Spider hitching a ride

April 9, 2009

Dear Sir,

I had to laugh when reading the letter signed 'Spider Woman' who sought the help of two gentlemen to exterminate a spider who had hopped into her car when she opened the door. Poor little fellow...he had probably just gotten word that the buses were going on strike and was trying to hitch a ride home!

CHUCKLING

Hamilton Parish

Telling it like it is

April 8, 2009

Dear Sir,

Please allow me the space to express my sincere appreciation to a contributor of your paper in the opinion and letter section.

The person I refer to is Ms Pat Ferguson. I do not know Ms Ferguson. What I know is that she is a lady that puts into words the thoughts and raw emotions of how I feel and I am very sure of how many of your readers in Bermuda and abroad feel.

The lady writes and submits opinion and thoughts that reek with common sense, honesty and fearlessness. This lady is most comfortable and happy in her skin and soul!

It is obvious that her heart aches for what could have been for the Island of Bermuda and the Bermuda people! I can also feel her anger at what has been perpetrated on her Island of Bermuda by those who seek power, by those in power who have exhibited greed, corruption and an attitude of: "It is now my turn at the wicket."

Bless you Ms Ferguson for your willingness to speak your mind and the mind of thousands of others. You come through as a Bermudian of the old school, as a wise Bermudian, a true Bermudian. A Bermudian who sees and knows both sides of the coin and recognises the tarnish on both sides of the coin.

In this recognition, Ms Ferguson accepts and knows that the past is the past, she does not write or put forward her thoughts with bitterness, she knows that there is plenty of blame to go around but it is the future that must be worked for and toward. Thank you dear lady.

MICHAEL E. PITTS

Inverness, Florida

Time for a Commission

March 7, 2009

Dear Sir,

Yet again we have our Premier Dr. Ewart Brown being accused of political interference by a Government employee in relation to alleged fraudulent activity by a US contractor.

When will there be enough allegations of corruption and dishonesty for our Governor and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to act?

Bermuda, help to get the answers we need to ensure good governance. Sign the on-line petition requesting a Commission Of Inquiry. (You can do this anonymously) If you don't have access to the internet, ask a friend to help you.

The petition may be found at:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/bermuda—royal-commission-of-inquiry-into-possible-corruption-or-other-serious-dishonesty-in-recent

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." – Martin Luther King Jr.

SPEAK UP

Smith's

Golf course still useable

April 14, 2009

Dear Sir,

As a St. George's resident, I am amazed that, although the St George's Golf Course has been closed, it is still being maintained to a certain extent. Surely this must be costing the taxpayers money?

If this is so, wouldn't it have made much more sense to have kept it open and generated SOME income from the green fees? I do think that there could have been more effort to have kept it open until the time came to revamp it for the Park Hyatt.

Even though I do not play golf yet (I'm not retired!!!! :-)) I would have gone along if they had held a promotion day, for example. They could have held junior golf camps, so many things......

Unfortunately, I suppose as it was not glamourous enough for Tiger Woods to play on, the rest of Bermuda's golfers must now suffer. Maybe the Premier could have had his golf lessons there it is closer to his house than Port Royal.

FOUR!

St. George's

Not 'Chicken Littles'

April 11, 2009

Dear Sir,

I refer to the article, in the Mid-Ocean News of April 9, by Alvin Williams entitled 'Have Premier's critics played into hands of our foes?' in which Mr. Williams complains about the petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/bermuda—royal-commission-of-inquiry-into-possible-corruption-or-other-serious-dishonesty-in-recent.

I have grown accustomed to Mr. Williams' extreme views, and I support his right to express them, but I had not expected that he, a journalist, would be seeking to discourage freedom of expression. And why would Mr. Williams not support any opportunity to clear his hero, Dr. Brown, through a Commission of Inquiry?

It is the very existence of such colonial facilities, including the British Privy Council of which Dr. Brown availed himself over the BHC scandal, that secures our reputation in the world as a safe jurisdiction in which to conduct business without dictatorship.

We don't want to live in a Third World country which prohibits criticism of its political leaders and, if that were forced on us, we Bermudians would soon find that international business wouldn't want to be here either. Yes, Mr. Williams, we are Bermudians, not 'Chicken Littles' as you assert in your article.

Contrary to Mr. Williams' assertion, Bermuda's 'foes' are not complaining of Bermuda's freedom of expression or of the Bermuda Government's tarnished reputation. They (the G-20) are complaining of the reverse, namely secrecy and lack of transparency.

Finance Minister Cox has committed to improving this, at least in regard to international fiscal transparency. Let's complete the job and achieve internal fiscal transparency too.

I. BACON

Warwick

What went wrong?

April 12, 2009

Dear Sir,

As Bermuda goes through a tourism reality check, we pose a three 'W' question, What Went Wrong?

At one time we relied on travel professionals, but then the awesome Internet came along and some thought travel agencies would disappear like rain in a desert. This was not to be and in May 2007 the Bureau of Statistics in the US determined there were 85,580 travel agents and with time, some of their firms became larger. According to ASTA, the Internet can be a powerful tool, but a person has to understand where to look and the questions to ask, otherwise hours can be wasted and ultimately produce unsatisfactory results. "It is a valuable resource, but it cannot replace the expertise and guidance of a travel agent."

Most of you will recall Bermuda had several 'tourism offices' in the US and Canada, which were used to keep agents abreast of the happenings on our island. Their functions included seminars, sales calls and other important ingredients that were essential to keep agents connected. Let's not forget Bermuda Briefings, when hoteliers and others in the industry spent several weeks in North America. The hotel owners, general managers and marketing professionals, hosted seminars in as many as 20 cities, where a few thousand agents got to know these representatives of the various properties, and their plans to attract visitors. And so, what happened? I will tell you what happened! Tourism officials closed up those offices, fired employees, some were given fat redundancy cheques and our 'life-line' was cut off by not so clever people. After telling those Bermudians in North America to pack up their bags and go home, they hired new people with Internet skills who knew nothing about our island, its heritage or its people, and brought them to our shores to learn a lot, in a short period of time!

Have travel suppliers for Bermuda been forgotten? We think so! We suggest you visit Bermuda-online.org/tourism Bermuda Online Travel and Tourism Guide. It highlights how 'the department has shed 27 jobs in the past year, from 78 to 51, all as a result of restructuring of the North American Tourism Office.'

Another objective: "Heighten emphasis on digital marketing." I love this one: "Continue work in China and South America."

Dr. Brown revealed the Department of Tourism has engaged the services of Global Digital Marketing Agency iCrossing, to strengthen its online presence and to drive incremental business to our island. We looked for something that might indicate the Tourism Department also realised the importance of our travel suppliers but couldn't find it. To further reinforce this claim, the Director of Tourism, William Griffith, was interviewed on the Arthur Frommer Radio Talk Show and was asked how one could obtain more information on Bermuda. "Go to bermudatourism.com," was his reply. No mention for the listeners to contact their own friendly travel supplier once they have determined their vacation wants and needs.

It's important to remember according to ASTA the Internet can be a valuable resource, but it cannot replace the expertise and guidance of a travel agent. ASTA has determined travel agents book 85 percent of cruises 70 percent of all and tours and packages, 50 percent of all airline tickets and 30 percent of all hotels. We think our Bermuda Department of Tourism (DOT) have decreased their focus on agents and spent valuable advertising dollars unwisely.

TOPPY AND SANDRA COWEN

Southampton

It has barely started

April 13, 2009

Dear Sir

Today's Royal Gazette carried an article on the success of FutureCare. Only a politician and his pinheaded side kick could justify keeping recipients in the dark. Only a politician could declare great success of a programme that has barely even started.

The often told story of Christopher Columbus is that when he started out he had no idea of where he was going; when he got to the New World he had no idea of where he was; and when he returned home he had no idea where he had been. However he was able to do it on somebody else's money, so it was a success.

The Ministry has set out on a programme that they have no idea how many will participate; no idea whether it will achieve the non-stated result; and absolutely no idea of the costs. However, it's a success because they have the taxpayer to pick up the difference.

While it is true that the ever growing senior population of the country should be provided with a proper health care programme, for all seniors, guessing is not the answer.

FutureCare is a government welfare programme. As such it will be subsidised by current and future taxpayers in Bermuda. I would humbly suggest that it is not actuaries you need but more taxpayers and larger calculators.

DAVID J. SULLIVAN

Paget