True history of slavery

February 2, 2004

Dear Sir,

The foundation of any African History programme should be Arab Slavery from 650 AD to the present in the Sudan.

Arabs were one of the first races to take slaves out of Africa. Millions were marched across the Sahara Desert in neck chains to Mecca, India and the Persian Gulf. Arabs, according to historians, preferred black women as sex slaves occupying their harems as concubines. The offspring became the Arab African races we see today all throughout Africa: Moors, Berbers, Hausa Fulani, etc. Many traditional rulers defended their borders against these invaders and most civil wars in Africa have some Arab connection.

Around 1504 an Edo traditional ruler Oba Ozula , purchased firearms from the European explorers to fight civil war. Among his trade were human slaves from rival traditional rulers. Millions were sold in market places to various Europeans buyers over the next centuries. Cannons were some of the military hardware gained by traditional warlords to protect their borders by 1818.

The Europeans preferred men as their slave product because of their skills as blacksmiths, herders, farmers, miners and of course, soldiers. The 9th and 10th Calvary were US troops that fought for America and destroyed the Indians as a part of Manifest Destiny out West. Many received their freedom for this and educated themselves in business and education but they had to reject their African heritage to do this. Most of these people are illiterate in African history and not qualified to even evaluate this field, hence the low class programmes presented by many fakes.

All along this journey the fact remains, Arabs started this mess and still get away with it today in the Sudan. Arab slavery needs to be course number one in an African history syllabus, without it many are still in African illiteracy.

An empty glass ...

February 9, 2005

Dear Sir,

Mr. Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados recently declared that a referendum to abandon the Queen as its official head of state and adopt a republican form of government was, ?in keeping with our commitment to the people?.

Though I was not surprised by Mr. Arthur?s decision, I would venture to believe that any elected official was elected to ?serve? and manage their Country, State or Nation in the best interest of its people, who elected them and expected them to represent their interest.

This interest goes beyond political lines, race, class or economic empowerment, but ingrained in ones? moral, social and ethical foundation and based on what they honestly believe and don?t.

Thus, why do we elect or choose politicians to serve us? Are they our family members, friend or do they represent our political ideology or are either black or white? How many of us elect MPs because they share and reflect our way of thinking in their business, political, family and social life?

Yes, we elected the PLP to represent us. Yes, we decided that a change was needed to manage the public purse of ?us? the people, ?us? the taxpayer and ?us?, the citizens of Bermuda.

We made a commitment to Bermuda?s current Government and expected and still expect a commitment in return. This commitment is that the present Government of Bermuda would do what they are instructed to do, based on public opinion and/or what we the people want?

Democracy in its? purest form is basically ?rule by the majority?. Thus, whatever term we care to call it, Nationhood or Republic, we cannot and should not muddy the democratic process and decide Independence via a general election, but by a referendum!

We want to vote for representative officials, based on what we believe he or she can do for us, but do we want to live in a country that overlooks many social, moral, political and economic issues that we believe are a priority at this time? No, as today the social, moral, political and economic ?Glass of Bermuda? is empty.

Emotionally, it?s not that we don?t want Independence, it is just that we want to ensure that the glass is at least half full. That way, we can drink what is there, refill the glass for others and future generations or just leave it alone and it?ll still be there.

Other than national pride (we should be proud with or without) and hosting UN meetings for an ineffective UN, can someone give me three intelligent reasons why Bermuda should be an independent nation? If I were a Government strategist, I would remember that our main objective or goal is to remain in power at all costs and sacrifice. With that said and unless we have a hidden agenda and are extremely confident of another election victory, my safest bet would be a referendum whilst still retaining our electoral support.

Non-Bermudian windfall

February 11, 2005

Dear Sir,

Just a quick note to say thanks to our Government for significantly devaluing Bermudian-owned property and at the same time significantly increasing the value of foreign owned property. Bermudians can no longer sell to non-Bermudians BUT non-Bermudians can! Something surely went wrong here. Perhaps the wrong consultants were consulted. Simple economics tells us that if fewer people are allowed to buy your house then the value goes down and if relatively more people are allowed to buy your house then value goes up.

If you were trying to stop the trust scam (non-Bermudians buying property through loopholes) you should have consulted Bermudian realtors and lawyers.

Once this was fixed, then all you had to do was adequately and periodically raise the ARV minimum for property allowed to be purchased by non-Bermudians. This would adjust for property inflation and protect Bermudians the way it was originally intended.

I am not an expert; just a Bermudian who has earned all he owns and our Government just taken a chunk away and handed it to our guests. Congrats to my non-Bermudian neighbors for this financial windfall! Three cheers for this clever pronouncement: Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Tiger, hooray!A warning to all successful Bermudians: Do not invest in Bermuda property because you may not be able to sell it down the road. We have a very unstable situation here.

Use bases for housing

February 8, 2005

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you about the politicians on both sides of the House. I listen to the debates in the House of Assembly and the Senate so I can know what is going on, but the last session of the House, has convinced me that all my politicians all brain dead and the Cabinet?s members? brains are waterlogged.

I am getting tired of the repetitious talk by the PLP. When the PLP were Opposition they had all the answers, as is usually the case. When you are not in charge of the money you can spend it as you like, but now that they are in Government and need to raise the money so they can spend it they realise that sometimes the money is not there, that goes to show you the Opposition always see the wrong of the ruling government, and what really irritates me is when they are running for Government, the reporters asks them ?What can you do for your constituency? They?re saying the same thing for the last 40 years. i.e. improve street lights and streets/sidewalks, same old garbage.

They need to do more legislation to improve peoples lives and stop pocketing and get back to politics and start finding some answers for housing, transportation. The answers are out there, they just need to clear the cobwebs from their brains and put on a new thinking cap. What I mean by a thinking cap; every problem has at least two solutions. The housing problem has been around at least 20 years. I remember way back in 1961 and 1962, the American station at Kindley Field created the housing problem. The answer was the American government decided to bring all their personnel to live on base and that bought the local renting back to reality. So one of my suggestions for housing is that Government encourages exempted companies to buy one of the vacant hotels and house married couples without children and single females and males on three-year contracts and short-term contracts.

Also, transportation should be limited to persons that are here for five years or less. They should not be able to own a car or bike. They should be suggested to use public transportation, even the locals should be encouraged to use public transportation. A point, Mr. Editor is the hospital that has a bus stop just 25 yards from the main door, but if you go there to find a parking bay you end up double parking and I am made to understand you can get a ticket.

Mr. Monkman volunteered to spend a day in a wheel chair to find out what some of the problems are for wheel chair users. When I read the story in February 5 newspaper, I said ?No, not the same old two and six, everything was the same as the last Mayor of Hamilton the late Mr. Cecil Dismont?s day in the wheelchair?.

In my opinion Mr. Monkman?s exercise for the day was only an exercise for him, only his upper body got fit, it has not changed any minds about the disabled, whether physical, mental or hidden disabilities. He has to get his Minister Mrs. Patrice Minors to start legislating some laws that benefits our lives. Minister Minors is a good reader of prepared statements. Half the information she reads, she just believes that it is true her body language shows no emotion. She is a Minister in a boat that has a two foot hole and they gave her a cup to bale it out with, to keep afloat.

The Minister of Housing Mr. Ashfield DeVent, I watch him making public press releases, but I find him very limited in words and he had worked for VSB as a news reporter assigned to the courts and police stations as a reporter, but his reports are repetitious. I am not saying he is not educated, I feel he should not be the Minister of Public Works. He is like a fish out of water, the Ministry is too big for him, I don?t think he has had enough experience in administration. He relies on the his advisors in civil service too much, they too can make mistakes. He should be alert in picking them up.

Mr. Editor I?m calling for the Minister to put an independent committee together to do a report on the housing at the base lands. The property down there is deteriorating due to the lack of use of the property.

Significant omission

February 8, 2005

Dear Sir,

Thank you for publishing a photograph today of various Marsh employees making donations to three charities. I would like to point out, though, an important omission in the caption ? the donations were the result of staff fund-raising efforts which Marsh then matched, and were not 100 percent donations from Marsh itself. I?m sure you will appreciate the need to give credit where credit is due.