One law for some

January 31, 2009

Dear Sir,

With some amusement I recently read a notice in the Sun from Government stating it was illegal to post signs in Bermuda and that signs will be removed if they are placed on East Broadway.

Just wondering when Govt. intends to remove their own sign – or do they transcend this law?

ADENIKE SIMMONS

Paget

Wasting our money

January 28, 2009

Dear Sir,

I could not believe my eyes when I read in Saturday's (January 24) Royal Gazette that the Government is considering attaching a press officer to each government ministry.

What the H-L is this government thinking? Here we are in the midst of a world-wide economic crisis and they want to hire more staff!

What happened to the Finance Minister's statement – that we need belt tightening and that cuts of 10.5 percent need to be made across each department?

Fellow Bermudians wake up! The horse is galloping out of the stable.

As a taxpayer, and a retired one at that, I resent this government's blatant disregard for how they spend my money. It is time to take a stand! This government and its cronies must go!

OAM BARCLAY

Sandys

Thoughts on Bermuda

Janaury 28, 2009

Dear Sir,

I am hoping to make this a regular thing so I will give my "thoughts on Bermuda" over the last few months.

1. Will the talk about controlling the roads ever transpire or will it just be "talk". Still to this day no radar or road blocks.

2. Did Col Burch do a 180 on his view of expats since the financial crash?

3. Is Rolfe Commissiong the next Eva Hodgson and why does he not like white people?

4. GPS, is it that big a deal?

5. When did Japanese Drum Players become Bermudian?

6. When did Bermuda become the 51st state and have any votes for Obama?

7. Antonio Pierce is not Bermudian, let it go.

8. Why do we still have police visible during the morning rush when no one can speed anyway?

9. When will young Bermudians stop texting while driving their motorbikes?

10. I am white and like black people. Enough said.

JACK HANDY

City of Hamilton

TCD examiner did good

January 27, 2009

Dear Sir,

Please allow me to commend the attitude and public relations of one of TCD Vehicle Examiner Mr. Michael Simmons. I had to take my vehicle for its yearly inspection. The vehicle failed and Mr. Simmons with a very pleasant way explained to me the legal circumstance of why my public service vehicle failed. I must say it was great to have a civil servant present himself with a very positive and pleasant approach. Again to Mr. Michael Simmons, examiner at TCD, thank you.

TERRY FLOOD

Devonshire

Partying Premier

January 28, 2009

Dear Sir,

During these hard economic times, our Premier is using taxpayers' money to party in Washington and on the golf course, at the same time insisting taxi drivers must have expensive GPS systems in their cabs or they will not be licensed.

NOTHING TO CELEBRATE

Smith's

Fiddler keeps fiddling

January 14, 2009

Dear Sir,

It would seem to me that we have a real party boy on our hands. The fiddler keeps on fiddling when Bermuda burns. Should one really be partying when all around, there is hardship, loss of jobs and financial, for some, ruin and just plain old poverty? For God's sake, stay at home and look after your "Watch".

How hypocritical it all is when you hear of Ministers approving the payment for this party in Washington, when they are cosy in their warm beds, have three meals a day, have a roof over their heads and can pay the rent. We should celebrate quietly in our hearts and donate the $75,000 to a charity of the people's choice, for Bermudians.

Why should we pay $75,000 to celebrate Obama's inauguration in Washington, they can manage without us, and the idea of a party under the guise of promoting tourism is a transparent joke, we have seen these junkets before, costing The People – that' s us – a fortune with little or nothing to show for it, no rush and response of floods of tourists to our shores

In my opinion, these parties are for the glorification of The Few. Does the dictum of "In your face mate, we don't care" sound familiar?"

I hesitate to continue to write about the obvious, as it has all been said, seen, and done before, but really do we have to stand and watch while our lovely island and it's people are taken for that proverbial ride! It doesn't take any intelligence to know what is going on, this Government has made Bermuda their personal private fiefdom. They know it, we know it and yet, we stand by and watch. They must be wondering how long they can get away with it.

With apologies and an incorrect quote, but applicable I believe: "And they came for us, and there was no one left to save us. "

Wake up Bermuda, and throw The Fiddler out!

DIANA WILLIAMS

Pembroke

Are flashing lights legal?

January 21, 2009

Dear Sir,

What is the legality of these non-emergency vehicles escorting with yellow lights flashing and the drivers waving and shouting as they travel on the wrong side of the road?

Does their insurance cover these antics?

RETIRED POLICE OFFICER

Southampton

Thanks for toy donations

January 15, 2009

Dear Sir,

On behalf of The Coalition for the Protection of Children, I would like to thank all of the companies and individuals who donated gifts and volunteered time to assist us with our annual "Toys for Tots" campaign.

Additionally, we wish to publicly acknowledge Kim Webb and Stephanie Robinson of Coldwell Banker who organised, collected toys and made sure that the programme ran smoothly from start to finish. It is no exaggeration to say that the 2008 "Toys for Tots" drive could not have happened without the help of these two consummate professionals. They both volunteered considerable time and effort to make sure that hundreds of needy children had a Merry Christmas.

2008 was a particularly difficult year for low-income families. The declining economy combined with increasing prices made it harder for the poor to stretch their meagre budgets, especially during the holidays. However, thanks to the generosity of the community we were able to provide over 600 gifts to underprivileged children ensuring a joyful season for them.

Again, thank you for your support and we wish you all the best in 2009.

SHEELAGH COOPER

Executive Director

The Coalition for the Protection of Children

Bus driver had charm

January 15, 2009

Dear Sir,

Express Bus Friday November 14 at approximately 5.15 p.m. going to Somerset from Hamilton.

I would like to let everyone who reads this newspaper know that it was nice to come home to Bermuda and find there is still some of the Olde Bermuda Charm and Manners left in Bermuda.

The driver on the above mentioned bus route (no name displayed) but, he was a grey haired gentleman who greeted each and every passenger both entering and exiting the bus with a good evening entering and have a nice weekend exiting.

This impressed us to no end, because so much of the BERMUDA charm and HERITAGE is being ABOLISHED and DEMOLISHED.

THANK YOU KIND SIR for doing your part in keeping BERMUDA the way we remembered it.

C & R CUNDY

Thornhill, Ontario

Amplification at funerals

January 18, 2009

Dear Sir,

As I grow older I go to more and more funerals and am always astonished and annoyed at how poor the amplification is in all churches — whether Catholic, Episcopal or Presbyterian. I think often the person giving the eulogy or reading the lesson speaks in hushed tones in reverence to the deceased, rather than speaking loudly and clearly to project the voice to the back of the church — but in these days of high technology the microphone and amplifier should be able to carry the voice to the entire congregation.

Very often the minister also is not heard clearly past the first six or eight rows. I hold the clergymen responsible. They should recognise the deficiency of the amplification system and do something about it. I am sure 80 percent of the people attending a funeral come away having heard very little of the service.

AUDIO

Warwick

Thank you, kind people

January 30, 2009

Dear Sir,

Please allow me some space in your Letters to publish this Thank You letter to some of Bermuda's kindest people:

Santa has come and gone, all of the festivities are over. The gifts have all been opened and the last piece of Cassava Pie has been devoured. Now is the time to sit back and reflect on what has been done for us during the holiday season.

We the staff of Family Services would like to say a heartfelt thank you to those that contributed to our Christmas wish list that was published in the MarketPlace flyer. We were overwhelmed by the donations that were given with such love.

You may never see the look on a child's face when they are placed in foster care and they are handed their own "Care Package" from people like you. Sadly we have already had to hand out these packages (filled with toiletries, underwear and even a brand new wash cloth and towel to call their own) to some very special children, but the look of appreciation on their faces is priceless.

We are also most grateful for the DVD's, toys, books, puzzles etc for our playroom, for the numerous vouchers to the local pharmacies, and clothing stores that will assist clients throughout the year and the adult bus tickets that we can give to clients when they cannot afford transportation to get to the many services that they are involved with.

We say a heartfelt Thank You to:

¦ Kendra Pearman and the Staff and Students of The Berkeley Institute

¦ Renette Burchall and the Department of Human Resources of the Bank Of Bermuda

¦ ACE Insurance Departments of Human Resources and Benefits & Compensation

¦ Marlon, Lorna, Scymone and Erica Cann and Families.

A special Thank You to Josette Trott for her consideration in asking us to create a wish list for the flyer.

May God continue to be a blessing to each and every one of you!

LISA TALBOT (MSW)

Intervention Team Coordinator

Dept. of Child & Family Services

It is an urgent need

December 31, 2008

Dear Sir,

This composition is based on a cartoon by Peter Woolcock in the December 12, 2008 edition of The Royal Gazette. It depicts a gruesome King Kong like gorilla, sitting behind a miniature Parliament desk. The caption reads "Race is the 800 pound Gorilla that sits in the Room, Anyone Who Seeks to deny that is either in Cloud Cuckoo Land or is Naive" (Finance Minister Paula Cox in the House of Assembly). The Big Conversation is an honest attempt to dismantle a culture, that apparently enshrines racial inequality as a birthright! Thereby pitting black people and white people against each other, in a de facto civil war, without guns but not without wounds, to tip or to keep the social scales tipped, in their racial favour! This, unfortunately, is Bermuda's prevailing mindset and perceptions based on experience or observations are etched in stone, hence not easily erased or rewritten on the mental tablets!

Four hundred years on, it should be clear as daylight, that we can no longer afford the luxury of having the blind lead the blind in these tempestuous unchartered, uncertain times! The ship isn't sinking but the captain has gone missing, soon after he allowed a gruesome, untamed gorilla on board! Man overboard! How tragic, when we all know that a blindly navigated ship is doomed to become another Titanic! Naivete is Passe! So let's state the obvious before it happens!

The glaring reason for the socio-economic advancement, academic success and business ownership disparity between black and white people is "slavery"! The unmistakable reason for the crime, imprisonment and self-medicating drug dependency disparity is "slavery". The staring you in the face reason for the identity crises and life expectancy disparity is "slavery"! Yet, no matter how wide the disparities are, they are rooted in our history, not in our humanity! Rooted in the psyche, not in science! Rooted in our pigmentation, not in our potential! Rooted in our Inheritance, not in our competence! Rooted in our culture, not in our character! Not in our fantasy, but in our perception of reality!

These unresolved disparities are the residual effects of "slavery" that naturally polarises the entire community along racial lines! Consequently the governance of the country is anchored firmly in this prevailing mindset, that the PLP represents and protects, without apology the rights and interests of black people and the UBP those of white people, also without apology!

To deny this you're either in Cloud Cuckoo Land or flying high on Cloud Nine, intoxicated and disoriented! Listen in! We cannot change the mindset until we change the setting! Race is the 800 pound gorilla that sits in the room, to ignore him causes the imposing gorilla to grow even larger, until the only room left to move about in is exclusively for him! All other issues are crippled or crushed to death! It's no long a question of "Can we change the setting?" the urgency is "We must change the setting!" before the ticking we hear is emanating from an insidious economic racial time bomb, that we must defuse before we hear, Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

The ultimate conclusion to the big conversation is simply this "We cannot uproot a single racial disparity unless and until we disturb the ground they're rooted in, i.e. our mindset! We must break ground and become extraonionary (radical) as in doing unto others, as we would have others do unto us! We must become extraonionary (militant) so as to transcend the racial divide by "Loving our neighbour as ourselves"! May God help us to become extraonionary (revolutionary) in Bermuda, sooner rather than later! Because if Bermudians are to survive the global tempest, we can only do so as extremist onions! This would give the 800 pound gorilla diarrhoeic upset stomach! He would then be unceremoniously pushed out of the room, for the obvious reason. He stinks! He stinks!

R.J.

Devonshire

P.s. Happy 400th Birthday ONIONS!