Asleep at the wheel

April 3, 2009

Dear Sir,

The Bermuda Government has been "sleeping on the job" with respect to the OECD Tax Haven list.

If Guernsey, Jersey, Barbados and the Isle of Man can stay off the list then surely Bermuda should be able to do so. It is just a matter of rolling up your sleeves and getting down to work and getting Tax Information Exchange Agreements signed. All is not lost, but the potential impact of this failure to act could be catastrophic to Bermuda's economic future. If we are to lose international business (now a possibility) as well as tourism, Bermuda will literally have no economy. That means no jobs, no income and no future for our children.

This isn't petty mismanagement of a construction site or wasted money on a music festival; this is serious business that the Government has failed to look after. There is no excuse and all of us should be holding our politician's feet to the fire for this failure.

It's time that those who we elect start to take the governance of this island seriously and focus on what is really important for the future of the island.

SLIPPERY SLOPE

City of Hamilton

Aquarium can be example

April 1, 2009

Dear Sir,

As discussions are ongoing to identify and implement renewable energy sources for Bermuda, I would like to suggest a potential energy source that may help in a small way.

Every day of the year we have a strong flow of water under Flatts Bridge, flowing in or out of Harrington Sound depending on the tides. I imagine that hydro-powered turbines already exist that could transform those flowing waters into free electricity.

Depending on the amount of electricity that could be produced, it might prove sufficient to run the nearby Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo (BAMZ) whilst also supplying excess power to the Belco grid.

What a great example it would be if BAMZ could be powered entirely by hydro-electricity.

CRAIG MORFITT

Smith's

Secure the borders

March 24, 2009

Dear Sir,

I am continuously baffled as to why Bermuda has a drug smuggling problem.

Now Bermuda has an added threat of a "new" drug called "poor man's cocaine". I will offer an easy solution. If you account for all the cost involved in having drugs run throughout Bermuda, you will find that it would be infinitely cheaper to hire the necessary people to thwart the smuggling process.

The cost to society and government because of crime, insurance premiums, drug rehabilitation, prison, legal system, children's welfare, schools and so on is such that Bermuda would be better off spending the money on stopping the problem before it happens rather than trying to fix it after the fact.

Hire a few more full time Police officers with drug sniffing dogs. Work every flight that comes into Bermuda. Purchase a few boats to patrol the Bermuda waters and have the Police Reserves or even the Regiment man these boats with drug sniffing dogs. Since every container is going to be X-rayed soon, why not have every container coming in gone over by a drug-sniffing dog? Problem solved!

One does have to wonder why this simple solution is never considered or put into place. Of course I can speculate as to why this is so.

MELINDA

Hamilton Parish

It's time to arm Police

March 12, 2009

Dear Sir,

As the wife of a Police Officer, I strongly support the comments posted by former Commissioner Jonathan Smith.

I honestly feel that the lives of the people that are supposed to be protecting our community are in danger from criminals whose integrity and respect for others is diminished. My question is, why bring a baton to a gunfight?

As a wife and mother, I often worry about the life of my husband. Will he be seriously injured or die for protecting his countrymen? I would feel much better knowing that he has been trained and armed to respond appropriately to these newer and more aggressive situations. Are we going to wait for a Police Officer to be killed before we finally set things right and catch up with the rest of the world? Let's face it – we are not dealing with cute Bermuda Onion boys that are committing minor offences. We are dealing with men and women who will take what they want without fear of consequence.

Let us not forget that a Police officer faced a man at gunpoint a few years ago and probably lived only because the gun did not fire. In addition, and more recently, an officer was doing a routine check and the perpetrator fled, throwing away his loaded semi-automatic weapon. So why are we protecting them so fiercely when they have proven over and over (more and more recently) that they hate our communities, and hate us? Unfortunately it is apparent that people are only happy to see a Police officer when they personally need a menace dealt with. The bottom line question is, do Police officers deserve to be disrespected, to be hurt, to be assaulted by these men and women?

Hats off to Mr. Warner who seems to be the only magistrate who wants to incarcerate guilty parties. Other than his direction in our court system, it is all too apparent that our system needs a major overhaul. Why such short sentences for serious offences? Why are we, the community, paying for the evildoing of these deranged individuals when it comes to their legal aid over and over again. The same people who are breaking and entering, committing sexual offences, and assaulting others are being recycled in our court system month after month. It's not like these individuals are not being caught redhanded but these sissy court sentences do not drive the message home that we, as Bermudians, should not tolerate the indecent, immoral, conscience-deprived behaviours of these spoiled, selfish, immature people.

I read the comments offered by Minister Burch and I think that it is time that we take this country back and stop trying to gently persuade the immoral to the path of righteousness. It's apparent they have heard the message and they laughed at it. We have to take a more pro-active approach to their behaviours because it will not get any better.

As a mother, I feel great remorse to know that my children, whose eyes shine bright with innocence and hope, will probably be slapped into reality by someone whose intention for evil is greater than their intention for good. Why should I have to always ensure my car doors are locked or feel nervous approaching a stop sign when I am alone. Every day I think of someone that I love being approached by an opportunist looking for a quick dollar or some form of pleasure from hurting them. There have been days that my husband has come home with blood on him, with bruises and pains from encountering these lost people. So my ultimate question to you is, if you were my husband, my wife, my brother or sister in this precarious field – would you want to carry a baton to a machete fight or a gunfight?

It is more than overdue for us to speak out against these injustices and to demand a safer and enjoyable life for all.

HOPING FOR CHANGE

Southampton

Island is going off track

March 16, 2009

Dear Sir,

Bermudians with a certain amount of pride, and rightly so, re-elected this PLP Government two years ago to manage our Island.

However, since Premier Brown booted out Alex Scott, we have had nothing but big spending and total discontent from the people. Shame and discontentment!

Premier Brown has surrounded himself with a group of henchmen who go along with his schemes. However, there are a handful of Ministers and PLP MPs whom I would consider OK but do not have the guts to have a vote of no confidence and give Brown the boot.

Let's get our Island back on track. Let's handle this recession, try to save our people their jobs, address our massive deficit. If we don't, God help us! Our dollar will be useless like Zimbabwe's.

People of Bermuda, listen to what the taxi driver told the man who plans to develop the hotel in St. George's. Also, listen to Larry Dennis, the Auditor General. If you are still complacent, God help you!

CONCERNED

Pembroke

Be an organ donor

March 25, 2009

Dear Sir,

To healthy young Bermudians, if you are willing to lose your life through speed, why not donate your organs to others in need?

All of the recent road deaths are just insane, so here is a great idea for our flagging tourism industry. If the very young, and then again, not so very young, Bermudians persist in sacrificing their lives in the reckless pursuit of speed, perhaps the Government should consider new legislation: mandatory organ donation. Then the Department of Tourism could implement a new "Harvest the Love" initiative. They could market 'virtual holidays' for all those desperate people in need of an organ transplant. Many of these people are on respirators or dialysis machines and unable to travel. Tourism could provide them with a DVD and while these sufferers like in their hospital beds on life support, they could watch images of Bermuda and imagine a holiday on our sunny shores. It would create a "Bermuda Feel Good Moment".

As road deaths have become an all too frequent almost monthly occurrence, the Department of Tourism could hold an organ lottery, and all those who have purchased a "Harvest of Love" virtual holiday will be eligible.

After a successful "Bermuda Love Transplant", the recipient, along with friends and family, will no doubt want to revisit the island again and again to celebrate their new lease on life.

TAKIN' THE FERRY

City of Hamilton

P.s. It would be of interest to know how many of the recent road fatalities have contributed to organ donations.