Britain and Bermuda

January 7, 2003

Dear Sir,

I lived near Calvin Smith and have enjoyed agreeing with him on several subjects. So he will forgive me If I quibble with him now, I hope.

Certainly a glance at the House of Commons reveals few brown faces. Only a few more dark faces than you will see white faces among the PLP. Is this a reflection of racism in Britain? Given the population of Britain one would have to say that something was amiss. Just as one would have to say that the composition of the PLP raises serious questions about its racial agenda.

Does Britain have some programme of oppression in mind for its tiny possession, Bermuda? I think they wish we would go away. The dramatic failures of our system of courts and enforcement have made international news. That must be an embarrassment to Britain. I have a feeling they have imposed this English justice on us in order that an impartial element be a part of the repair of our system. Given our reluctance to deal with the break down of the courts, this is understandable.

The BHC fiasco has been in play for two years now and police are only just finishing their investigation. Justice in Bermuda is neither swift nor sure. A lot of the responsibility for that is ours and our elected representatives. Another lot of responsibility is Britain's, since we are still their colony.

Many opinionated Bermudians who speak their mind have castigated Britain for simply taking proper responsibility for something we do not. For taking responsibility Britain's bad history is dredged up as if it were yesterday's news. Maybe we shouldn't be independent if all we do is howl like children when we don't look good.

JOHN ZUILL

Pembroke

End Sunday liquor ban

January 5, 2003

Dear Sir,

Now that we have grocery stores, drug stores, gas stations etc. open on Sundays and are considering opening the big retail stores on Sundays throughout the year, can we move further into the 21st Century by removing the ban on the sale of liquor on Sundays?

It is quite idiotic that one cannot buy a bottle of wine in a supermarket on a Sunday. While some might argue that you can always buy it on a Saturday, that same argument holds true for groceries and gas.

JOHN R. KANE

Devonshire

Blame the students

January 6, 2003

Dear Sir,

As fellow passengers on Air Canada Flight 947, my travelling companion and I read Ms Titterton's article on the debacle with some amusement, and some anger. It is ironic that only the students' position on the matter was highlighted, and unfortunate that your reporter didn't take the time to query some of the other passengers for their version of events. The material facts as stated in the article are largely correct, but they omit the critical reason for the cancellation of the flight: When all repairs had been completed, after about a four-hour delay, the plane was about to leave when about 25 students decided that they wanted to leave the plane. The crew informed all passengers that because of security measures, should passengers decide to disembark, all luggage would have to be offloaded and then reloaded, and that in all likelihood this could not be accomplished in time to permit the flight to continue. Despite many passengers, students and non-students pleading with these malcontents to remain, they chose to disembark, and after another substantial delay, the flight was cancelled. One student even made an obscene comment to business passengers in response to our pleas that they allow the flight to continue. My guess is that the students saw an opportunity to miss the first day of school, and cared not a wit for the inconvenience and financial costs to the airline and their fellow passengers. I would also like to point out that while the crew was very polite and helpful, there was a near total breakdown of the Captain's authority, which could have posed a threat to the safety of passengers. It strikes me as absurd that a few spoiled children could be permitted to control the flight because as a senior crew member said, “we can't force people to stay on the plane”.

It is also outrageous that passengers were forced to remain on the aircraft for nearly six hours, and then forced to stand in line to receive transportation and hotel vouchers. Air Canada, not for the first time in our experience, demonstrated why monopoly creates bad service, and why Air Canada in particular deserves to suffer the financial woes of recent years. Finally, let me say, that we absolutely loved our time in Bermuda and that without exception, every Bermudian we met was friendly and welcoming to the utmost. We will most definitely be returning to your beautiful Island, (though not on Air Canada) and strongly recommending a visit to friends and family!

JOHN RULE

Toronto, Ontario

Antiquated position

January 7, 2004

Dear Sir,

I am really quite surprised at the opinion of the Bermuda Industrial Union on the subject of Sunday shopping. Their position is quite decidedly antiquated. The world has changed its position in this regard, unlike Bermuda, due to economics that govern not only the businesses that wish to have the option of operating seven days a week, the fact that the customer/client has such a busy life they need the luxury of shopping on a Sunday but also the reality that blue-collar workers need to have the choice to earn more revenue for themselves. We see an example authenticating this by the evolution of 24-hour shopping. We cannot be so myopic to believe that by putting ourselves in the “unique” sector we are doing ourselves a favour. There are many other sectors of the Bermuda work force already operating seven days a week. Why? They need to survive as a viable business, they cater to the demands of being a tourist destination (but let's face we are not really trying hard enough for that yet) and they respect the wish that some of their employees wish to work on a Sunday! Many people fail to realise that Bermuda's tourism season lasts only four months, if we are lucky. So if there were eight days a week in which to remain open many operations would and that would still not make up for the complete absence of viable revenue the during the balance of the year. This is really not such a complicated issue. Should people want to work and or shop on Sunday that is their prerogative, don't legislate against freedom of choice; or in our case remove the barriers that limit this freedom. We have so many of these anachronisms in place here in Bermuda, it is time that we moved into the 21st Century and restructured ourselves to be able to cope with the demands of operating successfully in an extremely dynamic world.

This is not about us as individuals, its about Bermuda Inc and its survival.

MICHAEL BURKE

Co-Chairman for TAN

(Tourism Action Now)

Give them an option

January 6, 2003

Dear Sir,

On the subject of Sunday shopping, I think the sensible solution is to give all businesses the option to open on Sundays if they so wish. If they don't so wish, it's up to them.

VOX ORIENTALIS

St. George's