly think that, you may say. Then why my fellow Bermudians do we comport yourselves in such a manner? Why when you went to the polls and cast your vote for the Premier, and won, do you now go around back biting and crying the woos of "We done messed UP NOW"

Do you really think that all it was going to take was just a matter of casting your vote? Oh, there is plenty of blame to go around. I say this again, disillusionment has set in and the cure is no where in sight! It is going to take the island of Bermuda to get behind the Premier from both sides, put aside the egos and stop the pontificating and get back to the business of making Bermuda the Island we know she is capable of being. The young people from all walks of life are disrespecting each other and regulating ones life in the same category as one would a used prophylactic, and it is our leaders they are taking their lead from. Is this the legacy that is to be left to our future? Bermuda is soon to celebrate its 400th Anniversary and an island that was once a shinning example of the good life and prided it's self on diversity is having dialogue from days of old. What is the sense of celebrating a 400 year existence when you're headed for extinction?

The current Premier is not without blame either, but I believe that given a true chance and having the island behind him and by that I mean truly behind him and his party that the island can come out of this state of disillusionment. I believe this can happen whom ever is the Premier but only if the people are also helping make the change. When last I wrote I said, "Do they really want to be like the United States?" well I have to retract that statement and say, that there is a page that can be taken from the United States based on the historical election that just took place. If it can happen here where bigotry and prejudice runs the gambit it can happen on an island that has a total area of 20.6 square miles. My fellows Bermudians, when you see your elected officials and have disagreed with some of the decisions that they have made speak up, not down and around their backs, remember you put them there and they need to know that they are working for you not the other way around.

I had the opportunity to meet the Premier and his wife while we were on the island attending a function for the International African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference at the Fairmount Princess, what struck me was not the jovial sprit everyone was in, the laughing and talking and wanting to be seen atmosphere, what struck me was that when the event was over and everyone should have been discussing the enjoyable evening they had, that all I heard and saw was the same Bermudians that voted this man in discuss among themselves their disgust with the fact that this man brought a Mercedes Benz to the island, that the Bermudian people are paying for and how dare he park it in the front of the hotel throwing it up in everyone's face. I stood there dumbfound saying to myself, "Didn't I just see you shaking this mans hand and telling him how great of a job he was doing?" Is this the kind of action a responsible voter takes? If you disagree with the route your elected officials are taking then it is your duty to speak up, when this is done you won't have people regulating your voting decisions in the category of those that do not know what they do.

When the great song writer Hubert Smith wrote, Bermuda is Another World, he was referring to the Jewel of the Atlantic, the pride of people from all walks of life with a cornucopia of the ideas and great cultural diversity. Some of what Mr. Smith wrote about still stands true. Yes, you are still 700 miles at sea, but trust me when I tell you the way the people greet you or each other is not anywhere close to a friendly melody. Bermuda! What has happened to you? A better question: What are you going to do?

NANCY DENICE CRUZ

Harrah, Oklahoma

(Formerly Nancy Denice Todd

South Shore Warwick East)

Extremely disingenuous

November 24, 2008

Dear Sir,

I thought that your first seven paragraphs in today's editorial (November 24, 2008) were too good to be true. After all, I cannot recall you ever being kind or heaping praise on the "Premier's brother" as you and your reporters more often than not refer to Philip Butterfield, Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Bermuda and Chairman of the Interim Board of Education. Once I started to read Paragraph 8, I immediately knew that your disdain for Mr. Butterfield (and his brother) had not waned.

I find it most interesting, but not surprising, that you, and your reporters continue to focus on Mr. Butterfield's alleged remarks that "Mike Charles is a gym teacher who has 'had his 15 minutes of fame'". I was not at the meeting where Mr. Butterfield was supposed to have made those remarks and therefore cannot and will not comment on them. However, I did read in your newspaper the following: "The chairman of the interim executive board on education told the cross-party committee it was a "travesty" that Mr. Charles had become the public face of education in Bermuda".

I too believe that it is a travesty that Mike Charles has become the public face of education in Bermuda, especially since he is not the "elected" voice of the teachers and because his faith in the public education system in which he was employed was shown many years ago because of where he chose to have his son educated, and this was long before there was any talk of educational reform in Bermuda.

I have already gone on record as to how I feel about teachers and administrators in Bermuda's public education system that choose to send their children to private schools. I make no apologies for my belief that if public education is not good enough for the children of my children's teacher, or the education officer who administers the education system, how the system could benefit my children, or my grandchildren at this point in time in life. I am aware that there are several "education officers" and teachers in our system who on one hand say "send me your children" while I send mine to be educated at Saltus Grammar School or Bermuda High School for Girls. But that's the subject for a completely different debate.

But let's get back to Philip Butterfield and the respect that he has for teachers in Bermuda's public education system. Having attended the Berkeley Institute with Philip Butterfield, and remained his friend ever since, I have no doubt that he credits his academic and professional success to those men and women who taught him first, at the Central School (now Victor Scott Primary School) and then at the Berkeley Institute. Therefore I believe that it is extremely disingenuous for you to suggest that Mr. Butterfield has little or no respect for teachers. By the way, the public has yet to read in your newspaper the remarks that Mr. Butterfield made to the Joint Select Committee in their totality.

To add insult to injury, you state in your editorial "Indeed, one wonders how Derrick Burgess, who was "only a waiter" before he came president of the Bermuda Industrial Union and later a Cabinet Minister….". Once again you are being disingenuous as you so often are when it comes to certain people in our community. The fact of the matter is that Derrick Burgess was not "just a waiter before he became president of the Bermuda Industrial Union". I am very familiar with Mr. Burgess' curriculum vitae and therefore I know that he has been a waiter, but I also know that he was the General Manager of the Clydesdale Commonwealth Hotel Ltd. (Palmetto Bay/Coral Island/Breakers Club) and Personnel Director at the Grotto Bay Beach Hotel before he became the president of the Bermuda Industrial Union. However, you would prefer for your readers to believe that Minister Burgess was "just a waiter" in his former life.

You also state in your editorial that the current President of the Bermuda Industrial Union, Chris Furbert, was "only a dockworker" before he was elected as President of the Bermuda Industrial Union. Again, I am familiar with Mr. Furbert's curriculum vitae and I can assure the Bermuda public that prior to being elected as the President of the Bermuda Industrial Union, he was a Foreman with Stevedoring Services for ten years and he could have become a part of the management team had he chosen to accept their officer. As is expected, you have refused to acknowledge or inform your readers that prior to becoming the President of the Bermuda Industrial Union, Chris Furbert enrolled in several leadership courses at the George Meany Labour Institute, America's top institution for labour studies, and the several other courses that he successfully completed to prepare him to lead the Bermuda Industrial Union.

In your last paragraph you state "... Mr. Butterfield, for all the good he has done, has made his position untenable through his own words. Instead of being someone who can lead education reform, he is now an obstacle to it, and should resign or be fired for the sake of the education system". In my opinion, Mr. Editor, it is you who should resign or be fired from your position as editor of The Royal Gazette. Your newspaper has done more damage to the fostering of education reform in Bermuda than anything or anyone else. If we took your advice, every person in Bermuda involved in a relationship, whether it be parent/child, husband/wife, brother/sister, sister/sister, "boss"/employee would have ended that relationship based on an emotional outburst.

LAVERNE FURBERT

Hamilton Parish

P.s. I note that you and your reporters have refused to comment on Mr. Charles' comment that Mr. Butterfield, as a banker knows nothing about education.

Editor's Note: Ms Furbert's comments about Mr. Furbert and Mr. Burgess reinforce the point the editorial was trying to make, however poorly; Mr. Charles is no more "just a PE teacher" than Mr. Burgess was "just a waiter" or Mr. Furbert was "just a dockworker". All of them are much more than that.

There is only so much...

December 1, 2008

Dear Sir,

I'm writing in response to the article in The Royal Gazette where Sen. David Burch is calling XL's CEO Michael McGavick's credentials into question. How dare he question the CEO of a large Insurance/Reinsurance company on the island. As everyone knows XL is a company that employs over 200 people on the Island providing housing subsidies and great job opportunities to Bermudians, not to mention being one of the first companies on the Island to help Bermuda become one of the Premier places in the world to do business.

Bermuda and its people need to show some appreciation and support to the international business sector on the island. We must not forget the trickle down affect of this market – do you think this tiny island would have a booming construction industry, large banking/investment/trust businesses, a successful restaurant industry, and an incredible amount of scholarships provided to Bermudian students if international business wasn't here?

We are so lucky that our young Bermudians have the ability to learn and interact with legendary business figures with years and years experience all the while keeping our minds open to the worldwide market in which we operate. This whole island is benefiting from international business whether you are directly associated with the industry or indirectly – we have developers, restaurant owners, taxi drivers, banks, investment companies, electricians, plumbers, masons, construction workers, project managers, small business owners and direct employees who have become very wealthy from business generated from international business being on the island. It can all vanish from in front of us – especially if we are complacent and arrogant towards the industry and its professionals.

This Government is making a mockery of Bermudians and the island of Bermuda – we used to be known for being a place where everyone was friendly no matter what – now we are known for our arrogance against expats and international business. There is only so much people can take before the costs of being on the island outlay the benefits. Signs of this are already appearing i.e. Ace re-domiciling to Zurich, Paris Re moving completely to Zurich and the Brit Insurance CEO explaining that Bermuda has too many political pressures for them to move here so they'll probably choose Zurich or Dublin (taken from article in the Insurance Day publication).

Many of these domiciles mentioned are doing everything in their power to attract business while Bermuda is doing everything to push away international business with ridiculous announcements like independence, limiting cars to expats, or disrespecting the British Government publicly. Please also note the real estate rental and sales market of high valued homes on the island starting to soften – so the people living off the income of these high rents from housing allowance will start feeling the crunch too. All I am asking is that we show some humbleness and gratitude towards our island and its locals/visitors. Once you get a bad reputation in this global marketplace it's difficult to get it back in our lifetimes.

YOUNG BERMUDIAN

REINSURANCE EMPLOYEE

Arise, Sir David

December 3, 2008

Dear Sir,

With reference to Silvia Hayward-Harris's letter of November 4, 2008, I heartily support her suggestion to honour Dr David Wingate by renaming Nonsuch Island after him. However, it is possible that he may not wish the name to be changed, as he feels so strongly about the history of Bermuda, and this island in particular.

Whatever the decision with regard to this matter, I feel that Dr Wingate should be awarded a Knighthood. In addition to his wonderful achievement in preserving the cahow, he has devoted his life to the preservation of Bermuda's endemic and native species, transforming Nonsuch Island from a devastated area to a wildlife sanctuary, thus ensuring the survival of many of our historic plants and the endangered Bermuda skink. This work has involved not only many hours of painstaking research, but also constant physical labour, which still continues long after he has officially retired.

Mr. Editor, few other citizens can have given so much of their time and energy to our country, and I should be grateful if you would forward my letter to the authorities who recommend this Award.

MARY V. HOPKINS

Pembroke