From my office, I listen to FM-89 Radio Station daily. The station carries a good variety of tunes. The ad for "Kellogs Raisin Crunch,'' is disturbing to me and many others.

I called the company's marketing department that promotes this product and talked with the person who wrote the ad for radio.

I told her the use of "O My God, O My God'', over and over and over, disturbed me. She asked why was I disturbed by it. I felt at that time, if she had to ask me why the using of "O My God'' over and over disturbed me, that she did not deserve an answer.

I wonder how many listeners out there, feel the same way I do, and are dismissing it as "O well, all people talk like that now.'' How sad.

Beware Bermudians, the next ad will probably have the "F'' word in it.

Oh well, they all say it.

SALLY MARSHALL Paget Strike was frustrating October 20, 1999 Dear Sir.

Hi, I am a frustrated student who is a CedarBridge Academy S3 student. I am writing this letter to say that this strike with the Teachers Island-wide is crazy. This is not only affecting the teachers but the parents and students of all the public school system. It is affecting the students by not giving us our education. We went to school to receive some knowledge that the teachers can provide, but we can't receive it. It is affecting the parents because they have to take time out of work to get the children from school. They cut out all after-school programmes because the teachers are not doing anything after 3.30 p.m.

The children who like playing sports or the choir or anything else that are after school can't do it. I'm not blaming the teachers for the simple fact that if the teachers go by a contract then that's what they should go by, oh but I forgot, the teachers don't have a contract. Why is that? The little children who attend primary school -- I feel sorry for them, most of them don't really understand what is going on and why the techers aren't showing up. For we bigger lot who do understand we came to school ready to go but to find out that almost all teachers did not show up for work, it's frustrating, we were there with hardly any teachers. They had us locked up in the school.

I go to CedarBridge. I arrived to see the car park empty, to see maybe about 16 teachers in the school and there's over 100 teachers on a regular basis and over a thousand students there. What would 16 teachers, a few security guards and the administration do with us? The Board of Education at the time I was there said, "the school will remain open''. Even if the school did stay open, 16 teachers cannot teach over a thousand students. I'm not trying to point any fingers but something has to be done. As a student if I can see what is going on I know that all adults see it too.

I don't know how long this is going to last but it needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. For the simple fact that this is affecting the leaders of tonmorrow. I hope that those who need to see it, read this.

FRUSTRATED STUDENT Paget Teachers are self-centred October 20, 1999 Dear Sir, "If you can read this, thank a teacher''. I saw this bumper sticker a few years ago, and I said to myself: "True''. If I saw the same bumper sticker today it would just annoy me. Teachers, what planet are you on? In case you have not realised, you are not the only profession in the world that matters.

So you have to work 25-hour weeks, have you ever spoken to a lawyer, doctor or an accountant? People in other walks of life have to put 40-hour workweeks, yes 40 hours.

Stop being so self-centred. Do you realise the crisis our educational system is in? Did you not see the results of the latest reading exams? In case you missed it, our kids cannot read! If you look internationally, Bermudian teachers are some of the highest paid in the world.

Teachers need to look at the true problem, the breakdown in the relationship between the Department of Education and teachers. If these two entities dialogued more and worked out their problems, things would not escalate to this point. The only ones to lose out in sick-outs are our children. They could do without the distractions to their schedule.

I would like to know what you people do with the three months you get off for summer. Incidentally I get 14 days vacation per year. What they need to do is make every teacher go and work with people in other professions for about a week, I think you will soon see how good you have it.

STOP MOANING! Paget Independence now October 22, 1999 Dear Sir, Now that it is an established fact that Bermuda is the Hong Kong that Britain lost, all of Bermuda citizens can now become British citizens, approximately 60,000 in total. A drop in the bucket.

If Hong Kong was still a British colony, then Britain would have to be dealing with millions of Chinese applications and would have been swamped. England would have been the China of the North Atlantic.

That danger now having passed, Britain and her Bermuda Government are now climbing comfortably into bed together. But what will happen to Bermuda and her citizens, and their healthy aspirations for self determination, and Political Independence? What will happen to Bermuda's "Quo Fata Ferunt''? Will Bermuda's destiny lead her into the open arms, or more appropriate, open jaws of Great Britain. IF that happens, Bye Bye Bermuda. You will be just another statistic on the map. Another sub-British culture. Our so-called leaders who are either putting your destiny for self-determination on the back burner, or not even on the stove are selling you out big time.

Those Bermudians in leadership and their supporters who don't want Independence, are also selling you out big time. Five years from now or ten years from now, you wouldn't be able to find a Bermudian. You will have shot yourselves in the proverbial foot. Our politicians who are playing political football with the issues of Independence are using you for the football, and your future generations are being booted right out of the park.

The youth will have nothing more to look for but a second class status in their own Island home. In fact, they will be foreigners in their own country.

Our leaders know this and are using the blind loyalty of their followers to achieve their own self interests.

I openly call upon all those people who want Independence for themselves and other future generations, to seriously look at what's happening to the issues of Independence.

First, "Abstention and now Elimination''. Five years is too long to wait for Independence, and it is a death penalty to this issue. The PLP were formed in 1963. The Independence issue is a part of its Constitution. Thirty-six years later it is still in the constitution. Four years from now will make it 40 years. We will be wandering in the wilderness of political servitude as long as Moses and his people the Israelites.

If History is best qualified to reward all research, then I predict that in four years, if Bermuda is not Independent, then the walls of this modern day Jericho will come tumbling down.

I leave it to your wisdom to figure out who Jericho is.

TAKBIR KARRIEM SHARRIEFF Devonshire Protect the public October 25, 1999 Dear Sir, In New South Wales there is a 500-metre exclusion zone around schools and playing fields where it is illegal to site cellular masts.

In Bermuda we have them a few feet from houses, schools and playgrounds.

Is the Government really looking out for our best interests? KEEPING INFORMED Warwick Story was inaccurate October 14, 1999 Dear Sir, An article published in The Royal Gazette on October 13, 1999 concerning Gold Medal Insurance Company ("Gold Medal'') and Hopewell International Insurance Ltd ("Hopewell'') contained a number of factual errors.

Gold Medal is not a Bermuda company. It is domiciled in Minnesota.

Hopewell (which reinsures) Gold Medal, is a Bermuda company, but Hopewell is not a subsidiary of Gold Medal.

Hopewell did not file a bankruptcy reorganisation plan in New York. Hopewell went into run-off in 1995 and, at that time, put forward a solvent scheme of arrangement ("the scheme'') under the Bermuda Companies Act. The scheme was voted on and approved unanimously by all the creditors of Hopewell who voted and was sanctioned by the Supreme Court of Bermuda.

Hopewell brought proceedings in the New York Bankruptcy Court, in 1998, after Gold Medal asserted that the dispute resolution provisions of the scheme did not apply to it. Hopewell asked the New York Bankruptcy Court to enforce the scheme.

The Chief Judge of the New York Bankruptcy court, after hearings lasting a total of 8 days, made the following findings of fact: The scheme was put forward for entirely proper motives -- it was not a "manoeuvre'' on the part of Hopewell.

Gold Medal had notice of the scheme in 1995 and took legal advice at that time.

Gold Medal's representative attended the meeting of creditors held in Bermuda in 1995 and voted in favour of the scheme.

The dispute resolution provisions of the scheme (which provide for arbitration of disputes between Hopewell and its creditors in Bermuda) cause no prejudice to Gold Medal.

There was a hearing on cross-motions for summary judgment (based upon agreed facts) in front of Judge Schifedlbein in Minneapolis on 11 October. There is unlikely to be a trial -- the Judge will probably rule on the questions of whether or not the claim made by General Mills on Gold Medal is covered as pure legal issues. Hopewell (which is not a party to the Minnesota proceedings) is awaiting the ruling of Judge Schifelbein.

ROD ATTRIDE-STIRLING Attride-Stirling and Co.

Counsel for Hopewell Insurance Company