October 20, 2006

Dear Sir,

The story on page 9 of October 17's concerning the state of Mr. John Deuss in Magistrates' Court appeared to be right out of a tabloid.

The story entitled: "Dazed, John Deuss shows little emotion" was a shining example of yellow journalism. I do not recall ever reading a story in the Gazette with so many sensationalistic descriptions. The story was written in a manner which seemed to attempt to make Mr. Deuss look strange, unhealthy, lonely and timid. For example descriptions like: "painfully thin, strangely lonely and still figure, betraying the slightest tremble, and timid smile" all seemed quite judgmental and exaggerated. Painfully thin to whom? I think it is unprofessional and irresponsible for a newspaper to sensationalise the appearance of a man in a court proceeding no matter who the individual is.

I was not in court myself to see what really happened but after reading this story I shook my head in disappointment because the entire thing read like a cheap gossip column. The manner in which the story was written made me question whether the reporter may have experienced some twisted pleasure in describing the extremely wealthy entrepreneur, with no criminal history, as a broken man.

Far too many members of the public wholeheartedly believe what the media presents to them and it is the duty of a journalist to report accurately and professionally. This story seemed to be lacking on both counts.

October 18, 2006

Dear Sir,

I read with interest Calvin Smith's Opinion column in today's (October 18) re Dr. Brown but was astounded to read that "As a teenager, he was not afraid to publicly align himself with Bermuda's Black Berets which was a group of young black men dedicated to remove the inequalities in Bermuda based upon race. Many of these men went on to acquire leadership roles in Bermuda and those men still have respect and admiration for Dr. Brown".

To the best of my knowledge this is the first time that anyone has been publicly 'outed' as being a member of the Black Beret Cadre, which was an urban guerrilla organisation that certainly advocated violent racial hatred against white persons and also the same organisation two of whose members where responsible for the murder of Police Commissioner Duckett (shot in the back), the assassination of Governor Sharples (shot in the back), the murder of his ADC and two persons at the Shopping Centre.

As a retired Police Officer who was actively involved in the enquiries that followed those murders I would like to point out that the two persons responsible for the aforementioned murders where charged together with others not yet before the court and who were most certainly members of the Cadre, so I would like Calvin Smith or anyone else to publicly 'out' those "members who acquired leadership roles and still have respect and admiration for Dr. Brown".

October 24, 2006

Dear Sir,

I have figured out a quick and easy way to reduce the bottleneck in the Immigration department. Instead of reading through all those long and boring work permit files, why don't we just change the way we process them. This will take a deeper "think outside of the box" approach. All right everyone take a deep breath and think hard. Ahh, the solution! All files from now on will be weighed and the heavier the file the more we suggest the work permit holder move on. Wouldn't you think that this person could now cash out and start retirement earlier than most with much more cash than they could ever consume? Bermuda's new slogan "we get you in and out in a flash!"

Think about it! The city sidewalks would be easier to negotiate, we'd be able to find parking spots and walk grocery store aisles with a bit of sanity. The cost of education would decrease as a result of diminishing demand. Our kids with their advanced degrees could actually secure a job offer or two. The golf club membership list would be eliminated and one could then have a pick of the best courses in the land. We would no longer have to hear that we are lazy and without ambition. We could find affordable housing at the blink of an eye. Building materials and tools would actually be there on the shelves of our hardware stores. Pollution from cars, bikes and buses would be reduced keeping in line with the Kyoto Protocol. We could actually now have good relations with Canadians, Europeans and American citizens, albeit, over the phone or while on vacation overseas.

I know what you guys are thinking and yes I have prepared a few answers. Training for Bermudians will no longer just be discussed but implemented with immediate effect in order to maintain profitability. We could finally get real opportunity outside of the normal mailroom, technical assistant and junior underwriting positions. Ads for token Bermudians elevated to management positions would be replaced by groups elevated to senior positions. Banks would be demanding our business as opposed to not returning our calls after thoroughly embarrassing us about our inability to pay. Companies would become lean and mean, nimble and sheen; reaching new heights of returns on shareholder's equity.

The new buzzwords in the sustainable development document would be "Bermuda for Bermudians" and "Term Limits for Expats". To build out the sustainable development plan some more, we could mandate that some of the underutilised condo developments be replaced with farmlands to help feed the population thus reducing our total dependency on outside food sources. Focus a greater percentage of the tax dollars to get Tourism on a more level footing with International business.

And finally, if International Biz threatens to up and leave, then share with them the reams of data the Bermuda Government collects on competing jurisdictions ie. 25 percent tax rate in Dublin, Ireland and nationalistic Cubans who hate America and others who try to exploit their country.

October 24, 2006

Dear Sir,

I would like to respond to Enough is Enough's letter of Tuesday, October 24, regarding the Paraquet's practice of "suggested gratuities" on their receipts. I too visited the Paraquet recently and was impressed by their practice of suggesting gratuities on their bills. At least they give their patrons the choice as opposed to shoving a tip down their throats, which is the practice in almost every other restaurant in this country. To say that in Bermuda the gratuity is "usually" 15 percent shows that many of us, including "Enough is Enough" think that the automatic gratuity is acceptable. Whatever happened to deciding how much you'd like to tip based on the service received? I, for one, was pleased to be given the choice to tip what I felt was appropriate and as the service warranted it, I was happy to tip more than 15 percent. It was nice, for once, to have a choice. If Enough is Enough wants to tip 15 percent, go ahead and do the math yourself. It's not that hard to figure out.

October 25, 2006

Dear Sir,

I believe that the churches in Bermuda need to play a more active role in the effort to get the Island's young men off the street corners and in encouraging them to lead respectable, productive lifestyles. What needs to happen is that our church leaders need to physically go out on some of these street corners, on a regular basis, and talk to these young men; some of whom only need guidance and encouragement from some of the stalwarts in our community. Valuable insight might also be gained from such an initiative; as to the factors which precipitate this type of behaviour on the part of our young men.

I am sure that some of these young men would be willing to listen to men the likes of Pastors Gary Simons, Clarkie Minors, Goodwin Smith, Lloyd Duncan and other illustrious men and women of God. For far too long this phenomena of young men hanging out on street corners (and getting involved in all sorts of anti-social behaviour), has been pretty much ignored and tolerated by the church. Turning a blind eye to the problem and pretending that it does not exist only exacerbates the problem. We can ill-afford to allow another generation of young men (especially young black men ? who are a vital part of this country's future) to be lost to the streets.

October 22, 2006

Dear Sir,

It was nice to see our Premier speak so highly about education in his speech at Berkeley. It would have also been nice if he, or anyone in his Cabinet, would have looked across the street at Northlands Primary and had a thought to the little people that go there. I guess that as none of them went there, there is no reason to care. From my understanding, under the previous Government, when Northlands became a primary school they were promised that their school field would be enlarged. This Government has been in power for eight years and the field is still the same size.

Over the years, during PTA meetings, we hear that they said the field can be enlarged, and then we hear that it can't then it can, then it can't? I am guessing that if they say no now, it would be about the money, even though they found $120 million to pay for Berkeley. Looking at the field, if when they were building Berkeley, they included the field enlargement the cost would have been much less.

Our Government keeps saying that they are there for our children, but I guess that is only if they went to the same schools they went to.

October 24, 2006

Dear Sir,

After reading the article about the case on the two Americans and the plea from Mr. Donovan, Sr., I am in shock. I cannot believe that tourists would have that sort of behaviour in a foreign country. I am a Canadian "Correctional officer" and at work we all agree with the judge's decision. We have seen similar cases in our work field and let me assure you that no matter where you come from or where you are, the LAW is the same for every one. I've listened to people stating that the judicial criminal system as two-sided: one for the poor and one for the rich. But let me assure you that is far from the truth and the honourable Judge Greaves did prove that statement wrong. For once someone stood up for the victim and his family. I don't hold empathy or sympathy for the culprits. You won't see me cry over them. I'm just saddened that children have such parents. What kind of example are they showing their child? It is a matter of respect toward the visited country to act properly and obey their law. Mr. Donovan's statement on his son's health, his financial situation and everything else is a proof that he would try to use those facts, maybe real or fictional, to bypass the sentence. And for me, it only deepens my esteem towards Judge Greaves. The sentence is far from what the victim is going to go through in the months ahead. I just wonder if Mr. Donovan, Sr. would claim the same fault if the situation was reversed and his son was the victim. I am cruising to Bermuda in eight days and this situation won't affect my judgment of the Bermuda correctional system or their natives. It only makes my respect deeper for their Island.