October 3, 2003

Dear Sir,

The Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau (BFAB ) has received many concerned calls from the public about "Jake", the grey tabby cat who lived behind City Hall, Hamilton. He had not been well for the past few months. Despite antibiotic treatment, he was not improving as much as had been hoped. He was determined to stay free and avoided all but the last attempt to take him to the vet.

It is with great credit to Becky Bascomb's perseverance and close relationship with Jake over the past six years, that she was able to pick him up and put him in a carrier on Monday, September 29.

Dr. Jan Cieters examined him the next day and unfortunately his jaw had fused and he was no longer able to open his mouth to eat solid food. He would have hated further confinement and he was euthanised to avoid a more painful death by starvation.

Thank you to Becky for her constant care and to all those who tried to help Jake.

It is heartening to know that so many do care about our fellow inhabitants of this Earth. Please be assured that his end was peaceful and he was treated with respect by Hanover Veterinary Hospital.

October 5, 2003

Dear Sir

I write in response to 'Dog Lover' in Sandys, who as spokesperson for all owners of vicious and slavering dogs, insists that any act of violence on the dog's part, is in fact the result of a poor doggie upbringing, and that any breed of dog is a potential killer.

That is patent nonsense.

I would like to congratulate the government for having the courage and foresight to stand up to such lunacy and pre-empt further attacks on our Island's Post ladies, cats and children by setting up a list of banned breeds; breeds that are widely regarded as unacceptable in such a dense population. (It's no) wonder that one of our vets would question the need for such legislation after seeing the state of pit bulls that are brought in to him after illegal fighting.

I wholeheartedly agree with the proposed list. 'Dog Lover' questions how such a list could be made; I have a suggestion. Parade a selection of aggressive dogs in a play area as some owners love to do. When you see parents recoiling in horror and grabbing their children, then that is a pretty good guideline as to what is an acceptable dog for taking out in public.

Some breeds are dangerous and vicious. They are bred to be so. That is why 'Dog Lover' and his cronies buy them. They want to appear equally intimidating; they want to swagger down the railway trail with a dog in a studded body harness; they want to sit on a wall and mirror their dog's reproachful stare. Some disenfranchised teenage boys long for a pit bull puppy, so that they can be a 'man' like their favourite gun toting, women hating rap heroes.

I have yet to pick up the and read the headline, 'Seven year old savaged by toy poodle' or 'postal worker in hospital for a week after a savage licking by a labrador' or ' Retriever terrorises neighbourhood in desperate attempt to find squeaky toy.'

Perhaps, the saddest part of 'Dog Lover's' rambling incoherency is that he fails to miss the whole point of the proposed list. The aim, as I see it is to stop attacks. If his dog kills a child, it does not matter where the fault lies; the child is dead.

I hope this list will prevent someone like him buying a dog as he chillingly puts it, 'to fit their needs'. I would say that 'Dog Lover' does indeed have needs, and they are to impress, fit in, and scare. As long as there are people like him, we need an enlightened government to protect us from his choice of dog.

October 4, 2003

Dear Sir,

This is one time when we don't have to ask, "who dunnit" because we all know who did it! the butler did it! yes he did!

The butler did a 180-degree turn on the bermuda/cuba deal! the butler forgot all that he said against the courting of the cuban government. the butler who sided with the opposition ubp party against the linking up with cuba seems to have suddenly forgotten his passionate speech on the subject and, has since, thrown principles and integrity out of the window for a royal time in cuba.

This, without a doubt, is the fastest turn around i have ever seen in our local politics. this was even faster than the former premier jennifer smith's turn around after she was elected in 1998, and again i have to ask, why cuba? why cuba when there are so many other democratic countries in this big, wide world, that we could have cultural ties with.

I feel that by kissing up to cuba we are running the risk of damaging our relationship with the united states, and regardless of what some people may say about the us, they are still the strongest and most powerful country in the world, therefore, if us wanted to, they could make life very miserable for us.

We, this little speck in the middle of the ocean, depend on the us for our survival, period. we need them for tourism; international business; medical care; education; food; clothing as well as many other things too numerous to mention, so why blow it by thumbing our noses at them?

What is the butler thinking? or, more so, how is the butler thinking? then again, is the butler thinking!

This secret trip to cuba by the "honourable" (meaning worthy of honour; upright; a title of distinction or respect) dale butler (photo inset) for the signing of this "Memorandum of Understanding" which we, as citizens of Bermuda, have no clue as to what we have been signed up for, shows that the PLP government is still operating under the cover of secrecy, and is not the open and transparent government that Premier Alex Scott said they would be.

This is definitely not good enough. We deserve better than this, but if we don't speak out about covert government operations once they have become public knowledge, we will get what we are not asking for.

I was just giving praises to Premier Scott for the impression of good leadership he has made since he took over the reins in July. I was just starting to feel comfortable with the new PLP government, more comfortable than I have felt in a long time, starting with the old UBP government and the PLP'S first reign.

Basically, people do not care who runs the government as long as it is a government they can trust, a government that has the people's interest at heart, as well as a government they can have a say in.

But when a government acts as if they created the world and everything in it, this will only lead to disaster.

Since the Hon. Dale Butler was so against the courting of Cuba before he became Minister of Cultural Affairs, he should have resigned his post. It looks as if his speech against Cuba was all political talk and political posturing. I guess the real Dale Butler has stood up!

What a shame and a disappointment his first act on the political stage has been. It is absolutely amazing what a title can do for or to a person! When are we ever going to find some men who have the you-know-what, to stand up and be counted?

On another political note, it is alleged that the reason Bermuda lost the illustrious Carnival Cruise Line is because (here comes that word again) the "Honourable" Renee Webb took off to Paris for a six week vacation (and I'm not saying that she does not deserve a vacation) right after the election and therefore was not available to conduct business with Carnival, resulting in the pulling out of that cruise line.

If this is correct, then this a true case of putting "pleasure before business"! And, that is not good enough!

Finally, in closing Mr. Editor, I still want to know, what has happened to the BHC and the Berkeley scandal? Has that all been swept under the carpet?

Have the Police Commissioner's hands been tied? Are the authorities playing the game of "ten days talk and then we will all forget about it?"

Well my dear Mr. Editor, my money was stolen and I want my money back!