Silence please, Dr. Brown

June 9, 2007

Dear Sir,

Dr. Brown 'Premier" is getting to sound 'sillier and sillier'. Every time he opens his mouth he puts his foot in it and lets the PLP members down. I thought he was a well educated man and I am sorry for him. 'Silence is Golden'.

HOW COME

Devonshire

Failed education policy

June 18, 2007

Dear Sir,

As the BHC scandal continues to unravel there is a risk that the people of this country will forget about the education system that is failing before our very eyes. There are those who wish to point fingers at the United Bermuda Party for this failing. However there are some salient facts that your readers should think about before they point fingers:

1. The first PLP Education Minister was Jennifer Smith who said on October 28, 1996, (prior to the PLP victory in 1998): "We should have zero tolerance for failure in our public school system", but nine years after the first PLP victory Terra Nova exam results show that Bermuda's middle- and senior-school students have scored consistently below the US average on language, reading and math over the last seven years.

2. "The PLP vision is of a public school system so dynamic that parents will forget the educational past and come back to the public system", but nine years after the first PLP victory the Hopkins report found: "There are indications that the public education system in Bermuda, especially at post-Primary level, is on the brink of meltdown."

3. "No school should be forgiven for failing to educate the students given into their care — after all this is their purpose—" but nine years after the first PLP victory the Hopkins report concluded that one quarter of lessons were taught inadequately, the curriculum was inconsistent and principals were failing to ensure quality teaching.

4. At the 1996 PLP Annual Delegates Conference Jennifer Smith said the PLP "will set national academic performance standards and require every high school student to meet the standards before graduating, while holding schools responsible for meeting those standards" but nine years after a PLP victory recent education statistics show that almost 50 percent of our public secondary school students don't graduate in their senior year, and in 2003, the failure rate reached as high as 74 percent.

5. At the Bermuda Society annual dinner on September 26, 2002 Jennifer Smith said that when the PLP became the Government one of the objectives was "to create a foundation that would ensure the educational success of all of our young people" BUT nine years after the first PLP victory the Hopkins Report concluded that "a radical overhaul" of the Ministry of Education was required, describing it as "poorly-led and mismanaged" and "secretive".

Mr. Editor, perhaps more damning is that despite the PLP putting education at the centre of their 1998 election platform there have been six different education Ministers in the last nine years under the PLP regime, with the second longest serving (after Terry Lister) being Paula Cox, a Minister who supposedly has a safe pair of hands. Nine years after the first PLP victory the sixth PLP Minister of Education, Randy Horton was quoted as saying: "Quite simply, public education is one of the core elements of society that we cannot do without. If we fail in our mission to improve student achievement, the very viability of our public education system is in jeopardy. More importantly, our future as a country will be imperilled. The mission is urgent, critical and of national importance." Thanks for stating the obvious Mr. Horton!

Mr. Editor, after nine years in government, six Education Ministers and three Premiers later, surely such a statement should make the people of this country shudder in fear. The 18-19 year old vote currently being courted by the PLP's radio station Hott 107.5, should be the most concerned. After all it is they who have felt the brunt of the PLP's failed education policy, being only ten or 11 when the PLP first came to power. Based on recent statistics can those young people honestly say that the PLP Plan provided an "integrated Education System designed to meet the needs of this society in the 21st Century" as envisaged by Jennifer Smith on January 23, 1997? I doubt it.

MICHAEL M. FAHY

Hamilton Parish

Love, fairness and peace

June 25, 2007

Dear Sir,

In your edition of June 23, there were two letters which all of us should take time to read and consider.The first letter from Elizabeth Kitson spoke of the importance of love and kindness towards our fellow man.

The second letter from " Always Prayerful" spewed self-righteousness. The writer took it upon himself to align God with a politician. Although there were six direct references to God, the letter lacked any sense of spirituality. The writer reflects a sense of negativism and cruel vindictiveness towards others.

Many thanks to Elizabeth for reminding us that love, fairness and a desire for peace for each of us should be our true goals.

FAITHFUL

Hamilton Parish

Please restore paradise

June 21, 2007

Dear Sir,

To the Good people of Bermuda:

This letter is overdue. Last year, August 9th 2006 I took my wife to Bermuda because we had been there several times ten years ago and loved it. Bermuda was Paradise.

To my shock and dismay I was outraged to hear about the violence occurring and how Bermuda just wasn't Bermuda anymore.

One night while waiting for the last bus (Thursday August 10, 2006) we took the last bus from Hamilton to the Wyndham resort. During this ride there was a bad thunderstorm. On this bus was a baby who was crying obviously from the thunder. The bus driver stopped the bus and said she could no longer listen to the baby crying and that they had to get off the bus with the baby into the storm. Everyone on the bus was shocked! How could this person be so cold! Eventually one nice local man stood up and addressed the driver. But to all of us this is what Bermuda has become.

As published in The Royal Gazette we read about drive by shootings and other heinous crime by gangs. I sincerely pray that Bermudians can "up the security" and restore its inner beauty as paradise on earth.

MJ BASSO

Stamford, Connecticut

Why take it personally?

June 22, 2007

Dear Sir,

I find it amusing that the Premier is taking the objections to the Southlands project personally. He doesn't seem to understand that it is not always about him.

K. SMITH

St. George's

A reminder to the BUT

June 13, 2007

Dear Sir,

As a staunch supporter of trade unionism, I continue to be disappointed by the continued lack of professional practice displayed by union leadership in Bermuda. According to Lilieth Harris (a representative of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions) in an interview published in the IFWEA Journal in February 2000: "Trade unions must operate from a position of knowing the facts, having the ability to provide critical analysis and empirical evidence on any issue."

If we view the current teacher contract negotiations through this lens and the recurring issue of parity with the civil service, the following questions must be asked and answered, in particular by the Bermuda Union of Teachers and its membership:

1. How are you defining parity with the civil service?

2. When considering parity, have you determined which PS scales are equivalent in terms of responsibility as a part of your operational definition? (Management Services can be a helpful resource for this analysis)

3. Have you considered the fact that civil servants are paid for working 260 days annually while teachers are paid for working 200 days annually? (Example: a civil servant making $70,000 annually is worth $269/day while a teacher at that same salary is worth $350/day)

4. Do you understand that remuneration in the civil service is allocated primarily on the basis of the level of responsibility assigned to the position and not academic credentials? (It therefore becomes illogical to base parity simply on the basis of the credentials required for teaching in the public sector.)

To the BPSU — you supposedly embrace the democratic process as one of your fundamental operating principles. As such, you have been elected by your membership and therefore have a responsibility to poll them before actively pledging support to the action of another organisation. I find it astonishing that you would make a decision to support the actions of another agency without gauging the pulse of the members you directly represent. If you had your membership at heart, you might reflect and realise that some of us may feel maligned by being used as a part of the negotiation process of the BUT in such an irresponsible manner. Your current actions spit in the face of democracy and social responsibility - shame on you!

To the parents, surely it is time to raise your voice. As a parent, when you send your child to school from the hours of 8.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m., who has responsibility for your children? Did you assume that the supervision of your child during recess and lunch would be considered an extra duty? Is it not enough that you pay extra to have someone supervise your child from 3.30 p.m. until 5.30 p.m.?

I would like to remind the BUT that they have as their primary objectives "To promote and advance the cause of education in Bermuda;" and "To promote a high standard of professional ethics and a high standard of professional competence." As a body of professional and competent educators, I expect your considerations to be guided by logic, objectivity, and a sense of social responsibility. I am sorely disappointed!

DISGUSTED TAXPAYER AND BPSU MEMBER

Paget

Long-line fishing concern

June 8, 2007

This was sent to Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield and copied to The Royal Gazette.

Dear Madame:

I am concerned about long-line fishing in Bermuda's waters. As you know, this is a commercial fishing technique that uses hundreds to thousands of baited hooks hanging from a single translucent line as long as 100 kilometres. One of the many problems with it is that fully half of the animals caught on long lines cannot be sold and are thrown, dead or dying, back into the ocean. Manta rays, sea birds diving for food, sea turtles, marlin, sea lions (in northern waters) and dolphin are among the animals brutally and wastefully dragged to their deaths, thereby draining the life from an ecosystem. Long-line fishing demolishes marine life in immense areas. (See for example the April 2007 issue of National Geographic.)

The Bahamas banned long-line fishing in 1993. One can surmise that damage to tourism and traditional commercial fishing were among the reasons behind this decision. Indeed, decreasing the numbers of deep-sea fish from our local waters will jeopardise the marlin and other big game fishing competitions that bring hundreds of tourists (and these tourists are spenders) to Bermuda every year. Fewer fish and a depleted deep-sea eco system will mean less interest for divers as well. Further, long-line fishing could put Bermuda's traditional commercial fishermen out of business. They are much greater in number than one or two long-line companies. Bermuda should set a good example, not allow itself to be a pawn of long-line fishing interests. It will be sad for someone with such good intentions as yours to be responsible for Bermuda's losing its fish.

CYNTHIA COX

Devonshire

Does anyone believe this?

Dear Sir,

I see that the Doc's personal radio station, HOT 107.5, is asking inquisitive questions these days. Do they feed him lunch as well as soft and easy questions?

A return to the 40 Thieves under the UBP.... return? Mr. Editor, bearing in mind the current state of affairs ... I would suggest that if the Doc cared to look in the mirror he might find the current Leader of the Current 40!

And he's misunderstood on race ? My, my, I don't think so. He uses race at every single opportunity to divide us even more. I certainly understand him. Do people actually believe this stuff?

SAMUEL CLEMENS

Southampton

Inaccurate comments

June 25, 2007

This was sent to the Editor of Cayman Net News and copied to The Royal Gazette.

Dear Sir/Madam,

You are right to point to similarities between Bermuda and Cayman Islands — two British Overseas Territories at a comparatively similar advanced constitutional stage and sustained by international business.

Your comments on recent developments involving Premier Brown of Bermuda — my cousin I should point out <\m> contain a number of inaccuracies which I would like to correct for your readers.

Firstly, the police investigation took place about five years ago and a file was sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The Deputy Public Prosecutor at the time ruled there was no evidence of any criminal conduct involving any elected official and reported the matter was closed.

Today, some five years later the police file made its way to the media — stolen or leaked. This was clearly timed to have a political impact given that many people, especially the Opposition UBP, thought a general election was going to be called for July this year.

The Government court action is an action to prevent confidential police documents from being placed in the public domain. Many of the facts contained in the recently released files were in the public domain five years ago so this cannot be the main issue. One issue that is central is whether the public should have access to confidential police reports, particularly when crown prosecutors have ruled there is no criminal case to answer. By their nature, such reports contain opinion, possible misrepresentation of fact or blatant distortion, none of which is subject to cross examination and could only be prejudicial if placed in the public domain. Our courts are meant to be the arbiters of truth on criminal matters and those leaking the information clearly do not accept the judicial process.

Sir/Madam, to evoke the term "police state" when discussing the arrest of the Auditor General is perhaps to engage in hyperbole. Firstly, the police operates under the direction of the Governor, not the local elected officials, as they do in the Cayman. There has never been any view that the police in Bermuda ever act in a political capacity and we would certainly hold the view that no one is above the law, not even the auditor general. For the police to arrest the auditor is truly a significant step, but in the absence of any contradictory information, why not simply conclude the police had reasonable grounds for doing so? One fact, which the media have not probed is the fact that the auditor general had the very files at his private residence. Why were they there?

Editor, sitting in the resplendent Cayman setting you are not able to feel the intensity of the political meanderings over in the normally sedate Bermuda. Despite these developments let me assure you there is no sense that our constitution is about to be usurped. Strip away the political rhetoric and you will see the rule of law being played out in keeping with the liberal democracy we embrace.

WALTON BROWN

City of Hamilton

Editor's Note: The reason the media has not reported on the "fact" that the Auditor General "had the very files at his private residence" is because the media does not know what he may have had there. All the media knows and has reported is that a search warrant was executed on his home, but it is not known what, if anything, was removed.

An honour for Mr. Tatem

June 12, 2007

Dear Sir,

I am writing because I think that the headline "Goodbye, Spice Valley ... hello T. N. Tatem" did little to honour the name of Mr. T. N. Tatem. The article was a good article but I think that your headline should have said that Mr. Tatem was being honoured by the renaming of the school. The article mentioned his "dignity, compassion, discipline, and above all integrity". I don't think your headline reflected the reasons for the renaming.

OTTO TROTT