May 8, 2006

Dear Sir,

I read in your newspaper today that Mike Charles, general secretary of the Bermuda Union of Teachers, wants to make it legal for teachers to cane students, not just have principals beating the children as is now the law.

He represents the "profession" of teaching? What other "profession" has members who deliberately inflict pain on others? Think about it ? the answer would be ... prostitutes! A strange alliance Mr. Charles wants to forge! Mr. Charles, and his supporter, Sen. Carol Anne Bassett, need to do a little research homework. If they studied the subject before opening their mouths, they would have learned that students subjected to corporal punishment are more likely to drop out of school, get worse grades on national tests, are more likely to engage in vandalism, and discipline in schools with caning is worse than in those which treat students with more respect and dignity.

Bermuda should ban all infliction of corporal punishment on school children. Leave the whips and canes to the paying customers of that other "profession." Every country in Europe, Central and South America, Canada, Japan and China have now prohibited this outmoded violence in our schools. Time to catch up with the rest of the world.

May 6, 2006

Dear Sir,

I have just read the article in Mid-Ocean News dated May 5, 2006 entitled, "Cuba links: Slayton lays it on the line."

The intent of this letter is not to debate whether or not Bermuda should have any ties with Cuba because like many I see no real value in such a relationship; it is to express my views and ask some questions on how the US conducts itself toward Bermuda's relationship with Cuba.

While I may not agree with the US position on Cuba I vaguely understand their reasoning for it, they were severely embarrassed by the failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs. Surely, it's not because Cuba is a Communist country because one of the largest US trade partners is China. That being said, why does the US continue to try to force its foreign policy down the throats of small nations, who have very little ability to stand up for themselves? Surely a friend that bullies is not a true friend, he only takes what is in his interest and ignores what is important to the one being bullied (I'm not saying Cuba is of importance to Bermuda).

When one looks at Cuba the only economic embargo in place is the embargo the US has placed on Cuba. Many allies of the US allies have economic relations with Cuba. Included among them are the neighbouring countries of the US, Mexico and Canada, who also happen to be the two countries partnering with the US under NAFTA. Although the US has an embargo in place, by 2003 it became the seventh leading trade partner of Cuba. During this year, 2003, Cuba ranked in the top 30 of 224 worldwide markets for agricultural products from the United States. Cuba imported more than 300 different US agricultural products in 2003, valued at $343.9 million.

The US makes veiled threats to Bermuda regarding its relationship, if you can truly call it that, with Cuba. Why target Bermuda when the bordering countries of the US are large economic partners of Cuba? What harm can a Bermuda/Cuba relationship cause to the US? The US talks about human rights violations occurring in Cuba under Fidel Castro but has taken no economic action against the human rights violations occurring within China.

I understand the importance of the US to the economic viability of Bermuda and I understand the importance of US Customs and Immigration pre-clearance to Bermuda. However, diplomatic relations between the US and Bermuda should not be tied to Bermuda bending to the absolute will of the US. They should not be tied to the size and vulnerability of Bermuda. Whether the US agrees to Bermuda's foreign policy or not it needs to respect Bermuda's foreign policy and not interfere with it or try to dictate it.

I question what the US position would be if Bermuda formed an alliance with China, also a Communist country. China has recently invested heavily within the Caribbean, including a $30 million gift to the Bahamas Government to aid the rebuilding of the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, the national sports complex, here in the Bahamas. Not a peep from the US.

I also question why the US is threatening Bermuda yet it seems very quiet regarding the Cayman Islands, also a British Dependency, the Bahamas, a jurisdiction, like Bermuda, that has US pre-clearance, Jamaica, Canada, etc, that all have daily flights to and from Cuba. Neither Canada, nor the Bahamas has been threatened with the removal of pre-clearance because of relations with Cuba.

Why single out Bermuda? What is the purpose? Is there something I am missing regarding this very loose, informal relationship with Cuba? From what I can tell it is nothing more than a relationship that gives Bermuda a place to send its old buses rather than use them for land reclamation.

If the US can sell $350 million in agricultural products to Cuba, surely there is no harm in Bermuda donating buses, which have a real value of probably less than $250,000.