If-fullness of If

November 24, 2008

Dear Sir,

Despite the fact that I attended Elementary School during the Slate and Led Pencil Era, I was able to read at a very early age.

The first poem that I was forced to learn, drove a morbid fear in me. It is a poem called "If".

Kindly permit me to share this poem:

If all the men were one man,

What a great man that would be.

If all the axes were one axe,

What a great axe that would be.

If all the trees were one tree,

What a great treet that would be.

If all the seas were one sea,

What a great sea that would be.

If the great man took the great axe

And cut down the great tree and let it fall

Into the great sea, what a great splash that would be!

Sir, for years I lived in fear of "If". My vision of the "Great Splash" was fearsome.

It took the coaxing of my Granny to get me to understand the If-fullness of If.

Maybe we should stop ifing and keep doing.

I would be delighted IF you would publish my letter.

JOSHUA RICHARDSON

Pembroke

All I see is greed

November 17, 2008

Dear Sir,

I am a young Bermudian working an honest living trying to progress and proceed in the working world in hopes of one day making a reasonable salary so I can settle down, buy a house and start a family; live comfortably. As though that isn't hard enough in Bermuda as cost of living has sky rocketed ... our Government do not see their jobs as a means of helping their people and making a better Bermuda ... they simply love the perks of wonderful pay to start with, and a continual rise each year.

It is absolutely ridiculous that MPs will be receiving a salary increase. I think that amount is generous enough. I earn half of that and struggle, how could they be so selfish? There are so many people out there still on hourly wages, working more than 40 hours a week, and we still don't get the funds we need to live comfortably. Constantly reading articles on the greed of our Government makes me sick to my stomach. I love Bermuda, I am proud to be Bermudian, and I wish our government had more pride in our country and in their hearts because all I see is greed!

KRISTEN

Smith's

Stop blaming each other

November 26, 2008

Dear Sir,

I am no great fan of the Premier by any means, but for once I have to criticise the UBP for putting all the blame on him for the dismal tourist arrivals. Nobody under the present conditions could have done anything to encourage more people to come here. As I mentioned in a previous letter, the average American has been in a "crunch" for well over the past year and does not have the finances to travel to an expensive island for a vacation. Have you seen on CNN the long lines of people waiting hours for food? It's beginning to look like 1929 all over again.

This nonsense of blaming each other for every petty little thing that crops up has to stop, and calling each other names does not help either. A coordinated effort by all parties has to be made immediately to solve the many problems that we have been experiencing. The warning signs are out there, and we had better sit up and take notice. Bermuda is no different than anywhere else.

SEEING IT AS IT IS

Pembroke

Questions about ID cards

November 19, 2008

Dear Sir,

If there must be an ID card for guest workers, I would suggest the card instead of the paper Work permits. You have to provide a picture for a work permit anyway, so there's no difference there.

However, I would like to ask the following:

People with long-term residency status – what card do they carry? They are not "Bermudian". They don't have a work permit. They don't have a voter's registration card, as they can't vote. So how do we know that they are not illegal workers? How do they prove it? Do they need some type of ID card showing their status? What about people, married to Bermudians, who don't have Bermuda status, but don't require a work permit. They don't have a voter's registration card, as they can't vote. Some of them don't have driver's licences. How do you know they are not illegal workers? How do they prove it? Do they need some type of ID card showing their status?

How about people who live here but don't work so don't need a work permit. They don't have a voter's registration card, as they can't vote. How do you know they are not illegal workers? How do they prove it? Do they need some type of ID card showing their status? My husband is Bermudian, but still has his UK accent. He has a driver's licence. Should he have a card to say he's Bermudian? If he is questioned, how do they prove he is not an illegal worker? Does he have to go and get his passport to prove it? Does he need some type of ID card showing his status? I'm born-Bermudian, but sound Canadian. How do you know I am not an illegal worker? How do I prove it. Do I need some type of ID card showing my status? That is the objection I have to an ID card for guest workers. It is no harder for them to prove they are legal than it is for me to prove I'm Bermudian.

ST GEORGE'S BORN

Ps What about people who do not have a passport, a driver's license, a voters registration card or a senior's card? There are people out there who have no ID. How do they prove they are not illegal workers? Do they need some type of ID card showing their status?

Doing a disservice

November 21, 2008

Dear Sir,

I like to listen to radio station Hott 107.5 in the morning. Thaao Dill's energy and youthful exuberance are contagious and his spirited discussions with callers to the talk show segments always give you something to chew on, whether or not you agree with Mr. Dill's or his callers' opinions. I also applaud the station's stated belief in the power of education to level the playing field for Bermudians, and in particular, the many ways the station reaches out to its younger listeners to engage them in the joy of reading.

But I have a bone to pick with Hott 107.5. As I listened to Mr. Dill read the news the other day, I thought it sounded vaguely familiar. Then I realised the text was, verbatim, what I had just read in The Royal Gazette. The material was read with no attribution to its source. I thought maybe this was a one-off but have since realised that this is the way news (or information, as it's referred to) is presented on Hott 107.5 The station isn't using The Royal Gazette as the basis for a story that's rewritten or embellished by whomever is producing these segments (even that would, by rights, call for a reference to the source). Mr. Dill and his colleagues are presenting a word-for-word, quotes and all, "lift" from the pages of The Royal Gazette. Shades of VSB! I'm sure that Mr. Dill was taught in school that using someone else's written material without attribution is wrong. Presenting someone else's work as your own is also wrong. It's usually called plagiarism, and it's the basis for automatic expulsion from any college or university worth its salt.

It's ironic that The Bank of Bermuda funds these segments, given that CEO Phil Butterfield is leading the push to reform education in Bermuda. Listening to the positions that Mr. Dill takes on his programmes, and knowing what I do of Mr. Butterfield, both gentlemen seem to be committed to ethical behaviour and standards of excellence.

Regardless of what Hott 107.5's opinion might be of The Royal Gazette, (which doesn't seem to be good, based on the way the paper is regularly ridiculed), the station is doing its listeners, particularly the younger members of the audience, a real disservice by presenting these segments this way. The example Hott 107.5 is setting isn't ethical and it sends the message that standards of behaviour around intellectual honesty don't really matter – they can be trumped by a grudge.

I hope that Hott 107.5 will do the right thing and add a phrase like "according to today's daily" to their news segments, and I hope that the good people at The Bank of Bermuda will encourage them to do so.

B.D.D.

Paget

Where are the Bermudians

November 24, 2008

Dear Sir,

I am writing because of the amount and types of jobs that Filipinos seems to be filling these days in Bermuda. Lately I've seen them working in retail, gas stations, construction, and even in a boatyard. Are you telling me that Bermudians can't be found to fill these positions, because hiring a foreigner is supposed to be a last resort, or is it greedy employers passing over Bermudians so they can pay Asians next to nothing? It would be nice if the Government put far more thought into who they give work permits to as the current situation is hurting the Island.

PUT BERMUDIANS FIRST

Hamilton Parish

Get casinos the right way

November 21, 2008

Dear Sir,

Re: A letter from Vanese Gordon, that appeared in The Royal Gazette, stated ... All legal foreign workers in the United States must carry their "Green Card" upon their person at all times. I am in my 16th year of residing in the USA! I do not have to carry my 'Green Card' around as she asserts! I only have to "Produce it", if I am seeking employment or arriving back in the country at a US Customs / Immigration checkpoint, as "Proof of Domicile"! Please don't make nonfactual statements! But, having said that ... It may possibly be a different set of circumstances for students!

RE: Gambling with Gambling! I don't really understand what all the "hullabaloo" is concerning gambling! The whole idea and concept is to have one or two casinos in two of Bermuda's largest & best hotels... Probably, Southampton Princess and Elbow Beach, for example ... or on a riverboat type setting! (Anchored in the Little or Great Sound) I always thought that the idea for these casinos was to entice more visitors to visit the Island, thus increasing much needed revenue! These casinos were not for the convenience or use of locals! (Perhaps, locals could be admitted one day a week!) That is 'food for thought'! Entry into these casinos can very easily be electronically monitored and restricted in this day and age and everything is easily managed and controlled! Also, the Government of the day could levy a hefty tax on the revenue of a casino, thus helping Bermuda's coffers as well! It can be a win-win situation! They have casinos all over the world, in just about every country and destination you can think of and the world and family values have not drastically deteriorated! Incidentally, 'family values' begin at home!

You can get all the advice you need from the experts in Las Vegas! They have been in the game for over 50 years! You just have to ensure that everything is tightly controlled and you have the necessary checks and balances' incorporated into the system! Regarding crime and casinos, I have resided in a city for 15 years. where we have three casinos on Indian Reservation land and additional crime has never been an issue here! Like I said... It all comes down to sound management and excellent checks and balances in your operating systems! Enough talk on the subject ... it has been 'Talked to Death'. Let's get cracking!

BRUCE MCCLARRON

Tucson, Arizona