No legitimate reasonDecember 27, 2005

Dear Sir,There is no logical argument, when one truly thinks about it; as to why time will be spent in parliament in the near future debating amendments to the Human Rights legislation. We have so many pressing problems, I have to wonder if this is a red herring, or an attempt on the part of the government to bring to the fore such a controversial topic in order to divert peoples attention away from the real issues that confront us in Bermuda: housing, crime; education; and tourism.

Nevertheless, it appears that a deliberate attempt is going to be made by Minister Dale Butler and others to include specific mention of the homosexual lifestyle in our Human Rights legislation. A lifestyle that is clearly shown to have a marked decrease in life span, a lifestyle that has been shown to be associated with various kinds of diseases, a lifestyle that is injurious to the people who practice it.

So one must ask why are we singling out this particular behaviour to protect, why are we not also including smokers (we are now banning them from restaurants) or people who are obese or persons who choose to listen to Reggae music or those who choose to wear locks or earrings-wearing men etc.?

What data is available to prove that there is a real problem with regard to the discrimination of homosexuals in Bermuda or are we making a bill based on the perception of a few people? It seems to me that it is irresponsible to propose a bill without solid evidence to support a need for it. I do not know of any employer who asks when interviewing for a job, a persons sexual preference?

Nor do I know of any landlord who asks the same question? The fact is that you cannot tell for appearance a person’s sexual preference. Also, assume we do include homosexuals in the Human Rights legislation and let’s say a homosexual is refused an apartment by a landlord, how does one prove that is was on the basis that the person is a homosexual? Will every landlord in Bermuda be dragged into court and have to state and justify their reasons for not renting their apartments to persons who happens to be homosexual? I know of landlords who refuse to rent to people who are shacking up’. Why are we not including people in common law arrangements, or single people with children, or people with pets?

What is in place to protect a heterosexual from being discriminated against should the landlord or employer be a homosexual? What if a person is a known paedophile, don’t they have a right as a human being to housing and employment? Why are we not including them in the Human Rights legislation? Where do you draw the line?

When you cut through all the smoke screens this attempt to include homosexuals in the Human Rights legislation is really an attempt on the part of a small but powerful lobby to legitimise their lifestyle. The fact is that all human beings homosexual or heterosexual or bisexual are already protected by Human Rights legislation.

No one has a right to violate any ‘human being’ based on the criterion established in law. Homosexuals. Heterosexuals, smokers or tall people or short people or skinny people have equal protection under the law. There is no legitimate or justifiable reason to a make specific reference in Human Rights legislation to this one particular life style. If you do so you will be opening up Pandora’s Box, but perhaps this is the plan!PANDORA

Warwick<$>Honour commitmentsOctober 23, 2005

Dear Sir,The Cabinet Office released an advertisement on Friday October 21, 2005 requesting the appointment of a Director of Sustainable Development. This is all good and well but how many Bermudians would have ten years relevant work experience particularly as this was not the original focus of this present Government Administration or the previous? We the public of Bermuda have been paying an Englishman, Mr. Ross Andrew a huge amount of money to direct/coordinate an eclectic group of Bermudians who have no experience or education in this area. If this individual is so experienced then has it been the mindset of the Administration to utilise Mr. Andrew’s expertise in training a Bermudian to lead Bermudians in Sustainable Development.

The position of Director of Sustainable Development is the office of Premier and the direction should be coming from the electorate the people through their representatives not from outside sources. Under the Premiership of the United Bermuda Party Leader John W. Swan the Island flourished with equal opportunity for all Portuguese, black and white Bermudians.

This nonracist black man and his peers have much to offer the present Administration and I hope that they will see the need to work together for a better Bermuda. They were set on Bermudianisation but the last two administrations statistically have granted more work permits to foreign nationals than any other. This applies to both the white and blue collar sectors and the understanding is there are more to come.

Social stability should be the primary focus of this government certainly not Independence. We don’t need to develop physical Hamilton when the Ministry of Health & Social Services is overwhelmed with family cases and the streets are becoming increasingly more chaotic and dangerous. We need to develop the social structure and build strong community relations.

Adding more people to the equation through the creation of job opportunities for foreigners just increases potential for frustration and congestion. Drop the Independence issue and make a ten to 15 year plan along with the Opposition Party and Independents which we as ‘One People’ can move along with until we reach an appropriate level of ‘readiness’. It may take an entire generation working together to achieve common goals i.e. establishing stable fishing and farming industries and encouraging local production of items which are normally imported and create (export) foreign trade of local produce.

Another area which this present administration should be focusing on towards sustainable development is energy: alternate energy sources. We have over 300 days of sunshine per year; constant tidal flow and air flow. Homes should be encouraged to become energy efficient. What is the plan of Government in the face of impending natural encroachment/disaster for low lying areas around the Bermuda? Preparing the Island for rising sea levels has never been discussed at a public forum but the facts of rising sea levels between one to six feet in the next 20 years have been revealed to the public. As a Bermudian I am more and more concerned that ‘we’ pay huge amounts of money to and then take the advice and opinions of ‘experts’ from large communities when trying to direct the course of our small community.

The people of Bermuda have been charting their own course for over 300 years. We have experienced diverse economies utilising our natural resources from agriculture to ship building and whaling and then emerging as the primary Atlantic Oasis destination for rest and relaxation for over 100 years. The rule of Old White Bermuda is over and it should not be replaced by an immature vengeful dictatorship New Black Bermuda.

We must forgive the past embrace our different skin-toned cousins and move ahead. Historically Bermudians are given to hospitality. I am a tenth generation Bermudian and a third generation worker in the hospitality profession. It grieved me to hear the comments from visitors who had been frequenting Bermuda as their holiday destination for two and three generations state: “Bermuda has lost its Bermudian appeal”. These people said that they would not be returning. Watching the closure of small family run hotels, guest houses and medium sized hotels has been disheartening.

Obviously there are those in the upper echelons of society who are making decisions for all of us; however this was based on their own welfare being put first. Ten to 15 years ago plans were in the making for the development of the insurance market; why was this aim not shared across the entire community? With the closure of ‘Base Lands’ for the American, Canadian and British military, naval and air facilities vacuums were created in both social and economic sectors particularly for small businesses who profited from daily interaction with he residents of these areas. As a community we manage to pull through. The opening up of these areas potentially provided opportunities for Bermudian investment with regards to real estate and industry development: unfortunately years later 75 percent of the lands are still unused while the lack of affordable housing has become a national sore point.

[rt] There are hundreds of acres of land which could be subdivided in sections as housing zones and sold to Bermudians not to mention 100’s of homes for development plus small and national business/industrial zones.

[rt] Meanwhile taxpayers’ money is spent on the ‘management’ of these unused lands in the form of quangos which are greedy top-heavy, land-grabbing governmental off-shoots run by overpaid and inexperienced favourites.

[rt] Get rid of the quangos and sell off the lands and properties. Re-establish the Parish Councils.

The fact that the Bermuda Government would even consider creating on these lands a world class golf course and marina which would primarily service the financially elite is a clear indication that there is no consideration for the Bermudian people who elected them into office.

I say empower your people. Give Bermuda back to the Bermudian. Put Bermuda back into the hands of those it belongs to, particularly those of us whose ancestors worked so hard in the fields, in corner shops, on the seas and building Dockyard to make the country what it was until ten-12 years ago. I say to the Government and the Opposition put Bermudians first. We had this drive for “Buy Bermuda”. What was all that about? I don’t get paid enough to afford what I really need: a home. Trimingham Brothers has now been replaced by a world bank so where do I shop affordably now?

Expensive boutiques are replacing family style stores to cater to the upwardly mobile and financially elite. I am only allowed $100 tax free shopping overseas. We are not allowed to have franchises in Bermuda but how did KFC get here twenty years ago and then Benetton, followed by St. Michael’s and now a slew of others?

We are told that Bermuda cannot sustain itself in many ways such as agriculture and fishing. More can be done by Government in order that local industries will live and thrive. For example all fields should not be growing carrots or tomatoes at the same time. What about our fishing industry?

It is a known fact that foreign trawlers are seen and reported within our 200 mile radius protected fishing zone but nothing is done about preventing them and within one generation the local fishing industry has almost dried up. The fishermen are forced to charge high prices to cover their fuel costs and so it becomes cheaper for restaurants and stores to order in bulk huge quantities of frozen foreign fish.

[rt] When national issues are being handled internationally without the input of the nation, we will lose our identity as a people.

[rt] Why are electricity rates so high in Bermuda? Are homes compensating the office buildings?

[rt] The foreign worker and foreign investment are welcome in Bermuda but:

1. Should not supersede the Bermudian equivalent

2. Workers should not have access to automobile market (special allowances for execs)

3. No families at blue collar level

4. Permits for office workers/accountants 2 year maximum - trainer positions only

[rt] The housing market should be geared to the Bermudian first as it used to be.

1. Why since Caldwell Banker arrived in the real estate arena the cost of the average home has increased by 100%

2. Why is there a huge push to build condos and who will live in them?

[rt] Does Bermuda want to become a socialist or communist state?

The average Bermudian is being out-priced and outplaced by the foreign investor. I don’t want anyone in my family or any of my friends to have to “move to Florida where life is more affordable’ because this is our home. It is my prayer that this Government will recognise the need to maintain social well being and honour its commitments to the people who elected them twice and the words we all heard in the PLP election victory speeches.PAUL IN SANDY’SShocked at brazen theftDecember 27, 2005

Dear Sir,I wanted to write to you to share my growing disgust with the declining moral values of so many in Bermuda. Unfortunately, it is the horrible actions of a few that ruin it for the rest of us. Because of the beautiful weather on Christmas Day, my husband pitched our screen tent in our front yard for us to enjoy our Christmas dinner while overlooking the Great Sound at our home in Southampton. With scheduled family visits in the afternoon and evening, we didn't have time to take the tent down, and as the weather had turned by the time we got home after 7 p.m. that evening, we left it up to take down the next morning.

I was up bright and early on Boxing Day with my newborn and I poked my head outside to see what the weather was like. Lo and behold, our tent was gone. It was impossible that the wind had taken it down, as other light-weight items, including the bag that holds the tent, were still exactly where we left them. I woke my husband who went out, and at 6.15 am, checked the neighbourhood to make sure it wasn't in someone else's yard. Sure enough, it was nowhere to be found.

It would have taken the thief or thieves at least ten minutes to take the six-sided screen tent down, if not longer, due to the darkness. We have reported to the theft to the police, especially in light of recent break-ins and sightings of peeping toms in our neighbourhood in recent months, but we doubt that this item will ever be recovered. We are just amazed that someone would steal such a large item, and at Christmas no less.SARA WESTHEAD

SouthamptonWhat about hospitality?December 24, 2005

Dear Sir,I was appalled to read of the plight of the Russian family, who have been seeking sanctuary for the past few months in St. George's Harbour. Now, it appears, the Department of Immigration is demanding that they set sail in their small boat on or before January 1. This is downright cruel and inhuman. Whatever happened to Bermudian hospitality? If they sail to Canada, they will be bombarded by storms and icy winds; if they choose to go south, they will be heading for the Bermuda Triangle, and anything can happen there at this time of year.

Surely it can harm no one to allow them to stay until May, when the weather will be better. These are extenuating circumstances, and immigration is in a position to grant them special permission to extend their stay, and this should be done forthwith. Although the family has been offered a flight to Canada it is not practical, besides the fact that the lady of the family is dead scared of flying, as they need their boat to live on, and who would look after it in Bermuda, when they have gone? It is probably their sole possession.

They have already stated that they have enough money to live on for the next few months, and are not a burden on our society, rather they have made friends in St. George's and are helping the economy. I wonder how Rozy Ashar will feel, when she hears over international news, that a family of four have been lost at sea, as they were forced out of Bermuda in the dead of winter?E.RABEN

Paget PLP is heartlessDecember 22, 2005

Dear Sir,I must admit that even in the make-believe world of Huck, Tom and all the boys in Hannibal, Missouri, it is hard to imagine the heartlessness of your PLP scrooges when they condemn the Salvation Army for asking for more money. Even those dreamers who put the clown show back in for another round must be thinking about 'Axpressing themselves' for someone else. I don't care what anyone says — the Salvation Army is a reputable organisation which generally does very good things for people throughout the world.

In Bermuda, they do things that we otherwise would have to pay for and, maybe they don't do it all perfectly but, give me a break, who else is going to help all these people? The Government — yeah, they have shown a string of absolute success stories when it comes to doing anything. They give $11 million to cricket and waste bazillions more through incompetence and corruption and then they beat up on the Salvation Army! If I wasn't such an old-fashioned trusting guy, I might think there was an ulterior motive here — like maybe taking over the shelter and implementing the exalted business success practices of the PLP — ya think, Mr. Editor?SAM CLEMENS

Southampton