Gunfire on Court Street

It was always naive to think that Court Street's problems could be solved by a lick of paint. When a gunman entered the Swinging Doors nightclub and shot and injured three people this morning, it demonstrated why.

Less than a year ago, Government ministers were lining up to hail the redevelopment of the area. Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown hoped that the revamp would be "contagious". Minister of Public Safety Randy Horton said, "I can assure the people in the area that we will be providing all the support that we can to businesses to ensure that people coming into the area have the quality of an experience they expected".

It's safe to say that being shot at was probably not the quality of experience that the occupants of the club were expecting. And let's hope the use of guns doesn't start spreading to the rest of the Island. Few tourists frequent Court Street at night, so this incident seems unlikely to have an adverse effect on tourism. A similar occurrence in a Front Street bar, however, could be devastating.

Back in January, Mr. Horton promised that CCTV cameras would start to be installed on Court Street "within the next ten days". Last month it was reported that installation would be complete by the end of March. With luck, the culprits of this latest crime will have been caught on them.

» I heard Randy Horton on the radio this evening, admitting that the CCTV cameras were still not in operation. However he insisted that he would be putting pressure on people to get them operational within the next three weeks.

Comments

[Amin Swan on 24.04.06 at 14:34]

The Culprit/s in this incident need to be apprehended sooner rather than later and an example be made of them. This type of Nonsense has no place in Bermuda.

[cynic on 24.04.06 at 14:41]

Hopefully they will be caught and apprehended...but why does every occurrence in Bermuda have to be tied to the government??

It is not the governments fault that this lunatic decided to shoot these people. Even if there were CCTV's installed, there is no guarantee they would have been focused on that particular spot at that particular time.

This was the result of one ignorant fool who deserves to be dealth with on the harshest of terms. However, Limey, to insinuate that the CCTV would have stopped this from happening is pure speculation.

[SmokingGun on 24.04.06 at 14:50]

Swizzle Inn - "Swizzle Inn & Stagger Out".

Swinging Doors - "Shots on the rock and.... stagger out"

Cynic - I don't think Limey was trying to insinuate anything. I think he was just being a wise-acre about the fact that they probably don't have the CCTV set up yet. You know, the cameras that will act as a deterent to crime and help catch the bad guys. If they're up and running then hopefully they'll put a face to the perp. Right?

[Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. on 24.04.06 at 14:58]

Cynic,

I agree with you, it seems that everytime anegative event occurs in Bermuda it results in someone saying the government should have done this or that. Outside of creating a police state there is no government on the face of the earth that has been able to prevent and eradicate crime.

I think we need to focus on the event and the person responsible rather than use these occurrences to place blame on the government.

Limey should be very well aware that although there are CCTV cameras used in London, crimes still occur. Would he blame the British Government for those crimes? If not, why is he trying to blame the Bermuda Government for this crime?

[cynic on 24.04.06 at 14:58]

SmokingGun,

U could be right...but i just seem to notice that everytime something negative happens there is a link that is made to the government as if they can control every thing that goes on.

[Zoom on 24.04.06 at 15:16]

I hope the CCTV was functioning; and if it was not, that we get an explanation why. So much money has been poured into that system - yet you rarely hear of it being a factor in law enforcement.

And puhleze, Ewart's handout to Court Street was pure pork.

[SmokingGun on 24.04.06 at 15:31]

Guilden - I don't get the feeling that Limey is trying to say the government is at fault. I think his point is more that the problems in the area of Court Street cannot be eradicated simply by tossing some money at a paint job and expecting the tourists (and locals) to start spending time and money there. There are still some serious underlining issues with the area that need to be addressed and quickly. His jab at Randy was to simply say stop talking and get the CCTV system up and running so the improvement efforts keep moving forward. Seriously, how much on top of the CCTV program is Randy? Not much if you ask me.

[Adjustah on 24.04.06 at 15:47]

"I hope the CCTV was functioning; and if it was not, that we get an explanation why"

Wouldn't matter if it was - the system is analog, not digital i.e. not admissible in court.

Rather than bitching about who's fault this is, what about discussing the real question - How'd someone get a firearm in here?

They've been here for years, one of my more delinquent children up at Camp quickly stripped (and reassembled) a 9mm Beretta during an introduction to firearms lesson. Scary.

[Bill Cook on 24.04.06 at 15:49]

Cameras are a useful tool for dectecting and identifying perpetrators and to this end they were effective in identifying the second wave of bombers in London in particular,which I think was useful.

I have been pushing for cameras in the Paget pharmacy area which seems to attract its share of trouble and violence where people can be murdered in full view of many people who suddenly become blind.

The cameras should assist that problem and make prosecution easier with visual evidence.
but to date to the best of my knowledge that has not taken place.

As it is the responsible of government to enact legislature to put in place protective measures for our people then to that extent we look to them to do that, which is included in what we elected them to do.

The only people who would object in my opinion would be those that did not share my view of that responsibility and are more interested in defending government than its law abiding citizens.

I have spent time in Singapore and found that it had a pretty low crime rate because its government has a zero tolerance policy which I am sure contributes to its tremendous success.

[sayit aintso on 24.04.06 at 16:04]

The job has been rampant with rumours today. One is that some people in the regiment are selling ammo and weapons from the regiment supply. Another is that there are tons of guns and ammo buried all over the place as no one would be dumb enough to store these things in their homes. I have no clue if either of these things are true. Can anyone tell us how the regiment stores its ammo and weapons and what kinds of security it has over its inventory?Today I have already heard so many versions of what went down its hard to believe any of it including the weapon was semi automatic. Ahhhh..the rumour mill.

[loki on 24.04.06 at 16:06]

"Wouldn't matter if it was - the system is analog, not digital i.e. not admissible in court."

Erm, that's not correct, Adjustah. There's no rule in civil or criminal law to that effect.

[jake on 24.04.06 at 16:20]

I doubt that the weapon could come from the Regiment, but anything is possible.

Ammo is counted out, and signed for and spent shells are counted back in. Every time.

Handguns are rarely even seen, much less handled, and I would like to hear more from Adjustah on how a handgun was used in an intro to firearms lesson. Handguns are never issued to soldiers and are not part of the training. They are used by the Regiment as a special training for JNCO's and SNCO's, but not with any regularity at all.

Would love to hear how that happened.

[Full Fullish on 24.04.06 at 16:22]

This is so sad. IMO the blame needs to fall squarely on those doing the crime, this being said, the blame in a few months can easily start to shift to the police department if they don't have any leads.

I don't think Goverment can be blamed for this, although having proper safeguards in place, such as CC cameras and regular patrols down court street could have helped to stifle this, and my help in future.

What I do know is that the gang element here, which was a joke about 10 years ago, has been showing more and more organisation lately, evidentally with lethal success (This murder, the Cooper Twins, etc). By both the Government and the Police sitting on their laurals over this is going to have this country turning into another East LA atmospher. This could have been stiffled along time ago, but nothing was done. It can still be stiffled, however the situation will be more serious and so will the consequences. Doing nothing about it for another few years or so will allow the gang element to be firmly rooted here to the point where it will be almost impossible, or at the very least a bloody war to remove.

[SmokingGun on 24.04.06 at 16:23]

sayit aintso - you raise some good points. I too would be interested to know how well the regiment keeps tabs on it's inventory. And I have no doubt there are quite a few weapons stashed around the island.

[Full Fullish on 24.04.06 at 16:30]

Jakes right, I would be VERY surprised if the ammo and/or guns came from the regiment. The regiment is EXTREMELY anal when it comes to issuing and then counting back in weapons or ammo (even blanks).

If it did come from the ammo stores directly, then it could quickly be tracked back to one may be two people. The very people who have the keys and who sign for everything coming in or going out. A quick inventory on this would find any discrepancies.

[cynic on 24.04.06 at 16:33]

Lets not get overdramatic here. As horrible as it this is, Bermuda is not becoming East LA. When was the last time there was a shooting? Years ago. Yes this needs to be addressed and swiftly, but lets not believe that we are a community that cannot drive down the road without getting shot, etc. Lets not go overboard.

[SmokingGun on 24.04.06 at 16:34]

Jake & Full Fullish. Good to know. Thanks.

[Adjustah on 24.04.06 at 16:43]

Loki

"Erm, that's not correct, Adjustah. There's no rule in civil or criminal law to that effect."

Perhaps, but if the tape has been reused for 10 years, over and over again, any good defense lawyer should be able to argue as to the image quality etc. Not saying that they'd win.

Jake,

The intro was done during recruit camp. Basically they had a variety of weapons out to show what types of firearms were in the armoury. No firing. Have a look, pass around, pass back. The guy was severely bollocked. However, most recruits will fire a Beretta at least once in their Regimental career - usually on the ranges at Lejune or CFB Valcartier - or wherever they go.

Can't speak for it now, but the Armory was well secured back in my day, as I'm sure it was in yours. Live ammo was also strictly controlled by only one or two very senior NCO's and weapons are counted often. (I do hear tell of a missing, but soon recovered, Ruger this recruit camp, though?)

I would highly doubt that the weapon in question came from the Regiment. More likely in via private boat. Same with the ammo. Tow it in, float it, GPS it, sink it somewhere and send the GPS coord's to the retrieval crew.

[Full Fullish on 24.04.06 at 16:53]

Cynic - Just cause it doesn't involve guns doesn't mean that it's not gang based. Lets look at a larger scope.

What about:

The Wellington Oval
The Cooper Twins
Every month someone gets stabbed or hacked/slashed

This in the last year alone.

You sound just as I did about 10 years ago, and now I've stopped laughing. Mark my words, in another 10 years you will to if this goes on unchecked.

But hey, don't take my word for it, why don't you put on a gang colour, red for example and take a stroll into the opposite gangs turf, then tell me if you're still laughing....

[lost in flatts on 24.04.06 at 16:59]

I'm quite sure the gun didn't come from regiment, it seems much more likely it was just smuggled in by ship. Great to know not only our gangs clearly in possession of firearms, but they're not ready to use them. I bet the culprits will be protected by their cousins/aunts/uncles and the courts will let them off for some stupid reason like broken home, no fatherly figure or another such. They'll be painted like a saint by their family, and might get two years after good behaviour. Sigh. I hope I'm wrong, but just seems to be the way things go these days.

[cynic on 24.04.06 at 17:04]

Full fullish,

I wear whatever color i want wherever...

I agree that there are certain territorial issues, but bermuda is nowhere near east LA or anything of that sort. Yes we have our problems, but most people I interact with do not feel as though their lives are endangered simply by existing. In east LA and other areas, you can get shot simply for walking down the road in the wrong color. That is not going to happen in bermuda. Anyone who gets hurt or attacked 'usually' has a beef with someone else. It is hardly ever a 'random' act.

[cynic on 24.04.06 at 17:05]

Full fullish,

Also I was never laughing at the situation. At all. I don't see the humor at all. I don't know where you got that impression from.

[SmokingGun on 24.04.06 at 17:15]

The thing that bothers me is that this happened in a very public place. Don't know if it was a robbery attempt or a drug deal gone bad but the fact that someone took it upon themselves to walk into a public bar and start shooting is concerning. Recently laws have been passed banning the carrying of machetes with guaranteed long term imprisonments yet there are still far too many instances of machetes being brandished. Is it becoming cool to up the ante in Bermuda?

[Bill Cook on 24.04.06 at 17:27]

Bermuda has had its share of gun related deaths and woundings for all its tiny size and small population.

I do not think there is any shortage of guns for those that want them and if one were to spend time going around certain clubs and nite spots you may see another side to Bermuda you never knew existed.

There are many many more random acts of violence that never get reported than do so if one use that criteria its just plain foolish.

Rape for example would be the classic example as its almost epedemic now but there are many cases of attacks on people that were not in any way involved in criminal activity but simply shouted out to road users etc who were beaten badly etc even schoolboys are ganging up and using knives to rob other lone boys.

We have a tendency not to like facing reality its maybe a Bermudian thing.

[Full Fullish on 24.04.06 at 17:35]

Cynic - "but bermuda is nowhere near east LA or anything of that sort"

The point I'm making is that Bermuda is going down that street. You can't deny that the level of voilence, gang related has been on the incline in the past decade. If it's not stopped, what is to stop it from climbing? You admit yourself that there are turf wars or territory issues, how do you think places like East LA started?

[Full Fullish on 24.04.06 at 17:36]

Cynic - "Also I was never laughing at the situation. At all. I don't see the humor at all. I don't know where you got that impression from."

I was speaking metaphorically, or rather it was an expression.

[SmokingGun on 24.04.06 at 18:10]

An old girlfriend who lives in Jamaica never leaves her property without a gun concealed under the front seat. I do not think Bermuda will ever get to that stage (and I certainly hope it doesn't) but I don't for one moment think there isn't half a dozen hot headed cooligans driving around prepped for a fight on any given week-end night. The trouble is once something like this happens the other idiots figure they need to get guns to protect themselves.

[bda youth on 24.04.06 at 18:58]

its sad because as a 20 year old female, i'm terrified to drive anywhere alone at night, walk down front street, or even go into docksiders. it seems everytime i go to town for an evening of fun there's a fight, someone pulls a knife out, or something of that nature. the other problem is that this might not be east LA, but the problems are not only on court street! we're having machete fights on front street! you never see that sort of thing in the business districts of other cities. the island is going down the drain and we're all sitting around watching it happen. whats worse, my step sister, who's only 14, thinks this is all sooo cool and embraces this whole 'gangster' culture. when are these kids going to smarten up!?

[Shelby on 24.04.06 at 20:03]

Bermuda is becoming just like Jamaica, Where the hell is our so called Govenor ??we now have guns being fired in a night club !!!!!! the D.D.P.is in a @#$%^&* mess like it or not the gangs are in charge and we stupid Bermudians and Government are letting them get away with murder !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sir John Verker we need to hear from you.

[novote on 24.04.06 at 20:17]

Cynic,

I believe that somebody was shot dead outside Club Malabar in 2004. That would be a shooting incident in my book.

[Etihops on 24.04.06 at 20:19]

Shots fired in Swinging Doors, my head hangs in shame…

What’s done in the shadows gets the light of day shone in its face at some point! We’ll find out who did this. Police should take note of who leaves the island in the days that follow. Outsiders shouldn’t be ruled out as its fashion for someone to bring in someone to do the dirty work.

The guns could have come from anywhere that sells guns and have been smuggled into BDA via air or ship, for one it wouldn’t be original most of the guns on the island come in that way. To me this is an indication that the levels of stress are growing among the local community. As stress increases people get brazing and lose the element of fear. This is grave anyway you look at it. And a sure indication of even worse unannounced events that are to take place because that’s a part of the package deal if we continue to trudge the road we’re on.

The thing about cameras is if people know they are there they’ll just cover themselves that much better. Not that I don’t think they don’t have their place. I just doubt they’ll deter real crime from taking place.

Yes Bermuda as American and Jamaican gangsta culture installs itself upon our compatible drives we must stop and ask ourselves what can we do to help our island take a culture pill in the right direction. Can the reality of our being completely out of touch with our cultural bankruptcy be that visible that our youth are showing us all the signs for us to s read or push even further in applied denial?

[Bill Cook on 24.04.06 at 20:20]

bda youth,
Thank you for telling it like it is.
There is no doubt that we have in my opinion lost control of behavioural problems for a variety of reasons while we bullshit over other less important issues and it is truly depressing.

Recently we had a former premier who said and I quote " Law and order is not the solution "

My response was what solution is possible WITHOUT LAW AND ORDER ?

We have lost control of our Police Service and the inmates control Westgate in my opinion and as long as we collect taxes from our burgeoning ID to fund every hare brained scheme and the haves are living high on the hog not much will be done to address the real issues facing Bermuda.

We have idiots whose agenda is as transparent as an Onion skin preventing accountability and supporting failed policies that will ensure a continuation of the same for the foreseeable future ie " he or she may be an incompetent asshole but they are our incompetent assholes "

Meantime the quality of life continues to deteriorate and as I have said will continue until we have a turn down in our economy and a reduction in the so called good life by so many only when it hits their pockets.

Of all the nite spots Docksiders has the best security in my experience but I dont go out at nite much anymore and I stopped going to football matches long ago too dangerous by far.

[Bill Cook on 24.04.06 at 20:28]

Shelby
Last I heard Vereker was seen wearing a Toga and playing a Fiddle.

What a total waste of Oxygen he is in my opinion.

[SmokingGun on 24.04.06 at 20:41]

21 square miles. 70,000 people. If the perp isn't caught pretty damn quickly I'd say we've got more than a serious problem on our hands. No-one prosecuted for Club Malabar? This just after the Fox episode on Rebecca Middleton's murder?

I've been a great fan of Hubie's over the years and the people and music has been great but I'm sorry, unless this is proven to be just some stupid personal grudge over a jealous love interest I'm staying away from that part of the city for the time being. Which is a great damn big pity because there are some great places back of town. Hubies for one.
Now there was a man who did a lot for the people of Bermuda.

[smith on 24.04.06 at 21:10]

"What a total waste of Oxygen he is in my opinion."

An should the 'total waste of oxygen' actually attempt to do something about this, he'll be termed the 'oppressive representative of the monarchy"...trying to tell Bermuda what to do.

[Phil on 24.04.06 at 21:19]

I heard Randy Horton on the radio this evening, admitting that the CCTV cameras were still not in operation. However he insisted that he would be putting pressure on people to get them operational within the next three weeks.

Obviously, the only person at fault for the shooting is the person who pulled the trigger. And certainly there's no guarantee that the cameras would have helped deter or catch him. But the Government clearly believes cameras will help, otherwise they wouldn't be pushing them.

I agree with SmokingGun - I'm a big jazz fan and I'd love to go to Hubie's from time to time (from what I've heard about it). However the idea of going to that neighbourhood late on a Friday or Saturday night makes me very nervous.

If the Government and the businesses there really want to turn Court Street into Bermuda's French Quarter they need to make eradicating the crime and the undesirables their number one priority. Nothing else matters right now.

[32n65w on 24.04.06 at 21:27]

What cameras do is allow government to steer the crime where they want it. This was seen in London on Oxford Street. Oxford Street used to be full of illegal street traders, selling mostly fake or stolen goods. They put cameras up and no, it did not stop the crime but it moved it off Oxford Street where the tourists want to go.

[32N65W on 24.04.06 at 22:00]

There are no rules regarding aceptability of digital or analogue evidence in court, both have been accepted here and overseas. The bottom line is "do you believe that that picture was taken by that system or that officer?" It is the evidence of the officer first and foremost, the system, whatever it is, laser, radar etc. corroborates his evidence.

[novote on 24.04.06 at 22:01]

32n65w: So...the problem is not Court Street...it's the undesirables! Perhaps if we put cameras everywhere the undesirables will leave the Island!!!

[Seán Pòl Ó Creachmhaoil on 25.04.06 at 05:44]

I seem to recall this isn't the first shooting in a Court Street nightclub. I'd avoid the knee-jerk tendency to think that guns are the problem. There have always been legal firearms in Bermuda, but the few crimes committed with firearms are inevitably committed with illegal weapons. Getting a pistol into Bermuda can hardly be much of a challenge, given the lorry loads of drugs that make it in, and HM Customs simply can't check everything that comes in without shutting down all imports.
The conspiracy theories over the source of what is undoubtedly one of trillions of handguns manufactured and out in the world are a bit absurd. As in America, I reckon we'd do better to concentrate on the root causes of the violent crime in Bermuda...and, to my mind, the public display with machettes and clubs at a sporting match a few years ago was even more alarming, revealing, with the number of its participants and its brazeness, a culture of violence in which a certain quarter of our society seems steeped.
Most don't have access to firearms, but seem to be more effective with knives.
Maybe we're too close to the USA, although we cannot physically move the island, and will be obliged to take responsibility for our own miscreants. The problem is akin to that in the USA, where many people think the legal accessibility of firearms is the cause, not the country's violent history, or its inequitable and moralistically repressed society and culture. In Switzerland, where every man between 18 and 54, or so, has a government-issued assault rifle and ammunition in his closet, usually beside a rack of personal firearms, the incidence of violent crime with (or, for that matter,) without the use of firearms, is relatively rare. Other countries with similar levels of firearms ownership to the US (Canada, and Australia,) also have nothing like the level of violent crime, with or without firearms. All of this hilights what Michael Moore asked Moses in his Columbine follow-up film, "do you think maybe the problem is we're just a violent people?" (or words to that effect). I would have snot have asked the same question about Bermudians a few years ago, despite the occasional atrocity committed by an individual (the pretty girl who used to buy cigarettes in Bermuda Wines and Spirits, when I worked there, who was murdered in her workplace in the Chamber of Commerce. Helen Rowe, who I highly regarded, who died the same way. The woman and her children brutally murdered with a kitchen knife by her boyfriend at about the same time).
I still like to think that most of us are a gentle, neighbourly people, but there seems to be a large and growing minority of which a tendency to violence seems to be only one of a number of social problems it exhibits. There seem to be lot of people, all of a sudden, who don't just need to be disarmed, but put safely in cages, as one does with dangerous reptiles.
I'm sure succesive Bermuda governments, parliamentarians in general, parents, and others with responsibility for shaping and furnishing the minds of rising generations, have some responsibility for the situation we find ourselves in. If so, the lack of cameras on Court Street is the least of their failings.

[lost in flatts on 25.04.06 at 06:25]

It's not a problem of camera's, gun control, police presence or bad neighbourhoods, it's a problem of mentality. I've been in violent situations in Bermuda, as well as the US, and the culture honestly is that the one guy in the crowd perpetrating the violence is not restrained, but actually encouraged by the others. For whatever reason, current 'pop' culture seems to promote violence. I can't count the number of times I was threatened growing up in Bermuda by small crowds of kids just hanging out. And I can only presume they felt pretty damn cool, as bdayouth's example of her sister testifies. I'm not about to get all academic and start analysing music and film tastes, roll models, education and commitment to clubs and socities, but just about every indicator is heading in the wrong direction.

The frustrating thing is that Bermuda is so small and so fortunate that unlike your LA's or Kingstons, there is real possiblity that it could be made better. But instead it's the age old 'just stick a band aid on it' solution. Camera's might aid police in catching the attacker this time, but won't prevent the next one.

[silencedogood on 25.04.06 at 09:34]

Nip it in the bud. Bermuda has allowed rot to fester by being permissive of the various incidents listed above. Full Fullish is spot on in saying that if we continue to allow this slide there is no telling where it will end up. Better to stop it while it's still possible.

How? Make jail a real punishment. Tell the police to get their ass in gear to investigate and punish crimes. Don't settle for the cock and bull stories of "I had a bad childhood" but instead expect people to bear the consequences of their actions. Lastly, get the education system in gear so our kids learn something. If you know how to think and have a future you will be less susceptible to peer pressure, gangsta rap, arnold swartzenegger movies, or whatever else is being blamed these days.

[hotspur on 25.04.06 at 09:54]

“….Sir John Verker we need to hear from you”

Sir John sits in his lofty mansion sipping his early evening tea when he sees the distress sign in the sky above the gansta-riddled metropolis of Hamilton. “The people need me” he thinks and walks over to an innocuous bookshelf, pushes a book and, lo and behold, a secret cavern is reveled that descends into the depths of the mansion.

In his secret cave Sir John puts his armor-plated suite on with “SG” emblazed on the front. “Damn, these tights are laddered, I’ll have to get whatshisname to fix that" he thinks.

Another secret button is pushed and a cave door silently glides upwards reveling the night before him. Sir John jumps astride his 80cc super-souped bike which is ready and running. The transformation is almost complete. He picks up his bullet-proof plumey hat and rests it on he head and his eyes steel over.

The bike jumps out of the cave… “SUPA-GUV TO THE RESCUE” he roars into the night…..

[silencedogood on 25.04.06 at 09:55]

LOL!

[Adjustah on 25.04.06 at 10:16]

"“SUPA-GUV TO THE RESCUE” he roars into the night….."

Other Bermudian Super Heroes?

Captain Cup Match
The Swizzler
Mister Independence and his young ward BlackBerry
Poppa Sizzle
The Incredible Honk
Blunder Woman

oh, and of course...

The Green Lantern

We could call it the Just Us League: "Looks like (a job for) me..." Meanwhile, in the Fortress of Attitude...

[Two Cents on 25.04.06 at 10:21]

Fortress of Attitude….....that would make a nice change from their current location …The Fortress of Ineptitude.

[SmokingGun on 25.04.06 at 10:21]

"Don't settle for the cock and bull stories of "I had a bad childhood" but instead expect people to bear the consequences of their actions."

I agree. Stick 'em in jail and give 'em a teddy bear if they 're feeling lonely. And start doing the same for all the girls/women who like to associate themselves with the trash. There gets to be a point where responsibility has to land square on ones shoulders. But first, if we can get our education system up to snuff, improve attendence, increase grades and instill pride in our kids then hopefully we won't have to have too many teddy bears on hand.

Limey, if you never had a chance to meet Hubie, you missed out. His wife is of the same cloth so definitely say hello if you ever decide to go.

[SmokingGun on 25.04.06 at 10:27]

"In his secret cave Sir John puts his armor-plated suite on with “SG” emblazed on the front."

Heck, for a moment there I thought I was getting outed. Very funny hotspur. Good laugh.

Adjustah - "Poppa Sizzle"? Sounds like a porn star!

[Adjustah on 25.04.06 at 10:30]

SG. LOL! "By day, he is mild mannered gynecologist Dicky Soares..."

[Full Fullish on 25.04.06 at 10:58]

Silencedogood, SmokingGun - Now if only we can get the people in charge to pay attention and do something about this, before it gets worse. Regarding accountability and responsibility, this is what happens when a society creates and accept excuses as to why no one is to blame. This shit needs to stop. I wasn't brought up this way, and neither are my children going to be. In society we all need to live by the same rules and consequences if those rules are broken. I don't see that happening very much here.

I feel my letter writing keyboard warming up again....