Is bingo legal and poker not?

I was reading the BermudaSucks message board and found this recent article.

It mentions how the local poker tour is under fire and has now suspended operations.

One of the questions that I have had for a long time is why are all games of chance illegal in the eyes of the law yet bingo events are not?

Consider that both the poker tour and bingo events require entry fees of a sort, are games of chance (skill is involved at an experienced level), and offer prizes to certan 'victorious' competitors.

Not long ago, there was actually TV bingo, run by a sports club. There was no legal action taken then, to my knowledge.

As far as games of chance are concerned, I've been of the opinion that the government could implement an island lottery (heck, make it bingo-style if you prefer) with funds going to support athletes and young musicians, similar to what happens in Barbados.

Aside from that, I'd like to know from anybody if there is a difference between these two games of chance that merits banning of one and tolerance of the other. Consider also that betting on international football and horse racing has been going on for decades.

Gay agenda?

For some reason the whole situation concerning the cruise for R Family Vacations being set up, protested by local churches and then cancelled, has fascinated me and I've probably blogged as much about this as any issue not involving crazy Bermuda drivers.

Now Rosie O'Donnell apparently spoke about it on her TV show the other day. But even before then, I got into an interesting discussion with a friend who I'd describe as recovering Christian (apologies if this is a misnomer) and she laid out some strong feelings on why she was against the cruise coming here as well as the bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation which was raised last year but defeated without even a vote upon it. I'm probably going to hash it out when I'm back in Bermuda but I have a feeling that this is going to end up as something where the wisdom of Solomon could be required.

PrimeTarget mentioned something about all the publicity being part of an 'agenda' of sorts, which I really couldn't understand upon first reading. What kind of agenda? Pushing Bermuda to legalise the bill mentioned? And if so, was it the print media that was pushing it?

I think that maybe that's what the PrimeTarget staff are alluding to, or at least something to make the island more of a secular society and reduce the influence of the church. Again, more research may be required if this is indeed the case. But this story surely is going to hover around for at least a little while longer, I think.

Where's the gear?

This story about horses running and causing a lot of injuries at the first Harbour Nights of the season is some serious stuff. I hope the people injured get well quickly and steps taken to ensure this doesn't happen again.

In my CWC travels and the fact that there's only one more match to go, I've been looking for specific CWC gear. However it's amazing that neither of the official retailers in Barbados, Abed's nor Cave Shephard, have much available to choose from, unles you want India, England , Oz or South Africa gear. Maybe after the tournament's over people can get West Indies gear, but otherwise you're out of luck.

And if you want something cute for an infant to wear, you won't find it here. So, it will be online retailers(?) getting my dollars instead of the local market. Oh well. At least Bermuda's not alone when it comes to this miserable issue.

No host

Peachy. By some unknown and as yet unexplainable event, I suddenly have no content whatsoever on Beachlime. My host sucks. Only break I have is that because of earlier web host incompetence, the blog is hosted on Blogspot. Go figure. Stupid Host Department, LLC.

When I return from holiday, the quest for either GoDaddy or a superior service will begin in earnest.

I am in need of updating my Links section, as several sites currently there are dead, and there are others such as Bermuda Sucks and Catch A Fire among others which I'm totally willing to add; after all I tend to visit these and other local blogs/forums/media outlets on a daily basis these days, even when on vacation.

End of the Lara era

In cricket there are many great players, but few legends playing today.
Brian Lara is a legendary player, and I consider myself fortunate to have
been in attendance at the World Cup match in which he made his last playing
appearance.

Lara was a player, while the West Indies team continued to be vulnerable
and beatable, that you knew could single-handedly turn a match around for
the men in maroon. His talent and eye enabled him to play any kind of
stroke to any kind of delivery.

And while he was an ineffective captain there's no doubt that he was
passionate about the game and knew what it meant to West Indies supporters.

His last game, a dramatic and intense affair in which over 600 runs were
scored and 19 wickets fell, produced for him only 18 runs and a run-out
that appeared to be of his own making. He did not get to go out on a
winning note, but he'll be getting tons of accolades from persons far more
worthy than myself.

Thank you, Mr. Lara.

Why United by Faith is hypocritical

I should have brought this up in a previous post but when you're pressed for time in an Internet cafe, you sometimes overlook things. However:

If there was to be a "victory by God", wouldn't it have manifested itself in the United by Faith folks getting to minister to all the gay folks, have them renounce their lifestyles, claim Jesus as their saviour and immediately join in a nationwide prayer service?

However their victory is the cancellation and the now inability to reach out to these misguided souls clearly begging internally for saving and redemption.

This is by far the most stupidest bullcrap display that I have seen from this organisation. And yes, I'll use the cliche, 'lack of testicular fortitude', to describe their beliefs.

Praying for inappropriate things

Things that people have no right to pray for:

1. Victory in sporting events - does that make the opponents devilish heathens?
2. Misfortune to others - willing people are no longer visiting our beautiful island because of prayer, they say. Geez.

Maybe this list will grow someday.

Why do churches only come together to condemn gay folks?

I never hear of Days of Prayer or other large church-sponsored events being organised to discuss adultery. Nor for theft. Not even for murders. And definitely not for traffic issues, the housing crisis or caring for our elderly citizens.

But whenever it comes to gay people, they're all over the place. Why is this?

And with all due respect to Duane Santucci, I have two questions to ask regarding this article:

1. what does "lowering our standard's (sic)" mean, considering that the matter at hand was that gay people are visiting the island.
2. what would "having back bone" represent on the date of the cruise arrival?

Anyway, now church people are now attributing the cancellation of the cruise as "God's will", as if the Lord had significant interest in this silly matter.

Cricket passion

With all due respect to Bangladesh, the most singularly passionate cricket nations have to be India, Pakistan and the West Indies in no particular order. This is because unlike Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England who have other sporting areas of historic excellence, thes countries' only mark on the international sporting stage is in cricket. So it is a bit sad that each of these three countries (in the Windies' case, collection of countries) have struggled mightily in the World Cup.

However, we're poised for some thrilling semifinal encounters and it's hard to argue that the best four countries in this tournament aren't represented.

Bus schedule chaos, figures

This amused me. Another case of a policy implemented without consultation with those expected to adhere to it. Whoops, Government. Please don't become like my current employer.

Death to apostrophes

The Gazette does it all the time. The Bermuda Sun is another victim. Local blogs, including some of my favourite sites, feature them as well.

It's not a purely local phenomenon, but it seems to run rampant in this island everywhere from the newspapers to billboards, flyers and other published materials.

Yes, I speak of the terror that is indeed the apostrophe, namely apostrophe-S.

Oh, and I'm actually serious, this isn't a spoof or satire or anything. I really hate the poor use of "it's" when "its" is called for, or when "your" is used instead of "you're". Seriously, what the hell is wrong with editorial staff of our daily newspapers? Is it one of those MS Word allows it, so it must be okay, kind of things? Come on, Bermuda! Let's set a proper example for our kids already!

What if Independence was in the Election manifesto?

The topic of Independence had been relegated to a side story in previous months; after much discussion and so-called fact-finding, nothing in the end was decided in regards to whether or not we would be voting for Independence via referendum or if we'd vote for whichever political party wins the next General Election puts Independence in its manifesto.

It's no secret that the goal of the PLP party is an independent Bermuda, and fair enough. Heck it should be all of our goals as Bermudians to one day become an independent nation. But what with all these undertakings that the ruling Government has taken in recent weeks: the announcements of new hotel ventures, new methods of tackling traffic congestion and other proposals, plus the belief that the UBP is so disjointed and the fledgling ABC likely to pull votes in a way that would benefit the PLP, I think that there's a chance that the Premier could very well include Independence in an election platform, and still roll to victory even if the majority of Bermudians don't want Independence, or at least want the matter decided separately.

PrimeTarget

I'm happy to announce that my first client site, primetarget.org, was launched over the Easter weekend. Using the Joomla! content management system and a series of installed components and templates, as well as good ol' html and css manipulation, my client and I have produced a site which will serve the function of delivering content articles and opinions for the Bermudian public.

Give it a visit. Just note that the content within, including the content layout/font schemes is that of the site editorial staff, I'm just the tech guy, mm-kay? Heh.

Southwark's plan for affordable housing

Came across this piece in Barbados's Nation newspaper regarding affordable housing. Southwark is a district, I suppose is the best definition, of London (I passed through there on the tube, if that means anything).

They have legislation whereas any new developments include residential components and rented to those in need through housing corporations. It looks like this may at least be considered in Barbados; but I think this ought to be applied to Bermuda as well.

I'll quote the contributor directly: "The argument that it would put off developers is only popular with developers, and their lobbyists. After all, the legislators are elected by, and have a duty to provide for, the population, rather than accommodate the will of investors." Indeed.

Four thousand a month is low-end rent

So I'm reading the Gazette this morning and stumble across this article relating to rental properties in town. My eyes glaze over as usual as I hear about how everybody's a winner with these city apartments, et cetera, et cetera, blah blah blah. Then I stumble across this final paragraph:

"Coldwell Banker’s analysis of the rented properties market over the past 14 months reveals that in the three rental sectors, those at the lower end (up to $4,000) are being rented out for an average of $3,986, those in the middle-market are renting at an average of $6,451 and those at the high end at $11,767"

I think it's quite depressing to see that properties at the "lower end" are being rented out for a value which exceeds my monthly wages. I tell you, affluence is such a misnomer when it comes to this darn island.

Glorious cricket

I just love when cricket tournaments are so darn predictable and boring, don't you?

Well done Bangladesh!

How Bermuda plans to reduce traffic

The Premier has taken the route of assigning a fixed number of cars to businesses employing more than 10 guest workers. The available cars will be distributed (are these physical cars or car licences? How does this work? Are guest workers forbidden to purchase a car unless the employer gives the green light?) to guest workers at the discretion of the employer.

Bermuda Sun of course is one of the first to post this online. The Government web portal has the full speech, but it's inexcusably in a MS Word document format. Yeesh.

But anyway. The formula itself will work. It's also going to ruffle the feathers of expats who may feel discriminated against. The single person or single couple living in the far east or west of the island may have to (a) get a bike on which they may not feel safe upon, (b) rely on buses or ferries and their limited schedules, particularly if they live near say Devil's Hole, (c) rely on taxis. I recognize that you can't please everyone and the move will likely make the voting populace feel at ease as they're not affected negatively.

As for the other initiatives, free public transport. I have no idea if it will sell. Bermudians never "go back" to "inferior" transport. When people get their bikes, they'll never catch the bus. When they get a car, they avoid bikes at all costs. It's about status, not price. It's why people will fill up City Hall and Par-la-ville car parks and pay the fees even though buses and ferries over the course of a month will save them a good chunk of money. And I still disagree that increasing the schedule of buses on the major routes is enough incentive for people to leave the car at home. What I think is good is the mini-bus services in conjunction with public transport, so we'll see how that turns out.

The initiatives for promoting car-pooling, well they're well behind. I'd like to see something announced along those fronts.

The second-hand car market issue I'm not certain about. I can see that it's desired to eliminate it (or at least reduce it significantly), but many people can't afford a new car. People need to be careful here.

Impounding vehicles not insured or licenced is good. Also where a driver isn't licenced or insured, impounding the vehicle should be considered on a case-by-case basis. I think in situations where the driver is vaulting at 90kph, take the car away too.

The Premier discusses briefly the demerit points system for licencing. Wouldn't it be great to see this implemented? Personally I say just take them off the road, but this is overdue and if enforced (we're going to need cops on the street for this, people) then it'll help not necessarily with traffic reduction but at least taking the Evel Kinivels off the road and making our pedestrians and other motorists feel safer.

Dey teking dahn de dish

I'm going to miss our big ol' dish at Cable & Wireless. It's been easily one of our most noticable structures on the island and had been around for over 20 years.

Bloody motorcades

We get it, Somerset Trojans. Your side won the Friendship Trophy final yesterday. The lunchtime motorcade, we appreciate. But seriously, there's no need to parade through the streets again at 5pm beeping your bloody horns yet again.

Lord have mercy. Motorcade for everything. And don't those guys have day jobs anyway?

Hang on, they're passing through yet again. Jeez. And there's another Cup Final taking place in a week or two. Whoopee.

People still slagging Bermuda cricket

While Bermuda's already gotten knocked out of the World Cup, some guys still find delight in making fat jokes and claiming that the side which qualified fair and square had no rights to be there.

When I read this Cricinfo article, I wonder again if the consipracy theory that the expanded qualification was only to afford the USA (and possibly the UAE with their financial spending power) the opportunity to qualify so that they could reap more advertising and sponsorship dollars, and they were simply distraught that tiny Bermuda would qualify and there's only so much you can advertise to a country of 60 thousand?

On the flip side of the coin, people continue to whine that India didn't make the second stage. They suddenly want the tournament overhauled so that India would automatically be in the second round or something. I think they'll get their wish because the ICC knows that well over half of their monetary gainings will be coming from that country. It's sick but a fact. So enjoy Ireland's Cinderella story as much as you can, everybody.