We need your support

November 7, 2005

Dear Sir,

Thank you for allowing us to use this medium to address the public on behalf of The Bermuda Christmas Boat Parade Committee.

Dear Bermudians and Residents,

The 2005 Bermuda Christmas Boat Parade is set for December 10, 6.30 p.m. around Hamilton Harbour. Generally, by the first week in November we have close to 30 entries. This year, as of this writing, we have only eight entries confirmed.

Clearly this event is enjoyed by virtually all of Bermuda from children to their parents and grandparents. It?s enjoyed by boaters from the water and both locals and residents throughout Hamilton and the length of Harbour Road in Paget. It is estimated that over 20,000 watch the parade annually making it Bermuda?s single largest spectator event of the year.

However, to make this event work, we need your support. We are asking the public, companies, churches, charities and groups to consider entering a boat. It is fun from beginning to end with a massive fireworks display in the middle of the harbour and a great after party at the Fairmont Hamilton.

Past entrants bring their families or friends on board and simply have a party. Companies invite clients, VIPs or staff to join them on their company-sponsored boat. In previous years, the Fairmont, the Bank of Bermuda, The Market Place, XL, Capital G, Bermuda Sloop Foundation, BAC, West End Capital Management, ACE Insurance, Deloitte, UBP, The Salvation Army, Christ Church, Youth Net, Dolphin Quest, Bermuda Biological Station, and RBYC have all entered and we salute them.

We are approaching the Bermuda community and asking for your support. Ask your company if they would consider entering or ask a friend who has a boat. We need your support to make this fairytale event happen.

You can sign up on line at www.bermudaboatparade.bm or call 295-0530 and we?ll fax you an application. If you sign up by November 18, you will be eligible for our ?Early Bird Draw? of two free round trip tickets to New York, courtesy of American Airlines. With your support, December 10, 2005 will be bigger and better than ever.

Aiding racial agitation?

November 1, 2005

Dear Sir,

and its sister newspaper, the Mid-Ocean News, has once again shown themselves to be aiding and abetting political bias and racial agitation by the United Bermuda Party.

What about this ludicrous portrayal of an aspiring UBP candidate as a victim of discrimination from the Bermuda College? The UBP are trying to embarrass the College and its Board for exercising a policy of discretion that many companies have in place, not only in Bermuda, but all over the world.

At least another paper in this country has chosen to show the public the hypocrisy of the Opposition Leader who did not raise a finger to publicly defend one of his colleagues who had to leave his top job at a local law firm because he wanted to serve in Parliament.

Where were and when this happened to John Barritt? It must be because that same firm provided the UBP with loyal Parliamentary servants for years.

Stop the hypocrisy and the bias and report the news and the truth for the community. The Hon. Government Senator has no reason to fear any proposed UBP Senator for what they bring to the table. What will be will be !Virtually every point raised by Mr. Riley is inaccurate. On the same day that Mr. Riley wrote his letter, a editorial agreed with the Bermuda College?s stance and disagreed with the UBP. In an editorial on May 21, 2004, criticised Appleby Spurling and Hunter?s policy with regard to Mr. Barritt. A story on May 5, 2004 quoted Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons at length criticising Appleby Spurling & Hunter?s position.

We need leaders

November 15, 2005

Dear Sir,

It was with interest that I read Colonel Burch?s comment about ?House niggers?.

Let me first say that if anyone called me that, I would kick them in their teeth, and it pains me that a black man should use such a hateful expression and on the air. Where is Cure? Don?t they protest such comments? If a white man had made it he would have been made to resign from his various positions and leave with his tail between his legs. But of course nothing was said or done. This man was promoted even further to continue his litany of hate. Racism is alive and well in Bermuda. God knows I have never lived anywhere so filled with hate!

Mr. Scott et al, we don?t want you to lead us to Independence, simply because you are a cabinet of mediocre men and waspish women. We have no confidence that you will be able to make any sensible decisions and execute long term planning. You simply can?t do the job. That is the only reason we don?t want you to lead us anywhere.

Look at the intellectual giants who lead the rest of the Caribbean to Independence, Williams, Manley, Barrow and Burnham. Most of these men failed miserably to run their countries effectively and only Barbados now has what could be called a successful democracy. The firebrand African dictators failed miserably too. All those who failed, those who were unable to attract the money and talent of all of their citizens. How do you think the mediocre would do?

This is the saddest thing of all. No one wants black people to fail and no one wants to hear white people say: ?I knew they could never do it? That is living up to racist stereotypes in the saddest possible way. I know there have always been competent people of all races and it is great pity that Bermuda can?t seem to find them. What we want is bright energetic and progressive leaders. Throw out yesterday?s ideas, the labour movement is on the decline everywhere and it alone effectively wrecked the tourism industry in this country. No one else should take the blame.

We also want people who are not in politics for material gain and ?limos and trips?. How can I be comfortable with a party that ignores the movers and shakers and moves in a direction which seems to exclude 35 percent of the population? You are ignoring your investors!

Everyone has good ideas, you should be listening to everyone. Have you not failed in fact, by not being able to win any of the white population to your party? Something must be wrong. This has nothing to do with race! This is good business! Do you ever listen to the Chamber of Commerce with the same respect that you listen to the morons who spout rhetoric? I am apolitical, except when I get mad at the likes of these events, and not a member of either party.

I lay the blame on the UBP for having made many of the mistakes that the PLP are now making, and most of all for making it so difficult to find intellectuals, of any calibre, to lead this country, at what should be it?s most prosperous period.

If you really had the interest of this country at heart, you would chose the best men available for the jobs regardless of party affiliation, and lead this suburban island to a future of certainty instead of sliding down into a morass from which it can never be retrieved. Have some town hall meetings, listen to the people, take notes and seek out the competent instead of appointing your friends.

More empty promises

November 7, 2005

Dear Sir,

More committees, more discussions! ? SMRAT, CURB , Independence. What we need is action and tangible results, not more studies to collect dust on a shelf.

330 new rental units in 30 months ? 11 per month. Very ambitious! Why should we believe this Government when they have not been able to provide any new, affordable housing in the past 7 years. What happened to the 2003 Throne Speech promise of ? ...a coordinated approach to the provision of affordable and emergency housing in Bermuda?? Cooperation between the various quangos and Government has been abysmal and has led to the demise of Bermuda Homes for People.

I see no concrete initiatives for the physically challenged as promised in 2003.

Now that the Bermuda Regiment soldiers can get a free education at Bermuda College, why don?t we get with the rest of the world and abolish conscription?

The Child Protection measures promised in the 2003 Throne Speech appear again in 2005. Promises, empty promises.

The promised amendment to the Election Act 1978 to allow for absentee balloting in the 2003 Throne Speech, nothing has happened.

What happened to zero-based budgeting promised in 2003? Is there greater accountability for those charged with spending Government funds? I haven?t seen any less spending.

From the 2003 Throne Speech I quote:

?Trust is the hall mark of a good relationship but trust must be earned and once earned, should never be taken for granted?. I believe that Premier Scott, in his pursuit of independence for the Island, has forgotten this and has taken the people of Bermuda for granted. He has dismissed 14,000 voters who signed the referendum petition saying they did not know what they were signing. How can we trust someone when he ignores the wishes of the people.

The 2003 Throne Speech goes on to say:

?Fairness, openness and accountability will be the bedrock of the Government so that all Bermuda?s people and institutions are subject to the same standards of fairness and propriety?. I will let your readers be the judge of this two year old pronouncement from our present Government.

Editorial was pedantic

November 14, 2005

Dear Sir,

I must take issue with several points raised in your somewhat pedantic Editorial of today?s date.

You state that there may be no more valuable piece of real estate than this location, however, you have not taken into account the highly restrictive planning stipulations to which buildings on this block are subjected. When coupled with the burdensome and expensive fire regulations which are rigidly applied, the value of properties in this block have been severely diminished.

This was amply demonstrated by the inability of the Triminghams /Smiths operation to sustain itself and the reduction of Coopers to a rump operation compared to its former self!

Your comment that the loss of shopping space is real, but you do not relate that to the simple fact that Bermuda?s retail scene has changed so much in the last few years. Demand for expensive Front/Reid Street space is only a fraction of what it used to be. Retailing as it was in the 1960s and 1970s is no longer sustainable. Bermudians shop overseas, in part because Government never delivered on its duty free shopping promise and Bermuda?s cost infrastructure makes Bermuda prices uncompetitive with stateside malls.

This situation is unlikely to change! Tourism is virtually dead, except for the cruise passengers, and even the most optimistic forecasts see very little but gloom for that portion of the hotel and guest house business which does not rely on the exempted company sector.

Bermuda?s economics have changed and those who cling to the belief that retailing in Hamilton will return to its heyday will be sadly disappointed. It follows that the amount of retail dollars spent in the local market will continue to decline and most shops on Front and Reid Streets will not be able to afford the high rents which present construction costs dictate. It simply makes no sense to push for more retail space in this part of Hamilton when we already have empty shop fronts.

Perhaps it is a little unkind, but I should also point out that you also failed to mention that your parent company, Bermuda Press (Holdings), is heavily engaged in the office rental business, which an unkind observer might well construe as a conflict of interest!

Age should be no barrier

October 15, 2005

Dear Sir,

How old was President Reagan when he was President of the most powerful country in the world? While I, and most black people, disagreed with him, he gave most Americans a greater sense of well-being than any other recent President.

I have been informed that the PLP considers any one over 55 (except for a few ?cronies?)completely useless. That is most unfortunate for them since there are those who are much older who have more intelligence and ability than many (or most?) of those in their hierarchy!

On a totally different matter. There are so many warnings about a ?dictatorship?. Yet many of these same people warning us still do not seem to understand that what black people have suffered under racism is far greater than what others have suffered under a dictatorship. So what these people are saying is falling on deaf ears until they show the same concern about addressing the long term and very destructive impact of racism. That is one reason some of us have been encouraged by the 130 white people who heard Tom Wise. A very small step but a significant one.

Flag loss self-inflicted?

November 17, 2005

Dear Sir,

It was with a good deal of dismay that I read that some bounder has swiped Dr. Edward Harris?s Union flag from his flag pole on the night of October 31 and replaced it with some boxer shorts. Shame on them.

It should be noted however, that had my mate Edward not been flying his flag at night, which is of course quite illegal, this dastardly act would not have occurred.