August 22, 2002

Dear Sir,

When I was a child I remember Bermuda had lots of Dragonflies. Sadly, in the past several years I've only seen two of these beautiful creatures. Since Dragonflies feed on mosquito larvae, surely the obvious solution to our mosquito problem would be to reintroduce them.

They can't possibly be as much of a threat to our fragile eco-system as terrapins, newts, hedgehogs and skunks!

LIBBY COOK

Pembroke

April 20, 2002

Dear Sir,

I have been reading with interest the article in the sports section of your newspaper where the Shadow Minister for Sport, Mr. Cole Simons, is calling for an investigation into the death of Stuart Smith during the recent Round The Island Race.

The first question that comes to mind is: 'What exactly is there to investigate?'. Here we have grown men, the late Mr. Smith included, who, of their own free will, get into very high powered boats and zip around the Island at speeds sometimes reaching 80 mph.

Without meaning to sound callous here, I would suggest that all forms of racing, be it boat racing, car racing, go-kart racing and even cycle racing, all carry with them two very clear cut characteristics. One is, of course, the excitement factor which is obviously what attracts people to participate and view these activities, and the other is the very real possibility that one can quite easily get killed.

One assumes that all 'racers' are very much aware of the second aspect of racing, but we have all sorts of racing despite this fact.

We have to take it for granted that the two men in the crash boat that fateful day knew exactly what they were doing and were appropriately strapped in with all the safety equipment suitable to the sport. Unfortunately, the boat flipped (as I understand it) at very high speed, with the result that one of the men lost his life. They were driving a racing boat. Surely what happened is as clear as the nose on one's face. You can get killed driving a racing boat. This happened out off the South Shore in choppy seas. I can't imagine there were any spectators, or anyone else in the way at the time, unlike at the Ferry Reach end of the race course.

So what exactly, Mr. Editor, would Mr. Simons investigate?

JACK GAUNTLETT

Sandys Parish

August 21, 2002

Dear Sir,

Can the readers of your column comment on some confusing issues for me?

Jennifer Smith is being challenged on her leadership; Grant Gibbons suddenly becomes the new Leader of the UBP; the PLP is scolded over their non-transparent style of government (no argument there) and Caricom will either bore everyone into submission or to death.

There's the BHC scandal; the Berkeley controversy; tourism woes and of course, the agony of having to endure occasional comments made by the Premier's Chief of Staff, who has united the Island in agreement that he is the person most likely to be ignored.

We have the looming threat of a Patriot Bill, which accuses foreign companies of being unpatriotic in the wake of September 11. However, in a world of rapid integration and pending globalisation it causes one to ponder if patriotism is really what it is all about.

We have environmental problems (real and manufactured) and our children are being recruited as "eco-police', aggressively campaigning to rescue mother earth from pending doom.

Drugs are being smuggled into our prison (wonder how they get in there?) Those who get caught may have their sentence increased from never getting out to never, even getting out.

We have churches that air their dirty laundry in public, which, if I am not mistaken, violates the sacred scriptures, which they claim to follow. The church is now being scandalised as if it were a secular organisation, and the God who claims to govern it is ignored as if he were dead. Indeed, if his own disobedient and bickering flock will not allow him to sort out their issues, what line separates them from those whom they call sinners?

Who is able to save us from our troubles? Jennifer Smith - leadership 101; Grant Gibbons - doesn't add up; the PLP - apparently thirty years wasn't long enough; God - willing and able but his own won't even listen to him.

Who is qualified? Perhaps a veteran of Bermuda's political arena, a skilled politician, visible, well respected, a gifted speaker and one with political connections here and abroad. He would have fresh ideas and new insight, intelligence and tenacity. Why does it feel like Bermuda and her people are an unwitting cast in a really bad Hollywood script?

A CAST MEMBER

Devonshire

August 21, 2002

Dear Sir,

I think most of our violence etc. comes straight from Hollywood, in other words TV.

We have it programmed in our own homes all day and night murder, robbery, and sex. It is filthy and I say change the channel or turn it off.

Some of our population think it's "cool" what they are watching, but it's just brain washing and we have a lot of "pea brains" in Bermuda that soak it up everyday. I suggest to parents: Get your family out run, walk, play ball and fish like we used to. It's healthier and we won't have monkey see, monkey do.

A PARENT

Devonshire

Fool and his words

August 27, 2002

Dear Sir,

Dr. Amenemhet Tamerry (the former Dr. Clark Godwin to the uninitiated in Bermuda folklore) comes up with a real corker in his impassioned letter stating that 'Bermudians must vote solidly PLP'.

Dr. Tamerry goes on to say "Only a fool leans upon his own misunderstandings". How right you are Dr. Tamerry .

PHIL CRACKNELL

St. George's

A familar tune?

August 21, 2002

Dear Sir,

According to your newspaper article, Tuesday August 20, 2002, entitled "Tories are divided and lack policies". It states that "The Conservatives, who governed Britain from 1979 to 1997, have struggled to regain their popularity since losing office. Younger voters, in particular, see them as puritanical and out of touch". Doesn't this sound familiar? Doesn't this remind you of the UBP? Perhaps conservative politics at this time does not meet the needs of the people. Perhaps, this is simply not the time for conservative politics!

DR. AMENEMHET TAMERRY

Pembroke

I am not going batty!

August 16, 2002

Dear Sir,

In lei of the uproar recently over the importation of skunks and hedgehogs, maybe now is not the time to suggest this, but here goes.

We need to reintroduce bats....

"YEEEEEEECCCKKK!!!! They get in your hair! They get in your hair!!"

(oh if only, I would have smuggled them in years ago...)

Have I flipped? Not at all, and here's the reasons why:

1) Bats were once fairly common in Bermuda but due to loss of habitat, their numbers peeled off drastically.

2) You will not find a more effective hunter of mosquitos (starting to get the picture?). Not only are they highly agile, but they have a tracking system that makes a stealth fighter look as sophisticated as a paper dart. In short, they catch and kill with unbelievable speed (most insect eating bats can consume upwards and over one thousand mosquitos a night!).

3) They start hunting at precisely the time when we need them most, when we're at home and just turning in.

Now, having been barnstormed by bats on quite a few occasions when living in England, let me dispel the hair tangling myth. They are not after you, what they are after are they tiny little insects hovering around your head which you, big lumbering human, have so obligingly stirred up by stomping through the grass.

This was of course no consolation to me on my first encounter with this phenomenon, and I spent a leisurely five minutes or so flailing away in the pre-dawn gloom, with a dozen or so winged fur balls whirling in tight formation around my head while I, in my panic, obligingly kicked up even more insects to add to their feast (the only hair disturbance occurred when I ran into a tree....)

Enough talk! Bring back the bats! (Remember to bring the cat in and leave the kid out.)

GLEN LIMA

Paget

Time to forgive

August 19, 2002

Dear Sir,

I am writing in reply to Mr. Davie Kerr's letter 'Life and Death Issue' that appeared in the Royal Gazette on Friday, August 16, 2002.

Davie you asked 'What about the victim's family? How do they feel?'.

Being a member of a victim's family I would like to answer your question by saying that in most cases the people that seem to propose bringing back the death penalty are nearly always people that think they know how the family feel.

I have no wish to see anyone executed now or at any time, nor did I wish execution at the time of my bereavement.

My feelings are that God gives life and only God can take away life. No human being has the right to take away the life of another.

As far as suggesting what the alternatives are, I will leave that to our elected lawmakers.

"Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry for anger rests in the bosom of fools". Ecclesiastics Ch. 7 v9.

IN FORGIVENESS