Last week's rant in this space on the G20 meeting in London produced several responses from readers.

One wrote: "It's (your) best column to date, the 'acute headache' opener notwithstanding."

Another said: "I write to congratulate you on your cynically correct analysis of the G20 mess."

The third wrote to the Gazette's business editor, under a subject line of "I will tell you what's nonsense!!", saying: "The article 'G20: More nonsense per square inch than has ever been seen': This article itself is nonsense. Why would you publish such **** for Bermuda to read? I don't understand why you print so much of this NONSENSE every week, then wonder why people laugh at Bermuda in general."

Here is an excerpt from The Spectator, a British weekly magazine, dated April 4. The article was written the day after my rant appeared.

"The G20 has been the grandest April Fool in living memory, a spectacular raspberry to the planet by the men and women who are meant to be co-ordinating the recovery of the global economy. The truth, of course, is that these heads of government can barely co-ordinate their motorcades and photo opportunities, let alone the restoration of confidence in the battered capitalist system.

"This summit has been all about handshakes, protocols, an imported presidential car, fancy dinners and political pageantry. The anti-capitalist protestors have raged at the gate like the barbarians in Cafavy's poem, almost justifying the whole cosmetic exercise by their very opposition to it."

If I'd written what at least a dozen British magazines and newspapers said about President Obama's "breath-taking arrogance" in importing a multi-ton car and 500 security people to Britain, I'd have been hunted down like a dog.

And here is the main thrust of the final e-mail received on the subject, from a fellow I happen to know: "Being in the UK, I got all of this (G20) stuff as a daily diet, but being aware of various things about the 'one-world' crowd, I noted that there was only one thing on which a full agreement was obtained: closing down the tax-efficient jurisdictions!

"That's the bad guys locking the escape doors for free thinkers; the big move to control everyone with a one world currency is really very close. After that, the smartcard and no (cash) money ... and the State as supreme authority in everything. That means banning religions of all sorts and will lead to huge uprisings, especially amongst the followers of Islam. I believe you and I will probably live to see at least the beginning of it all.

"America, as you and I know it, will be sold downriver via the immigration policies now in force; the 'militias' of the States will arise but be hammered down - we see the beginnings of all of that in Greece, Strasbourg, even London, all within the last year. 'There will be wars and rumours of wars' is a Biblical phrase pertaining to these times. Revelations, chapter 13, verses 10 to 18 inclusive shows how it will go. It's almost eerie to watch all of it unfold according to a blueprint written thousands of years ago ..."

Me again. On the subject of "tax havens" and the scurrilous treatment handed down by Gordon Brown and his pals, I find myself wondering just how two-faced people can be. Peter Woolcock's Gazette cartoon on Thursday was very much spot on. Bermuda has been investigated in the past 10 years by just about every organisation that can be reduced to an acronym. All have stated that Bermuda is in line with, or exceeds, global standards. These aren't minor entities we're talking about: the OECD, KPMG, Great Britain, etc. etc. Yet the OECD placed us on its grey list, based on the number of tax exchange agreements we have or haven't signed - ignoring that the Ministry of Finance has been working for as much as two years on such agreements. The OECD has developed a specialty in issuing lists without making any attempt to carry out the necessary research. It's simply bullying, by an unelected body intent only on defending the failed tax policies of its members.

Breath-taking arrogance, indeed.

* * *

The oddest story of the week, though, was an opinion poll that reported that almost half of French people believe it is acceptable for workers facing lay-offs to lock up their bosses illegally.

Staff at French plants run by Sony, 3M and Caterpillar have held managers inside factories overnight, in three separate incidents, to demand better lay-off terms - a new form of labour action, dubbed 'bossnapping' by the media.

A poll by the CSA institute for Le Parisien newspaper found that 50 percent of French people surveyed disapproved of such acts, but 45 percent thought they were acceptable.

"They are not in the majority ... but 45 percent is an enormous percentage and it demonstrates the extent of exasperation among the public at this time of economic crisis," Le Parisien said.

Committing crimes because life isn't going your way: that is nonsense.