We must change Bermuda

May 8, 2007

Dear Sir,

The Royal Gazette’s recent profile of one individual’s/church’s school feeding programme should raise serious questions about the social state of our community.

Before I proceed with the point of this article, I do want to mention that there are in fact several churches that have been providing this service to schools. In fact, the First Church of God, lead by Bishop Vernon Lambe has been providing this service to schools for well over ten years. I thought this important to point out since so many of your readers are critical of churches and in particularly, Bishop Lambe. The point of my letter is this:

The churches can provide thousands of lunches and the government can provide housing, institute education reform and everything else the electorate wants, but if there is no social reform at the individual level, all of the church and the government’s initiatives will have little impact. I was listening to a speaker several weeks ago and I was reminded of historian Alexander Tyler’s observations of the sequence of every civilisation:

1) From bondage to spiritual faith;

2) From spiritual faith to great courage;

3) From courage to liberty;

4) From liberty to abundance;

5) From abundance to complacency;

6) From complacency to apathy;

7) From apathy to dependence;

8) From dependence back to bondage

Based on the social deterioration in Bermuda, I believe Bermuda is currently between stages 6) and 7) of the observed sequence outlined above. Until the people of Bermuda turn back to their spiritual and moral heritage, we will quickly find ourselves back at the bondage stage. Drugs, alcohol, immorality are taking its toll on individuals, families and the community at large. Drugs, alcohol and immorality are the underlying cause of most of society ills we read about in your daily newspaper. I appeal to Bermudians to individually take responsibility for representing the change that they want to see in this island. “As keepers of our own being, we must constantly choose to be the light we wish to see in others.”

CONCERNED BERMUDIAN

St. George’s

‘Government’ should be fired

May 7, 2007

Dear Sir,

Question! The $520 million that the auditor general reported has not been accounted for, does that amount include the $800 million that was not accounted for previously, or is this a separate issue? If this is not a separate issue, this means there is $1.3 billion unaccounted for— This is serious and Bermuda, we have a problem of unprecedented proportions! Possible fraud is right — it’s written all over it!

The auditor states also that some departments have not reported since 2001! How can that be? If I had a job and did not report to my higher up, I would be fired — so I ask another question! Why are these people still collecting a pay cheque? Why haven’t they been fired? It is obvious they are not doing their job, and we the public are paying to keep them in these cushy jobs. I find this all mind-boggling. Surely the people who are responsible for this reporting has someone over them, and I have to ask where in the world are they? What are they doing? Are they looking the other way? They should be fired also! I, and a lot of other people are sick and tired of paying for something that we are not getting — and that is good; honest; fraud-free governance.

My last question is: “How can Government keep in their employ, persons who are so darn-right negligent and suspect in their work ethics to continue year after year doing the same thing? I think government should be fired for allowing this, after all, it is government who calls the shots and the buck stops with them. This is a disgraceful situation of national proportions — and, this Government has the nerve to talk about Independence? Can you imagine what would happen then? We would have a hand picked Auditor General, and we would never know what day it was let alone know that X millions or billions were not accounted for! It would be a closed shop!

PAT FERGUSON

Warwick

Don’t call God a liar

April 27, 2007

Dear Sir,

This letter is in reference to the request to gay rights. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (Leviticus 18:22)

Know ye not the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicator: not idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, not covetous, not drunkards,nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

If a man also with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: They shall surely be put to death: their blood shall be upon them. (Leviticus 20:13)

Please do not call God a liar by saying you were born a homosexual. The Lord God is the same Yesterday, Tomorrow and Forever. It cannot one iota be changed. You have been deceived into believing that lie by Satan. Also you do have a right to choose your own life style! Just take a good look at America the Greatest Country in the world; has she won a war since she legalised abortion and gave gay rights and gay marriages? Had they obeyed God they would still be the Greatest Country. They are on a downhill path.

Please know that a beautiful God created our country, our Government can by following God’s word be blessed with prosperity or we can be like America and slowly penalise our country. Stand strong Bermuda and God will bless you and our economy! Be bold for God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Ghost.

GREAT GREAT GRANNY DEE

City of Hamilton

Take care of home first

May 9, 2007

Dear Sir,

As I read Take Care of Our Children dated May 1, 2007 I have just given to yet another child who sat in my office telling me that they are hungry and haven’t had anything to eat! So here’s my dilemma, I haven’t had anything to eat myself and did not have time to go to the ATM this morning! So what do I do? I go into my wallet and retrieve the six dollars that I happen to have and give it to this child so that she can eat and I in turn go hungry as I have done in the past with my own so that they could eat. I have listened with keen interest to the talk shows and have read the articles in the daily pertaining to this and I am amazed that we as a country are split on the idea of providing meals for our children in need!

As an educator I can honestly tell you that I spend an average of forty dollars minimum per week buying lunches for children and they are legitimate cases. These are they same children who come to school unkempt; clothes torn, dingy, holes in their socks, soles completely worn on their shoes, etc. I have even come out of pocket to buy school clothes, underclothes, socks you name it! I by no means am rich and sometimes myself have to rob Peter to pay Paul! but, at the end of the day it all works out!

There was a time when I needed assistance, I always used to say of people in that situation poor them, that would never happen to me and than what happened my job became redundant and it was during the recession and I found myself unemployed for a year and a half! I started to get into difficulty as I had to dip into my savings to keep a roof over my family’s head and things were rough! And sometimes as mentioned earlier I had to do without so that my kids could eat! I found myself needing help. I wasn’t looking for a “hand out”

I was looking for a “hand up” and I to this day am grateful to those that provided that to me. Now that I am in a better position I can offer someone that “hand-up”. I don’t consider it to be a burden, because you never know ; the same people who feel that they could take care of their own and whomever else should care for their own, a word of advice to you; you never know what is in store for you the next day, let alone the next hour and you might find yourself in the same position and learn as I did to never say never! You never know God’s plan for you!

Bermuda without a doubt we do have a problem with some of our kids not getting the adequate nutrition that they need! so let’s pull together as a community in the same way we rush to fill containers with food and clothing to send to other ravished or poverty stricken countries. I am not being selfish when I say this, but let’s take of home first! Let’s take care of our hungry, and our homeless that need shelter! and let’s not turn it into something political!

ROCKAWAY

Southampton

P.s. I wonder how my hungry student fared on the Terra Nova Exam this morning as she hadn’t had anything to eat since last night? Hmmmm!

What do our experts say?

May 4, 2007

Dear Sir,

Some years ago, a book was written entitled “The Living Soil”, containing valuable information, especially to those horticulturists among us. The soil is largely made up of minerals and a small percentage of organic matter, plus varying amounts of water, but the living microscopic content includes various fungi, both useful and also harmful. It also contains numerous bacteria, eelworms (nematodes) insects at various stages, plus all important earthworms. These animals and plants are vital to life on earth. Sterilising soil for specific purposes is a good idea, but complete soil sterilisation is almost impossible on a large scale.

Clay soils in Bermuda are very valuable, as they contain more nutrients than sands, (they have probably blown here from the Sahara region), but we do have areas of finely divided particles of clay of good quality.

How do the grass courts at Wimbledon consistently stand up to the two weeks of extremely hard wear they are subjected to annually, with usually true bounces? It is because they have the horticulturists, soil scientists, and craftsmen who together can produce such a fine sward.

Surely Bermuda has sufficient quality clay soil, know-how and craftsmen, plus an excellent growing climate, to produce the required firm and level surface up to International Cricket Standards, without in any way endangering our precious environment by even thinking of importing foreign soil?

SID FARRINGTON M.I. HORT

Smith’s

We need a racing complex

April 27, 2007

Dear Sir,

I am trying to find out a few things that the PLP Government has done recently concerning local sports. If anyone can help I’d appreciate it. They have given cricket $11 million. They also gave soccer $15 million. They have allotted $400,000 to the motor sports of Bermuda for a multisports complex at Southside. This measly bit of money is for THREE different sports, karting, scrambling and motorbikes. All three sports have Bermudians that represent Bermuda overseas and host overseas guests in Bermuda. They use their own money for travel and uniforms etc.

Let’s see what we get for our money. Cricketers that, yes did make the World Cup but are not 200 percent serious about it because although it is now a full-time job for them they still for example, in the middle of the World Cup, take days off for R&R when the other teams work, work, work. They get full time pay,uniforms, travel etc.

Soccer has games that are not safe for families to go to because of the open drug use and violence. They get uniforms, now pay and travel. Scramblers get a dirt track that has no proper sprinkler system. They use their own sound system from atop a trailer. They are constantly having to fix and redo their track themselves.

Motorbikes and karters have an asphalt ‘track’. Insufficient safety barriers. Their own weight station, sound system and computer scorers and other equipment. All three motor sports have to pay Government each time they use the tracks and most of the time don’t make enough in gate sales and fees to pay these usage fees. There are no proper bathroom facilities, just port-a-potties. They make their own home-made plywood canteens.

The motor sports were promised a world class motor sports complex. Granted they are grateful to have the land available to use but what has become of this complex?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

VROOM, VROOM

Pembroke

Protect our waters

April 26, 2007

Dear Sir,

A very interesting article appeared in the April issue of the National Geographic. It concerned the deep trouble that the world’s oceans now find themselves in — this in part from the massive over fishing both legally and illegally. The net product is that most species have declined about 90 percent — this then inevitably reflects on the world’s marine ecosystem as a whole, especially now with global warming in full swing, which incidentally sees many of the world’s fishing fleets hugging the fast disappearing ice packs, harvesting all that moves from krill (a species of shrimp that whales largely feed on) to unknown species of giant squid. Many would ask “Well, what and how does that effect us”?

The answer would be “Well the humpback whales eat krill” to fatten up for their arduous trip from these feeding grounds past Bermuda down to the breeding ground in the Caribbean, a trip made more arduous by whale catchers lying in wait for them along their traditional and well known routes and if that is not enough, the Japanese are now financing one way or another many of the Islands down south to allow the “harvesting” of the whales as they pass the islands in question.

Net effect to us is that, we will gradually loose what is fast becoming a very important tourist (and local) jewel in Bermuda’s environmental crown. New Zealand — largely thanks to marine biologist Bill Ballantine — has now created a Marine Reserve around most of its two Islands in an effort to conserve the unique Marine Environmental Zone of the area. Bill Ballantine’s revolutionary approach to marine preservation — were initially — savagely opposed by commercial fishermen in the eighties and the nineties,with many threats against his life.

The net effect of his stubborn drive to create these “no-go” zones has now seen a dramatic increase in New Zealand’s many threatened marine species, the spill over from these reserves now provide a source of income for those very same opponents of the scheme — who now see the end product of what a well managed Marine Environment is all about. Bermuda could well benefit from such a programme — the first on the list would be the total ban on long lining — which indiscriminately kills anything that swims or flies.

To allow this is as a “gauge” to see what is out there is laughable — not much — would be the logical answer — due to massive over fishing elsewhere. The next would be to ban all foreign commercial fishing boats in Bermuda’s economic zone — even to the point of the island having its own “Coast Guard” complete with helicopters. The point and bottom line would be a safe haven for migratory fish in the middle of the Atlantic, in saying this — I do — mean from internationally commercial interests as opposed to local fishermen — doing what they have been doing for many a year serving local markets and the tourist industry as a whole.

In this they (the fishermen) have a duty to uphold and regulate their own environment much as the New Zealanders do now. It’s hard to conceive such a project even getting off of the ground — however, I would urgently suggest to all Bermudians to read the National Geographical article in full — this to gain the full impact of what is happening around them in this rapidly shrinking world where three humans are born every second of the day — (BBC Documentary).

Perhaps the Royal Gazette should print this in its RG Magazine? — with permission of course. Water and food supplies are being fought over now by nations, self sustainment is on the lips of many people these days, especially with the dramatic spin-offs from global warming, which incidentally has happened many times before in the World’s History and without the effects of man helping the process — a process of what we are (the world) and where we are in the largeness of our local galaxy. Where our flora and fauna of our lonely and unique planet are in effect our fellow travellers through space and time.

C.G. ADDAMS

Somerset