A vindictive lecture

August 29, 2008

Dear Sir,

In Phil Cracknell's Letter to the Editor, he simply asked for an explanation about the increase in the inflation rate and the associated spending by the present "My Party Is In Power" administration. LaVerne Furbert's response in her letter to The Royal Gazette was a vindictive lecture on the education and business qualifications of herself, Calvin Smith, Terry Lister and Paula Cox leading off with the headline, "My Party is In Power". What a fine choice of words to lessen the stressful situation we are faced with today.

I'm confused, if the PLP and the mentioned intellects are so good at running the country, why can't they answer the question Mr. Cracknell posed but I am not surprised since LaVerne's letter didn't attempt to address the question nor seek advice from her mentor rather wasted space with her full of fluff rantings. If those in "power" are so good at running the country why is crime dramatically increasing, drugs at an all-time high, tourism at an all-time low and spending off the charts. Less fluff and more factual answers would be a good start.

GIB

Flatts

Woefully inadequate

September 2, 2008

Dear Sir,

I read with interest the remarks regarding the Police made by Sen. David Burch at the Labour Day rally on Monday. He states that the Police currently have a low approval rating among the general public. I completely agree. On Page 3 of the same newspaper there is a story of a person who was assaulted at Saturday's Eastern County game. Having witnessed a portion of that assault, and the woefully inadequate police response to that incident, I totally understand why the Police Service has earned that low rating from the public.

The Police Service had several officers in St. David's on Saturday, but rather than patrolling the grounds of Lords' to ensure law, order and public safety; they were patrolling the surrounding streets issuing parking tickets. When the assault occurred it was visible from several places around the grounds. However, none of the officers present bothered to attend the incident, despite it having been pointed out to them. I personally called 911 to report the incident while a female bystander intervened to stop the assault on the man lying on the ground.

Several minutes after the telephone call, a Police officer stationed at one of the entrances to the cricket ground was seen strolling over to the scene, without any sense of urgency. At no time did I or any of the other close bystanders have any sense that the police were in command of the situation. Instead, it appeared that they were quite reluctant to get involved. I should comment the Bermuda Fire Service paramedics who attended and were very professional in the way that they performed.

It is not my intention to needlessly criticise the Bermuda Police Service. I had a 19-year career in law enforcement, have worked very closely with the police, and support their efforts to have their pay awards implemented. I, perhaps more than most, appreciate the difficulties that they face on a daily basis. However, the Bermudian public deserve better from the Police Service than they are currently receiving. Policemen are, after all, still earning a salary while efforts are being made to address their increase.

This also highlights the need for the Government to stop delaying the pay awards that were awarded by a Government Tribunal, and to address the manpower, training and equipment issues that plague the Police Service. We need an innovative, imaginative and comprehensive approach that will once again make the service an attractive employment option for young Bermudians.

SEAN M. PITCHER

St. David's

P.s. I wonder if GP 8, which was partially parked on the sidewalk of the bus lay-by received a parking ticket like the surrounding vehicles.

Time to recycle plastics

September 4, 2008

Dear Sir,

I read The Royal Gazette's "Green Pages" today with interest. I am glad to see that Bermuda is taking small, measured steps in the environmental arena. Even Belco is making efforts on the renewable energy front, even if we are ten years from realistically seeing any benefit. Reusable grocery bags are a great item, and seem to get used more and more. Phasing out old light bulbs is another positive step. I was surprised to see nothing in the Green Pages about the fact that Bermuda still does not recycle plastic bottles. I understand that we have a recycling facility that could surely recycle plastic (please correct me if I'm wrong). Instead, we burn it.

I've been told that at the moment, Bermuda does not recycle plastic as we have a 'waste-to-energy' facility where we burn it to generate electricity. This practice has been outlawed in many countries, and has been illegal in most US states for 25 years. The burning of PVC and other plastics in incinerators causes some of the world's worst air pollution. The obvious human hazard is that burning plastic creates dioxins, which are well known carcinogens. These dioxins find their way back into plant and animal life on the island.

Government should seriously look at recycling plastic, given that so many of our products are packaged in plastic. I'm sure that cost is an issue, understandably. There are serious costs associated with not recycling it as well.

Further, we should consider a return programme for bottles (plastic or otherwise). A simple ten to 20 cent deposit would provide an incentive for many people (especially those who need the money most) to help with cleaning bottles off of our beaches, roads, and trails. I know that KBB would certainly appreciate the help. I have heard that Government is debating that issue at the moment to see if it makes sense. Why wouldn't it? I understand that the market for recycled plastic is limited, but surely there is a facility in the US (or elsewhere) that would accept our plastic. Could we not send it on the hundreds of empty container cars leaving the island every week? It seems that Bermuda is decades behind when it comes to treatment of plastic, though we all like to tout our own 'green' initiatives.

D.L.

Pembroke

Implosion candidates

August 25, 2008

Dear Sir,

The implosion of Club Med on ZBM was good television, spoiled (or made amusing) by the comic failure of technicians to get the words and lips of those interviewed in synch. It was like watching that old movie "Singing in the Rain", and I waited, in vain, for the premier to sound like a werewolf.

However, the implosion technical work was perfection. Perhaps Government should hire that firm to:

1. Detonate the Department of Education whose incompetence is legendary.

2. Blow up the Department of Tourism, who try hard to beat the Department of Education but who do not have sufficient PhDs on the payroll.

3. Explode the deceptively named Sustainable Development Commission – which has nothing to do with the environment but everything to do with increasing government power over ordinary people.

ROBERT STEWART

Smith's Parish

Darrell's Island debacle

August 28, 2008

Dear Sir,

During the past Cup Match holiday, I was invited to join some friends for camping at Darrell's Island for the long weekend.

Upon arriving we were met by the friendly caretaker who escorted us along with our camping supplies to our assigned camp site.

Having camped on the island in the past, I was shocked at the state of the men's bathroom on the island out of toilets one was out of service and the other three had to be flushed two or three times before the waste would all be gone. This was the same procedures for the urinals.

Some days they were left unflushed after use due to the long procedure of flushing, waiting for the tank to refill to repeat all over again. Not a pretty site.

Another surprise to us was the water ration for the bathrooms. Since water was very low in the tank, water was turned off during the day so that after using the bathroom toilets (which were on saltwater system) you could not wash your hands other than in the ocean 200 feet away or use hand sanitiser if you bought any.

This bathroom which I am sure dates back to the 1940s, also has an open shower section in which men and boys (unknown to each other) have to shower together military style with no curtains to offer privacy. This is a paedophile's delight.

My suggestion would be to not renovate this bathroom building but to implode it all together and rebuild a new one for the regular campers' season next year.

CLOSE YOUR EYES IN THE BATHROOM

Southampton

Develop Darrell's Island

August 25, 2008

Dear Sir,

I understand that rubble is required to fill in the new cruise ship terminal in Dockyard. May I suggest the government have Correia Construction take a barge to Darrell's Island where they could remove the old airport terminal and take it to Dockyard? This would leave a clear site for future development (sailing centre, more camping facilities, storage for rowing shells etc.) while removing an eyesore that many tourists and locals pass by every day.

ALAN GAMBLE

City of Hamilton