Never an option

July 7, 2009

Dear Sir,

In the July 4 edition of The Royal Gazette a letter entitled "Uighurs decision was decisive" was published and aroused my attention. Perhaps it may seem that I am being pedantic but, rather than arguing the points that have been done to death by now I have decided again to focus on the point that applies to me. The point I refer to was: "I've seen that some people have said that it is unfair for these men to be given status (if that's what they'll indeed be granted) whilst others who should have preference are either denied or being kept waiting. I consider that on humanitarian grounds, the four men have been treated as a special case."

While I believe that the point is sound and in the interest of humanity, I also believe that our system is based very firmly on the rule of law. When society believes that laws can be bent in certain cases then how long is it until that leads to further violations of a less positive nature? Our system is quite possibly one of the worst systems imaginable, unyielding and uncaring. However it is light years better than any other system ever tried (much like democracy according to the great statesman Winston Churchill).

There is no provision in the Immigration and Protection Act 1956 for asylum seekers, there is no legal basis for the granting of status. As I have said before I am in full support of any humanitarian act, as long as it adheres to the rule of fair and justified law. I have spent my life being told that the immigration rules are fair and justified. Two wrongs do not make a right, we are all taught that from a very young age. Breaking a fair and justified law can never be the option. Perhaps the immigration law is neither?

A WISHFUL THINKER

Smith's

Tired of being deceived

Dear Sir,

I am a middle-aged black Bermudian male who has always supported and voted for the PLP. I now find myself like one of the many PLP supporters that I know as friends, colleagues or those I meet on the street, complaining and expressing dissatisfaction with the way the PLP government is presently operating under the leadership of Premier Brown. We are talking among ourselves, but for whatever reason, we fear expressing the way we feel publicly.

I have never written a letter to the Editor before or even called in to one of the radio talk shows, but with all that has taken place since Dr. Brown has been Premier to raise cynicism and mistrust, particularly this latest incident, I feel compelled to express my feelings, at least through this medium and I encourage others to take the time and do the same for the sake of our island home Bermuda, as we know it.

First off let me say that I do understand that those who we the people elected to lead and represent us have to make "executive" decisions at times. This is to say that they can't bring every decision they must make before the people. If that were so, we all know that nothing would get done. Therefore, we the people must trust in our elected representatives to do what is right and best for Bermuda as a whole. Now, on the other side of that coin, there are clearly matters that must be brought before the people they represent and who's best interest they should have at heart, before a decision is made — like independence for example. Clearly and what should have been obvious, this decision to bring the four Uighurs here from the notorious Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp is one of them.

Now, it would have been bad enough if the government as a whole had made this decision without bringing it to the people, but what really makes one go "HMMMMM," is that one man, the Premier Dr. Brown, made this decision, not only without consulting the people of Bermuda, who's best interest he is supposed to have at heart, but he didn't even consult his Cabinet or inform the Governor. Somebody, please explain the rationale of this decision to me. Is this another matter where he thought he had to deceive the people to accomplish his goal, his agenda?

Well Premier Brown, please take note, we the people are tired of being deceived. I have heard it said by Premier Brown and Mr. Burch that it was the moral thing to do, the humanitarian thing to do and the right thing to do. While I do want my representatives to be of good moral character and compassionate, they must go about it in ways that do not raise suspicion and mistrust. If this incident with the four Uighurs was a one-off incident maybe we could understand it better.

But, it seems as though this government lead by Premier Brown has an unhealthy interest in controversies that result in strife, suspicion and mistrust and therein lies my dilemma, the issue of trust. Although the question of whether the law was broken or the Constitution was ignored is of concern to me, of more concern is something more personal to me — my trust in my elected representatives. One of the platforms on which the PLP Party ran its campaign prior to being elected as the Government was the promise of transparency, which sounded good and was what the electorate wanted to hear.

Well, this PLP Government, particularly under the leadership of Premier Brown, has been anything but transparent and my trust, particularly after this latest incident with the four Uighurs, has been compromised. If Premier Brown can get away with doing this sort of thing without being held accountable by the people he is supposed to be representing, it leaves me wondering, what's next? Am I going to wake up one morning and find that my island home Bermuda has become an independent country without my having been consulted?

Premier Brown and Col. Burch, you say that you believe that what you did was the right thing to do. Well, what is not right is that we the people who you are supposed to be representing and who's best interest you are supposed to have at heart, now have to live our lives wondering, what's next? We now have to live our lives not knowing what to expect from the Government, who have created an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust — so much for transparency.

To the Cabinet and MPs of the PLP Party, do not get so caught up in your present position of power and authority, that you forget that there will come another time when you will need us again, when you will come calling again for our vote. As it stands now, I say to you, don't bother knocking on my door. I cannot support or vote for representatives that don't seem to care what I think and in whom I have no trust.

EX PLP SUPPORTER

Smith's

Kim Swan must resign

June 27, 2009

Dear Sir,

I am writing concerning the results of the "no confidence motion" that took place in the House of Assembly recently. My understanding is that the motion was put forward by Mr. Kim Swan, the Leader of the Opposition, with the view to remove Dr. Ewart Brown as Government Leader. As it turns out to be, Dr. Brown came out of the voting fully intact with 100 percent of his MPs with him. On the other hand, Mr. Swan with a minority of MP's in the House, failed to get any Government MPs to vote with him and not only that but he failed to get the vote of all his MPs.

The 'no confidence' therefore bounced back on Mr. Swan. As a result, as we all know that both Mr. Swan personally, and his party came out of the vote weaker then they went in. My opinion therefore is that the leader who should be removed is not Dr. Brown, but Mr. Swan. Mr. Swan's resignation (not from the party but from the leadership) should have been in before that of Mr. Dale Butler. He should not have been in place to administer discipline to those MPs who did not vote with the party. He should have accepted the fact as it turned out to be and do the right thing — resign — from the leadership of the party.

RENDOL JAMES

Sandys

UBP must disband

July 1, 2009

Dear Sir,

The UBP is stagnating the latest polls say so... They should disband and a new party evolve... one that is much more in tune with present day Bermuda! I think ultimately that this is the best course of action for Bermuda at this time... the UBP, or the remnants of them, appear to be totally irrelevant at this point! When 37 percent of the electorate say it's high time to change, then you had better 'Pay Attention'... if you want to become a viable, electable party of the future! Just be very careful who you select as your leader and who you choose as your (the public's) representatives.

>Also, everyone had better be on the "same page", regarding the "Party Manifesto"! And of course you had better change your "Party" name as well! Here are a few possibilities for people to mull over... Bermuda Unified Party. Bermuda Centre Party. Bermuda Democratic Party. Bermuda National Party... Bermuda Equality Party. National Alliance Party. National Action Party. Democratic Peoples Party and finally, simply The Reform Party! It's a start... so it is time to get moving! Talk is cheap... 'Actions' speak volumes!

BRUCE MCLARRON

Arizona

P.s. Someone please call Dale Butler and get him involved, as he obviously is very dissatisfied with the current PLP and the Ewart Brown Leadership! I definitely think he has what it takes, to be a future leader, for the Bermuda of the 21st Century! Now is the time to plot a new course! Good luck!

The simple truth

June 4, 2009

Dear Sir,

I find it entertaining to read the Premier "phased out a dedicated cruise ship for Front Street". I recall that ship. In fact I recall all the ships of recent years that he phased out: Norwegian Crown, Norwegian Dream, Zenith, Horizon, Pacific Princess, Empress of the Seas. Now let us check our facts: none of these ships exist in the North American cruise industry. They were ageing, outdated, and not cost-effective in the current cruise industry.

The Premier did not phase out these ships, their flag companies did. The smallest ship Norwegian Cruise Line currently operates is the Norwegian Majesty. This ship has been sold and will be retired from the fleet in October of this year. In November will I be reading "the Premier phased out a dedicated cruise ship for St George's"? This is not the case, the simple fact is that small ships are not being mass produced. Panamax and larger class ships are the current trend. The smallest ship NCL will have as of this October is the Norwegian Spirit. One they have graciously promised us for the coming years. This ship will not fit into Hamilton or St George's.

The simple truth is that the cruise ships will be solely operating in Dockyard. We may find one ship, or by some miracle two, willing to operate regular calls into Hamilton or St George's. Surely it is not a huge stretch for us to allow these ships to run their casinos in a late night fashion. We argue that they take away from the pockets of the current nightlife operators. This is not the case as virtually zero cruise guests leave the ships past 9 p.m.

Why would they, the ferry service shuts down at 11 p.m. and a taxi to Dockyard is prohibitively expensive. On top of that, its actually cheaper to buy drinks on-board. Now the crew on the other hand, they do come ashore and local bars are kind enough to extend discounts that encourage the crew to spend. The crew will still come out, even if the casinos open, as they are not allowed to gamble aboard.

Bermuda's saving grace is its location and proximity to major ports of operation on the eastern seaboard. As ships get larger, cruise faster, and are more fuel efficient, we need to have as many "pros" as possible to entice the cruise lines to dock here for multiple nights. It is just as easy to make us a one day stop, or to bypass us completely. Just imagine if another port within cruising range of NYC and Boston were to allow on-board gambling; the next quote in the opinion section might read "the Premier phased out several dedicated cruise ships for Dockyard's new multimillion dollar megaship docks". This may be our opportunity to actually get ahead of our competition.

BEEZ EVANS

General Manager

Charter (Bermuda), Ltd

Her 'bêtes noires'

July 2, 2009

Dear Sir,

As a professional proofreader, I was delighted to see Helle Patterson's letter in today's Royal Gazette. First, may I add to her plural/singular list: the word "data" is plural — "the data are useful", not "the data is useful". It is the plural of "datum".

Second, I'd like to submit my three personal "bêtes noires":

ENORMITY: this word means "evil" or "wickedness". "He realised the enormity of his task" is incorrect. On the other hand, "he realised the enormity of his crime" is correct. "Magnitude" would be better.

PRESENTLY: this does not mean "now" — it means "later" or "in a while". "Currently" is better.

UNIQUE: the constant overuse and misuse of this word make me cringe. I give you the Oxford English Dictionary: "of which there is only one; unequalled; having no like". "Unusual" will do nicely.

JEAN HANNANT

Pembroke

When good men do nothing

June 29, 2009

Dear Sir,

There seems to be a lot of conjecture regarding the reasons why most of the protesters are white. Here is my take, whites are the only ones who actually care enough to take positive action. Before the howls of protest reach fever pitch, a few examples. Back in the 1980s Bob Geldoff set up a worldwide fund to raise money for starving blacks in Africa. There was a charity run in Bermuda to raise funds for this cause, 95 percent of the runners were white, I know because I was one of them. A few years later my wife was looking for donations of Bibles to assist a missionary in Africa, 70 percent of the donations, of which there were a significant number, came from whites. Whites had nothing to gain from these events yet they made the effort.

We lived on South Road for a number of years where we had a good view of runs organised in support of local charities and once again the majority support for these charities were white. In more recent times the protest against building the new hospital in the Botanical Gardens was again predominantly white although the entire population benefits from this haven. The paradox is that the majority of whites have the right of residence in another country, the majority of blacks don't, so when 'El Presidente Brown' finally forces Independence the blacks will be left wondering where did all the money go. Remember the old saying "Bad things happen when good men do nothing"

PETER FORSTER

Hamilton

A small favour

June 30, 2009

Dear Sir,

All this hoo-ha about the great humanitarian work Bermuda has done by rescuing four Uighur gentlemen is a lot of nonsense. If we are saving them from something then it must mean that we are saving them from American thugs running the detention camps at Guantánamo base. But I feel sure that neither the Premier nor his Cabinet thinks the Uighurs were being ill-treated or tortured by 'American thugs'. In fact, what Bermuda has done is a small good turn to the present American administration — taking on four of the hundreds still incarcerated in a detention centre which is an embarrassment to this administration and is due to be closed down at the end of this year.

The stealth with which it was done is no credit to Dr. Brown and Col. Burch, or to the Obama administration, which apparently sought the scheme's being kept under wraps. Quite possibly it could have been achieved openly by appealing to Bermudians to help the US President out of a jam. 'Humanitarian' to me means the sort of thing the couple are doing in Ethiopia in providing free schooling out of their own funds. You carried the story on a recent front page — I wonder if the Premier felt this was a knock at him? Very likely — he has such a weird view of newspapers that one cannot help wondering what devil decided to infect his mind in this way. He is, however, the strongest leader Bermuda has seen since the days of Sir John Swan and Sir Henry 'Jack' Tucker, and I think the PLP Cabinet might as well recognise this and recommend him for a knighthood. Sir Ewart and Lady Brown would sound well. To be fair, Mr. Alex Scott should also be given a knighthood. Of course only an independent Bermuda could make Dr. Brown a Prince, but then, who knows what lies down the track?

W. S. ZUILL, SR.

Smith's

Up With People update

June 29, 2009

Dear Sir,

The cast of Up with People departed Bermuda on Sunday as we concluded our first tour of the Island in ten years. Despite highly unusual and uncooperative weather patterns, we are excited and gratified by what we have accomplished together during the past two weeks.

Mother Nature did her best to dampen our finale last evening at Snorkel Park. I know many of you planned to be in attendance for the show. Like most of the Island, we were pummeled with torrential rain and pounding winds for about an hour at 4 p.m. which proved too much for our lighting and video equipment rendering them unusable. As scattered showers continued into the evening we reluctantly made the decision to cancel the show due to overall safety considerations for the cast and audience.

But as luck would have it around 7.30 p.m. the weather cleared just as a number of host families and diehard audience members arrived. Knowing we would be out of daylight by 8.30 p.m. we made the spur-of-the-moment decision to run 45 minutes of the show. At 7.45 p.m., the cast took the stage with full sound and costumes and entertained approximately 500 people. The rundown included 'Sound of Peace' which the cast performed with children from the St. George's Prep School Choir. The cast was able to even perform with approximately 20 of our Bermudian alumni the special medley we put together for the tour including two vintage Talbot Brothers songs. It was a wonderful spontaneous experience for everyone that I am sure will be remembered by all and a true testimony to the can-do spirit Up with People and Bermuda share.

Here are a few of the highlights from the past two weeks for which we all, sponsors, UWP alumni and members of the cast can be proud:

* Five days of community service projects

* Physical Abuse Centre

* Keep Bermuda Beautiful

* Habitat for Humanity

* Lefroy House

* WindReach Recreational Facility

* Sunshine League

* Casemates Barracks

* Maritime Museum Keep

* Westgate Correctional Facility

* Meals on Wheels

* Special Preview performances

* CedarBridge Academy

* St. George's Native Festival

* Movie Night at the Arboretum

* City Hall

* Meetings with Bermuda leadership

* Governor Sir Richard Gozney

* Premier Dr. Ewart F. Brown

* Minister Col. David Burch

I am also happy to report and we have interviewed nearly two dozen young Bermudians who are interested in travelling with future casts. Two are even trying to join Cast B 2009 which begins rehearsal in just two weeks. The Bermuda legacy will continue!

While we have all left the Island there will continue to be represented here by a vigorous and energetic contingent of UWP alumni who will become our stewards in Bermuda and will maintain our new Bermuda charitable status. Thank you again to the people of Bermuda for all you have done to make this tour a remarkable success. It was wonderful to reestablish the connection and bond between Up with People and the people of Bermuda. We look forward to being back within the next two to three years.

PHIL WORCESTER

Field Marketing & Operations Manager

God's commands

June 30, 2009

Dear Sir,

This is in response to the letter dated May 29, 2009 from MAM in Sandys which was in the June 9, 2009 newspaper.

I have many friends and family who go out on Saturday mornings to preach (they also preach throughout the week). They do this to give their neighbours some encouragement from the Bible amid all the problems we see today (and there are many problems as I'm sure you're aware). They are not fanatics as you mention but they are very humble and kind hearted people who take time out of their very busy schedules to help and encourage others (maybe you should try this sometime). They are just trying to do what Jesus commanded all Christians to do and that is to preach the Word from house to house and city to city, (check your bible if you own one). Why bother the politicians? Don't you think the politicians have their hands full with all the crime, murders, thefts, etc that are happening now. Would you rather the door knockers spend their time stealing from you or disobeying the law?

Next time a 'door knocker' comes to your house just ask them (politely, if you can) to put you on the 'Do Not Call' list and they will gladly oblige. I'm sure they don't want to waste their time upsetting you. You sound like a very bitter and frustrated person who wouldn't know a positive message if it hit you on your lower rear anatomy. I do not think you were funny when you mentioned 'stoning them to death' if they break the law. Please try to get some counselling for your anger. Please don't reply to this letter as I won't waste another minute responding to your negativity and hatred. I just wanted to set the record straight regarding these kind hearted people. They are not hurting anyone by the work they are so kindly doing. You only have GOD to answer to and I'm sure that when that time comes you will not be so haughty.

FRIEND OF A DOOR KNOCKER

Warwick

Visitor's View

June 4, 2009

Dear Sir,

My wife and I have just returned home from Bermuda after experiencing one of the most enjoyable vacations we have had in years. The beauty of your Island is truly matched by the hospitality of your citizens and it is for that reason we are now planning a return trip. During our vacation I did read with interest the trend in crime your lovely Island is experiencing due to the emergence of gang activity that seems to be embraced by a very small percentage of young adults. Although I have served as Chief of Police for the City of Harrisburg, Chief of Operations for the UN International Police in Bosnia and now serve as Superintendent of Police for the PA State Capitol Police. I do not want to be one of those "outsiders" that has an answer for everything. I can assure you, based on my experience with the juvenile gang culture in Harrisburg and with organised gangs in Eastern Europe, this problem will only escalate if left unattended.

Your determination to attack this issue with community and church support coupled with a pro-active law enforcement initiative is a positive approach in addressing this issue, but please remember law enforcement alone cannot be successful without this partnership. Both the Harrisburg City Police and the PA Capitol Police have been awarded Internationally Accreditation and it is my understanding your police agency is striving towards that very same goal. Please remember this process does not happen overnight. Only with the full support of city and state government along with a very dedicated team of police officers and civilian personnel were we able to accomplish this task within a span of two years. Wishing everyone in Bermuda all the very best.

RICHARD S. SHAFFER

Superintendent Pennsylvania Capitol Police and Safety

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

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Ameliorate the shock

June 12, 2009

Dear Sir,

There have been numerous stories regarding the fall-off in tourists, and some about remedies; mostly Government spending money on favoured private sector promotion companies. Having been a tourist (and still longing to find a position which would allow me to live there), I thought about what would a simple, inexpensive (in the sense of very low overhead cost) incentive be? The NCL ship I sailed on provided vouchers for discounts at certain restaurants, mostly near the Hamilton dock, if I recall correctly. That was it.

Why not take that to its logical conclusion? Instead of business specific vouchers, why not a currency exchange voucher? Eleven Bermuda dollars for 10 American (or some other percentage). This would be specific to cruise ship entry, since, let's face it, such tourists need prodding to spend. When I visited, it was clear that Priceline and the like had been used to fill the vessel. These were down at heel visitors; not I of course, I should hasten to mention. I just hate to fly. There would need be some rules about where and when the exchange happens. Certainly, 3,000 people inundating Butterfield Bank on Wednesday afternoon to change back Bermuda for American currency is to be avoided.

One thing that was clear to me during my visit was that the "simplicity" of even exchange of American and Bermuda dollars in commerce was not necessarily a benefit, given the large difference in cost of living. Normal international exchange rate differences exist to level out such differences. An across the board reduction, however implemented (but clearly Government sponsored), would ameliorate the sticker shock. Rather than millions of dollars to promotion companies, put the money in the hands of tourists. They will spend it in the broader Bermuda economy. Which in turn gets spent again in multiples by Bermudians. Economists call this the multiplier effect. This is why supply side economics never works, and spreading the wealth does; when the goal is overall economic stimulus.

ROBERT YOUNG

Connecticut, USA