April 7, 2003

Dear Sir,

Opposition Senator Kim Swan wrote in the Bermuda Sun recently about his experiences with racism in the United States.

We keep on talking about the nastiness of politics and politicians, but I think this was an example of a politician trying hard not to be nasty, and I think Senator Swan deserves recognition for that.

I could be wrong, but I think what he was doing was trying to deal with PLP Senator Cal Smith's ugly comment in the Senate a while ago that Mr. Swan and other black members of the Opposition "used to be black".

What Mr. Smith was doing was trying to perform a kind of emasculation - making it look as if any black man who joined the UBP and not the PLP might be black on the outside, but was really white inside.

Instead of getting involved in a long, drawn-out scrap in the 'Letters to the Editor', Kim Swan was re-establishing his credentials with the public in the gentlest possible way. Thank Heavens for a politician with good manners and a sense of subtlety.

April 7, 2003

Dear Sir,

Mr. William Cox states that he supports the war on Iraq and is displeased at those countries that do not go along with the US.

While most people who think, will agree that the best hope for a free world is a strong USA, that does not give them a blank cheque to dictate to the world at large.

One may get satisfaction from self-righteous evangelistic thinking, but the reality is that all world powers are self serving, with their own interests paramount and their decisions reflect this.

I like most others am not convinced of the reasons given for this war.

Certainly if one is to learn from the last, it would seem that the only success following the Second World War, that the US has enjoyed were in Panama and Grenada.

The Korean War following the loss of 58,000 US forces was declared a truce, and Vietnam with losses of 50,000 was a failure.

According to my records the US did not enter the Second World War until the attack on Pearl Harbour, on December 7, 1941 and declared war next day.

The mood in the US was anti-war, when Britain and France declared war on Germany September 3, 1939.

Following the collapse of France, Britain stood alone and fortunately won the Battle of Britain, defeating the Luftwaff before the US entered the war.

My father and my uncles fought in that war and I like others endured the blitz, so my memory is crystal clear.

April 4, 2003

Dear Sir,

I write in relation to an article that appeared in the Bermuda Sun on April 1. In fact I genuinely believed the article was an April Fools' Day joke, until a similar article then appeared in two days later (both online).

The article in question mentioned that the Minister of Transportation travelled to Havana recently where he and his permanent secretary Marc Telemaque met with Government officials to discuss a number of "initiatives".

Apparently among the proposals was a joint venture for Bermuda's outdated, but still working buses to be taken to Cuba, along with the sale of the Island's old ferries and cars.

It was also revealed that the outdated buses would likely be given to the Cuban government and that the old ferries would probably be sold. Is the Bermuda Government unaware that Cuba is part of the Bush "Axis of Evil" and that it has publicly been labelled in the United States as a sponsor of terrorism?

Whether US policy is right or wrong is not the point. Bermuda should not be seen to support the Cuban regime in any way, shape or form. We are already under the scrutiny of US lawmakers for allegedly dodgy tax practices and it was Bermuda that helped spark the "Patriot Bill".

As we all know, the US is at war with Iraq, a so-called rogue state, a country that is ranked at the top of the "evilness scale", and the same scale of which Cuba is a part.

What is the Bermuda Government thinking? Clearly in this instance it is not.

Bermuda imports the vast majority of goods from the United States and as well all know most tourists come from the United States.

The Bermuda Government must wake up and realise the error of its way before the US Congress adds this Cuban debacle to its grievances with Bermuda. Do we want to be labelled a "Banana Republic" or worse yet a supporter of a "rogue" and "terrorist" state? Be warned!