October 4, 2005

Dear Sir,

Please allow me to vent! I am a born Bermudian who is quite used to saying ?Good Afternoon?, ?Good Morning? etc. While some folks won?t accept any other form of greeting, I don?t mind if someone says ?Hello?, or ?Good day? etc.

The other afternoon two young boys went into a store to buy a snack, they went to the counter and being well mannered children, they said to the ?lady?, ?Hello?, Please may I have....the reply was ?Good Afternoon would be a good start?, he once again started to speak when he was interrupted with the same response, ?Good Afternoon?,.... now he had already said ?Hello?, come on now! I know we have all had run-ins with rude children at some point, so when we meet polite ones can?t we give them some slack?

I can?t count the amount of adults I run into who are in the service industry who don?t look at you while serving, and some won?t even tell you what your sale is, they sit there while you lean over to read what is on the register screen, then they give you your change without a simple thank you or smile! Did I mention the bus driver who snapped at a child when all he asked was if the bus went to a certain stop? I could go on and on, but we all know who we are and how we speak to kids and adults alike.

Good Afternoon, Sir.

MAMA

Sandys

October 5, 2005

Dear Sir,

Speaking from afar ? Toronto ? and speaking as a Bermudafanatic. I can only say one thing. As much as I like football (soccer here) I cannot and will not go to games on the Island for fear of getting involved in disputes of which I know nothing (and care even less). So the current start to your season has just added yet another venue on the Island where I cannot feel comfortable. I only come to Bermuda to feel comfortable, so as you have more and more places ? ferries (outbreak of violence last year), Court Street, some clubs on various occasions ? where I do not go and where I cannot feel comfortable then there is less and less reason to come to this very small Island.

If this continues then I am more restricted so I can not come as a tourist . If I do not come, you have a problem not me. Yes, many places in the world have problems (and Toronto not at all the least, as we have many problems which I wish to get away from for period of time) but you are so small and the solutions should be so much easier because most everywhere else has and has had the problems so the solutions are known.

If you wish to cause a ruckus at a game then you are banned from games and the environs.

If issues continue at a venue then shut down the venue until said venue can and does step up and take responsibility for actions at or around their facility.

Yes, paid duty officers, yes zero tolerance to non-sporting conduct in or about the venue. In this world it is the only way.

We all wish that it was otherwise but it is not. You only have approximately 60,000 people in a contained space. Surely if someone is being bad, he or she very quickly is known to all so shut them down.

JIM HARDIE

Toronto, Ontario

October 5, 2005

Dear Sir,

I read the Letter From the Premier published in your paper today with great interest. The ending however, filled me with trepidation. It would appear that the PLP government is planning to introduce an initiative in the next Throne Speech that will deal with ?those elements that seek to divide us?.

The letter contained examples quoted by the Premier all dealt with portions of articles in the print media that were critical of the Premier or his Government.

I have become concerned of late at the Premiers? increasingly strident responses to criticism. He appears to be extremely thin-skinned and somewhat sensitive for a politician, especially when one remembers his performances when he was a member of the Opposition.

A free press is the backbone of democracy, and we Bermudians, black, white or other should sit up and pay attention to this latest development. The PLP once promised to ?govern in the sunshine of public scrutiny?. However, as it wraps itself ever further in a cloak of secrecy, it would appear that that promise joins the growing list of others broken or forgotten.

This latest statement from the Premier of a government that sees nothing wrong with building a relationship with a brutal dictatorship is a very troubling development, especially when his government is increasingly under criticism for their performance (or lack of).

Wake up fellow Bermudians, before it is too late.

Watching in the East,

MOHAWK

St. David?s

Times are a-changing

October 5, 2005

Dear Sir,

It gives me little pleasure to find myself commenting on the Government of Bermuda.

Having seen the reality of Politicians self-promoting lifestyles , no matter which side of town they spring from , its always been pretty non-intrusive locally, to someone who just wants to live in a prosperous, safe environment... in a cruel and dangerous world.

I remember very well the old 40 Thieves days and the UBP policies designed to protect those elitists, whilst integrating prosperous black individuals in an attempt to cling on to what they regarded as a god-given right.

I can tell you I loathed the cronyism, hypocrisy and nepotism that surrounded them, I have never had a problem with the PLP?s succession and welcomed the winds of change that we who are fortunate enough to live in a democracy can bring with our right to vote. It?s healthy and that?s what our forefathers fought for on the world stage, many of them making the ultimate sacrifice in so doing.

We are now seven years into the PLP era, and initially I was very impressed with the transition, no mass exodus of business, and a feeling of hope for many who for years had been taught only to resist along racial lines, no matter what the issue. We saw the standard corrupt practices common to all politicians who take office but nothing we hadn?t seen before and indeed par for the course for most islands, similar to small-town politics in any town.

I had the Government at about 6/10 on my scorecard and could see no way the UBP could ever challenge seriously again without a totally different approach. Much like the Conservatives in the UK, they were the party consigned to the history books.

Bermuda is a very fortunate and blessed place. I?m sure with a high level of secondary and tertiary education prevalent, that most people understand something about global Realpolitik and why Bermuda?s stock is so high. The prosperity here has been built on the UK?s ?special relationship? with the US and the cast-iron security guarantee, both legally and physically thatrelationship ensures. Business likes certainties, and avoids uncertainties. Recently things are changing, and I sincerely hope Bermudians are paying attention.

We are seeing a backlash from those who knew only how to resist, as impossible promises made to them by this government were not kept.

Aside from the headlining project fiasco?s we have gangs of armed murderous thugs running unchallenged at football matches , non-existent affordable housing, tourism at a 30 year low, with every new hotel failing within 18 months, homeless beggars daily menacing shoppers in Hamilton, ... and the list goes on, ad nauseam, meanwhile the worn-out ?race card? is still played. Of course! You were taught all your lives that the system oppresses you, so anything you do is OK, because it?s not your responsibility is it?

And finally and most worryingly, as the ?independence issue? is again raised to distract the public from the reality of the situation, and now we have an admission that the Government are beyond criticism. The Premier actually says he does not have to ?take crap? from people who ?look like that?. That is doubly insulting to all of us on this Island. It clearly shows if you are not black you are not allowed to publicly express a contrary opinion to the Government, and even more condescendingly, if you are black that?s fine because we don?t care what you say anyway.

As the increasingly desperate attempt to ram Independence down our throats gathers momentum, I urge every person who has the good of this tiny island at heart to stand up and take a good look at what your elected representative actually contributes to our welfare and security.

Are young people hacking each other into pieces at football matches because this 22-mile volcanic rock is a British colony?

Mr. Premier, or ?P? as you like to be known, if you can?t take criticism, then I?m afraid you?re in the wrong job mate.

NORMAN COTTERILL

City of Hamilton

October 5, 2005

Dear Sir,

I feel that Tony Brannon is bordering on ridiculous in declaring the Premier and his ?controversial e-mail? racist. I am a middle-aged, white male who read the published e-mail and I cannot comprehend racism in the content. If I were Mr. Brannon I would be more concerned over the inference of idiotic, immature behaviour, not racism.

I must say, I agree with Premier Scott when he says the Island media is divisive. The print media in Bermuda gives the impression of being anti-PLP in its focus. Even when the government does something that will benefit the people of Bermuda the newspapers cloud the good with a negative spin that is built entirely on speculation of what ?could? go wrong. Since the newspaper rarely prints pro-government letters I am not expecting this to be published.

DAVID G.

St. George?s