“Sole Mutual Element Is British Superiority”
The sole mutual element of the Bermuda/UK relationship is one of British superiority, said former Premier Dr. Ewart Brown in his speech at the 50-50 Caribbean Conference held in the Cayman Islands today [Mar.22].
Dr. Brown — who stepped down as Premier in 2010 — presented a paper on “Is the UK-OT Relationship Based on Mutual Interests? Bermuda and the Uighurs Case Study.”
Speaking on budget cutbacks, Dr Brown said there has been “hue and cry all over Bermuda and other nations for leaders and public officials to voluntarily take a decrease in salary — to lead by example.”
He said Bermuda’s Parliamentarians voted themselves a pay cut, union workers have been asked to take cuts, certain public services have been reduced, a few social programs have lost funding, but not once has he “heard even a whisper that the $1.6 million annual outlay that goes to Government House should be cut back.”
“Is there no moral obligation for the British Governor to lead by example, and volunteer to take a pay cut? Oops, I forgot. The British are superior,” said Dr Brown.
Dr Brown said when he became Premier, he had the driver bring the car on the airport tarmac to pick him up when he traveled. “As a matter of practice in Bermuda, that had not been done by past premiers,” said Dr Brown.
“Some of the colonized spoke up to say ‘who does he think he is? Let him go through Customs and Immigration like everybody else.”
“Yet, no one has ever questioned why our British Governors always have their cars on the tarmac when they return home, and do not go through Customs and Immigration like everybody else. But, they are superior. Unfortunately, this is in the minds of the British and in many of ours as well.”
He also said the Premier’s actual residence sits on around 7-acres, while the Premier’s official residence is a beautiful front that has entertainment, while Government House, where the Governor lives and entertains, sits on a 37-acre hill and has a private chef and other staff.
“The sole ‘mutual’ element of the relationship is British superiority,” said Dr Brown.
Speaking on the acceptance of the Uighurs, Dr Brown said: “The decision to do so was mine alone and was based upon a number of factors. In the first instance, few opportunities exist for a 21 square mile island to secure the gratitude and respect of a friendly superpower nation.
“In no discussion on this issue was there a request for, or an offer of, any quid pro quo. There didn’t need to be. Our act of friendship alone would be sufficient demonstration to an historic Administration that Bermuda could be more than a nice place to visit or do business.”
Dr Brown continued on to say, “My decision to accept these men into Bermuda was guided by the humanity of the choice presented, and the opportunity for my country to be seen as a leader not only in matters financial, but in matters humane.
“The criticism around my decision was well-aired and was perhaps summarized in the views of those who claimed that I should have asked the UK’s permission to do it.
“I did not ask the UK’s permission because I believed then, and I believe now, that constitutionally, immigration is a domestic issue. As such, allowing the immigration of four foreigners was within my power as Premier of my country…”
The former Premier said he “recognized then, and still do now, that any decision by the UK on this issue would not have been based on what was best for Bermuda, but against the background of the UK’s historical, diplomatic stances with other nations involved in the matter. The UK would have done what was best for the UK — not Bermuda.
“To connect this to the premise of this address, the relationship is not based on mutual interests. It is based on superiority. They would have figured out what was best for the UK, and handed down their opinion to us irrespective of our needs or wishes,” said Dr Brown.
In June 2009 four Chinese nationals of Uighur ethnicity were released after spending seven years in Guantanamo Bay. They landed in Bermuda at around 6am on a private jet, with Bermudians being made aware of their arrival a few hours later that day.
Controversy erupted after Dr. Brown’s decision to accept the Uighurs without first consulting all members of Cabinet or Government House. There were protests locally, and Dr. Brown survived a vote of “no confidence” after Parliament rejected the resolution.
The UK Government expressed its displeasure at the time, with the UK Foreign Office saying that Bermuda should have consulted the UK on whether this “falls within their competence or is a security issue for which the Bermuda government do not have delegated responsibility,” while US Attorney General Eric Holder said, “We are extremely grateful to the government of Bermuda for its assistance in the successful resettlement of these four detainees, and we commend the leadership they have demonstrated…”
Dr Brown said, “We can spar over the technicalities of immigration law and the ability of the Government of Bermuda to determine who comes in and who leaves the Island. We can rehearse the well-worn argument about my so-called “dictatorial” style and the lack of advance knowledge to even my Cabinet colleagues on this decision.”
“All of this would be entertaining but it would not change one important fact — If any of you wanted to do what I did, the only way to do it is the way it was done.”
Speaking on a Commission of Inquiry, Dr Brown said: “I have nothing to fear from a Royal Commission of Inquiry; I have nothing to hide. In fact, there are supporters who have encouraged me to call for one myself to clear my name and the name of the PLP Government.”
“But on this point, I actually concur with a view recently expressed by Bermuda’s Governor Gozney. To send Bermuda through such an expensive and time-consuming exercise would achieve nothing.
“From any objective viewpoint, it would risk creating a crisis of confidence in our island at a time of international economic uncertainty, and still achieve nothing. Anyone who wishes for that has no right to claim to be a concerned Bermudian.”
Concluding the speech, Dr Brown said: “I end where I started: Is the UK / OT relationship based on mutual interests? No.”
Premier Paula Cox is also scheduled to speak at the conference in the Cayman, as is political commentator and PLP Constituency #17 Pembroke Central candidate Walton Brown. Premier Cox’s speech is titled “Surveying the past, mapping the future,” while Mr Brown will present a paper on “New Millennium Colonialism: How the United Kingdom Sustains the UK-OT Relationship.”
Dr Brown’s full speech is below:
The title of this address is laced with temptation. Firstly, one is tempted to make the speech short. The question posed is easily answered. “Is the UK/OT relationship based on mutual interests?”
No.
A slightly longer version could go something like this “The relationship is based on some interests, but they are hardly mutual…”
However, I shall not be tempted, and will do justice to the invitation to speak and the fact that this is my first public address since demitting office almost two years ago. It is time.
Let me first declare that I hold no animosity toward the British or to their various agents with whom I have come into contact. In fact, the lady in whose name most of their work is done is a gracious, kind and engaging individual.
I speak from firsthand knowledge because in 2009, Bermuda hosted the Queen and Prince Philip, and my wife and I spent a couple of days in their company, culminating in an elegant dinner at which we were the hosts. To my certain recollection, the Queen bore none of the traits of many of those who profess to be her servants in our lands across the Region.
To fully understand the nature of the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories, you must call to remembrance the fundamentals of the British Empire. That institution is based upon a simple belief — the British are superior.
To deny the existence of that belief destroys the foundational understanding of the relationship. It means that not only can you not understand them, but you cannot understand us — the peoples of the remaining territories.
In 2012, in Bermuda and other territories, our minds are still captivated by the British and their superiority — we “drank the tea”. And, I don’t know who perpetuates the myth more — the colonizers or the colonized.
Consider: When I became leader of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party and thus Premier of Bermuda, as leaders of countries do when they land by plane in their home countries, I had the driver bring the car on the tarmac to pick me up.
As a matter of practice in Bermuda, that had not been done by past premiers. Some of the colonized spoke up to say: “Who does he think he is? Let him go through Customs and Immigration like everybody else.”
Yet, no one has ever questioned why our British Governors always have their cars on the tarmac when they return home, and do not go through Customs and Immigration like everybody else. But, they are superior. Unfortunately, this is in the minds of the British and in many of ours as well.
What about budget cutbacks? During these recessionary times, there has been a hue and cry all over Bermuda and other nations for leaders and public officials to voluntarily take a decrease in salary — to lead by example. Bermuda’s Parliamentarians, led by our Premier, voted themselves a pay cut this past Friday.
Union workers have been asked to take cuts, certain public services have been reduced, a few social programs have lost funding — but not once have I heard even a whisper that the $1.6 million annual outlay that goes to Government House should be cut back.
Is there no moral obligation for the British Governor to lead by example, and volunteer to take a pay cut? Oops, I forgot. The British are superior.
On our tiny island where land is scarce, our Premier’s actual residence is nice, but unspectacular. It sits in something of a 7-acre shallow glen just off of a major thoroughfare, while the Premier’s official residence is a beautiful front that has entertainment, but no residential capacity.
On the other hand, Government House, where the British Governor lives and entertains, is a stately, manor-like structure sitting on a 37-acre hill overlooking the North Shore, replete with a private chef and other staff. But, don’t forget, they are superior
The steady diet of British superiority has had its effect, even on the independent nations of the Region. In one such country, I marveled at a commemorative plaque, erected to mark the opening of a capital project, completed with UK aid. The citation reads in part: “The British were here, thank God”.
So the sole “mutual” element of the relationship is British superiority. No amount of Whitehall posturing about “a new relationship” and “partnership through progress” and all of the other catchy phrases used over the last decade can dilute this single truth.
In the past, I have described the relationship as unnatural. I have called it so because as an adult male, free from my mother’s skirts and my father’s correction, I can see it no other way. If nations develop and grow then there must be paths to that growth, one of which must logically and naturally include genuine self-determination.
By definition, the relationship between the UK and the OTs cannot be based on mutual interests. The assigned Governors, or overseers, are accountable to the UK and so must safeguard the UK’s interests first. How is this manifested in reality?
Here are some examples:
- Before giving Assent to any law passed by the elected representatives of an OT, the Governor considers whether the law is okay with the UK, and in some cases, takes early advice from Whitehall on whether he should sign it. Mutual interests? I think not.
- In some OTs, the Governor sits in Cabinet. Unelected, not a native, fresh from Hammersmith or Knightsbridge but he sits in Cabinet in a foreign land? Mutual interests? No! Colonialism at its best!
- And then there is the “Entrustment”……. Before doing some things in the name of your people and your country, formal permission in writing is required in the form of an Entrustment. So your government’s election by popular vote, and the mandate that typically brings in normal democracies, is regulated by an institution professing mutual interests but whose function in the Entrustment is to protect the interests of the UK. Mutual interests? Certainly not!
I should pause and add here that there is one example from my tenure where mutual interests did shine through. In the modern era, Governors are willing to shed the uniform. You know the one — pith helmet, feathers, sword and such regalia. It is not commensurate with the image the UK wishes to project now.
Two Governors of Bermuda have offered to shed the uniform, and we have declined their generosity. I cannot speak for my successor, but my reasons were 6 clear. The uniform is exactly symbolic of the office held and the relationship experienced.
The imagery is as accurate today as it was in 1912, and the discomfort Governors have in wearing the uniform is equaled by the discomfort we endure in the unnatural relationship it represents.
Before I turn to the Uighurs, we must examine the modern manifestation of the relationship. The modern economies of the remaining OTs in this Region have been divided between tourism and international business.
Our tourism fortunes have varied; by and large,we are at liberty to build what we like to house the guests we are also free to invite. In international business, there is, of course, just a little more interest. The global economic situation has caused a reexamination of the relationship, albeit somewhat quietly.
For a short while, the fiction of contingent liability figured in some discussions about the financial dealings within the OTs. No-one seems to have asked how, where there is no liability or responsibility, we have the specter raised of contingent liability.
Imagine the UK, with all its own internal issues, and most prominently as the banana peel of European financing woes, inferring that they could and would assume some liability for what they might see as financial issues in the OTs. That would be a first.
It would be a stunning surprise, considering how former Prime Minister Gordon Brown threw Bermuda and other OT’s under the bus at the G-20 meetings in April, 2009. The former Prime Minister did not see the need for Offshore Financial Centres in the global economy, referred to us as tax havens, and spearheaded the attack on many of Britain’s own OT’sas if Britain had no relationship with us.
Bermuda and others were grey-listed by OECD as a result, when a benign heads-up or simple representation of our interests at the table would perhaps have given many OT’s time to acquire more Tax Information Exchange Agreementsand entirely avoid unnecessary grey-listing. Mutual interests? In this instance, how about no interest at all? More like, “Have we met before?”
The second part of the title of this address is “Bermuda and the Uighurs – A Case Study”. In June of 2009, I agreed to accept into Bermuda, four men who had been detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The decision to do so was mine alone and was based upon a number of factors.
In the first instance, few opportunities exist for a 21 square mile island to secure the gratitude and respect of a friendly superpower nation. In no discussion on this issue was there a request for, or an offer of, any quid pro quo. There didn’t need to be. Our act of friendship alone would be sufficient demonstration to an historic Administration that Bermuda could be more than a nice place to visit or do business.
To better understand the importance of the US-Bermuda relationship, one only need read the quote of Dr. Charles Ludolph, Executive Vice President of the Albright Stonebridge Group in his report entitled “US Bermuda Economic Relations: Economic Impact Study 2011″:
“Building its economic partnership with the United States…..Bermuda, for the first time ever, was the most important international provider of insurance services to the United States.”
Secondly, and more importantly, a community of 65,000 rarely has the opportunity to set the standard in anything. The nature of the global stage is such that bold gestures can become mired in historical diplomatic minefields. Increasingly, small island states and emerging countries are not confined to the fringes of international affairs.
Opportunities to play a meaningful role in this area must be seized by those who bear no such burdens. This is particularly so when justice and humanity cry out to be exercised.
My decision to accept these men into Bermuda was guided by the humanity of the choice presented, and the opportunity for my country to be seen as a leader not only in matters financial, but in matters humane.
The criticism around my decision was well-aired and was perhaps summarized in the views of those who claimed that I should have asked the UK’s permission to do it. I did not ask the UK’s permission because I believed then, and I believe now, that constitutionally, immigration is a domestic issue.
As such, allowing the immigration of four foreigners was within my power as Premier of my country in the same sense that the Government issues work permits for foreigners to live in Bermuda everyday without permission from the UK.
It was the British themselves who portended such disputes over constitutional responsibilities years ago when the FCO, in the document “Overseas Territories: Relationship with the UK” observed the following: “More generally, we are moving into a world which is becoming ever-more interconnected, in which the distinction between domestic and foreign policy will become less and less clear.”
Tangentially, I recognized then, and still do now, that any decision by the UK on this issue would not have been based on what was best for Bermuda, but against the background of the UK’s historical, diplomatic stances with other nations involved in the matter. The UK would have done what was best for the UK — not Bermuda.
To connect this to the premise of this address, the relationship is not based on mutual interests. It is based on superiority. They would have figured out what was best for the UK, and handed down their opinion to us irrespective of our needs or wishes.
We can spar over the technicalities of immigration law and the ability of the Government of Bermuda to determine who comes in and who leaves the Island. We can rehearse the well-worn argument about my so-called “dictatorial” style and the lack of advance knowledge to even my Cabinet colleagues on this decision.
You can go to YouTube and view the living record of the reaction of some of my people to the decision and how they chose to communicate it to the world.
All of this would be entertaining but it would not change one important fact — If any of you wanted to do what I did, the only way to do it is the way it was done.
I have already endured the aftermath of the decision and have been subjected to all manner of backlash as a result. In fact, it has become clear to me that some of the embarrassed British, and offended Bermudian residents who never liked me and my Government anyway, will stop at nothing.
A tiny group calling themselves “Concerned Bermudians,” who clearly have no concern for Bermuda at all, have invented improprieties with which they attempt to smear me, without offering a single shred of proof.
Not content with maligning me, they seek to embroil Bermuda in a state of constitutional and economic turmoil by writing to England calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into my administration.
They should know this: I have nothing to fear from a Royal Commission of Inquiry; I have nothing to hide. In fact, there are supporters who have encouraged me to call for one myself to clear my name and the name of the PLP Government.
But on this point, I actually concur with a view recently expressed by Bermuda’s Governor Gozney. To send Bermuda through such an expensive and time-consuming exercise would achieve nothing. From any objective viewpoint, it would risk creating a crisis of confidence in our island at a time of international economic uncertainty, and still achieve nothing. Anyone who wishes for that has no right to claim to be a concerned Bermudian
Say what you will about my actions in bringing the Uighurs to Bermuda. I behaved like a leader, and did what was right for Bermuda. And, again, I did it in the only way it could be done.If you think otherwise, cast your mind back to 2007 in Bermuda.
Gang violence in Bermuda was rearing its head. Gun play was rare but increasing. Gangs were forming and turf skirmishes were rising. For better or for worse, I spent decades in California where the gang culture is ingrained and the fight against it is well known and respected.
When I recognized the signs in my own country, I sounded the alarm. The record will reflect that my call for overseas assistance went virtually unheeded. I knew then and said so at the time that this gang thing could not be allowed to grow — that it had to be stamped out without delay.
My Government’s request went through the proper channels — we made presentations; we urged action; we even engaged in some saberrattling to spur the British to act. We wanted to engage the assistance of former American law enforcement personnel because gang activity in Bermuda best mirrored the American model.
Our entreaties were given cursory attention and rejected. We were provided with the UK version of assistance, which essentially did not work. We now have a more visible gang problem in Bermuda, which might have been prevented had we been granted permission to deal with this phenomenon early.
So, were our mutual interests served in this case? Could it be that the American option we suggested was rejected because Whitehall couldn’t have a former colony fix the problems of an OT? Could it be that the mutual interests that are supposed to characterize the relationship mean that priorities are set between Government House and the FCO while the local Government struggles to be heard?
If you really want to hear something weird, listen to this. While I was Premier, someone altered cancelled checks and placed them in Government files to make it appear that a Minister and I received kickbacks on a Government job — a clear forgery and a clear attempt to frame a sitting Premier and a Minister for crimes…perhaps to bring down the Government.
The Governor announced that the local police would investigate. The local police did investigate, but supposedly could find no chargeable culprit in Bermuda; he was said to reside in Canada.
A case for Scotland Yard, or for diplomatic channels? I would think so. But our Governor did not request help from England. The criminal case against these persons who committed treason against the Bermuda Government was allowed to founder and die.
Nine months ago, after I had ceased to be Premier, a convicted perjurer made the totally unfounded claim that I had attempted to coerce from him some part of his worthless company.
No shred of evidence was presented, yet the Governor announced that the local police would investigate to see whether I had engaged in criminal acts. The Governor also later announced that he was requesting assistance from U.S. investigatory agencies, presumably the FBI.
Mutual interests that would not call in Scotland Yard to investigate a conspiracy and crimes to frame a sitting Premier and Minister? Mutual interests where the UK would allow a criminal who committed crimes against a sitting Premier and Minister to reside peacefully in Canada without pursuit through diplomatic channels?
Mutual interests where the UK’s representative would call for an investigation of a former Premier and seek assistance from the U.S.based on the rants of a known, convicted liar, but seek no help from the UK when a crime has been known to be committed against a sitting Premier, Minister and the Government of the day. Mutual interests?
I end where I started: Is the UK / OT relationship based on mutual interests? No.
Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen.
-
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Does this man not have any shame?
HAAHAHAHAAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH…. so funny I just wanna cry ;-(
DREB’s aim was to eliminate Front St. and close Govt House. DREB and his mates in Cabinet did much to ruin Bermuda’s reputation.
The Governor of Bermuda from December 2007 is career diplomat Sir Richard Gozney. His 2011 salary is $231,800 paid by the Bermuda Government. His perks include the use of a BMW 750Li, the same make of car used by Premier of Bermuda .
I’d assume Dr EB now has a significant portfolio of real estate and investments.
But I know that Bermuda now has a significant portfolio of overpriced infrastructure projects where there was significant evidence of fraud.
Is he telling the truth this time or is he decieving us again…for our own good of course! I can never tell the difference. I always feel like Im am being preached to when he gives a speech. I feel like afterwards I should be sing that church song with the Chorus “HOW GREAT THOU ART, HOW GREAT THOU ART”!
No, Victor – clearly he doesn’t
I don’t think he needs to have shame as he has pride. Having read the speech it was spot on, and there was no one better to deliver the message than someone who led the country.
The funny thing is that Dr. Brown stands for what do many of you hate, Black MEN who aren’t afraid and who do not bow down.
Keep up the hate, and instead of listening to the message shoot the messenger.
No VOR, it’s not black men that we hate, its cocky arrogant holier than thou a holes that use our money to wipe their a**s with that we so passionately detest.
oh yeah, we don’t like disklike black men…. just Confident back men.
Keep it up, i think you are just like doctor brown said, well colonised.
If you read his speach you would see who the real hater is. Further more all those that justify this type of speech about any are truely the haters its 2012, the past is the past and no matter how many times you, I or anyone else tells it, it is what is WAS. You can either dwell on it and become “8 vote” or you can work on making Bermuda the icon of the whole by making Bermuda the paridise it can be. Which is more important gaining cheep politicial points while destroying the country or gaining a country were all work for the betterment of it and ALL it’s people.
LOL
Well put Voice of Reason. He is a black man that is not afraid to let go of Mother’s coat strings and is not afraid to bow down. He is strong, this is what many are afraid of.
Specialneedsgirl4u , still spouting your usual sh..
One minute he is strong, but then he bows down, what the hell are you on. I don’t think that Mia or Voice of Reasin have eben read this speech or article.
“..no one better to deliver the message than someone who BLED the country.” ?
Thank you ‘Voice of Treason’
Can I just mention a few confident black men who were not afraid, did not bow down, and were liked by white folks during their political careers? How about Gilbert Darrell, Walter Brangman, Arnold Francis, Austin Thomas, Sir E.T. Richards, Sir John Swan, Dr. Clarence James, Stanley Ratteray, Jim Woolridge, Lenny Swan, and perhaps we can include Cecil Dismont and Sir James Rufus Astwood although neither were in the political arena.
Many of these men, including the former members of the Progressive Labour Party, were castigated and labeled as traitors by many of the black leaders of their day. The truth is that they all, and many more, realized that they were living in a bi-racial community and that it was in our country’s best interest that they got on well with both black people and white people. Tragically, most of them were derided, and still are, as being “Uncle Tom’s” or “too white”! Yes, they were hated by by the black community not the white community.
Yet when some of them passed away they were hailed by the black community as titans and heroes.
Yep well said and pointed out. Just furthers the point that most times it’s the real haters calling other haters. Kinda like every time the PLP supporters mention the US Tea Party yet neglect to mention what they be doing around Alaska Hall every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday…. you get the point just read Maddog’s, LV’s, SG4U’s, “the voice’s (lacks the reason part)”posts and sentiments, and any other that needs to place some sort of pride description in front of a man strong or other wise. Black, White, Asian, Indian, what do they have in common they are PEOPLE. Some self motivated out for them selves and other by compassion of their fellow man. It’s our perception of the person that is the variable as no one truly knows what is in there heart or mind.
LOL stop the hate devorce yourself from emotion as it clouds your judgment of character and allows you to be controllable.
He and certain others (but not all within the PLP have made it clear in the past have made it clear that they whenever possible – give business and contacts to, and support those individuals that LOOK LIKE THEM? Remember Berkely / Proactive…for one? They have stripped WHITE (BERMUDIANS) of their business and handed them over to others! Remember the Bda Cement Co….for one? IHe openly addmitting to deceivig us in he past..HIS WORDS NOT MINE! If he was working to bring us together for the betterment of ALL Bermudians that would be one thing, but he didn’t and he won’t now. However, despite all that he has done you still don’t expect anyone that does not LOOK LIKE HIM, to be anything but in love with him. I respect the fact that you might suppoort him or your party but you should be trying to pull the race card out of the deck again because someone does not agree or like HIM! By the way , just so you know..nobody reacts to the race card trick anymore…it has been played too many times. I personally think DB did some good..he FIXED TCD and it was broken, broken, broken….but that does NOT mean I think overall he was GOOD FOR BERMUDA. Oh, by the way before you say he has given jobs to white members of the community show me one that was not a PLP member.
This man right here is the hater. He hates white people and he hates the UK. He dosen’t actually say that, but we know what he means. We’re not idiots.
The sole ‘mutual’ element of the relationship is British superiority,” this is a fact, but most Bermudians with a colonial mentality are blind to see it another way. Sad indeed, afraid to cut free from Mother’s coat strings.
Tell us the benefits of independnce.
Said it when it was announced he was going. THIS WILL NOT TURN OUT WELL. 273 blogs and counting on this topic. I don’t believe any other comments have been made by a single person in BDA’ has ever raised so much discussion. Is this a bad thing; that’s for you to decide? Personally, any-one who speaks as if they are speaking on behalf of a nation, government on issues that are so sensitive, is just wrong and out of order. Even if you back what he said, damn really, stick it to them whenever you can seems to be his motto?
The defenders of his actions seem to go off course by raising the fact he is a brave, intelligent, educated black man? I don’t believe this actually being doubted. This hog wash about colonial mentality, British Superiority, could not be any further from the truth. Really; join the year 2012. If an individual feels protected and comforted by having the ties we currently have with Britain, than that’s their right. When I last checked, the majority objected to Independence proving that the individual is not alone. So why does the remaining few think it’s OK to call people who don’t agree with them names, when in fact, they hold the minority on this opinion. Typical behavior of one that continues to support and follow an individual or group, no matter what idiotic decision or comment they make.
Hey here’s one for you… why don’t you become brave and have a mind of your own and challenge the dumb sh!t instead of wasting all you time defending and making excuses.
IT’S AN ELECTION SPEECH, but Bermudians have changed since he and Burch DEPARTED!!!
The political scene in Bermuda reached a turning point on May 16 1963, with the first ever General Election fought under a party banner. The Bermuda Progressive Labour Party was founded February 1963 and, led by lawyers Mr. Arnold Francis and Mr. Walter Robinson, published an election platform, ran nine candidates in the General Election and succeeded in winning an impressive six seats.
The Parliamentary Election Act was passed, giving every adult twenty-five years and over the right to vote. The Watlington Amendment was also passed, giving landowners who possessed rateable property anywhere in Bermuda a second or “plus” vote in the constituencies in which they lived. Parishes were retained as electoral districts, but were now each divided into two constituencies – i.e. 18 in total, each of which returned two Members to the House of Assembly.
Did Ewart speak at the same Caribbean Conference in Grand Cayman that I attended all day today? I didn’t see him, nor did I see Walton Brown. Paula Cox (who is Plenary Presenter at the continuing conference on Friday morning) was in the Sir Vassel Johnson Hall (the principle presentation venue) all day, along with Mr. Scott but I saw neither hide nor hare of Ewart Brown or Walton Brown Jr who were scheduled to participate in a panel session with Dr Peter Clegg in a tiny room (ETC#2) with a tiny audience during the morning. Ewart Brow’s presentation has been promulgated out of all proportion!
what a sick man. he has a lot in common with the way Robert Mugabe thinks.
Make no mistake. The “sick man” has plans to make a come-back and take over Bermuda.
and how do you propose he will do this?
If we went independent he could easily do so but would have to hire about 110 body guards afterwards.
Yup , I would not be surprised if Brown is still running the Island.
I will say it again…. remember the letters EB had all of his cronies signed …. take that as a hint that he is still working his evilness behind the scenes and the Premier is still writing the cheques…
ha ha ha. Well he would be booted out real quick like I can tell you that.
So True….and yet i have this feeling that when he sits in his Martha Vineyard estate, he thinks back on his revenge on Bermuda….. Thanks Dr. Brown and the PLP members who couldn’t stand up to him….your all useless.
Dr Brown was born in Bermuda to Ewart Sr. and Helene Brown of Flatts. His mother, Helene Brown, was a member of parliament for the United Bermuda Party (UBP), as was his aunt, Gloria Juanita McPhee, who became Bermuda’s first female cabinet minister. He attended the public Central School (today known as Victor Scott Primary) in Pembroke until the age of 11, after which he was awarded a government scholarship to attend Berkeley Institute. He eventually was sent by his parents to live with an aunt in Jamaica, where he excelled in sports, particularly cricket and track and field, while attending St Jago High School in Spanish Town, eventually representing that country in the 400-yard sprint.
Brown’s sporting achievements led him to university in the United States of America. The University of Illinois offered him a scholarship, but Brown chose instead to attend Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C.. In 1966, he represented Bermuda at the Commonwealth Games, reaching the second round of the 400-yard dash. As a student leader, he was a vocal figure during the Washington riots, speaking alongside campus activists and Black Panther leaders such as Stokely Carmichael. Brown graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, lettering in football and track and field.
Inspired by his uncle, G.B. McPhee, a practising physician, Brown decided to continue his education and become a doctor. He earned an M.D. from Howard’s College of Medicine, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a Master of Public Health from the University of California. His key areas of study included family medicine, population control and international health. Brown remained in Los Angeles, acquiring US citizenship and opening a medical practice, the Vermont Century Medical Clinic, in 1974.
Brown received the Physicians Recognition Award from the American Medical Association in 1977, the Grassroots Health Award from the Sons of Watts California in 1979, the Community Leadership Award from the Dubois Academic Institute in 1982, and the NAACP’s Pacesetter Award in 1984.
Brown became a director for the Marcus Garvey School, a K-8 school in Los Angeles, which named him Humanitarian of the Year in 1991. He also spent time as an assistant professor in the Department of Family Practice at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. That is a strong black educated man.
WHOOAA! You stopped the resume in 1991, twenty one years ago! Talk about selective memory. Had you covered 1998-2012 you might have encompassed the BHC scandal, 2 sons in prison, $40 million over budget on Berkeley, Dockyards $60 million crumbling Jetty, $10 million over TCD/Emisssions fiasco, $30 million over on The Courthouse, $800 million unaccounted for in accounts filed with the Auditor General, collapsed hotel negotiations with developers willing to pour millions into ST.Georges, Global Hue and the unaccounted for millions out of tourism and……………….Uighurs, Lie to you, cedar beams,fast (?)ferries, rush to implode Club Med AND the Golf Clubhouse, financing is now in place, we will be building shortly ………is there anything else we forgot? David Bolden?
Does a “Strong black educated man” Have carte blanche as leader of This country Bermuda?
Wonder how he bought that house in Martha vineyard!!!,
The same way everyone else on Martha Vineyard did !!!!!
Who cares, lets just be grateful that he has somewhere else to spend time.
That is his wife’s(????) now how about a Charity coming out of the first or was it the second “Love Festival” at Dockyard…. and now, Bermuda can’t afford to “Feel the Love”…
You are way off base, guess you know little history as well which is typical of the OBA/UBP. Go read up on your history son, Mugabe can not be compared to Brown,,,,so I guess you stop spreading myths.
Brown can not be compaired to Obama but that has not stopped the PLP from trying to grasp at it as we all know they are both black………………..
LOLOLOLOL
@Mia…absolutely right!!! Mugabe can not be compared to Brown. But wait! Brown and Mugabe have a lot in common: Hatred for the British and, well, large numbers of their own people. They both took a country that was flourishing where there was milk and honey and created poverty and misery…give Brown more time, he’ll get there like his mentor. Well, let’s talk about meglomaniacs…two peas in a pod, the two of them couldn’t be more silmilar. But I am sure there is a difference in there somewhere…surely!
This guy’s got some balls. He is personally responsible for the plight that Bermuda currently finds itself in, between the graft, allegations of corruption and race-baiting that he personally initiated. How can he sleep at night? What a horrible, evil person he is.
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social, political, historical and/or industrial dominance by whites.[1] White supremacy, as with racial supremacism in general, is rooted in ethnocentrism and a desire for hegemony and power, [2] and has frequently resulted in violence against non-whites. Different forms of white supremacy have different conceptions of who is considered white, and not all white supremacist organizations agree on who is their greatest enemy.
obesity is the belief that you can sit around all day in your underpants necking burritos while stalking the vulnerable and the innocent with race baiting innuendo (and plagiarizing the works of the talented)
Bravo sir!
Thank God he is gone and will hopefully continue his speaking engagements somewhere else…..his lawn is bigger than my lawn….good grief….the gratitude and respect of a friendly superpower nation? ego knows no bounds…….
It doesn’t matter because he was still invited to represent Bermuda & if Paula Cox doesn’t stand up & disagree with his speech it may translate to Britain as Bermuda’s agreement with it. Those in Cayman knew he would do this & this is why they invited him to feed right out of their hands. The Cayman premier must be so happy right now. All keep watch as I bet there will be world news of this from Cayman which will in short say, “I told you so!”
@Tommy, I wish I could say you were wrong, but you are completely right!
Bye bye any hope we have of attract more IB, or retaining the IB we have now. Ms Cox should have refused point blank to speak at any conference where they would even contemplate having this man as a speaker.
A rascist power hungry self-serving ignoramus of the highest order.
Why should she disagree, he did not write anything that was not fact. It is all facts and yet many turn away from it,just because of their dislike for the persons.
“The sole mutual element of the Bermuda/UK relationship is one of British superiority” This is not a fact because Britain has let Bermuda have a free ruling government since 1964. Proof of this is our laws are quite different from British laws this is because we have been allowed to make our own. Wish we weren’t because I like British laws better & this is an annoyance of mine.
I agree :}
British superiority!?!?!?!?!?! Ewart thinks he’s superior to the human race. Would someone please put a mussel on this rabid flee bag. He’s still living in the times of Stokely Carmichael spreading his fascist views claiming Bermudians feel the same when we don’t.
Tommy, for crying out loud, it’s a “muzzle” jeesh!
WOW! I didn’t realize I had a chief editor. How much do you want for the spell check? I’ve got 2 petty cents you can rub together.
Accepted! …these are hard times, I had to find a second job.
Alright, but you won’t get any union benefits. I called to complain about they’re transportation system one too many times & they hung up on me just before screaming down the phone that they are known as one of the best systems in the world. I thought that was quite rude as they didn’t give me a chance to say, “My a$$ you are!”
BTW it’s only 2 cents a day so you won’t get 4 for correcting my they’re to their. Sorry but things are tuff for employers as well.
Tommy is it your colonized mentality that you’re not able to free your mind, and maybe you’re a……….s.will follow. Why are you not addressing the issues in the speech? instead you take the easy way out and attack the messenger. I expected more from you, but guess you’re the Coward after all.Afterall there are some valid points in this speech, even if you dislike his position on issues, it does not make it wrong, just because you disgree. please come better than this….
Trust me when I type I’m the last person who has closed my mind. Not sure what you mean by aspecting more of me but I guess you’ve read my post so you see I’m not afraid to type what I feel no matter who blasts me. Do you aspect me to change MY VIEW I repeat MY VIEW because you say I may be a coward.
Britain hardly subjects us to anything so we are not lowly subjects as Ewart believes we are. His buddies in America subject us more than britain has ever done. They force us to succumb to their laws of prohibition that have destroyed our community by allowing drug dealers to profit. Even Britain has been forced to fight their supposed war on terrorism just to remain in their good books. We owe more to Britain then the States but Ewart goes behind Britain’s back & brings in ex POWs to make the worst war criminals in the world happy. Britain has set up consulates world wide so we don’t have to & they cost way more than $1.6 million annually. Britain has saved us from ourselves in the 1970′s riots & has not even asked us to fully pay the debt back. Britain has allowed single Bermudians UK passports that allow us to travel in most UE countries without a visa. They’ve also allowed Bermudian single mothers with UK passports to live off of welfare in their country. So what if the governor wants to show boat this doesn’t effect us our government says we want to keep our laws the same as the most red neck states in America & the governor says OK. At least the UK allows our young to still go to college/university in their country even if caught with one joint but America doesn’t. So what has Ewart gained us by his good measure towards the U.S.? During Ewart’s rule we have lost loads of money, IB workers, natural land & gained loads of non IB workers that take Bermudians jobs & this snowball has gotten too big to stop the momentum of. Educate yourself about Ewart’s university years & his buddies & learn what was instigated in Washington at that time from them. The destruction of those washington towns may seem more devastating then what Ewart has done here but it took a few years for them to get to that point & we are on the way there also. So no I don’t agree with Ewart’s points because his idea of colonization means we bow to england but we don’t & instead we have figuratively spit in their faces like spoiled children many times while they keep forgiving us like loving parents. Luckily we have never figuratively spit in Americas face because Guatemala & El Salvador have & ask anyone from there what a horrible reaction America responded with.
Tommy, Those things are minor, and sounds like your looking for perks and handouts to maintain a relationship with UK. Sounds like you only like the little benefits of the relationship? Please those items can be achieved regardless. I am disappionted in you. Bermuda is capable of standing on its own, we are mature, and UK does not do that much for Bermuda. UK’s level of debit right now, how can they really come to Bermuda’s rescue? Please Tommy,deep a little deeper into this matter and stop writing like a persons that been locked in a colonized mentality that you can not see beyond your nose.
Are you serious Mia? Name one thing we produce to sustain us? You whole argument revolves around your perception of the issues and not the issues. Again you seem to suffer from what you think Tommy is suffering from. As an avid reader and contributor I assure you that any “Fact” that you think EB mentioned in his speech is really his opinion which you happen to share and others disagree with. You think access to high learning in the UK, holding a UK passport that could allow all sorts of opportunities in the EU not stubbed by anything like term limits attached to the visa you think we can get on our own is a minor things. Please name what Bermuda gains as a whole via independence.
LOL please don’t call others small minded or ask them to free their minds, just know that I am saying to you that a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Sure I like the the benefits of the relationship but would not call them little. Can you give me one example of any country that has gone independent from England that is not third world now? Only one I can think of is America which has had to take land from natives & spill blood of the innocent to get where they are. All of these other countries have experienced severe social unrest & major political corruption after & some at present because of their independence.
How do you suggest we fund the currently unfunded global consulates? I would like to remind you before answering we already are in huge debt of our own doing. We need the consulates unless we expect not to travel anywhere so definitely not minor. We are not capable & we are not mature because if we were our debt percentage of GDP wouldn’t be so high. We hardly have any gross domestic product left & Ewart is one of the main causes for this. UK’s debt is only 63.0% per cent of GDP while Ewarts buddies is 75% of GDP not to mention UK has close ties with the EU who are going head over heels to help their allied nations out. We need to steer clear of any close relationship with the U.S. & keep what’s left of ours with the U.K. because even though in the old times they were tyrants they have learned their lesson while even with Obama in charge the U.S. still goes on their senseless oil raids in countries they don’t own.
YOu are comnpletely insane if you think the possibility of education, benefits and a passport are ‘small’ details. The UK passport afforded to US gives us access to the largest economic zone on the planet. To throw this away is complete lunacy. I dont even know what to say if you cant understand what exactly unrestricted access to Europe provides Bermudians. People in non EU member Eastern European states would give literally everything they have for an opportunity to be presented with what we have. I am speechless.
Jus when u think s#it’s gonna get better …the f#@kin’ Devil Appears spreading utter random garbage it all stinks of ILLUMINATI and their plans for YOU!!!
If you’re not preparing an Exit NOW…..hahaha!poor you
You all are like moths around a lightbulb….that light goes out (which it will) and ya all F#@kD Up
I noticed that you all say “Dr. Brown is a Strong Black Man”…I have NO qualms about that at all ….BUT are YOU!
He can weather a storm….sure hope YOU can TOO!
I’ll Stop there coz i gotta finish my Money transfers…
You have been misinformed about Washington. What would be more educational for the you would be to rent the film, EYE ON THE PRIZE” which airs every year during Black History Month in the USA. This would at least assist you with accuracy. You are welcome.
Here’s some information that we don’t have to wait once a year for about Washington.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Washington,_D.C._riots
http://www.carolmoore.net/sfm/dc-riots1968.html
You clearly know nothing of Stokely Carmichael.
I know Stokely Carmichael apposed Martin Luther kings way of thinking.
I know Stokely Carmichael termed all of European descent to be honkies.
I know Stokely Carmichael suggested that anyone who joined the Washington Riots should arm themselves with a gun.
I know Stokely Carmichael was a brain washing racist.
I know Stokely Carmichael believed in Marxist views.
I know Ewart Brown personally knew Stokely Carmichael & follows his beliefs.
I prefer Hoagie Carmichael
Who the entertainer? Can you imagine these two Carmichael’s on the stage together? Hoagy would be singing heart & soul while Stokely shouts about this honkie trying to steal his people’s music & Reg DuValle would be in the audience shaking his head in despair.
HA TOMMY COUNT WHY ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF DR EWART BROWN.
I UNDERSTAND NOW,WHY YOU WHITE PEOPLE WANTED TO GET RID OF DR BROWN BECAUSE YOU CAN’T TAKE A STRONG BLACK MAN, YOU WOULD RATHER SEE BLACK MAN DOWN WHEN THEY DONT SUPPORT YOU IDEOLOGY.
AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION DR BROWN WON’T BOW TO NONE OF YOU WHITE PEOPLE,AND HE DON’T CARE WHAT YOU THINK, HE PLAYED YOU AT YOUR OWN GAME.
EVERY CAPITAL PROJECT HE DONE, HE PUT A WHITE MAN UP FRONT BECAUSE THAT WHAT YOU UNDERSTAND. ALL OF YOU ARE FOOLS ESPECIALLY TOMMY COUNT……
A Tommy The Prominent members of the Black Panthers included Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, Fred Hampton, Fredrika Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, Kathleen Cleaver, David Hilliard, Angela Davis, Bobby Hutton and Elaine Brown.k Panthers were initially formed to protect local communities from police brutality and racism. The group also ran medical clinics and provided free food to school children. Within a couple of years the Black Panthers in Oakland were feeding over 10,000 children every day before they went to school because white people did not care about black people and from reading the comments you still don’t.
You make the Black Panthers seem like such peaceful folk. But I know different Martin Luther was peaceful & got the job done Stokely Carmichael was not & made things worse for the first successful African American community but please don’t take my word instead read the FACTS yourself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Washington,_D.C._riots
http://www.carolmoore.net/sfm/dc-riots1968.html
Maddog: That’s enough. No one is afraid of Ewart. He destroyed your island, dosen’t that bother you? He ran out money into the ground, does that bother you? Your grandchildren will be paying off this debt, does that bother you? He deceived us — by his own admission — again and again. Does that not bother you? He may be a doctor but he is certainly also deceiver.
We will see what the “real” strong black men feel when voting time comes.
You talk as if DReb was and is the only strong, educated, successful black man in the history of Bermuda! Where have you been young’un? Scheming is not a quality of character, nor is duplicitousness. Ego unchecked and refusal to share information with fellow cabinet members does not a great leader make.
Your loyalty is remarkable for someone who was not loyal to you.
If you in fact keep up with the news, your country has the highest debt load in its 400 year old history, it has the highest unemployment since the Sea Venture
survivors landed ashore, and it has the highest level of amity between the races
in the western world, despite what Eva’s broken record keeps dribbling.
I KNOW TOO ……
I know I could not go to Whitney because I was Black
I know my mother was discriminated against and experienced racism in the Caucus Room
While she served as a member of Parliament for the United Bermuda Party
I know I was not allowed to walk through Jenning’s Land because I was Black.
Now with this knowledge am I better off? You bet I am. I am stronger, I am smarter, I am totally conscious and aware. So is Ewart.
Do you know this?
http://www.carolmoore.net/sfm/dc-riots1968.html
Yes and apparently you know very little about an historical event. . I was making an attempt to expose you to fact.
How can, if you knew that Stokely Carmichael & his lackeys instigated the killing of 12 people & the burning of 1000 buildings & still seem to support this logic? You do realize those were 12 African Americans killed & almost all of those 1000 buildings were owned by African Americans even though it shouldn’t matter. Right? Do you think these African Americans deserved this for living Martin Luther King’s dream of prospering?
I KNOW TOO…
That I was not welcome in the old Berkeley Institute because I was white. I had to deliver a message to the school principle for my headmistriss at Northlands and it was made very clear to me that I was not welcome. The most surprising thing is that the very hateful and unprevoked comments were made by a student that was already in the office because he was obviously in trouble,and the secretary just giggled and the others in the office pretended that nothing happened and not one person spoke up, apologized, or repremanded him. At that point I was grateful to have been attending a truly diverse school (Northlands).
I know that I could not freely walk in the Spinning Wheel and many other establishments in the court street area on my own as I was not welcome.
I know that Dr. Brown and others have openly admiitted to giving contracts to people that LOOK LIKE HIM.
However, I don’t look back as I prefer to leave those idiots and memories behind instead of allowing them to consume me. Although many people don’t like to believe it… racism does exist in the black community. Many just pretend it does not and shift focus and conversation if forved to confront it. Until we stand up to all forms of racism and hate and understand we will keep slipping back.
Stokely Carmichael was born in the Port of Spain, Trinidad, on 29th June, 1941. Carmichael moved to the United States in 1952 and attended high school in New York City. He entered Howard University in 1960 and soon afterwards joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
In 1961 Carmichael became a member of the Freedom Riders. After training in non-violent techniques, black and white volunteers sat next to each other as they travelled through the Deep South. Local police were unwilling to protect these passengers and in several places they were beaten up by white mobs. In Jackson, Mississippi, Carmichael was arrested and jailed for 49 days in Parchman Penitentiary. Carmichael also worked on the Freedom Summer project and in 1966 became chairman of SNCC.
On 5th June, 1966, James Meredith started a solitary March Against Fear from Memphis to Jackson, to protest against racism. Soon after starting his march he was shot by sniper. When they heard the news, other civil rights campaigners, including Carmichael, Martin Luther King and Floyd McKissick, decided to continue the march in Meredith’s name.
When the marchers got to Greenwood, Mississippi, Carmichael and some of the other marchers were arrested by the police. It was the 27th time that Carmichael had been arrested and on his release on 16th June, he made his famous Black Power speech. Carmichael called for “black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, and to build a sense of community”. He also advocated that African Americans should form and lead their own organizations and urged a complete rejection of the values of American society.
The following year Carmichael joined with Charles V. Hamilton to write the book, Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America (1967). Some leaders of civil rights groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), rejected Carmichael’s ideas and accused him of black racism.
Carmichael also adopted the slogan of “Black is Beautiful” and advocated a mood of black pride and a rejection of white values of style and appearance. This included adopting Afro hairstyles and African forms of dress. Carmichael began to criticize Martin Luther King and his ideology of nonviolence. He eventually joined the Black Panther Party where he became “honorary prime minister”.
When Carmichael denounced United States involvement in the Vietnam War, his passport was confiscated and held for ten months. When his passport was returned, he moved with his wife, Miriam Makeba, to Guinea, where he wrote the book, Stokely Speaks: Black Power Back to Pan-Africanism (1971).
Carmichael, who adopted the name, Kwame Ture, also helped to establish the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party and worked as an aide to Guinea’s prime minister, Sekou Toure. After the death of Toure in 1984 Carmichael was arrested by the new military regime and charged with trying to overthrow the government. However, he only spent three days in prison before being released.
zzzzzzzz..old news old history, struggle struggle struggle, violence and revolution. MLK is revered today because he knew a better way. Nelson Mandela came out of prison to show a better way. Learn from these thinkers and leaders and enough with the racism already. If you looked around at the younger generation you will see they have dreams and ambition that is not being held back by your “view” that all life comes down to is a ‘struggle’ between the
‘white oppressor’ and the black race. Mia, Eva and anyone else stuck in the same groove, move on, don’t drag us down with your self pity and victimhood.
so its about the Governor being able to have more lavish parties than you l guess?
@Liars !! No dearest, can you read between the lines, it is a bigger message than that. the governor is only used as a way of attempting to make a point. How clueless you are on the real relationship between Britain and the OT. Please go do some real hard research, and maybe after a little education you will see the issue different, rather than salivate, dribble and spit saliva over Dr. Brown.
kiss my a#s Mia, rather then you telling me that I am under educated, rather, you should tell your dam self that, with a little research, you could have alot more business with the RIGHT attitude…….rather then telling me that l am under edgumicated……..PLP lacky!
oh oh!…its a wrap,she’s chipped…
MIA…one question, how exactly has our ties to Britian held us back? I for one can think of many benefits. I can’t think of one person in my life that I have ever met from any independant island (and I met dozens while studying in Canada)that ever felt sorry for me because I was from Bermuda. I can’t think of one that had more oportunities than I for no other reason other than where they were born. Even those from Independent countries! In fact many of them decided to live in Canada after grduation because there were more opportunites. Every single Bermudian that I knew that was in studying in Halifax and Toronto had every intention of returning home. If something about Britian is holding you or the good doctor back, maybe you need to look within and stop searching for answers elsewhere. Something tells me even if we were independent you would only be happy for a few days, then after that you will be searching again for another thing to blame for your emptiness or unhappiness.
Ewart…don’t speak for me ok. You don’t hold me beliefs or morals.
ya i wanna know who asked or authorized this person to speak on OUR behalf..
PuppetMaster coming out of the shadows….so WHO is the PUPPET..?
i wonder what speech has the ex premier prepared for the Cog?
WHO SAID THAT WHITE PEOPLE SPEAK ON BLACK PEOPLE BEHALF.
Why is everything about race with you? PEOPLE ARE GETTING TIRED OF IT. You should come up with something better if they’re paying you from the public purse.
yes, who said that? who indeed?
if EB was white how would all you people white/black/pro EB/anti EB feel abt him???
i like about 10 percent of what he says i will admit, the other 60 is neither here nor there, and then the remaining 30 is BS to me.
but his ethnicity doesn’t do anything to make me want to support him more/less and if he was white i sure wouldn’t listen to him more….
you? if what he said and did were the same but his skin was white what would you say?
Ewart has showed his hand here. What a disaster. Evenif you accept the British superiority argument,this does not justify acting outside of the knowledge of elected officials, senators and the general public on such an issue of tremendous potential impact. Nothing to do with british relations – and i am no fan of the brits either.
As for the humane argument is very very funny. Quid pro quo in the name of humane. Yea, right. We really had the welfare of these people in mind when we, oops, i mean Ewart, made the decision.
Democracy is a joke.
I hope Caymanians reliase that most we Bermudians aren’t as arrogant as this fool, and don’t take him as OUR representative.
@Joonya….NO it is even worse, they see you as thinking you are better than other OT countries, yet you’re afraid to let go of the Mother’s (UK) coat strings. Bermuda is still living in her house, yet your arrogance enough to suggest you are better, than other OT. Bermuda is locked in a colonized mentality, and that is difficult for Caymanian’s to understand. The Cayman’s are at least willing to examine the relationship with the UK, yet Bermudian push back against it. Many other OT does not understand Bermudians way of thinking and living. They believe that Bermudians do not even respect their own leaders and people. Also, they are aware that many of you do not even understand the real relationship of the UK’s relationship with OT. Yet many of you run your mouths, out of spite of Dr. Brown. The OT is very much aware of the relationship, more so of Bermudian’s colonized mentality. They are afraid to stand up and country, yet brag about been so far ahead of all the other OTs. Dr. Brown is respected by these other OT countries that are why he was asked to speak, but sadly they do not see Bermudians in the same light.
Tell me the benefits of independence
Yes someone tell me! I also would like to know! By the way even if it was a good idea its not as simple as taking a vote then saying bye to Britian. It costs money to “BUY” bermuda! And where is this money going to come from? How much further in Debt do you want us to go!!!! I think you should rent the documentary callled Life and Debt and you will learn a bit more about how easily a country like Jamaica (and Bermuda) can go from one of the wealthiest to the poorest and much of it was no fault of their own. By the way, ,aybe Cayman can examine it because they havent spent all theirs!
Just to clarify your point. You claim that “Cayman’s are at least willing to examine the relationship with the UK, yet Bermudian push back against it” and “Also, they are aware that many of you do not even understand the real relationship of the UK’s relationship with OT”.
Is this why Dr. Brown states the system doesn’t work and also why Cayman is going to make two speeches supporting how the relationship works and has future benefits (“UK Dependent Territory Succeeds: An Analysis of Cayman’s Successful Development” and “United Kingdom and Cayman Islands Relationship Review”)
However, having done the research on the conference, you would know this. Unless you are saying that presenters at this conference don’t speak for the population they represent?
Your utter lack of ability to write in your native language disqualifies you from speaking on this subject!
You are embarrassing Bermudians trying to make a point of NOT being locked in a colonized
mentality! No wonder we are not seen in the same light as you put it.
This strange addiction to worrying about colonies by people who make nothing and import their salt, pepper, ketchup, mazola, frozen french fries, paper bags and plastic forks, is comedy for the rest of the world. You are so dependent it is pathetic. If people had not gone out, explored, discovered and colonized the planet we would all still be in caves grunting at each other! Sort of like what I just read.
“Bermuda is locked in a colonized mentality, and that is difficult for Caymanian’s to understand” Has The Cayman Islands become independant, the last time I checked they were a British Colony.
I second all of these comments. The ultimate coward. Bankrupt our country blind, take off to live in one of his many international residences/private yacht… And then, take to the Carribean to spout this egomaniacal rhetoric. I doubt he would dare repeat this speech in Bermuda.
Stone a river bottom no say sun hot.
Does he not see the mess he left our country in? With all you’ve done to this Island, you have the nerve to keep complaining about the Governor having more luxuries than you. Because you wanted nicer things, our country has been left in major debt.
Shut up Brown. You don’t speak for me!
Who in the heck was he representing? He has only cast more darkness on this Island and our Communities. If Premier Cox and Mr. Burgess and others agreed that this man should go down and spew his arrogance and ignorance – than they all need to reimburse the Coffers and an explanation as to why they chose him.. More than likely, he told them this was what he was going to do and they can’t tell him “NO” so he gets away with this and a whole lot of other tings.we know it.
…the solution is to make E-wart reapply for his US citizenship and stamp his Bermuda and British passports with “DCTFB” ie.(don’t come…)
I don’t remember a referendum on Independence during the 4 years that he was premier.
What a disgusting speech and what a disgusting man……. he is evil.
It sounds like Ewart has no objection to a Commission of Insquiry. In fact, he seems to want one so he can “clear his name”.
I suggest we give him what he wants.
Lets start with GlobalHue
So, what’s the answer to the question? Is the UK/OT relationship based on mutual interest? Seems not. Oh wait, what happened to the lecture on the other thread about Comeau where its supposed to be about the message and not the messenger? Guess that only applies when its anti-Ewart and anti-PLP. Furthermore, after rejecting you all’s pleas for a Commission of Inquiry, arrests at dawn and all the other stuff you’ve asked for, my recollection is that the Governor wasn’t your friend anymore……thought you’d enjoy seeing someone poking their finger in his eye. You lot confuse the hell out of me; I can’t keep up with how your hate makes you shift positions…..at least this guy is consistent.Peace and love.
What tangibly do we give the UK and what tangibly do they give us?
We have a passport that allows us to travel most countries in the world without significant hassle and costs. We are also able live and work in Europe, not to mention the Educational opportunities we are afforded in the UK.
What we give back to the UK instead is a bunch of mouth from a greedy corrupt politician. We have nothing tangible to give them. So no the relationship is not mutual.
If the Governor costs $1.6m think of what it would cost in Visa and immigration fees every time a Bermudian would want to go abroad were we not to hold a British Passport? Small price to pay if you ask me. Especially when we spend several times that on things like music events that generate losses for our tax payers. And 100′s of millions in poorly managed cost overruns on Government projects.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate the PLP and I actually really like some of the people in the party on an individual basis. I hate it when someone I pay for does a very bad job. I pay a very small portion of my Tax so the Governor can allow me to have a passport that works, to me that is not a bad job. But when I pay tax to a government that takes my money and buys themselves whatever they want with it at the same time wastes it and cannot tell me how or why it was wasted. I hate that! Paying tax to this government is like going to the store and buying a box of cereal and watching the cashier take my money then poor half the box on the floor. That box of cereal represents every government project that was poorly managed under the PLP administration and the majority of it under Ewart.
He should not be speaking on this Islands behalf, unless there is a black panther rally going on somewhere. That would be a more fitting event.
Actually British passports have more restrictions and visa requirements, at least where Bermudians do most of their travel. Brits even need visas to go to the US. Bermuda is now the only place left on earth that does not.
More restrictions than an independent Bermuda passport? Just ask a Jamaican how easy it is to travel anywhere!? Or actually anyone from an independent Island in the Caribbean. We have diplomatic benefits because of our ties to Britain. We would need Visa’s to go anywhere otherwise. You do understand that a Bermuda passport is a British passport? That privilege to travel to the United States might stay (doubt it) but every country other than that including Canada you would need a visa to visit were we to go independent.
“Bermuda is now the only place left on earth that does not” need a visa to travel to the U.S.?
Heard of Canada? You know, that country that didn’t implode and run up its debt because a neighbour was having a crisis…
I believe Bermuda and Canada fall under the same Visa Waiver.
Yeah .,…and all the other Islands are laughing at Bermuda. They see us as so far out to left field it is not funny. Have some conversations with persons from the other Islands. They describe us as locked in a colonized time warp, afraid to move forward. We have a colonized mentality that is so blind, that we can not see beyond our noses. They see Dr Brown in a more positive and forward thinking manner. Other territories laugh at Bermuda, as we act like we are so different and superiority, but infact we are still holding on to the coat strings of our Mother. How blind can we be, except take pleasure out of decrying down Dr Brown.
In 2012, in Bermuda, our minds are still captivated by the British and their superiority — we “drank the tea”. And, I don’t know who perpetuates the myth more — the colonizers or the colonized.
We have a higher GDP, a more affluent economy and educated society than any other island. So to shorten that for you, we are winning compared to them. I don’t care how they see Dr.Brown, they can laugh all they want according to you, but we are in a better position than they are and always have been.
@Mia – STOP drinking the purple cool-aid!
Benefits of independence please?
In 2012, in Bermuda, our minds are still captivated by the PLP and their flawed propaganda — we “drank the cool aid”. And, I don’t know who perpetuates the myth more – the ex ministers or those paid to post on news websites
Suggest you pack your bags and go live in one of the other islands where they have fouind Utopia and smoke weed all day..
Could not agree more
@Hmmmmm. Ha! Valid point. It should always be about the message and not the messanger.
While I didn’t agree with some of his points, it was an interesting point of view to present, and does give some pause for thought. Some of which will be reinforced by others and contradicted by others as part of the overall research and ideas presented at the same conference.
The problem is that Dr. Brown does like to make his speeches about him in addition to any possible message. He does so in order to engage an emotional response from those who listen – either positive or negative. He also seems to like to present information as fact – even thought it is only his opinion (example, the unconcluded or incomplete alleged circumstances around some ongoing and unresolved legal cases). Then he opens himself to personal criticism; as any negative reponse becomes “anti-Ewart” by default, as while you are challenging a belief and view, it has been presented as fact. Dr. Brown wouldn’t have it any other way; as he thrives off creating conflict and division of people (which, ironically, was actually a very British tactic used in its colonies in the past).
He’s a creep. But deep in our hearts, we always knew that didn’t we?
Interesting that he chooses to make these speeches outside Bermuda rather than face his countrypeople.
Is Ewart aware that the governor of the Cayman Islands is the head of government there.
The man was on a mission to bring Bermuda to it’s knees.
Remember who his friend is and is now being searched by Interpol for corruption in the Turks & Caicos.
He cannot speak for me and the relationship with the British.
BTW – he knew the rules regarding Bermuda and the UK prior to taking office.
It is VERY ironic that he says that Britain should have no say in domestic matters and then hides behind the Governor’s skirts when he quotes him on the propriety of a Commission of Inquiry. Talking out of both sides of the mouth.
nice catch there, verbal….. as usual, he’s probably up to something that benefits him first and foremost, which is why he is rearing his vain head again…….
and WHERE is specialgirl4u???? i didn’t think we could have any commentary on any article containing the key words ‘e. wart brown’ without her rushing to her computer….. or old whatsername either….. shock and awe.
Seems her name is Mia now.
LOL! i was thinking the same thing!
I have not read the article but instead read the speech. I disagree with Dr. Brown on many issues; his inflammatory race based politics and gross repeating budget deficits being highest on the list. In his speech I don’t care for the “British superiority” line. I don’t have the details of the circumstances of the pending personal investigations concerning him so won’t form an opinion on those remarks. Although, if correct, I find it … curious that a convicted perjurer’s word would attract the attention of the Governor and also, that some attempt would not be made to extradite the Canadian fraudster for attempting to topple the Government.
However, in this speech (once you get past the rhetoric), he has made a compelling case that Britain does not have Bermuda’s best interest at heart. It seems reasonable that a super-power nation would put its interest far above those of one of its tiny territories located thousands of miles to its South with no active strategic value. Bermuda does not border a hostile nation, is not a significant source of revenue to Britain, competes with Britain for incorporations, and so on. I certainly feel is examples warrant further investigation.
The problem is that Dr. Brown’s delivery is so abrasive and his divisive racial rhetoric so offensive that many will not see this little gem that warrants some debate. That being said, I’m not eluding to the idea that Bermuda is ready for independence; this house is in such a mess a present. However, when the future is more pleasant then gloomy the subject should be broached with the evidence that is at hand. Where the Bermuda-British relationship goes from there can only be determined then.
Ride
I think the debate for indpenedence is a good one… even though i disagree with the actual act…
what he seems to miss out though are the things we DO get from britain..~
We can freely travel to Britain for school, to live, to work, and go from there to the EU…
University there is about $15,000…. much different that the 30K+ iin the US..
There are people that go from Bermuda to move to the UK just to get onto the welfare system…
Albeit not an exclusive list, these are things that being a UK territory brings, and for an island of only 21 miles, I think they are great offers…especially when you look that the same does not work the opposite direction, wtih British citizens having free reign to go to bermuda whenever tehy want..
@Finally Left
Yes, Bermuda does enjoy significant benefits from being an Overseas Territory. These should be weighed along side the detractions of being an Overseas Territory for the debate. Perhaps this should be revisited once every few decades as Bermuda will change as time progresses and so too will the Britain’s relationship with its OTs. Considerable effort would need to be employed to ensure it does not become an emotion filled slugfest. As I can recall previous debates have fallen into this state.
The OT have received considerable benefits since the British Overseas Territories Act. I curious how both sides would incorporate these into their arguments for/against independence.
Ride
yeah..debate every 10 years sounds good to me….
No dearest, Go Read the Entire Article before you write, such nonsense. Maybe you can add to the discussion with more valid points, rather than spit out rhetoric. How clueless you are on the real relationship between Britain and the OT. Please go do some real hard research, and maybe after a little education you will see the issue differently rather than simply salivate, dribble and spit saliva over Dr. Brown.
Please show us your hard research.
Mia, it is all moot when your country is beset by a $1,300,000,000 debt, increasing unemployment, falling tourism revenue, falling International Business presence, decreased local spending, a clear and vocal opposition to the Government within the general population, unaccounted for millions according to the AUditor General, falling home values, falling rents, and difficulty obtaining loans (unless you’re in the market to be damaged by 100% loans at Atlantic Terraces).
Rome is burning and you are debating the the least important topic pertinent to our situation. A situation entirely brought upon us by DREB!
Not only did he fail in his goal to take Bermuda to Independence but would venture that more Bermudians cherish their Britishness now than when he took over….
Ewart and Walton both make my skin cringe.
Is the Ewart Brown relationship with Bermuda of a mutual interest? NO!!! OMG this is a sick sick man
There will be a lot of confused attendees at this Conference. There are 2 presenters from Bermuda with the name Browm slagging off the UK, blaming the UK for holding back Bermuda and pressing for Independence, whilst the Premier is presenting a paper trumpeting the Success of Bermuda.
“I speak from firsthand knowledge because in 2009, Bermuda hosted the Queen and Prince Philip, and my wife and I spent a couple of days in their company, culminating in an elegant dinner at which we were the hosts. To my certain recollection, the Queen bore none of the traits of many of those who profess to be her servants in our lands across the Region.” Ewart Brown, March 2012
Judging Her Majesty now are we Ewart? This is perilously close to lese-majeste, something which Dr. Brown is well familiar with given his frequent claims of being a victim of such himself… In any case, evidently being a shrewd judge of character and far more well versed in the affairs of state and the world than both Her Majesty and Prince Philip, I guess it’s OK to trust Ewart’s judgement in this regard, i.e that most Brits have a superiority complex but the Royal Couple do not.
He is correct in one thing,it isn’t an equal relationship. Bermuda gains much much more than it gives.
What a shameless pr***.
‘Yet, no one has ever questioned why our British Governors always have their cars on the tarmac when they return home, and do not go through Customs and Immigration like everybody else. But, they are superior. Unfortunately, this is in the minds of the British and in many of ours as well.’
This, you arrogant ass, is because the Governor is representing HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, whilst you were representing EWART BROWN and his overinflated ego.
@Dee – yup, and they also have Diplomatic immunity – MP’s dont!
In the 60′s and 70!s I saw MP’s deplane, get their luggage and walk out! I am glad to see the rules are in force even though it took over 20 years.
Little respect you have for leaders of your own country. Yet you will choose to worship a UK individual who does little or nothing for Bermuda. This really is example of blind-Bermudian that is locked in a time warp of colonization. Look like you are locked back in the day, when only certain persons where given such powers. I thought we were living in a modern time.
Worship…ha ha you idiot! Who do you worship not God obviously!
I’m sorry Mia but YOU don’t have a Clue about what time it is….and that is whats sad….
Yes, best response on this blog!
This suggest that if you think Bermuda gains more than it gives, you are totally lacking real knowledge about the relationship with the UK. You are lacking facts on the relationship, and need to go and do some real research regarding this matter.
You’re not very bright are you?
she is exactly what she has been programmed to be….now research DAT!
Enlighten us Mia.
Mia is special girl4you – can;t hide the grammar.
Come on show us this real research!
So enlighten us oh wise one! Tell us what do we give versus what we gain!
Lets hope this is the last we ever hear from this creep. Put him on the stop list and tell him to leech of his own countrymen.
We’ll even ship his frickin Cedar Beams if it means he stay away. He has inflicted so much damage on our dear island . He should be made to sit in a pile of his own puke. Better still, my puke!
Dr. Brown: Does the acronym F.O. mean anything to you? It should.
The only creep is yourself, as it takes one to know one. You sound so out of it, I wonder what your hidden adgenda is about. Read the entire speech, than address the issue, it might give you some real creditablity.
Takes one to know one? Is that you Laverne?
Nope – it’s specialgirl
Mia …i didnt read one word of that spiel… i heard 2 words on the news tonight and reached immediatley …ugghh!!
Because your one of those locked in a time-warp of colonalization, and fail to understand the real relationship between the UK and OTs. Maybe your one of those paper Bermudians, that want things to be under the leadship of UK, as thats your birth place.
I would suggest therapy as you really are carrying some real hatred towards certain Bermudians…
His name? Yea me too…
“In no discussion on this issue was there a request for, or an offer of, any quid pro quo.”
But was there a quid quo pro?
Ewart- do Bermuda a favor and try holding your breath for twenty minutes.
shut up Dr Brown arrogant and pompous fool, I enjoy our UK connections, get the plp, bunch of jokers
Sounds like you are calling all your OBA fans arrogant and pompous fool, by the nasty comments they are making. So becareful, as I believe many of your fan club are more fitting for such names.
Maybe as the PLP bloggers seem to post under multiple names to try to deceive Bermuda when there may only be a few of you.
LOL
I think the thing that saddens me the most is that here is a man with so much to offer Bermuda, and he only thinks of himself. He is charismatic, intelligent and a born leader. He could have gone down in history as one of the greatest leaders of all time and not just of the carribean, but of all 1st world countries. Instead is greed, arrogance and personal agendas got in the way of any good he could do. His refusal to shut up and move on with is life is troublesome at best. He has done so much damage to Bermuda, its economy and its reputation, and I can’t understand why our government continues to endorse him. Sad.
They are afraid of Ewart… and the “goods” he has on many.
What tangibly do we give the UK and what tangibly do they give us?
We have a passport that allows us to travel most countries in the world without significant hassle and costs. We are also able live and work in Europe, not to mention the Educational opportunities we are afforded in the UK.
What we give back to the UK instead is a bunch of mouth from a greedy politician. We have nothing tangible to give them. So no the relationship is not mutual.
If the Governor costs $1.6m think of what it would cost in Visa and immigration fees every time a Bermudian would want to go abroad were we not to hold a British Passport? Small price to pay if you ask me. Especially when we spend several times that on things like music events that generate losses for our tax payers. And 100′s of millions in poorly managed cost overruns on Government projects.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate the PLP and I actually really like some of the people in the party on an individual basis. I hate it when someone I pay for does a very bad job. I pay a very small portion of my Tax so the Governor can allow me to have a passport that works, to me that is not a bad job. But when I pay tax to a government that takes my money and buys themselves whatever they want with it at the same time wastes it and cannot tell me how or why it was wasted. I hate that! Paying tax to this government is like going to the store and buying a box of cereal and watching the cashier take my money then poor half the box on the floor. That box of cereal represents every government project that was poorly managed under the PLP administration and the majority of it under Ewart.
He should not be speaking on this Islands behalf, unless there is a black panther rally going on somewhere. That would be a more fitting event.
This is the most sensible comment I think I’ve ever read on this site.
Thank you, Bermyman, for this re-post. It is important to look at this issue without prejudice.
I appreciate that with a British passport, the whole of Europe is available to me. I appreciate the lower cost of education. I appreciate that there is a British Consulate available in just about any place I travel should I run into difficulties. Most of all, I now appreciate that should my fellow armed countrymen decide to escalate their war against one another and begin to include the rest of us, we have a recourse. As I mentioned a while back, there is a plan, loose though it may be, that has been in place since before 1990 that once we achieve Independence, the way will open for the armed lawless to completely take over this island. Guns have been coming in at least since 1990. I tremble to think how many are here and in whose hands.
I don’t have any particular love for the post of Governor, and there are some decisions that this one has made that I disagree with, but I have to contrast his demeanour with that of Dr. Brown.
Less than a month ago, I watched this governor WALK up North Shore from Grace Church to Government House, past Band Room Lane and Mission Lane where there has been recent gun violence and murder committed, this unassuming white man walked alone! Dr. Brown wouldn’t even travel in his own country without his bodyguards. Either he thought he was somebody bigger or more special than the rest of us, or he was scared. Hmmmmm
PAster Syl…..YOu appreciate it because you are locked in a time warp of colonization, and fail to understand the full context of the relationship with the UK vs OTs. YOu lack any real insight, yet you continue to write like someone in slavery thanking their Master, for what? But, one can not expect much from you anyway
Holy crap! Either tell us how we can get paid to blog or SHUT THE F@%K UP! Times are hard so I’d like to help us better ourselves, if not let me help you and the dishonerable Dr. Destroy it for personal gain. This mans intentions are far from righteous, only a fool and ignorance can’t see that. Oh and by the way changing your name doesn’t change the crap you type almost on a daily, its got special girl laverne writen all over it.
Sylvia, you mean you didn’t see any white men walking with the Governor. I doubt if the Governor would walk anywhere in Bermuda without any security.
And why would that surprise you? Some idiot MURDERED a governor here not that long ago. At least the governor does it for a legitamate reason, not just to look important.
@ LaVerne: I didn’t see anyone, ANYONE, black or white, walking with the Governor. I was not the only one who remarked on it, so don’t take my word for it.
He came to the funeral of a woman he did not know in a tiny little church, filled with mostly black folk, stood up and gave her credit and praise for raising a son she, and Bermuda, could be proud of, and then walked home, like an ordinary person. And before you jump down my throat about “ordinary” – Dr. Brown too is ordinary, but behaved as if he wanted to be king. Even his speech sounded more like “how come he (the Governor) gets to have and do these things and I don’t.” Petulant child/King Baby!
The man he refers to is not a convicted perjuror, and his claim of a criminal act, “known to be committed” against him as a sitting Premier is specious at best. He has gone off the purported theme of his speech in order to defend himself with half-truths. The sad part is that his audience in Cayman would not be aware of the lack of veracity in his remarks. This speech does a terrible disservice to the citizens he swore to represent.
2 questions that no one on this thread has answered:
1) Why are we and not the UK paying the Governor’s 1.6 Million dollar bill, when in fact he works for the UK.
2) Do you think that Bermuda’s gang problem would have been calmed or inflamed by the US assistance which was rejected by the UK
With all the hate, no one (save Ride) has even discussed the points raised in this academic speech.
I agree that your two points are worthy of debate. I am still trying to get over the fact that a man, seen as a spokesman for the people of Bermuda, chose a completely inappropriate forum to defame at least two people. This is not an academic speech, it is a thinly veiled attempt to prop up his reputation, and it was delivered at a totally inappropriate time and place. The submitted title of his aspeech was not “Liars Are After My A**”.
And what was Kevin Comeau doing when he spoke at that forum? Oh I forgot, when HE says it, its truth; no evidence required. Doc says it and its defamation.
THANK YOU!!!!!!
I’m sure that Dr. Brown is not at all surprised by the reactions of Bermuda’s reactionaries.
i’m willing to bet my bottom dollar that his speech was well received by the conference attendees.
It’s nice to see that you all still love Dr. Brown.
Oh yes she’s the great defender
Adrift in a world of her own (ooh ooh)
She plays the game but to her real shame
We’ve left her to dream all alone
You still polishing his shoes?
The fundamental premis of his argument is flawed. This speech is about protecting him, his own name, his failure as a leader and his failed legacy. it is not about Bermuda. It demonstrates that after all the damage he has done, he continues to have huge ch on his shoulders.
He’s able to do this because of half wits like you who swoon at his every word. Are you So lacking in self awareness that you cannot see how ridiculous you look?
Party over country every time.
“In 2012, in Bermuda, our minds are still captivated by the British and their superiority — we “drank the tea”. And, I don’t know who perpetuates the myth more — the colonizers or the colonized”.
Yeah……Yeah…….and all the other Islands are laughing at Bermuda!! They see us as an aloof, detached, snobbish, snooty people, who are out at left field. If you have some conversations with persons from the other Islands, this becomes readily evident. They describe us as locked in a colonized time warp, afraid to move forward. Bermuda is described as having a colonized mentality that is so blind, that we cannot see beyond our noses. They see Dr Brown in a more positive and forward thinking manner, unlike the typical Bermudian. Other territories laugh at Bermuda, as we act like we are so different and superiority, but in fact we are still holding on to the coat strings of our Mother. How blind can we be? No we are only interested in taking pleasure out of decrying down Dr Brown, what is the real gain in doing that? This tells a lot about the mentality of Bermudians. Travel to other territories and you will gain a real understanding of how they view most Bermudians. Often the respect flies out the door. We are arrogance, yet afraid to cut mothers coats strings, still living in her house. Yet we act like we got it all, and no one is like us. I think we need to carefully, examine the message and not the individual, and determine what we can learn from it, or move forward. No we are afraid to do anything….so we are not looked upon favorability by others.
in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king….
MIA, what are you talking about? You seem to be saying you are an arrogant peron. This is your reason for indepndence, to magically lose MIA’s arrogance…I suggest you go to see someone about that. WOW, you don’t belive people can be like this until you meet them. Scary really.
YOU are so disillusioned as so are many more ….
Look BERMUDA is BRITISH…YOU dont LIKE it ..LEAVE!
the reason why i say this is …could you go anywhere in this world …then try to change its BIRTH, its BEING, its HERITAGE…i think NOT
YOu reply indicates how you lack real knowledge regarding the relationship between UK and OT. You are so clueless it is sad. Many of the posters seem to lack any real knowledge. WOW even our brothers and sisters of the OT are more informed than you. Please go do some research before you continue to make yourself look bad.
Ok I’ve been to both territories and guess what most people I spoke to want to come live here………… what does that tell you Mia.
LOL
Mia = Betty = Special
why do you need so many names on here trying to seem like you are other people or do you have multible personality sindrom……….
LOL – MAWI do I have a “Specialgirl4U”
Do you ever shut up?
Any ‘love’ he receives is of his own doing Lavergne. When are you going to realise you lot have been ‘brown’washed?
Many of the ‘facts’ presented in EB’s speech were so lacking in pertinant context that they could only be called 1/2 truths at best. Brilliant, masterful, manipulative and true to the man. Bad for Bermuda, just like his tenure.
He should be encouraged to make more speeches like this and put these superior “Limeys” in their place!
Just waitng to hear from you. Are willing to to just bet your bottom? Not sure what you were reading, but he was not well received.
Laverne – I was at the conference – the speech was rambling and delivered to a small room of people who were mostly looking at their iphones. The moderator through most of it.
WOW! EB has some big brass ones!
usa connections …trouble
Very good speech Dr. Brown. Look forward to hearing more from you as the election approaches. This is the sort of speech that the PLP Govt. really need right now so the voting public really understand what you and the PLP Govt. stand for
Yea racism…we knew that 13 years ago…panthers don’t change colors.
LV: We all have good reason to dislike this man (I never use the word hate). Anyone who still has something good to say about him is obviously too blind or stupid to know any better.
Just the facts ma’am.
Good Riddance I’d say.
@Cedar Beans….This is how aloof you are, this is not about Dr. Brown, the bigger issue here is the “Relationship between UK and OT”….Why do all the other OT get it, and Bermuda does not? Why because of our obsession over Dr. Brown. This is so ridiculous. Bermuda is so slow, maybe 10 to 15 years down the road, the light bulb may come on. We are so stuck on worrying about bringing one another down as Bermudians, that we can look at the bigger issues in Bermuda objectively. Sad but true.
I have absolutely no idea what you’re saying because you’re not stating any facts, just telling the rest of us to do some research.
If the other OT’s get it, why are they still OT’s, obviously because they still want to be! Also please explain what it is they’re getting.
I agree @JCS…@Mia, what is it that we’re not getting exactly. Please enlighten us because you’re talking but you’re not saying anything.
Mia = specialgirl
Mia is here to decieve us.
Why doesn’t the Governor take a paycut? Why havent we requested it?
S Brown, becuase we wouldn’t dare ask a white man who doesn’t answer to us that we pay to sacrifice.
When he got his BMW, no one said a word. Dr. Brown got one, its a scandal.
The one thing about Doc is that he opens the eyes of OUR people, and that is why the haters hate him SOOOO Much.
He doens’t bow to their wishes!
YOU are damn right he OPENS our EYES!!,.. what the HELL is wrong with yours?
are you standing in the light or something ??? are you not seeing what we see???
No they don’t, its all black and white, no grey areas. No offence, but I can’t wait until this older close minded generation dies out, I have higher hopes from my generation and the ones to follow. At least we seem to be able to put the past behind us and get along for the most part without judging eachother by the color of our skin. I sit off with people that have black skin, some shady, some extremely intelectual, I sit off with people that have while skin, some shady, some very intelectual. What’s the similarity I see here? We’re all people. When will this racist sh!t stop? IMO it should be illegal in any form.
+1
LOL
If you do a bit of reasearch you will find that not all former premeirs actaully used the BMW and in some cases even walked most placed. Dr. David Saul for example parked his car and many morning jogged to work.
S Brown thats like tell your boss to take a pay cut. Not saying I think of him as the boss but he is the highest authority in Bermuda which we do not control. People here are talking about those “elected” individuals who we choose to rep us. So they are the ones we can influence via lobbying them to address our needs. At the end of the day I do not think we need the Governor here as we are capable to address the UK our selves and I think it is out dated as he just rubber stamps all the legislation the government puts in front of him any way. However inconvinent he does serve as a check for politicians that would put through self serving legislation if we were independent.
LOL maybe we can disscus this some time if time allows.
Everyone should read Starling’s response.
This man does not care about this country or any of the people in it. Never did and never will. His motive from the beginning was not one of bettering this country, but one of pure selfishness and greed. He only cares about himself and how he can step on all the little people to get ahead. Humane? It’s hard to imagine that this man has a single humane bone in his body. & it sickens me that he’d even try and use the word to justify himself. Anyone who supports this power hungry narcissist has successfully fallen under his well concocted spell. He has pulled and is still pulling the wool over some people’s eyes, based on certain comments above. He plays off of people’s emotions and knows exactly which buttons to push. He is an intelligent man, I’ll give him that much. But it’s sad to see someone using that brainpower and influence to do such evil, instead of using it for the greater good of this country, after all the support the people gave him. Who got him to where he is? And look at the thanks you get. So sad.
This is so much fun !!! Doc you can still do it. Only you can expose these people for who they are. Craig, my brother, these are your people now….can you handle knowing that this much hate is in those OBA meetings? These are the folks smiling at you saying “go get THEM out sonny….”This is biblical in reverse. For months these SAME posters on here have been calling the Governor everything under the sun because he supports all Paula’s crap and won’t call the Commission of Inquiry. Doc takes him on in this speech, saying EXACTLY what you all have been saying that he ain’t worth jack….now Doc is the evil one and its Rule Britannia?! You people need professional, white-coat, kleenex, couch-style help; for real. For you heathens, the biblcial in reverse is the whole Palm Sunday “Hosanna” vs Good Friday “crucify him!” piece. Tis the season….
Unfortunately my good friend not all anti-Dr. Brown individuals are supporters of the Opposition as you would like many to believe:
http://bernews.com/2010/09/perinchief-premier-brought-us-to-financial-disaster/
Please. Is the best you can do is to produce the ramblings of a guy who Doc fired? Hardly an impartial witness.You sure can use people when convenient…if anyone is talking about stuff about which you should be afriad its Phil P. “Redistribution of wealth” is code for something that involves taking without compensation……are you sure this is who you want to throw in my face?
I’ve met Brown, he is an arrogant elitist who only looks out for Brown.
I just read Dr. Brown’s speech in its entirety and I can understand the consternation of the posters here. His speech was brialliant, but that is what I expected.
The Bermuda Government gave permission for Kevin Comeau to work in Bermuda. After working here for ten years, the Government then gave him permission to reside here permanently.
Now Mr. Comeau, now a permanent resident, is encouraging anarchy by the colonised people.
The Quihurs are quietly going about the day-to-day life in Bermuda.
I guess most of you posting here would prefer to have 4 Kevin Comeaus then 4 Quighurs.
Kevin Comeau will speak out against injustice, Quighurs will never say a word..
Kevin Comeau, like most of the bloggers here and elsewhere, will speak out against this government. I have yet to see him speak on any injustices. By the way, why would anyone want to relocate and take up permanent residency in a place where the government is so unjust?
The Quighurs are happy that they have somewhere other than a concentration camp to call home.
you are crazy to have said “concentration Camp” people are very sensitive about these things you crazy person
Quighurs, what have you done to the Uighurs!!
LMAO good one hahah!!
Lavern when was the last time you spoke to the Quighurs/uighurs and how do you know that they are happy ?
Doc Brown should never have been allowed to bring these men to bda !!! and you know it !!!! but you will make up excuses for all the crap that Brown has put this Island through…..
Cox let him do it, when it was her DUTY to have said NO. Sadly for us she was more concerned with her future earnings than the future for the people of Bermuda.
The Reality is that the Uighurs are trapped and for lack of a better word are still imprisoned in Bermuda because they cannot and perhaps never will be able to leave this country. I feel sorry for them.
Laverne you wouldn’t know what injustice is because your gang is in charge now and no matter what they do you think that they are always right and perfect. Happens to anyone who visits Alaska Hall.
Dr Brown’s speech was indeed brilliant. In this specch he has undermined the speech to be given by the current Premier of Bermuda about the Success of Bermuda. He has shown he is not a Patriot but purely in it for himself. His speech was laced with me, me, me. All he wants is the same trappings he perceives is enjoyed by the elite. He still has his adoring few who worship him, but fortunately most have seen through him for what he really is.
I thought his speech lacked and substance, was pure conjecture and self idolisation.
Ummm, did you read what I said??
I was agreeing.
He wants Government House to take a reduction in it’s entire budget, yet the “pay cut” for MPs is nothing but an accounting trip, where the perceived reduction is offset by a pension contribution holiday. Perhaps now that he’s not a Bermuda resident any more he doesn’t understand the events here as well as we do.
I notice he didn’t mention the full time security, police escorts, outriders, etc, that he awarded himself, that no other Premier has found necessary. He was full of self-importance and self-aggrandizement, yet he complains about what he calls “British Superiority”. Kind of ironic.
Anyway, a speech mostly about the past. He’s only been out of power for a couple of years, but already he is a has-been, talking constantly about the past, and about things that are no longer relevant.
NEWSFLASH, OBA Regjected the pension holiday.
But, yes… we should ask the person we pay but doesn’t answer to us anything.
For christ sakes, the guy answers to england. The person in charge answers to people we don’t vote for and we’re ok with it?
NEWSFLASH: the oba rejected the pesion holiday because in effect the government gave themselves a raise in takehome pay ass clown. “We had to decieve you”…
Or did you not notice when they explained the BIU cuts and the government cuts they were worded completey different? Or did you just not ask why it was worded differently? Wait no because I can see just by your comment it doesn’t matter because the plp/black berets did it.
Doc Brown also had full time body guards ???
that we lot had to pay for ……. we had to pay for his body guards every time he went abroad… but his buddy Misick had all of these perks, so Brown wanted them also …………how sick is this man ?
Please you spell check before you write as i would rather read well written rubbish than badly spelt rubbisht
If Doc Hollywood had even a single shred of credibility, his comments may be mildly interesting. As it is…………..nah. Seriously, Doc, just go away and crawl back under your rock.
I dont understand why all of the orange farmers can’t just get along with the other farmers? If they did not concentrate so much on oranges then they could look to also grow apples and then everyone’s a winner! The bearded goat herds are the next topic and turkey sandwiches.
Why doesn’t the Governor take a paycut?
Why havent we requested it?
$1.6 million to Government House? With all these Government cuts, will the money allocated to Government House ever be decreased?
have you ever seen the Governers house…l have and it needs MULTI MILLION Dollars renovations, that said, l havent heard anyone complaining accept the PLP that they don’t have such an elaborate abode! NOT ON THE PRIORITY LIST so get over it!
S Brown, there is your answer.. His house is so big… Thank you Dr. Brown for breaking your silence.. People need to be reminded.
The MP “paycut” is an accounting trick. It’s offset against a pension contribution holiday. If you think MPs are actually worse off you have been suckered.
And Ewart suggests Govt House reduces its entire budget, while the PLP spends and borrows like there’s no tomorrow.
It’s all ironic that this all comes from ” Mr Hundred Mill”, the richest ‘retired doctor’ you will ever see.
Two days ago an Interpol arrest warrant was issued for Misick. Could we yet be so lucky?
Missick was a crook, in a country that had no checks and controls…
Far from a country like Bermuda. I know you’d like guilt from association and like nothing better than beleive that black people are crooks.
Doesn’t work like that mate. We get educations, work, buy things and invest.
@ Thank you!: When will you get it that this isn’t about black people, this is about the behaviour of someone who just happens to be black. In fact, I am positive if this was about a white man, you’d be so up in arms!
I wish you would point out to me where Bermuda’s checks and controls are.
One check was the tradition of Parliamentary questions which were supposed to be answered because the people had a right to know what the government was doing. Dr. Brown refused to answer legitimate questions, disrespecting the House and disrespecting the people.
One control should be the office of the Auditor General and the ability of the person in that post to “follow the money.” The previous Auditor General was arrested for trying to do his job and the present AG still has not been provided with the power to do the job effectively. That negates the most potent control right there!
I’d be up in arms for ANYONE who is accused wrongly!
Questions are answered all the time in the house. Also, please remember the PLP strengthened the independence of the office of the Auditor General.
Just so you understand, Ewart Brown or the PLP didn’t Lock up the Auditor General, only the police (under the direction fo the governor) have the power to do that.
NO one is above the law… But do tell me, how come Dr. Brown was never arrested, or charged? Could is be that there was never any evidence and the claims were nothing more than allegations. Can you at least accept that this is a possiblity.
Mr 10%. . Mr 10%.
@ Thank YOu: Dr. Brown categorically refused to answer appropriate questions put to him in the House. He derided them as plantation questions, and he and Derrick Burgess made disparaging and insulting remarks about people having to answer to the children of slaves.
“The PLP strengthened the independence of the office of the Auditor General” – so you say, but they stopped short of giving her full powers to ‘follow the money’ through the entire process. Do you ever wonder why? If you doubt me, just look at the last investigation in which she was stymied by civil servants who claimed legal privilege. That is placing limits on a control (the Auditor General) that prevents the people from having full disclosure, and incidentally stymies the possibility that any evidence, should there by chance be any evidence, would be found.
Sylvia,
I wish you would point out where Dr. Brown or anyone else in the PLP refused to answer Parliamentary Questions.
And you should have pointed out that the Auditor General was arrested by the Bermuda Police who report to the Governor. The question that should be asked is who directed the Police to arrest the Auditor General.
Disingenuous Fruitbat. You know very well operational matters are the not the responsibility of the governor. This was purely political move directed by mouthbreathers.
Mr Kevin Comeau has now written 3 hard hiting articles in the RG, he has backed up all of his assertions with factual information, I await rebuttle with substance. If he is no more than a libelous mischief maker then lets hear the other side. Please no idiot talk about him being able to retire at 41. Just the facts mam leave your broom and shovel home, no dirt here!
This man should be ashamed of his self for what he has done to the economy of this country.He has the nerve to stand on a podium and make speeches like he is some great hero. He broke this country and has brought Bermuda to its knees financially! What about the 6 million dollar figure Obama was said to be paying contries to take these alleged Al Quieda detainiees. I think Dr.Souel rode a pedal bike around Bermuda and wasnt a rich man after serving his country. Hopefully there will be room in the same cell that Mike Mizik from Turkes and Cacos will be in. i thought had to give up his American citizenship but he now has this multi million dollar marthas vineyard estate ! who paid for that ? The nerve of this man is unbeleaveable, he thinks he is god almighty he needs to look in his back yard before making comments about the British Monarchy ! What about both his children in jail one for bank robbery and the other for sexual assault real nice impression for a man who is ran a country .
1) What Martha’s Vineyard Estate
2) Broke this country, i think you are looking for the wrong person, try madoff
Yes he’s a bloody hero to many, why do you think he got voted in?
Funny how in a country, no one is charged with corruption, but everyone is convinced it happens. Guess the governor & police are on Ewarts payroll aswell.
GROW UP PEOPLE
If this is the mentality of registerd voters we are so hosed.
If its the mentality of the Majority, you may want to get with it!
We’ve had scotland yard here looking for stuff, and NOTHING. Just Allegations, no evidence nothing, but yet you’ll never be satisfied.
Just crazy
You’ll be knockong down million dollar houses to gro2 bananas and carrots and eating chub before you come to your senses.
Again @ thank you:
1)It was reported in the media before Dr. Brown left office that his wife had purchased a property in Martha’s Vineyard. I believe the price was about $500K, which in the States is a mansion.
2) Madoff had nothing to do with cost overruns to the tune of millions. He didn’t try to sell a 200% increase in building costs as a cost-of-living increase when the cost of living rose no more than 5%.
Madoff had nothing to do with the people’s money being wasted on first class travel, jet-set life style, body guards and limousines, Playboy mansion parties and millions spent on entertainment.
Re: corruption charges. In this country, where there is such a deep divide regarding this man, any corruption charge better have every “i” dotted and “t” crossed. But the one person who could bring charges, if such charges were valid, is blocked from acquiring evidence, that being the Auditor General. Any witnesses to such alleged wrongdoing are much more likely to have participated in it and are therefore unlikely to willingly provide evidence since they would be implicated too.
Its a very frustrating position for the Bermudian public. I truly wish the Governor would reconsider and call for a Commission of Inquiry. Although the commission might not be able to place criminal charges, the public would know once and for all whether or not we need to be ashamed of electing this man or we need to apologize and let it go.
In any case, Dr. Brown is just a symptom of our deeper malaise, as these posts demonstrate.
Right back @ you.
1) http://www.islandrealestatemv.com/realestate.php: Seriously, 500K can’t event buy you a condo. Do you really need to continue to make stuff up?
2) Maddoff is an example of the excess that led to the crash. If you think that some extra money spent on capital projects caused the economy to collapse then I really shouldn’t be arguing with you. There were no 200% increase in building costs, unless you are trying to talk about TCD where the Final set of plans (for all 3 buidlings) was $12. Overrun yes, 200% I don’t think so. Overruns are natural because government’s have dumb budgeting processes. Its NOT corruption, its someone wanting to get a project done, lowballing the first estimate. When the project is assesed and priced the first accurate estimate is made and THEN the decision is made whether or not to proceed. TCD’s Initial plan was 5Million in 2001, with plans left over from the UBP, when the first estimate was made it was $12 Million. Do your own research pastor, please stop taking the RG Hook line and sinker!…….First class travel, jet-set? you are kidding me right. Jet set is a private Jet, and yes, i’m sure you want the premier to sit in economy, but wouldn’t dare question the governor if he was up front. Playboy Parties? Are you aware the playboy mansion is an excellent marketing opportunity, if we want Bermuda to be high class you need to spend money where high class people play…. I bet you if he spend the same amout advertising on Rush Limbuaghs show you’d be cool with it. SMDH!
3) The Auditor General cannot bring charges, only the police can. You are right every charge must be thourougly researched, but if SCOTLAND YARD didn’t find anything why do you still feel the need to keep looking.
Is it becuase you cannot, as I asked before, even CONSIDER, that maybe it is politics and trumped up items, not based on fact. Can you even consider or admit that is possible?
I glad you thing that inorder for there to be corruption charges must be laid against a person. the UBP were cleared of all allegations thanks to you. I guess to you it only matters what they look like huh……………….
LOL
So, I withdraw the amount which was paid for Dr. and Mrs. Brown’s property in Martha’s Vineyard. I acknowledge that I didn’t do my research. However, given those prices listed on that site, I am sure she must have paid considerably more – perhaps it was $1,500,000. I don’t have the time or inclination to go looking for the actual price – I just remember noting it was in Martha’s Vineyard, the playground of the rich!
The extra money spent on capital projects most definitely was a part of the financial collapse – and you acknowledge there has been a collapse. I am not trying to say it caused it, but overspends, jet-set lifestyle (you don’t have to own a jet to display the trappings of that style) and general carelessness with the PUBLIC purse all contributed.
Rush Limbaugh is a blot on the human experience. However, whoever writes the Twitter site that has the copyrighted PLP logo backing it – https://twitter.com/#!/PLPbm/ is clearly related to him.
The investigation by Scotland Yard was terminated before it reached its conclusion.
Perhaps it is you who cannot consider that maybe, just maybe there really was some illegal and unethical behaviour that took place. Personally, I just wish we could get to the bottom and have the TRUTH, so we can get on.
$500k? Try $3 million.
What do you mean it was reported in the media. You really don’t believe everything you read in the media do you?
And even if his “wife” purchased a house at Martha’s Vineyard? Are you saying she shouldn’t have? What’s wrong with her having a house in Martha’s Vineyard. How much did your house cost you?
I really wish the Governor would reconsider his decision as well, so people like you could find something else to complain about other than Dr. Brown. You’re all sickening people.
Why do you put “wife” in inverted commas? Are you insinuating she isn’t his wife? That would raise questions as to who owns the matrimonial home in Bermuda, let alone the Brown Darrell clinic building since only one property is allowed to be purchased by a Bermudian married to a non Bermudian.
@ LaVerne: Amazing that you, a reporter, should question the veracity of news articles! But then, you call your offerings satire, don’t you, at least when you are called on them.
The comment on the house in Martha’s Vineyard was in answer to a question by a previous poster. I could care less about her house unless it should be found that she bought it with money that belonged to the people of Bermuda.
Please understand that, as I said previously, Dr. Brown is/was just a symptom of Bermuda’s malaise. We have major issues on this island that the ruling party do not appear to see. Perhaps, like the elephant in the middle of the room, they are hoping it they ignore it, no-one else will see it either, or maybe it will just go away.
Read the “Catch a fire” blog. Definitely worth reading. I highly recommend it.
Such a great speech and spot on.A leader that is not afraid something we need in this country in all sectors .
Most of you people posting love to hate Dr. Brown yet you can’t dispel anything he said. Guess what? He is a strong Black Man who is not afraid to tell it as he sees it and that scares you. That’s why you haven’t let him go since he left office. All we ever hear is EB this EB that. Now he has spoken and you have nothing to say but the same ol trash. Whatever, he stands by his words and needs no pen name. How about you? You are fake. I see the same with myself, all you ever do is pick out parts of what I say but never dispel the meat of what I say, and you pat yourselves on the back and think you said something, but you haven’t, and I will continue to speak the truth as will Dr. Brown. Speak to what he said and bring proof as to how he is wrong. I’m sure you can’t do that so you just speak hate. Stand down because you have nothing. He was speaking for himself, not Bermuda so what is your problem? Tax dollars didn’t take him there to speak, so what is your problem? I know your problem, its the truth. What’s up with that 1.6 mill that goes to government house? Any request for a cut there?
Moving up in the world eh Makai – as long as the PLP win the next election.
Makai still playing cards…..looks like crazy eights
Makai playing cards again…looks like crazy eights..
Another impartial Op-Ed, Makai?
what did he say Makai? aside from a poorly disguised jealousy about how he avoids customs at the airport and that the Governor should embrace the same accounting trick that his former colleagues have done.
His lack of accountability and his cringing and spineless colleagues need a special mention into how the facilitated the situation we have now (you know the debt, the crumbling infrastructure, the unsustainable civil service that you “hope” will be dealt with by the PLP.
I won’t be holding my breath for a reply – based on that piece in the paper I see it’s not really your game to deal with the facts.
You see , this is the thing with me . DREB and other black Bermudians and West Indians number one ambition in life is to become a black American . Even though they may eventually obtain a U.S. passport through marriage or stealth , they will never be a black American (true definition of African American is one whose forefathers have endured the rigors of slavery on the American continent only) . Another thing that disturbs me is the fact that after Independence many West Indians practically fell over each other to run to the former Masters country of origin , namely Britain and the Native American exterminators , America the country that enslaved untold millions of stolen Africans .
People tried to bring down Clyde Best for going to South Africa , but nobody cried down DREB for going to America to live and obtain knowledge from an extremely racist society . Dreb could have gotten the same or a superior education in the West Indies , but he elected to go to America why ,because , he felt privileged to be able to go to a racist society that he felt was better in every way than his West Indian heritage .
DREB is a fraud who has been exposed . I don’t care what he said down in Cayman , he is most comfortable hiding under the skirt of a Redneck .
Dr. Brown should continue to expose himself.
Ewart Brown, get lost and take that Lavern person with you.
There are still undertones running all through this blog. Those in support of versus those not in support of. But if you look deep enough the arguments are the same old wrestle for power, and in whose hands the influence, power and wealth should rest. I have serious issues with the management style of the previous premier, more so than with others. EB took over the helm at a time when the whole of Bermuda was open for unity and change. We were all ready for a new beginning and a fresh start. If you all remember, the electorate demonstrated their hope in the future with a mighty vote. I clearly remember the night outside Alaska Hall on Court Street. The air was thick with anticipation for change, which for the average Joe was to be life changing. EB, rode a wave in Bermuda. A wave which was made as Bermudians hoped not in a man but more so for change from a society that locked them out, to a society that included all. E.B. like President Obama rode the hope of a united people. A united people for change. We have never seen a moment like that before (Dr. Brown or Obama), and may never see again. (talking of the moment not the men).
My only desire for Bermuda (and the world), is for leaders that can lead by example. Leaders that can take the desire and hope of the people and ride them to greatness for all. That the GDP of a nation is shared by all (true per capita), and not just the so called elite. Where leaders have ability and knowledge to walk before other great world leaders in representation of Bermudians, yet still able to interact with the daily public.
We the people should screen the next leaders of the country as if they we being hired by a respected company. We the people need to look over the history, company, habits, belief, preferences, and wisdom. If there is accountability, integrity, humility and honestly.
If possible, we should learn from our combined experiences and never tread that way again. We should forgive and let go, but as we move on……. well,…… we as a people need to become brutally honest with one another, and even more brutal in the manner in which we hold our elected officials (not matter which office they sit) accountable. If leaders are to be found to be going astray, we the people rebuke them (warning). If the continue without regard, then we simply fire them. NEXT.
He was a nasty Yankee usurper trading on the the achievements of Frederick Wade, Jennifer Smith and countless other good people. Never forget that with Ewart, it is always about Ewart and nothing else whatsoever.
A good way to analyze the speech is remove the thought that it was given by Dr Brown and see if the content makes sense and is reasonable. Then we will all realize that it actually does and for most parts we would have said the same thing.
13 years of PLP rule means they should stop blaming whitey for everything and accept some responsibility and provide some accountability.
Dr. Browns list of accomplishments as our leader include:
$10 million over budget on the new TCD emissions facility
$30 million over budget on the new courthouse
$40 million over budget on Berkeley
$60 million for Dockyards new jetty which is already deteriorating & crumbling
Historical cedar beams missing
BHC scandal
And if we Bermudians were to judge our leaders by how they raise their families, as a father Dr. Browns list of accomplishments include: Two sons in prison – one for sexually assaulting multiple women.
Dr. Brown has zero credibility.
All he did was take from us Bermudians and give nothing back but high debt with no way to pay off and destitution with no jobs to be found.
Anyone who feels that someone else is superior clearly suffers from an inferiority complex. Dr. Brown just can’t let go of the fact that he was not allowed to have his own way and is still “throwing his toys out of the crib” and blaming others instead of honestly looking at his own flaws. Look at his behaviour since stepping down as Govt. leader vs. that of Sir John Swan. One interested in Bermuda’s future, the other in his own ego. It is clear that Dr. Brown never cared about Bermuda and it’s people and only cared about taking care of himself while Bermuda spiralled downwards with gun violence, rampant crime & unemployment, social unrest, cost overruns, exploding Govt debt etc.. Bermudians should ignore this man as he is only interested in himself not them.
Dr. Brown is still living in the 1960′s. This speech is irrelevant to Bermuda now except for the reference to the Governor considering taking a pay cut. The 1.6M spent on Govt. House is the similar to the alledged profit someone gets from the TCD deal each year…..
to many white racist comments and too many ignorant black comments..did any of you read what he said???????????? THERE IS NO MUTUAL INTREST and he is right!!! Look at what he said about the gang problem, how many of you fear to go out at night or that you may be a victim or your children??? And Dr. brown wanted to get proper assistance back before all of this started but britian denied Him and denied US!! And how a Canadian try to frame our Premier and is allowed to get away??? You people are slaves to a corrupt system
You actually believe Dr. Brown’s words! You cannot recognise that Dr. B’s goal was to get rid of the British so he could take actions on Bermuda for himself. He could not stand the fact that someone else was looking over his shoulder as Paula Cox was “only a cog in the wheel” as his finance minister. You actually believe that Dr. Brown cares about Bermuda! And you walk amongst us…
Actually, what happened was that the US did not offer assistance they offered advice with regards to the gang problem. The UK may have vetoed it because there were plans for an anti-gang task force from Birmingham to be installed on the Island. But at the time Col. Burch was in charge of immigration and as a result did not want to grant 3 + year work permits to cops from the UK. The plan fell flat on it’s face because of the PLP’s attitude towards immigration. Which is xenophobic to say the least. So get the story straight, the US offered advice, not in their right mind would they ever deploy American Cops in Bermuda a foreign territory!? Where we have a completely different system of law. You spout bull just like Ewart and his followers. Have you ever heard of the US deploying cops to a foreign country? Unless you are suggesting we should be a dependent state of the USA now?
If Doc Hollywood loves his country so much, Where is he? Anyone spotted him in BDA. I would love to see him come here and give a speech, he would never have the courage. Not only does he have property in Martha vineyard, but also in New York city. It just makes me sick that we still have to see his face on the front of our newspapers.
You drink way too much Kool-aid.
After reading all the visceral comments, which onto themselves are not entirely bad, as any debate is a worthwile one. One thing is clear…people still have strong feelings about Dr. Brown.
Not taking the story of his speech (be it here or other media) into account but his actual speech, he does have some valid points. What is sad is that the messenger (however caustic his delivery) is being debated here and not the message.
The man is nothing but a schoolyard bully. He may see himself as a big fish on the world stage but he is nothing more than a piranah in the litte pond that is Bermuda.
Consigning him to the garbage heap of history is up to the voters of Bermuda. He will be remembered as the worst Premier Bermuda has ever had. Paula Cox will follow as a close second. Vote the PLP out & Brown will disappear, never to be seen again except hopefully on some witness stand.
In the meantime he will hang on to any podium that he can find & put his face in front of any camera craving for attention & relishing the thought that people are angry at him & thinking about him.
He may be a very smart man but he is actually a nobody & he knows it.
You are the nobody. Day after day hiding behind your weird little tag name, spewing hate and venom. This guy stands up and sticks it to you and that defies the script for black men in this country and whether you are black or white you have a problem with that. He hasn’t said anything publicly since October 2010, almost two years and yet, you accuse him of hanging on to every podium and putting his face in front of any camera? Next time you’re invited to a Regional conference to speak because of the respect and admiration in which you are held because of your achievements and fearless leadership, let me know. When you have a compelling life story complete with recovering from the demeaning effects of institutionalized racisim to lead your country, let us know. When you can provoke strong emotions in anyone whatever their political leanings, let me know. Until then, sit back and watch a somebody in action. You are the nobody.And by the way, thanks to all this hate from you and others, that 70% of blacks who will vote next time just went up by 4 more people; my household is back.
And you indeed will get what you deserve for voting the debt loving party back in. Hope you have A LOT of savings for yourself and your children. If the PLP get back, in hold on tight cause it is going to be bumpy ride. On and I hope you have the option of moving out of Bermuda just in case. We should all have a plan B when living in Bermuda becomes impossible for the majority.
Do you have to take a shower after typing that?
Which is paid for already ass your an old dude. As far as you are concerned you got your f the youth of this country eh?.
LOL you and I know EB in your face style will never reconcile the race issues in Bermuda.
That should be as not a$$ I can’t even say that wasn’t a frudian slip………….
LOL
The best response is a personal attack. Is that the best you can do?
Thought I’d fight fire with fire. When you stop with the personal stuff about the guy’s family and stuff like that I’ll return the favour. Until then, don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.
Yea true, that is a plp tactic, displayed through a lot of these posts and the governments press releases. Like children in a sandbox…smh
This man seems to be cut from the same cloth as Obama. They had all historic futures on their side and pissed it away.History may just be a very short blurb on what could have been a gold standard for these two. This guy that HE could have fixed gang violence in Bermuda? Is he kidding? The same violence was going on whilst HE sat as premier. He talks about cutting salaries while HE would never think of it as HE was in government. But, as always these type people (snake oil salesmen)will always have followers no matter where they are lead.
TO ALL PEOPLE IN THE STRUGGLE DR.BROWN IS LIKE DR MARTIN LUTHER KING AND DR.E.F.GORDAN AND MALCOM X,..READ HIS LETTER AND THEN LOOK AT THESE PEOPLES COMMENTS
You are what you think your fighting against. Your personal struggle will never end….
SAD
LOL
I posted this on BDA SUN which applies to more their news article but my question remains the SAME :::
Where is Bermudas’ money Mr. Brown??
See below, seems every other country got “something” – where is Bermudas’ gift
for acceptance of the Gitmo Detainees?
see this link : http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=114_1291129234
Guantanamo inmates traded for money and Obama handshakes
Guantanamo detainee: ‘If there were colonies on the Moon, I’m sure they’d send us there’
VALENTINA POP
Today @ 09:45 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – European governments negotiating with the US on the resettlement of Guantanamo Bay inmates asked for money and meetings with Barack Obama, while others refused to accept Chinese Uighurs for fear of upsetting Beijing, diplomatic cables disclosed by WikiLeaks show.
Following Barack Obama’s pledge to close the ‘terror camp’ at Guantanamo Bay by January 2010, America’s diplomats engaged in frantic efforts to convince EU governments to take in some of the 60 former terrorism suspects who were free to go, but who could or did not want to return to their home countries.
The deadline has since foundered away, partly because few countries responded positively to the offers made by Daniel Fried, Washington’s special envoy on Guantanamo resettlements.
In cables seen in advance by Der Spiegel and the New York Times, Mr Fried reported back to Washington about which countries were willing to take former Guantanamo detainees and at what price.
The Bulgarian interior ministry, for instance, expressed willingness to accept two men, on condition that the US got rid of visa requirements for Bulgarian tourists and businessmen and helped with relocation expenses.
Mr Fried proposed “a symbolic amount in the neighbourhood of $50,000 – $80,000 per detainee.”
Similar amounts were offered to other countries as well. Mr Fried told politicians in the Maldives, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, that other states had received $25,000 to $85,000 per detainee to cover “temporary living expenses and other costs.” The Maldives could expect something toward the upper end of the range, he said.
Symbolic gestures were also highly prized. Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor, for instance, asked for a “20 minutes meeting” with Mr Obama and was encouraged to “do more” on taking in former inmates if he wanted to “attract higher-level attention from Washington,” according to the two newspapers.
Neither the prisoner transfer, nor the handshake between the two leaders ever materialised.
Mr Pahor’s office on Monday (29 November) said it had no information about Slovenia being told by the US administration that it would need to take a Guantanamo Bay prisoner if its prime minister wanted to meet Mr Obama.
Luxembourg was particularly reluctant to taking in detainees. A cable from 15 January 2010 shows that the government was only ready to “provide financial assistance, training and housing costs, and other technical assistance,” but not to take in any inmates. An account from a former detainee, Mozzam Begg, who visited Luxembourg and promoted the resettlement cause, says that “if detainees could fit in in Palau, they could do the same in Luxembourg.”
“Mr Begg deplored that certain people believe the world is not big enough for the ex-detainees. He added that if there were colonies on the Moon, “I’m sure they’d send us there,” the cable reads.
Other cables paint Germany in a particularly bad light for being reluctant to resettle a group of 16 Chinese Uighurs, for fear of a “diplomatic row” with Beijing. Even when Mr Fried insisted that Germany take at least two of them, who were very ill, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s security advisor Christoph Heusgen “was not optimistic that China would demonstrate any understanding for the two humanitarian cases,” the transcript says.
A cable from 8 May 2009 on an ambassadors’ meeting in Beijing says that “German ambassador Michael Schaefer reported that Germany had informed China of the U.S. request to accept some Uighur detainees held at Guantanamo and had been subsequently warned by China of ‘a heavy burden on bilateral relations’ if Germany were to accept any detainees.”
Finland was also bullied by China about the Uighurs. An aide to Finland’s prime minister confided in August 2009 “that Chinese diplomats in Helsinki have repeatedly warned them about the damage to bilateral relations should Finland accept any Uighurs,” a cable quoted by the New York Times said.
The two humanitarian cases were eventually taken up by Switzerland earlier this year.
Albania also took up five Uighurs, but back in 2006. In 2009, the Albanian government offered to resettle three to six detainees not from China. American diplomats portrayed his offer as “gracious, but probably extravagant.”
Bermuda received $1.8 million per detainee
and where did it go…?!
He didn’t leave office, he was told he’d better go…..or else!
Let’s take a breath and see what this speech has achieved.
1. It has energized the base of both Parties.
2. It caused the Governor from his holiday to both read it and respond.
3. It smoked out the Governor on a pay-cut.
4. It demonstrated that the country is starving for real leadership and passion.
5. It has provoked more comments than anything else in recent times.
In between huffing and puffing, have a read of the Gazette’s back page today and see the Irish issues. Seems “corruption” isn’t unique. Is Ireland a Banana Republic too?
Er..yes.
LMAO. Out of your own mouth……next time the OBA lists them as our competitor, I’ll know what to say in response….
I personally had the opportunity and the privilege to work with one of the Uighurs, who was absolutely disgusted by how he was treated by the Bermudian govt. as a whole. I am told the Bermudian government only accepted these asylum seekers in return for around $1.5 MILLION A PIECE! These men were shipped to Bermuda in return for cold, hard cash. And where is that cash? Oh, the million dollar question! It was never announced by any of the politicians in charge of this country at the time that they received funds in return for helping on this humanitarian mission. Ewart Brown, I’m sick of you and people of your ilk blaming others because you didn’t do your job. We as Bermudians have a gift. We live in paradise, but some still feel they should mess it up for everyone. If I ever have the “pleasure” of meeting you, lets just say I will not be civil.
thats a bold face lie i know each one of them personally, and they are happy to be hear and they nderstand what has been said but they are 100% grateful to the bda government so stop lying..by the way which 1 was it give a 1st initial and i would ask him…secondly that is only 6 million dollars what the hell is bermuda government gonna do with 6 million dollars and how does one hide 6 million dollars…rofl man we really have some ignorant people here
I know many families that could have benefited from that 6 million dollars, do you?
@Cab;t believe it: Your the ignorant one, can write and can’t spell. Maybe you should enroll in Ewart’s HTWP school. Think about the title.
Ask your ex premier, ass, because you don’t seem to have any answers yourself, name calling just like the rest of the paid bloggers. I’d be 100% grateful too if I traded waterboarding for wakeboarding idiot.
News flash I have it on very good authority that Brown’s comments were labeled “Double Unpatriotic” by Paula…..double because of the content and they were made in Cayman though they were not deemed as “Unpatriotic” as Bob Richards who was deemed to be helping Bermuda lose its competitive edge over Cayman Paula was very displeased and gave Brown a timeout and made him promise never to say bad things again….it is rumoured that he took the comments with good humor and grace and flew to one of his many homes to plan his next act of revenge….as if the 4 years he was in charge is not revenge enough
I have read this entire epic of bickering and inconsequential snubs. A few people have offered reasonable comments on the benefits of the relationship between ourselves and the UK. This forum shouldn’t be about Dr. Brown. Who cares? The discussion should be on the subject of the speech itself.
In my opinion $1.6 a year is an excellent deal for what we get out of our relationship with the UK – as someone said above we as a nation would probably pay 10x that in Visa’s every year if we lost our British passports. Yes we under the WHTI (western hemisphere travel initiative) which affords us the same rights as Canada when going to the US (I also believe there is a possibility that this would change if Bermuda was an independant nation) but if you have ever tried to go to a few other places other than the US on your Bermuda passport you will find that its not that simple. Where have all the young men who have been affected by our gang crisis gone to seek refuge, safety and a better life? The UK. Education, benefits and access the to the biggest economic zone on the planet are completely worth humoring some old dude in big house and chucking him $1.6 every year in my opinion.
I have not seen one, literally one argument for independence on this forum aside from a few emotional ones. Perhaps I am misinformed and could do some research as MIA says but I would love to start my research right now with a few passable, non emotional arguments on the pro’s of a nation of 40,000 people with zero natural resources and uncertain dept prospects to go independent. Please. I am being serious, I am not ridiculing anyone or being negative about anything aside from the speech subject matter – i genuinely want to read a few arguments.
Probably one of the best comments on here, but I know its just flew right over a lot of heads…some ducked.
So smart and a joy to read, thank you. Politicians are using this to charge up emotions. And the silly thing is if the majority of Bermudia truly wanted independence, they could have it.
Won’t see a response from MIA or Laverne here.. Only on the radical comments, never the sensible ones.
I am so glad they’re changing Par-La-Ville to Queen Elizabeth Park. E.B. must be beside himself LOL
Will the PLP be releasing a media statement calling into question Dr. Brown’s patriotism for making these remarks in Cayman?
My comments are meant for “David”. Your post summed up my feelings in 1998. What great potential…lost. Dreams for a better, more harmonious and prosperous Bermuda….dashed. It is time for a change…just as we changed the government in 1998, we MUST change the government at the next election. You can feel it….it is blowing in the air…..
So Brown is a strong black man can we hear somhting new?
Please correct me if I am wrong but didn’t John Swan offer independence on a referendum?
Secondly, the PLP has been in power since 1998, why is it they haven’t put issue of independence to referendum? I am a little confused here. Is this really an issue or more politricking?
The venom spewed on this site is truly amazing. The fact that we have so many people with such hatred in their hearts is scary, especially when few of the posters have ever had a conversation with Dr. Brown other than Bernews’ resident cleric, Pastor Syl.
In Bermuda Sun, the good pastor is quoted as saying “To be fully Christian, we must fully welcome all of God’s children to the table of the Lord”. I guess what’s she’s now saying is that Dr. Brown is not one of “God’s children”. She goes on to state in the same article that her “church” “believes in the message of love and compassion”, but I guess in her mind gays and lesbians should have love and compassion, but not Dr. Brown.
The good pastor further states in the same interview that she “would like to see Bermuda move away from its judgmental separatist present incarnation”. She further states in the same article that she would “like to focus on Bible study and how it relates to daily living in today’s world so people are practicing Christ-like living and ¬shedding such bad habits as back-stabbing and ¬gossip.” Yet, she had no problem posting the following comment “It was reported in the media before Dr. Brown left office that his wife had purchased a property in Martha’s Vineyard. I believe the price was about $500K, which in the states is a mansion”. I guess she forgot the Bible verse “In my Father’s house are many mansions”. But she did state in the same article that she was not that familiar with the Bible, although she is now “Pastor Syl”.
I wonder if the good pastor believes that Dr. Brown’s wife is not entitled to a mansion, in spite of her hard work and her success in her chosen field. I wonder if Pastor Syl believe that Dr. Brown’s wife should have waited until the death of both of her parents before she acquired a “mansion”. Check yourself Pastor Syl and each time before you post something about Dr. Brown or the PLP, bring to your mind the message and the Ministry of Jesus Christ and the gospel message. Let’s really work at “actualising God’s power to transform our divisive culture of hate, self-hate and violence into a community of healing and reconciliation”. Do that, or just start posting as Sylvia Hayward. Leave the “Pastor” bit out.
You are a child.
Instead of acting like a child you should respond to ‘Someone please’.
@ LaVerne: I must be a “special girl for you” since you pick on me even when I haven’t said anything! I don’t know what I have done to offend you, but whatever it is, I apologize most sincerely.
However, you are beginning to sound like a previous client of mine sitting in prison and cursing the judge who put him there – as if it was the judge’s fault instead of his own for committing the crime for which he was incarcerated.
If I note how divided this country is, am I being divisive? IF I speak on issues of concern, requesting they get resolved, is that backstabbing and gossip?
I believe in openness and transparency. I believe we are only as sick as our secrets. We cannot heal until we acknowledge that we are sick and establish where the sickness lies. It doesn’t make sense treating a sore toe if there is cancer in the gut. I think these forums are excellent because they provide a means of expressing our thoughts and feelings that has never been available before. Although there are some people who persist in making racist or xenophobic or even homophobic comments, many of the people who use this medium are making valid and thoughtful commentary, whether they are supporting either or neither political party…and that is how it should be, in my book.
That being said – please try not to twist my words or put words in my mouth. Both you and Dr. Brown are created in God’s image, and as such are His children. It is not my place to welcome or not welcome you or Dr. Brown to the Lord’s table, since it is perforce, not my table. However, as you quoted, I believe all are welcome: you, Dr. Brown, gays, lesbians, blacks, whites, mixed, PLP, UBP, OBA, etc., etc., as long as we come with a contrite heart.
You comment: “But she did state in the same article that she was not that familiar with the Bible” – I do believe that you have cherry picked that comment and did not include the last part of the statement. Since I don’t have the article in front of me I cannot quote, but I do know the intent – I do not, and may never, be as familiar with the Bible as I would like to be or even as some others are. I have ADD which impacts my memory and my ability to concentrate so I struggle to remember where passages are found, so I keep a Concordance handy.
I wonder why it bothers you so much that my screen name includes my earned designation of Pastor. I worked for it, passed exams for it and was ordained to it. Get over it, or join with me in “actualising God’s power to transform our divisive culture of hate, self-hate and violence into a community of healing and reconciliation.” I pray for you, Dr. Brown, all our elected and serving officials, and this beautiful but sadly torn island I call home, on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis.
I want to see Dr.Brown back maybe he can bring my favorite stars over wanna see lady Gaga in bda
Me too and Black Eyed Peas, Drake, Rihanna, and Gym Class Heroes!
What get’s me is the obvious polarization of our society, which leads me to believe that we have not gotten very far for our racial past.
One segment of our community look at our debt as a failure of Government to Manage the money (and will do their darnest to convince others) while another segment look at it as an investment in the country and people.
I look at the politicians of the past who were majority white, I look at Their Lifestyles and the Lifestyles of their offspring, I look at the Estates they live on. A great example would be Up Trimingham hill. I look at where the real thieves of this countries coffers hideout!(And I assure you that the value of these estates surpass 1 Billion)
So the PLP spent millions of dollars and had overruns, so what! At least we have tangible assets. Schools, Docks, Ferries, housing, new courts, national stadium swimming, investments in sports etc. Little of this public investment was done when a certain segment of society was in charge of the purse, however, I did notice investments in Mansions and Estates going up in Fairylands, Tuckers Town, Rural Hill Estates, Wreck road Somerset to name a few. And guess what else, hardly any of this Govt’s Politicians live the lifestyles of your former politicians!
And you yell and call this Government corrupt? I think you all are barking up the wrong tree. Then again, the more things change the more they stay the same.
Bermuda’s number one problem, excuses constantly being made for bad behavior.
This is what we do for our young and now we are doing it for the government, truly a shame. Personal responsibility is an extremely important trait in order to be successful. The government MUST TAKE personal responsibility for the bad financial decisions it has made. The young men involved in crime MUST TAKE personal responsibility for their decisions. The parents of these young men MUST TAKE personal responsibility if they didn’t raise their child to be a productive member of society. No more excuses. If you keep up with the excuses Bermuda WILL NOT see her way out of this recession, this I assure you.
What a pile of nonsense! Under the UBP our Country was doing extremely well… We all had well-paid jobs… Tourism was booming… IB was growing quickly… Crime was minimal… Our national debt was manageable… And we all got along famously.
Under the UBP more Bermudians were able to buy a home than ever before! And the black middle class was growing by leaps and bounds. Mostly thanks to John W Swan Limited.
On the other hand, under the PLP, particularly under Dr Brown’s regime… Well you know the sad story….
The only question you need to answer is: are you better off under the UBP or the PLP…?