one word....CASINO....done.

CC

"Put a very high tax on machetes"

Oh wow...I laughed pretty hard when I read that.

The first (and only) time in my life I witnessed a violent crime in the making was at the Swizzle Inn.  It was a perfectly pleasant night, I was on the patio with a relative of the owner's and a few visting friends of ours and enjoying the very strong namesake drink.  All of a sudden I saw people jumping from their chairs and rushing away to the sides of the fences for the patio.  I thought it was quite odd behaviour until I witnessed a black youth with a motorcycle helmut brandishing a machete stalking into the restaurant.  Needless to say we got out of there pretty quickly, and fortunately I moved from the island shortly after.

I don't think any of our visiting friends plan on coming back to Bermuda, ever!  Lovely culture of violence.

Great point Bda Bird... that law about selling property only to Bermudians always seemed rather flawed. of course, there are some people who stand to make a very nice earner from their properties... the few expats who already own homes. Then again, such laws are made to be, well, manipulated, aren't they? A bit like the one that has the Triminghams building with a retail zoning.

I'm sure Oprah will find somewhere else to spend her money, but think what an opportunity it was for Bermuda to attract a new tourism crowd - just one mention on Oprah can sell all kinds of products, so why not holidays? That's the kind of advertising that money can't buy.