Praise for Mr. Gospel

June 12, 2003

Dear Sir,

Thank you for allowing me space in your newspaper to give an accolade to a well deserving individual in our community.

Forty is a magical number, or so I have been told. I have also heard that if you are able to work at something you enjoy for 40 years, that is indeed a true blessing. And so I take time out of my busy schedule to say congratulations to my colleague, Mr. Kelly Zuill, also known as Mr. Gospel for celebrating 40 years in promoting gospel on our airwaves.

I also want to personally thank Mr. Zuill for introducing me to the wonderful world of gospel music. Truly if ever there were a genre of music that can make one stop, think, and appreciate life as we know it; it is gospel music. So on behalf of all my colleagues at ZFB 1230AM Radio, a big, gigantic, enormous, thank you for being Mr. Gospel for the past 40 years.

Needless to say you have been an inspiration to many.

With much love and affection,

Rethink Cuban initiative

June 9, 2003

Dear Sir,

Why anyone in this country would wish to label Dame Lois Browne-Evans a socialist is beyond me.

The mere fact that she accepted the title of Dame proves that she is most definitely not! As its ultimate goal, socialism espouses the creation of a classless society, something which is the very antithesis of what titles conferred by Royalty are all about. That is why Tony Benn, the former British Labour Cabinet Minister, fought a long, hard and victorious battle to relinquish the peerage he had inherited following his father's death in 1960.

As a Bermudian, I am becoming increasingly concerned with the anti-American sentiment expressed by certain members of this government. Dame Lois' scathing attack on capitalism recently is illustrative of this.

Now while I accept that capitalism is not a panacea for this world's ills (the profit motive undeniably encourages greed and avarice - i.e. the BHC scandal), I would hasten to add neither is there salvation in socialism. Personally, I accept the view of the late Dr. Martin Luther King who wrote that only the Kingdom of God reconciles the truth in both ideologies.

On the whole, America with its capitalistic system has been good to this Island. I dare say that many of the islands to the south of us would love to be in our position. Bermuda has and continues to benefit through its economic links with the United States, who, it should be remembered, played a crucial role in the economic development of the black man in this country.

It was during the construction of the US naval bases that black Bermudian tradesmen, such as masons, electricians and plumbers were finally paid the wages they deserved; against I might add the wishes of the "powers that be" of the time. This provided the economic `springboard' for much of the prosperity that we see in the black Bermudian community today.

Over the last couple of months we have heard accusations of `treachery' levelled against certain individuals opposed to Bermuda establishing links with Cuba. In fact many interpret Government's decision to establish closer ties to Caricom without the input of the populace and to negotiate with communist Cuba behind the backs of the people as treacherous.

Further, many Bermudians find unacceptable and inexcusable the decision by this government to go `full steam ahead' with negotiations despite warnings from the British Foreign and Commonwealth office over human rights abuses; abuses which incidentally have led to the European Union (EU) announcing diplomatic sanctions against Cuba - including scaling back cultural links - in protest at the Communist regime's recent execution of hijackers and crackdown on dissidents.

Even as I write, US Secretary of State Colin Powell is challenging the Organisation of American States' foreign ministers to join the United States in finding ways to "hasten the inevitable democratic transition in Cuba".'

In my opinion Powell is right, Cuba will sooner rather than later experience a democratic transition, at which point Cuba's repressed masses together with Cuban exiles from the United States will determine that island's fate.

I do not claim to be a prophet but I foresee a Cuban administration backed by Washington chartering that country's course. All political, cultural and business agreements made prior to that time will become `null and void', just as happened with the multi-million dollar contracts made with the former Iraqi regime by France and Russia.

Finally I do not believe it is in this country's best interests to pursue dubious foreign policy initiatives, initiatives which most Bermudians have yet to be convinced, are beneficial to this community at the expense of pressing domestic problems.

Bermuda's failing grade

June 12, 2003

Dear Sir,

A recent editorial in spouted the new Labour government's favourite mantra: "Education, education, education." Unfortunately this mantra has fallen on deaf ears in the United Kingdom and in Bermuda.

As a Bermudian, albeit overseas, it would appear that the public education system in Bermuda is failing our most important asset, an asset that will be the guardian of Bermuda's economic stability - our youth.

I recall some time ago it was announced by the PLP Government that the Department of Education would be introducing GCSE's into the public curriculum, a curriculum that probably should have been introduced years ago to bring an internationally recognised educational standard to the Island to which young Bermudians could aspire.

However, in the last few years the GCSE system in the United Kingdom has been under increased pressure to reform due to allegedly falling standards. Although the number of students attaining grades between A and C is at an all-time high, it is suspected that the overall difficulty of the exams has fallen dramatically since GCSE's were introduced to replace the much more difficult GCSE's.

In fact that have recently been calls in the United Kingdom to scrap GCSE's and introduce a system similar to that of the International Baccalaureate. The debate in the UK is of course relevant to the future course of the public education system in Bermuda.

Unfortunately there is no quick fix available to repair the crumbling public education system in Bermuda and introducing GCSE's may be too little too late. Radical reform is needed - reform that does not merely introduce a discredited curriculum from abroad, but an over haul that will comprehensively deal with all the problems faced in our schools from truancy to poor educational standards.

Successive UBP governments made an effort to reform the education system, and the current PLP Government has also made an admirable attempt, but to no avail (despite the PLP's election promise that education would be a priority and that young people would be top of their agenda). We must ask ourselves why the number of Bermudian students, both black and white enrolled at private institutions is at an all-time high. What is the problem?

The one constant that has remained, and perhaps the source of the problem, is the Department of Education. The school system was overhauled to create middle schools, haphazardly at best and incompetently at worst, but the Department that has the greatest hand in proposing and implementing changes to the school system has not - it is time to investigate the possibility of overhauling the overhaulers - the Department of Education.

Perhaps then radical proposal will be made and even implemented. Only then will the future and economic stability of Bermuda have a chance of being secure. Whether this opinion is accepted or not, I think it can be agreed that education should be the priority of whichever party is elected in July, rather than spending time and resources on the signing of a memorandum of understanding with a discredited regime.

When in Rome...

June 17, 2003

Dear Sir,

On Saturday night, (television channel) PBS showed Marcelo Alvarez and Salvatore Licitra, in concert in front of the Coliseum in Rome, backed by a full orchestra. It was a magnificent setting, a wonderfully varied programme and an absolute experience.

In Bermuda we had Jose Carreras accompanied by a pianist and a handkerchief.

The contrast was obvious.

What was delivered in Rome was what most people expected to be delivered in Bermuda, a full orchestra and a wonderful setting.

If Bermuda is going to put on these type of events then, at least, do them properly.