January 10, 2007

Dear Sir,

PLP, NLP, UBP, the only party Jamahl Simmons hasn't joined is the Gombey Liberation Party (Look out Gavin, He's Coming!)

For him to cry racism is unfair to those, who in the past, suffered at the hands of the "old" UBP's brutal history of heavy handed political tactics. Everyone familiar with Bermuda prior to 1998, understands this. Mr. Simmons knew what he was dealing with when he joined the "New" UBP and agreed to be a smiling black face of change

As a young black man I understand there will always be struggle with regards to race. However I also understand that generations of blacks before us were able to succeed in much harder conditions, so black men of my generation have no excuse for not achieving their goals. Mr. Simmons is crying wolf. He is not a victim of racism he is a victim of his own blind ambition. He left the PLP because they wouldn't give him a seat in the house, instead of digging in and proving his metal, he moved on to the NLP. When he realised that they didn't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning, he moved on to the UBP, never stopping to think what this would do to his reputation in the community.

It made him look as if he had no scruples, as if he was only interested in his position, that's no way to garner respect. His move to the UBP seemed like a marriage made in heaven, they needed young blacks to be the face of the "New" UBP and he needed a position. It was, for all intents a marriage of convenience. But wait, what was it that their new Golden (Brown) Boy stand for and who would he convenience to join or even vote for the UBP? It was easy for the powers that be within the party to convince loyal members and voters, that supporting him was for the good of the Party. However his support was artificial, in the community where it mattered, the community he was brought in to sway, he was seen as a traitor at worse, having no backbone at least. He was seen to have betrayed the PLP and what they stood for.

I'm sure in the back of their minds Dr. Gibbons and Mr. Furbert wondered how much they could trust Mr. Simmons after all, he was willing to say and do anything in order to gain power. And while Dr. Gibbons and Premier Dr. Brown won't be sharing bar-be-cue anytime soon, I'm sure they have more respect for each other then either has for Mr. Simmons. Even though they don't agree on much, they know when the other says something he means it. Can anyone say that about Mr. Simmons?

How silly did he sound when he said in your paper, that he couldn't find a job? Grant Gibbons is the head of your party and he won't hire you? I think that says less about Mr. Simmons than it does about Dr. Gibbons. Clearly it would look better politically for Dr. Gibbons to give him a job and say to other qualified young black men, 'Look Jamahl 's employed, come over.' The fact that Mr. Simmons lacks something, maybe racism is alive and kicking yes, does that give young black men an excuse not to excel? No. Will everyone agree with you when you take a stand? No. But people will respect you when they know that you believe in the ideals you hold up.

When Mr. Simmons joined the UBP he left people wondering who he was and what he believed, now it is clear that the answer to that is beyond even Mr. Simmons, himself. Every time he has moved on it was someone else's fault. But his worst enemy is Jamahl Simmons, not racism.

January 19, 2007

Dear Sir,

With all the internal turmoil within the Loyal Opposition how surprising that there has been no political perspective placed forward in the press by our illustrious Premier or his party; other than today's usual exhaustive ramblings of some guy Gilbert in the Bahamas. (Does he really believe anyone reads past page two of these sermons?)

Of course the irony should not be lost that our Premier, with the avowed intentions of stamping out and ignoring any critical press, hires an overpaid Press Secretary; whose job one assumes is to ignore the press and say nothing! What great governance and efficient waste of taxpayer's dollars.

January 22, 2007

Dear Sir,

Some of Bermuda's roads are just too narrow and bumpy for a vehicle to pass a bike when vehicles are coming from the opposite direction. Incidents are more likely to happen on these occasions. An incident like this did happen with me on Saturday, January 20, about 5.30 p.m. I was riding my pedal bike passing SAL in Southampton when a white saloon clipped my right handle bar brake lever. The passenger seemed to look behind, seeing me unhurt, the car kept on going. The car may need a new left side mirror.

I hope that car driver recognises now that not all roads here can take three vehicle traffic as easy as others.

January 8, 2007

Dear Sir,

I wonder if these boys, and I use that word advisedly, understand that their fathers, grandfathers, and possibly their great grandfathers gave their lives so that they could have the freedom to object to conscription and now they want the ladies to help! I would love to see these guys stand by and watch while their bikes were being stolen! No way, they would fight.

There is a price for freedom and anyone living on this beautiful little island should be prepared to protect that freedom by supporting the Regiment with loyalty, time if so chosen, and a love for their country to fight if necessary.

There are of course some extenuating circumstances and they should be dealt with on their merit.

For this group, to object to serve their Country and give something back, is sad, because they could be missing one of the best experiences of their young lives.

Quote: "Ask not what your Country can do for you but what you can do for your Country." So current today. A sentiment, in the very best traditions of mankind.

January 13, 2007

Dear Sir,

I was off the Island when the news broke about the proposed development of Southlands, but I have followed the reports in the press and the letters to your paper. In the 1980's, I owned a property which shared a boundary with Southlands and I objected to another proposed development at that time, on environmental grounds. David Wingate and the National Trust also supported the objection and the permission for the development was denied. My concern is that the environment has not changed, but the rules governing this proposed development (SDO), appear to have done so!

I would recommend that all residents take the time to read an article in the January 2007 National Geographic, entitled Dubai: Sudden City. On pages 202/203 is a photograph of The Palm Jumeirah which is a man-made island projecting into the Persian Gulf. It was designed in the shape of palm fronds to offer beachfront lots for thousands of villas. The caption reads: 'Dubbed the Eighth wonder of the World, the development has doubled Dubai's shoreline, but has also disrupted its coastal ecosystem.'

On pages 110, 111 is a night photograph of towering Dubai skyscrapers. The caption reads: "Jumeirah Beach Residence rose in just 36 months, its concrete poured by labourers working day and night. Some critics are questioning the speed of change and a lack of planning. The towering apartment complexes stand like a wall, cutting off the rest of Dubai from its coast.

Somehow this all sounds familiar ... concerns about the natural quality of our South Shore and the proposed 'tunnel' cutting us off from the coast. The link being, that Jumeirah has signed an agreement to run the hotel here in Bermuda. The question is, how much influence has Jumeirah had in the proposed plan and do we want to allow a foreign developer to repeat its environmental disasters in Bermuda?

The Bermuda National Library carries copies of the National Geographic Magazine, or it is available at ngm.com/0701.

January 17, 2007

Dear Sir,

May I, through the medium of your newspaper, take this opportunity to thank those hundreds and hundreds of kind and generous people who have supported PALS in so many ways during the year.

Some of you held your own fund raising events to benefit PALS. Others asked for donations in lieu of presents for yourselves to honour birthdays, anniversaries and weddings! Several of you even shaved your heads (including 6 ladies!) and asked friends to make pledges for the amazing Annual St. Baldricks Head Shaving event. Hundreds of your visited our Memorial Christmas Trees in the Washington Mall and Butterfield Bank and left donations, even thought there is never a charge to write a message in memory of a loved one and place it on the tree. Others of you helped to man the trees and students from Warwick Academy, Saltus, CedarBridge and Berkeley gave up their Sunday mornings to decorate the Washington Mall and then dismantle it all. It is very gratifying to know that so many young people are aware of our efforts to give the highest possible quality of care to any cancer patient needing our help.

We are so very grateful to those of you who support PALS ongoing fund raising events or respond to our Annual Appeal letter. Both are necessary to help meet our ever increasing costs. Expenses last year almost reached one million dollars! In December we were caring for 133 cancer patients and the nurses made 415 home visits, all at no charge to the patient or his family. In October they made 565 such visits.

As you might imagine, every donation counts, however large or small. One little girl came to our Memorial Tree in December and insisted on donating all the money she had which consisted of one penny!

Thank you Bermuda for your generosity and caring and thank you, Mr. Editor for helping to spread the word about our work throughout the year.

ANN SMITH GORDON, MBE, JP

President & Chief Executive Officer

January 15, 2007

Dear Sir,

Over the Christmas Holiday our family decided to get away from it all and support Bermuda by vacationing here. We decided to stay at the Fairmont Southampton Princess ? as they were offering a "Special Deal" for Christmas. Upon check-in, we were surprised to arrive on the 6th floor and hear a barking dog. After 20 minutes of unpacking, we went to the front desk on the 6th floor to complain. The lady at the desk said she would put in the complaint.

It was now 2 p.m. and we then took our children downstairs for cookie making and other activities. At around 4 p.m. we went back to the room to get washed up ? and the dog was still barking. We then went to the desk to complain again - and were assured that security had been informed and they were trying to locate the owner. At 6 p.m. we went back to the room to get ready for supper ? Yes! The dog was still barking! We once again went to complain at the 6th floor check-in desk. We told the gentleman now on duty that if the dog is barking at 8 p.m. after we get back from dinner, we would be inclined to call the Dog Warden or SPCA as six hours of constant barking could indicate that something might be wrong with the dog. We signed a book logging a formal complaint.

During supper, all I could think about was this poor dog, locked up along in a strange room in the dark on Christmas Eve, while his owner is somewhere in the hotel enjoying the festivities. At 8 p.m. we arrived back from supper to get ready for swimming ? my heart almost broke. Now this poor dog was whimpering and crying. We went to the front desk on the sixth floor and demanded something be done. I was so frustrated, I actually wrote the owner a note and pushed under the door for them to read whenever they decided to get back from enjoying themselves.

We took the kids swimming until 10 p.m. and upon arriving back to the room, there was finally silence. As I lay down to sleep, I could only hope that this poor dog would have a better Christmas Day. Yes I am an animal lover, so this letter is complaining about: A) The inconsiderate owner for leaving the dog alone in a strange, dark room to feel scared and insecure to bark for hours on end. B) The lack of rules put in place by a 'Five-star hotel' themselves for allowing a dog's barking to inconvenience other guests. I was looking forward to getting away from barking dogs in Spanish Point. I never thought I would have to put up with it on the sixth floor of a Five-star hotel.

The comment from many about this situation is that some people's money is greener than others. I would hope this not to be the case. If so, maybe they could open a separate MacDonald Wing just for animals where people could bring their animals on vacation with them, but be far enough away from disturbing others. I could then bring all of mine with me and wouldn't have to make arrangements for them to be taken care of.

January 12, 2007

Dear Sir,

After reading your front page on Thursday January 11 which states that Gov. Vereker claims that there is support from the community for conscription. I had to smile to myself. This man is a joke. Who does he think he is to say what we the people of Bermuda feel about conscription. Has anyone asked the people of Bermuda what they think? "NO"!

Every single person that has spoken about conscription in recent weeks that I have listened to has been against conscription. It is clearly against Human Rights and clearly sparks memories of blacks being enslaved by putting shackles on men that do not wish to serve (most being black Bermudians).

Our Regiment is clearly mostly ceremonial and if this country were to be attacked by some foreign power lets not fool ourselves into thinking that the Regiment would be equipped or capable of stopping such a power. As for the Regiment being used for tropical storm emergencies or "something else" as Governor Vereker states, I am sure our young men are "REALLY EXCITED" by the prospect of them being made to join the Regiment if this is one of the main reasons for them having to enlist.

The Regiment should be for men who wish to join and unfortunately, Gov. Vereker, I believe is stuck in the 17th Century. I would like to ask Gov. Vereker why is it that they do not have conscription in Britain? Being British I can tell you that the British would not put up with it and neither should our young men of Bermuda.

Just for the record I am white, born in Bermuda but now have my Bermuda status. So this is not about race, this is about HUMAN RIGHTS.

On two other subjects on the same front page. Firstly, as for Mr. Christopher e-mail stating "all staff" are responsible for the fiscal problems of the college. "SHAME ON YOU"! That was your responsibility that is what you got paid for.

Secondly, Dale Butler MP. Please do not be fooled by some of our fathers. Most pay $100 a week or less, which is pitiful. Some mothers have to pay pre-school at $100 and up because they have to work, unlike some of our worthless dads . Let's face it, some fathers DON'T WANT TO PAY and if the mother of their child finds another man, they feel he should foot the bill. As for payments being made and then DNA testing done later. HELLO! DNA testing can be done before they start paying. Some of our men boast about having children and then whine when they have to pay!

Women/girls are also to blame. They get pregnant from a man that they are not married to, chasing him for child support and finally having him incarcerated. Then, once out of jail, the woman gets pregnant from the same guy. WHAT, would honestly make them think that if he did not pay for the first child that he is going to pay for the second! Wake up ladies common sense should tell you to protect yourselves.

DEE CHARLES

Paget