Confidence eroded

April 17, 2006

Dear Sir,

The BIU have colonised the Progressive Labour Party Government because Ministers and PLP Members of Parliament almost never take positions that are in conflict with union leadership.

This is especially troubling because union leadership interests are often in conflict with public interest and union members' interests.

The Party did not heed lessons from history, from tradition, from our constitutional structure, rather it stood in the door, as it were, to prevent the truth from coming out. The Government conducted itself dishonourably.

The Government cannot abdicate the ultimate authority for this whole sorry mess to go away. The ultimate decision making authority rests with the Government and so does the accountability.

Public confidence, especially the confidence of the BIU membership and their families, has been eroded by a Government they thought would at least protect their interests.

It appears that our system of law and order has been perverted the thing to do is to correct it and not destroy it.

RAYMOND RUSSELL

Pembroke

A win-win situation

April 27, 2006

Dear Sir,

Please allow me space to respond to “Defeated Landlord's” letter, “Empty apartments”, dated March 15, and published in your Letters to Editor on April 11.

It is unfortunate, but a fact, that some tenants do take advantage of good landlords and vice versa! I wish to point out to “Defeated Landlord” that there is an answer to landlords who do not want the hassle or headaches of dealing with tenants - the Bermuda Housing Corporation. BHC has a “Private Sector Rentals” programme whereby landlords such as “Defeated Landlord”, can rent their empty apartments directly to BHC at reasonable rents!

BHC is the tenant and in turn sublets the apartment to their tenants and deposits the monthly rent in a timely fashion to the landlord's bank account. BHC handles all tenant issues and the “Empty Apartment” is returned to the “Defeated Landlord”, at the end of the lease, be it one, two, three, five or ten years in as good a condition as the apartment was at start of lease!

BHC has advertised this programme several times and I have repeatedly invited the public to participate in it! I do not think “Defeated Landlord” is suggesting that all tenants are bad tenants or that the 2,000-plus empty units are as a result of the circumstances described in his/her letter.

Rather than empowering and protecting irresponsible tenants - we continue to enforce proper conduct and behaviour by working with our tenants to honour their commitments - most notably demonstrated by the reduction in almost $1 million in rental arrears.

Therefore, landlords - such as “Defeated Landlord” with “Empty Apartments”, there is no reason to be defeated! Please go to the Bermuda Housing Corporation and let them handle your rental issues - hassle free.

SEN. DAVID BURCH

Minister of Works and Housing

Sacrifice said it all

April 17, 2006

Dear Sir,

The only reason why R. Wilkinson was able to write and express his feelings about the Regiment, i.e “Regiment a waste of time” is because his father and his grandfather and maybe even his great grandfather gave blood, sweat, and tears to defend and protect his right to say it.

These rights were fought for with an unbelievable price and sacrifice, quite beyond the comprehension of one so young. I wonder if this gentlemen has a bike he treasures or maybe a dog he loves, something he has in his life that is vitally important to him. Would he stand by and watch it and let it be ravaged, or would he protect what he holds most dear and fight for what is his? Lest we forget.

DIANA WILLIAMS

Pembroke

Give this dog a real life

April 6, 2006

Dear Sir,

This is an appeal to all dog lovers, especially but not restricted to Southampton Parish (Church Road area) residents. Help the SPCA by petitioning your MP to have the Dog Act 1978 amended so that “freedom of movement” for dogs means just that not being kept permanently tethered on a six foot cord in all weather. Let's give a little brown dog (and others like him) a real life.

A VOICE FOR MAX

Jamaican independence

April 17, 2006

Dear Sir,

I refer to Minister Brown's comments in today's newspaper on the birth of Jamaica as an independent nation. Perhaps he is unaware that, emotions or not, in a poll taken a few years ago by The Economist magazine 70 percent of the Jamaicans polled wished that the country had never gone independent!

ANNE PEARSON

Bailey's Bay

Feeling Blue over bargain

April 19, 2006

Dear Sir,

The hype that has surrounded that arrival of JetBlue onto our slate of airline services to Bermuda may not be all that Ewart Brown wants us to believe. My understanding is that this airline is low cost and offers competition to the high cost of other airlines, something that all of us have been demanding for years and therefore is very welcome. An impending trip to New York in October prompted me to go straight to JetBlue's website for a flight advertised at $129 each way, a total of $258, an excellent price. But then I notice that taxes are not included but are listed on the website. Reading the ‘international section shows additional charges of $89 each way which included $57 of ‘international charges' (this figure could vary downward it would seem).

Now my return flight on JetBlue is going to cost $436 including taxes. So, off I go to Expedia.com and low and behold American Airlines for the same trip including taxes is $394. As it is Easter time one might tell JetBlue ‘to go fly a kite'.

PHIL CRACKNELL

No ‘long-term interest'

April 19, 2006

Dear Sir,

I just wanted to clarify the term “guest worker” that was mentioned in the letter “Term limits are already impacting businesses” (April 10). The writer incorrectly defines a guest worker as someone who “wants to make as much money as possible while they are in Bermuda and do not have any long-term interest in the companies they work for”. He has made some subtle changes in his definition that completely redefine the word. A guest worker in Bermuda is someone who “wants to make as much money as possible while they are in Bermuda and do not have any long-term interest in the country that they are temporarily working in”.

The official definition for a guest worker is “a foreign worker who is permitted to enter a country temporarily in order to take a job for which there is a shortage of domestic labour”, which is exactly what these expatriate workers are. These definitions are neither insulting nor discriminatory in nature. They are simply accurate.

I think many people are becoming confused between an expatriate and an immigrant. In general, while an immigrant moves to a country and adopts local customs and cultures in hopes of becoming a citizen one day, expatriates have the sole purpose of moving for purely economic opportunity. They do not have the intentions of becoming a citizen of that country and once their time is up, they leave. They have no long-term interest in the country and this is one of the reasons why they are not afforded the same rights as a citizen of the country.

SERGIO

Warwick

True transparency?

April 18, 2006

Dear Sir,

Mayor Lawson Mapp is quoted in your newspaper (April 13) as saying he wants a third term in office to see through a deal for a city hotel at Par-La-Ville Car Park and for the plans for the Hamilton waterfront to take shape.

He failed to mention that the Corporation of Hamilton was negotiating a hotel deal for the same Par-La-Ville Car Park when he first took office six years ago. Since then the Corporation has apparently been negotiating with at least two developers and is still no closer to signing a deal. It was reported in The Royal Gazette exactly one year ago (April 13) that the Corporation had rejected a $110 million deal with Regent Hotel developers, the Carlsen Group, much to the chagrin of the Minister of Tourism who urged the Corporation to “get a move on”.

Can the Mayor please explain what has suddenly changed? If he has failed for six years with two separate developers to successfully conclude a deal why should we now believe he can pull one off if given yet another term in office?

On the issue of the planned waterfront development, this appears to be one of Mayor Mapp's latest boondoggles. His first was the series of trips he made to Biloxi and New Orleans, all at taxpayers' expense, to investigate how Hamilton could set up gambling casinos. What he completely ignored then was the fact that gambling casinos were, and still are, against the law. What was the point? Surely he should have checked first with Government to see if they had any intention of changing the law. If not he was wasting his time and the taxpayers' money because the City has no power to enact its own gambling laws. It would be interesting to hear from Mayor Mapp just how much of the taxpayers' money was spent on the trip to Biloxi, and how many taxpayers knew beforehand how he was spending their money.

Mayor Mapp promised open meetings when he first came into office, but how many has he held in the past six years? Both of his predecessors, William Frith and Bill Boyle, held several annual public meetings where taxpayers could voice their concerns and be brought up to date on what was happening in the City. Apart from the one meeting to describe the waterfront boondoggle, can anyone recall Mayor Mapp holding public meetings, or making public speeches to the Chamber of Commerce, or the Rotarians, or Lions, or the North Hamilton Association, or anyone else?

Mayor Mapp does not need a public meeting to inform the City taxpayers how much it cost them to fund his latest waterfront boondoggle. Mayor Mapp needs to come clean and publicly state the total cost of the waterfront study, and to publicly explain why the Corporation of Hamilton would go to all the expense and trouble of undertaking a huge study without the input of a single stakeholder from the private sector, his taxpayers, or from Government, from start to finish. Is that his version of transparency and spending the taxpayers' money wisely?

SEEKING ANSWERS

Smith's Parish

Althea to the rescue

April 20, 2006

Dear Sir,

Please allow me a small part of your column to share a large thank you to a woman I have never met. A lady that is, who is not only the ideal “friendly” Bermudian but a beautiful example of the human race.

Her name is Althea and she works as an operator for Bermuda Radio Cabs (295-4141). I feel compelled to publicly thank her as she, has on more than one occasion, gone out of her way to ensure my safety with no added value to herself other than her own good conscience.

The first instance was when my bike ran out of gas one evening and I called her company for a taxi. Knowing I was a woman, alone - she insisted that she stay on the line with me until a taxi could be located and sent to my position. This unfortunately took 20 minutes but in the meantime, she had all occupied taxis passing by my location stop and make sure I was safe.

The next situation was one I called upon her, but she handled it with the ease and care of an emergency operator. While riding home late one evening, I noticed a gentleman on a bike following a “little too close” for comfort.

Being very aware I was a small woman, alone and about to escort this (possible) troublemaker to my empty house, all I wanted was one person who knew what was going on. Although I know my family and friends will be there 24/7 for me if I thought I was in danger, one still hesitates to wake them at 2 a.m. After trying 911 twice unsuccessfully and having a husband that works in a busy bar, I searched my mind for someone to connect with until I could safe walk through my door. Who is awake 24/7 near a phone?

Radio Cabs! The rest is a given - Althea answered the phone and after offering to call the Police for me, stayed on my cell with me until I was safely in the house, had locked the door AND checked all the windows!

You may read this and think that she isn't so special, that anyone would do this in the same situation, but the sad fact is - to most of us nowadays, she is extraordinary, special and kind. With no reward, race issues or a second thought, she reached out to help a stranger. I just wish her kindness wasn't so rare. Althea - thank you, may your kindness come back tenfold!

GRATEFUL

Southampton

Act like you care!

April 15, 2006

Dear Sir,

It seems to me that this institution called the Bermuda Regiment should long have been abolished. With its violation of human rights, its fundamentally unethical practices, its racially disproportionate amount of black men, its sexist policy, not to mention every civilised country in the world has outlawed conscription. Even the islands that our men visit in an effort to assist in hurricane relief do not practise conscription, so in essence our men are being used for cheap labour.

Is it that the Regiment really doesn't have anything constructive for our young men to do so they go looking for work to justify retaining a regiment in Bermuda? Could that be the reason that on the nights the men have to turn up for Warwick Camp they sometimes are left just standing aimlessly (in the rain), then are dismissed, what a useless performance indeed.

I have spoken to many conscripts, and also to parents of conscripts, and I can tell you that there is not much contentment, in fact the natives are getting restless with the whole corrupt system.

As a parent I really get offended with anyone telling me that these young men need discipline, or training because from what I know and have heard, the men in charge at the Regiment need more discipline than the conscripts. Baiting our young men with trips to Jamaica to visit prostitutes, bribing them with weed, alcohol, seems to be the only way they can encourage them to enter and to stay. But even those tactics can't work with every conscript.

So they try other tactics like: intimidation, threats, embarrassment, harassment, insults, mental, emotional, physical and even attempted sexual abuse. How much do these young men have to endure, Bermuda? Wake up and ask these young men questions, act like you care.

If I as a parent did half the things to my children that the Regiment are allowed to get away with I'm sure someone would have me up on abuse charges. If the police did half of these things to suspects or even to criminals they would have charges laid against them too. If the prison officers treated the convicts like the Regiment treats these criminals (oh, I mean conscripts) they would have a riot on their hands to say the least. Oh is it because these young men are vulnerable, ripe for brainwashing, then why don't you as parents speak out? When your son goes up to camp and stands in the rain for one hour and comes home soaking wet and shivering speak out!

When your sons, nephews and brothers come home and say how they got pushed to the ground or how they got locked up in the box (in their underwear) for something trivial, speak out! When they come home and say how they were given weed, alcohol, or encouraged to go to prostitutes, cursed out, degraded, taunted or threatened speak out! Bermudians stand behind your young men. How can we have a Premier who says that he cares about the future of this country when a whole group of young men are being subjected to this type of behaviour? Maybe these young men along with parents will express our displeasure at the polls Mr. Premier. I would like to know how many MPs served in the Regiment the full three years, did you Mr. Premier? And how many had their sons enter this beloved institution? Everyone's son can't go away to school and hide out.

But the fact that a lot of our young men would rather be on the run than go willingly into the army speaks volumes. I didn't bring up my sons by yelling, cursing, shoving or doing any of those things the army thinks they need to do in order to discipline him. They have no clue how to discipline young men, or do they think that every young black man is used to and only responds to that form of discipline? Sounds racist to me. These conscripts are men. Who gives the army the power to discipline my sons? We are giving this institution way too much power and control. This country is always talking about getting the young people to buy into Bermuda, but who is really listening to the cries of these men. I am shamed of the leadership of this country. I can see that maybe we will have to go outside of Bermuda to get the support needed. There are always activist groups looking for good causes to support.

WATCHFUL EYE

Hamilton Parish