Foreigners do have clout

May 5, 2007

Dear Sir,

I’m a Bermudian who is a bit tired of this “foreigner” bashing when it comes to traffic. When the idea of banning single Bermudian persons from owning a vehicle was floated there was an incredible uproar. Of course sensing there were votes at stake the PLP backed off that idea and decided to pick on a group that they can push around.

Because foreigners have no vote, the present government thinks they have no clout. Far from the truth as I’ll reveal later. It would be better to institute deterrents and not ban guest workers from owning a vehicle. My suggestion would be to only allow them to buy new cars and not abolish the second hand car market. We should then encourage Bermudian to be frugal and participate in the second hand market and save the money they would otherwise spend on a new car. With all the talk about greedy landlords and high rents, Bermudians who live in rent controlled houses should not be allowed to buy new cars anyway.

The problem with our spinless politicians is the fact that they refuse to tell the Bermudian the real cause of our traffic problem. If you want to find out who is to blame, look in the nearest mirror. If you are a Bermudian who hasn’t pursued higher education and then professional qualifications you are the problem and not part of the solution. How many of you have the qualifications needed to become actuaries, accountants, certified financial analysts, certified financial planner, MSCE’s etc. And yet we expect these highly educated people to come here, run our economy and to live like second class citizens. To even consider this is just plain lunacy!! I would like to see just for once these foreigners have a one day wild cat strike and refuse to pay payroll tax and other government fees or rent and see how we would sweat. We would really see who really controls the power in this country then.

If I were a foreigner I wouldn’t take this sitting down. Start petitioning the US government to stop Bermudians from having the ability to rent cars when they travel to the US and Canada. After all we drive on the left hand side of the road and all we would need is one moment of absent mindedness to cause a major problem. Get on the websites and tell your professional friends how stupid and spoiled we Bermudians have become and how we expect you to live here. Let them know that we treat foreigners like second class citizens. Last but not least pressure your employers. You make millions of dollars for them and it’s time they take a hard line stance against this foolishness. You have a lot more clout then a bus driver or W&E worker to bring this economy to its knees.

The present government has been in power for almost eight years. They should have mandated that Bermudians would be able to run their economy by a certain date . . . There is none! That would mean that we as Bermudians would have a delayed self-gratification and pursue education more vigourously. We vigourously seek to lift the ban on substance abuse, buy large CARS and have children we can neither afford or even supervise.

I repeat we have become spoiled so much so that we now think that the car in front and behind us is causing the traffic problem . . . not your car!! Mr. and Mrs. Foreigner, our traffic problem or any other problem is not your fault.

FED UP

Devonshire

Be slow to speak

May 17, 2007

Dear Sir,

I could not help but speak out on the criticism of not only the Government of today, but mainly on our Premier, the Honourable Dr. Ewart Brown. My heart is heavy, really heavy when I read the anger in the voice of people, through what they write. This is a man who is serving this country, and he is someone’s son, brother, dad, husband etc. The personal attacks made on this man are painful. The Premier is not God, so yes he will say and do things that are not always right in man’s sight, but he is the leader of this country and he deserves that respect. Even God made decisions that did not sit well with all walks of life. I call for a halt to the verbal attacks spoken and written about him.

I can’t imagine how his family must feel, when every day in the newspaper/talk-shows, someone is wearing Brown shoes with Brown soles (meaning walking all over this man and crushing him). You ought to be ashamed of yourselves for your personal attacks. If you have a problem with issues than address them, do not continue to bash this man. Examine yourself before you speak, and I can bet you would be less likely to criticise the next. Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak.

MS DONNA INGHAM

Warwick

Bring back telephone WX

May 21, 2007

Dear Sir,

It is ironic that the telephone weather service has been discontinued at this time when the start of the hurricane season is imminent. Announcing this, the automatic answering machine advises one to check the Bermuda weather on the website (if you have a computer linked to the Internet) or to dial the weather channel (if you have a CableVision hookup).

It is a sad loss because weather information is most rapidly assessed through the telephone. Indeed, from past experience, the phone will usually continue working when power goes off and knocks out cable and any electrically powered computers.

As far as I know no official explanation has been given for the removal of this service, a removal which to me seems a retrograde step in the provision of services to the taxpayer. Perhaps the powers-that-be think it is only used by the non-working indigent, a social group who apparently are to be eliminated in our community... an example set by Mr. Mugabe when he had the shantytowns around Harare destroyed.

WILLIAM S. ZUILL SR.

Smith’s Parish

The best way to say thanks

May 20, 2007

Dear Sir,

To Bermuda: My wife and I are visiting Bermuda this week and staying at the beautiful 9 Beaches Resort. We would like to say thank you to a young couple that saved the ending to a beautiful evening that would have been a public transportation disaster. We were carefully watching for our bus after eating at the Swizzle Inn at the South Side and noticed one of the last buses was arriving across from the restaurant. My wife flagged down the bus and the driver just looked at my wife and drove off. The passengers on the bus looked surprised at the drive off. We waited across the street in hopes of another bus arriving as it was getting late and dark.

To our surprise a young couple who was also eating at the restaurant finished their meal and went to their car and started to drive off. Within a few minutes this young couple. who witnessed the drive off decided to show that most Bermudians welcome all guest “to the Rock”. This couple who identified themselves as a newly employed XL Bermudian male working at XL and his lovely Canadian born wife who was “studying to be in the culinary arts business”. They went out of their way and drove us back to the resort with a very informative story of their lives and Bermuda. I have been reading your newspaper all week and thought this was the best way to say thank you as we never did get their names and by the way they refused to take any monetary compensation. The Public transportation should conduct customer service seminars as we also experienced several other drivers that should have stayed home for the day rather that greet the tourists.

KAREN AND RICH DROUIN

Southington, Connecticut USA

Sailors deserve funds too

May 21, 2007

Dear Sir,

In today’s newspaper, your correspondent “Vroom vroom” refers to the $11 million given to cricket and the $15 million to football then questions why motor sports has not received more financial backing from the government, after receiving $400,000 and the use of land to hold their races. I want to question the almost complete lack of financial support by our government to sailing. Sailing, historically one of the sports where Bermudians have excelled, has a three time world champion, Malcolm Smith, in the Sunfish class, a multiple winner of the world International One Design championships in Penny Simmons and a sailor who could win a medal at the next Olympics, Peter Bromby. Peter Bromby has to go cap in hand to the corporate sector every four years for financial help so he can represent the island at the Olympic Games. There’s something wrong with the allocation of sports dollars in Bermuda.

JOHN BARNETT

Warwick