There is a lot of debate about how much control Bermuda should allow Britain to have over our international business dealings. Since this sector of Bermuda does not directly affect me, I am not much interested in it. I trust the Government to do what they believe is right for Bermuda. Britain also wants to exercise control over how we manage our drug problems. I do believe that they have a much worse drug problem over there, and I hope we have the sense not to follow their lead in this direction.

The anti-PLPers are quietly (most of the time) waiting for the PLP to make a mess of it all and be sent to the scrap heap. The pro-PLPers are anxiously waiting for a dramatic improvement in their everyday lives, and will no doubt send the PLP cracking out of pure anger, if they don't get it.

Affordable rents (one week's pay equals one month's rent). Affordable child care (one day's pay equals one week's child care.) Round the clock public transportation (so that people can get from their day job to their night job and back home with a minimum of stress). A social security system to accommodate the hoards of baby boomers who made no provisions for their fast approaching retirement.

Our international business is booming. Our tourism sucks. Even if we get tourism back to full occupancy, there is not going to be enough money to meet the many needs of Bermuda's middle class and working class. Bermuda needs a new source of income. Bermuda needs to legalise marijuana and form it into an industry just like what was done with alcohol, with the exception that it would be Government-owned and controlled so that the billions of dollars it produces will go back into the country. There are millions of dollars being made of marijuana right now, and it is illegal. Bermuda does not benefit from this money. Apart from that, we persecute one third of our population and many of our visitors who prefer marijuana to alcohol thus creating further social problems and ill feelings. Considering the fact that marijuana is a milder, less addictive social substance than alcohol, this is madness. It's like promoting coffee and banning tea.

I believe that the government must give serious thought to the LEGALISATION OF MARIJUANA in the interest of the country and its' people.

My computer is trying to tell me that my letter is not grammatically correct....Just goes to show that it don't know squad about Bermudian.

AL. EASTMOND The Bible and pot April 14, 1999 Dear Sir, This is a response to the letter entitled "Divine right of pot users,' in today's Gazette .

A careful reading of the first three chapters of the book of Genesis in the Holy Bible will reveal (among other things) that... Man's original diet consisted of fruits, nuts and grains (& yes, he also had access to the tree of life) ch.1 v.29; ch.2 vs. 15-17.

Herbs (vegetables, etc.) were to be the food of the animals and birds etc.

ch.1 v.30. Man's diet was modified after he sinned; he no longer had access to the tree of life, and herbs (vegetables) were added. (I suppose to provide extra to nutrients to what had now become a mortal body) ch.3 vs. 17-19, 22-24.

There is no suggestion in the Bible that some herbs are to be smoked in order to produce an altered state in mind. While I in no way mean to imply that the following are proof-texts, I am merely using them to illustrate a principle.

Proverbs ch. 20 v.1 & ch.23 vs. 29-35 highlights the dangers of consuming fermented wines and spirits (also, when reading the word "wine'' in the Bible it is helpful to check the context as well as the original language to ascertain if the writer is referring to the pure juice of the grape).

Secondly, at His crucifixion Christ refused the mind-numbing vinegar/wine (Matt. 27:34) because He knew that he needed His mind to be clear for maximum capability to commune with God.

In closing I would also recommend a careful study of Romans chapter 13 in order to discover what is our duty as lawful citizens to our rulers.

M. ROSS NEARSON St. David's Heritage being sold off April 14, 1999 Dear Sir, Bermudians be warned: your children's heritage is being sold off to the highest bidder. Farmland on Bostock Hill East is being sold so that developers can make big condos and big money.

"Every day another acre of farmland disappears into the jaws of developers.

Blink, and where you saw greenery and blue sky, there's now a condominium complex,'' wrote Jessie Moniz in the paper.

Well, this acre of farmland is disappearing because Calvin Simons (on behalf of Bostock Mews Development) has been given in-principle planning permission by the DAB to build five three-bedroom condos including a three-storey building. Peter and Italian Sousa currently own the land. But you can't blame them for selling at a big profit, if the developers are willing to pay. And they do pay, because they can build condos that will sell for half a million dollars each. This is NOT housing for the average Bermudian.

This is in the middle of a residential neighbourhood.

All neighbours bordering the farmland, and many nearby have objected.

Actually, 39 neighbours strongly objected to the Planning Department and the DAB. Yet the Planning Department seems eagerly in favour of it for no apparent reason. The DAB has told them that it's fine to build. The DAB is even allowing them to build parking spaces directly on agricultural conservation land.

The planning approval is being appealed. The final decision on this development may be up to the Minister of the Environment, Arthur Hodgson.

You may hear a lot about the loss of arable land. In the last Throne Speech, the new Government promised to "establish a Commission, drawing on the various areas of expertise in the community, to determine the most efficient means of ensuring greater protection of our open spaces and arable land''.

It leads you to believe Bermuda's open spaces are really protected. Well, they aren't. When people with enough political or financial power are behind a development, it WILL happen. Or, will it? We'd probably have a McDonald's restaurant on Front Street if the public were not so vocal about things that are important to them. It's time to be vocal about what's happening on Bostock Hill. They're paving over farmland, building three buildings on a small plot of land, destroying the skyline with a three storey building and smashing the quiet with a pool right next to a residential house who previously only had to listen to song-birds and the goats from the farmland. (By the way, that "open spaces and arable lands commission'' has not been established).

The Bermuda Sun wrote about the Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson who appealed to Bermudians to exercise common sense and to not buy into the mindset that bigger is better or more is best. Mr. Hodgson recently said: "We want to be a people-oriented Government. We want to consider people first, asking the question, `what kind of community do you want to live in'.

He said there was a need for sustainable development, people driven, not driven by developers, Government or companies, to enhance the quality of life.

And there was also a need to take into account all aspects of life in the community, so everybody was included in the process.

We hold the Honourable Minister to his statements, to think about future generations and protect open spaces.

Pave Paradise and put in a parking lot? Paget Frustrated with courts April 16, 1999 Dear Sir, I am a single parent who has had just about enough with the family court system in regards to dealing with delinquent fathers. This must be brought to the forefront for after trying for 10 years I am yet to receive any satisfaction.

After many months of trying to locate him, my child's father finally appeared in court on April 15. He was sent to court on a committal warrant. He was in arrears $7,536.25. He was then released and simply told to pay "some money'' to the courts on Friday, April 16 because he told the Magistrate that he gets paid on that day. In the past he has appeared before the Magistrate and than released with the promise of making a payment. He has yet to live up to that promise.

What I do not understand is this: If someone is sent to court on a committal warrant and has such outstanding arrears, why is it he is sent free? Later that afternoon when I inquired to see if he had been arrested and released I then contacted the Magistrate to try to understand the matter. He told me "No-one was in the court to tell me otherwise!'' As in the past my child's father told the Magistrate he has a health problem. The Magistrate, not requesting any medical documentation, took his word for it! I asked the Magistrate could he have called me as it would have taken me five minutes to get to the courts, whereas he could have held him there until I arrived. His reply to me was, "We do not do that because it takes up the Police time there!'' My reaction to this is -- where do I turn? Who do I run when the Family Court system is failing my every right?! My child's father has two jobs and makes a very good living. I don't understanding why the court does not garnish his wages.

FRUSTRATED Pembroke Barritt's `short memory' April 7, 1999 Dear Sir, It appears Mr. Editor, that Mr. John Barritt, Shadow Minister for Legislative Affairs, has a problem with the $125,000 salary being paid to the newly appointed political Attorney General, the highly respected, veteran PLP politician and lawyer, Mrs. Lois Brown-Evans! Now either Mr. Barritt has a short memory, Mr. Editor, or he thinks the public does, because he didn't have a problem paying Mr. Elliott Mottley, the former non-Bermudian Attorney General $125,000. He didn't have a problem giving him housing allowance and other fringe benefits. And he didn't have a problem giving him a bonus on top of his $125,000 salary, just to stay on until the General Election, despite Mottley's mucking up of the Middleton case! My, how quickly we forget, Mr. Editor! DR. CLARK GODWIN