June 21, 2006

I AM constantly amazed at the nonsense that is often printed in your paper — however, the article in the Mid-Ocean News concerning Dr. Johnson hit a new low. Was last week a slow news week or did you just decide to ruin someone's reputation on a whim? I cannot believe that you, the Editor, would allow such a malicious article to be printed in any newspaper at which you are the Editor. If someone in Bermuda has that much hate in their heart against Dr. Johnson, why must you as Editor of the Mid-Ocean News allow the newspaper to be used as conduit to deliver such bigotry to the public?

Instead of giving a recapitulation of what happened to Dr. Johnson in the United States regarding his sexual orientation and his past driving record, for which I am sure he was issued a fine which he paid, you should have written about what a gifted plastic surgeon he is and the good that he does helping less fortunate patients who need but cannot afford his services.

It is much easier to print a derogatory article about someone rather then a complimentary one. Whether Dr. Johnson is gay or not is none of our business neither is whether he is married and to whom.

For the record, the fact that he is gay also does not mean that he is HIV positive or has Aids. Keep in mind that many heterosexuals also have Aids — maybe even some that the writer of this article, who chose to remain nameless, knows. (Editor's note: The report carried reporter Gareth Finighan's byline).

It is that type of intolerance that perpetuates bigotry and hatred. There are very few of us who have not committed "driving offences" that did not make the news. Maybe having committed such offences qualifies him to be head of Bermuda's Road Safety Council because he knows the ramifications of not driving safely.

There are more important issues to write about than whether or not someone is gay. Why not write about the discrimination that individuals face each day because of their sexual orientation. Too controversial. Then write an article about the good that Dr. Johnson is doing and the difference he is making to the lives of others including Bermudians. (Editor's note: The Mid-Ocean News has carried three separate reports on Dr. Johnson's surgical and charitable work in August 2004, March 2005 and June 2006).

The article that was written on Dr. Johnson and published in the Mid-Ocean, June 16, 2006 was not only controversial, it was malicious!

JOERETHER CHANDLER SIMONS

Compassionate manJune 19, 2006

WITH reference to the garbage printed on the front page of the Mid-Ocean News by Gareth Finighan under the guise of freedom of speech/press on Friday, June 16, referring to Dr. Christopher Johnson, what gives you and your crew of FOREIGN reporters the right to try to destroy people?Dr. Johnson is a young compassionate man, who is also black and a highly qualified, skilled and successful plastic surgeon. Therein lies your problem. Black people aren't supposed to be successful and make a lot of money, so you think.

Dr. Johnson has for years travelled twice-yearly to Ecuador at his own expense to perform much- needed surgeries on people, gratis, who would not otherwise get them as they cannot afford them. His wife has been part of the medical team since he's been in Bermuda. They are about saving and/or making people's lives better while you are about trying to destroy them.

How dare you insinuate that their marriage is one of convenience! Who assigned you to determine who should reside in Bermuda?

Regina and Christopher, be not dismayed whatever betide, God will take care of you. You can do anything through Christ which strengthens you as greater is HE that is in you than he that is in the world.CAROLYN AND EUGENE TODD

SouthamptonSetting a standardJune 21, 2006 <$>

MEMBERS of the medical profession are outraged at the depths to which print media are prepared to sink for sensationalism — witness the Mid-Ocean News front-page story on Friday, June 16, 2006 in which an eminent member of the Bermuda medical profession, Dr. Christopher L. Johnson had his private life publicly exposed. Dr. Johnson is an internationally renowned plastic and reconstructive surgeon who over the last couple of years has set a standard and provided a service previously unavailable locally to Bermudians. We are sure many patients can express gratitude for the service that he has provided.

Dr. Johnson is no stranger to open criticism (e.g., the campaign to discredit him as chairperson of the Bermuda Road Safety Council, founded on his past record of having been given parking tickets and speeding fines), but the criticism has been about his public persona and he no doubt accepted that there would be this scrutiny and badgering when he accepted the post.

We all know only so well that this type of treatment, unfortunately, comes with public office.

However, it is an outrage that such a person's private life is sensationalised for the sake of publication. This type of journalism should be condemned for its disgraceful intent.

Dr. Johnson's personal life should not be attacked for any reason, but if anything, he should be encouraged to perform well in his community and personal endeavours.DR. JOHN GAUGAIN

President, Bermuda Medical Society

DR. BURTON BUTTERFIELD

President, Bermuda Medical Association <$z$>

Answers, pleaseJune 16, 2006

WHAT was the significance of Gareth Finighan's article, "Gay US surgeon marries a Bermudian woman?" (Mid-Ocean News, Friday, June 16)?Well, first of all, if he wanted to get married in Bermuda, he HAD to marry a woman — he darn sure couldn't marry a man, now could he . . . after all, that's against the law and thank God it is! Actually, who this man married is of no importance! For all it is worth, he could have married a Bermudian cow, but hold on a second here . . . little cowsie wowsies are against the law also.

The only significance of this article begs the question as to WHY this gay man married a Bermudian woman.

Even though it's nobody's business but their own — questions will arise such as: "Why would a woman marry an openly gay man? Was this a marriage of convenience? Was this a business arrangement? Did he marry her to enhance his career opportunities? Was it because he knew that being the spouse of a Bermudian would eliminate the hassles and red tape of immigration when it comes to work permits. Was it because somewhere down the road, he could open his own lucrative plastic surgery practice or practices?"

If any or all of the above could be proven this is the reason for this marriage, then he should be shown the door, as we have far too many marriages of convenience already. We cover the globe when it comes to this type of marriage.

One other thing that comes to mind, and that is, how did this "gay US surgeon" become the head of Bermuda's Road Safety Council if he is an American? Why can we not have a Bermudian in this position? Is this legitimate? If not . . . how did he get nominated for this post? Does he have friends in high places?

In closing, hopefully, someone can supply some answers, as I really am a bit confused regarding the significance of this article.PATRICIA FERGUSON

Warwick

June 20, 2006

MAYBE there is something Bermuda can learn from Cuba as a result of our secretly negotiated "memorandum of understanding" with that Caribbean dictatorship. This week a Communist official was sentenced to 12 years in prison for influence-peddling. Juan Carlos Robinson Agramonte, who had been among the youngest members of the ruling Politburo before being kicked out of that elite body and the Communist Party in April, pleaded guilty to corruption during a trial in Havana.

"It was demonstrated that Robinson Agramonte, in the open process of his ideological weakening and with abuse of his position, forgot his high responsibilities and the integrity demanded of a revolutionary cadre and used his influence to obtain benefits," the official Granma newspaper reported.

It offered no specifics on what benefits were obtained or how Robinson used his influence to get them. Cuban officials had once pointed with pride to Robinson as an example of the island's young leadership. But in late April, the Politburo announced that Robinson was expelled from the party for repeatedly failing to overcome "errors" such as abuse of authority and arrogance.

At the time, the party leadership said Robinson had become "a lamentable and unusual case of the inability of a political cadre to overcome his errors."

"Criticised, warned and exhorted more than once by the (party leadership) to overcome his failings, he pretended to recognise them and end them," the Politburo said then. "But that wasn't what happened."

The party leadership indicated that Robinson should serve as an example, warning that "in our country, no one, despite their responsibilities and merits, can violate the law. He who does so will inexorably receive the weight of revolutionary justice."

This intolerance for official corruption is surely an aspect of Cuban culture that Castro's friends in the Progressive Labour Party Government would want to introduce in Bermuda.CULTURE VULTURE

City of Hamilton

Pitiful little manJune 18, 2006

THE pitiful P. emerged from his meeting with the bombastic Colonel sounding more like a whipped puppy than a leader having chastised a foul-mouthed, unruly and out-of-order subordinate. If P. weren't such a yellow-bellied wimp Burch would have been summarily fired, removed from the Senate and left to find out who, if anyone, would now give him a job.In the meantime the Government spirals ever faster towards Third World status. Our Police Service is invisible. Armed gangs roam almost unchecked in our streets and sporting venues. Our roads are so potholed that those who know where the potholes are swerve dangerously to avoid them.

Traffic regularly comes to a standstill - even outside the notorious City of Hamilton. Road crashes are so constant that one comes to expect - rather than to be surprised by diversions, while ambulances, fire service and occasionally even the police attempt to pick up the pieces.

Our roadsides are strewn with trash and common civility on or off the roads is a thing of the past $800 million of our money is "unaccounted for". The $700,000 performance bond remains unaccounted for. The Berkeley construction boondoggle remains unaudited and the public can only suppose that huge amounts of money and material "went missing" from both the accounts and the site.

About the only example of uncovered corruption in a government now confidently assumed by a large majority of the people to be milking public funds as fast as they can get their sticky fingers on it is that of the scapegoat Mr. Smith in the Housing Corporation. His swindle accounts for little more than one per cent of the unaccounted for funds.

Our Cabinet Ministers seem to do nothing at all except drive around in their oversized cars and travel hither and yon to meetings of absolutely no application to our problems whatever while bleating verbose platitudes at inordinate length in the House of Assembly.

Perhaps one of the most egregious foreign trips was that of Minister Minors to attend a "prayer breakfast" in Washington. What on earth a prayer breakfast has to do with her inept Ministry no one bothered to explain, but the public paid for her trip anyway.

Probably she thought prayer was the only way out of the mess she was in. P. now has not one but two "official residences". No doubt he will soon find he has to have two oversized cars, one for each residence.

The performance of the Regressive Labour Party has been without exception beyond appalling. That much verbose talk and little action should be the order of the day amongst people who are so uniformly incompetent and inept was always to be anticipated. Some things, however, we might at least have expected from this hopeless collection of blatherers. One at least was something in the nature of affordable housing. Nothing at all has been achieved.

Any government anywhere in the civilised western world - and I include the less than marvellous governments in the islands to our south - with such an atrocious record and reputation as our Regressive Labour Party has would long since have resigned.

The only downside to that long hoped for resignation is the limp quality of the Opposition. All the United Bermuda Party would have to do to galvanise the public behind them would be to renounce all Ministerial oversized cars and residences, promise to revive the moribund Police Service, produce a coherent plan for affordable housing, and guarantee an audit of all government and quango accounts, with the assurance that culpable politicians and Civil Servants would be prosecuted and/or fired. It wouldn't do any harm to promise a review of a taxation system that seems to produce surpluses faster than the Regressive Labour Party can squander them in other words way too fast.

In the meantime, all our pitiful P. can do is whine like a whipped puppy at home and go away on useless trips abroad to places where he thinks he can impress the locals. What a pathetic little man!

MONITOR

City of Hamilton