Why the different duties?February 14, 2006Dear Sir,I recently returned to the Island and, at the Airport, declared about $400 worth of goods (after deducting my allowance), 99.9 percent being clothes. I paid $104 in customs duty.

About one week later, I picked up a package at the Post Office for about $272, again clothing, and paid $18 in customs duty.

I thought to myself, no wonder Government is boasting a surplus in revenue when we are being ripped off in this way. Dr. Gibbons, you’re so right. There can be no valid or plausible reason for duty at the Airport to be 22.25 percent as opposed to 6.5 percent at the Post Office, not even Buy Bermuda.

KEEN OBSERVER

Hamilton ParishBerkeley inquiry neededFebruary 26, 2006Dear Sir,If Government is so sure that Mr. Gabriel Martel is telling “untruths”, and that there is no cover-up going on, then Government should welcome the commissioning of an independent and public Board of Inquiry comprised of people of unquestioned integrity and IMPARTIALITY. The seriousness of the allegations which have been made must be addressed in an open and public forum. No amount of damage control effort by politicians will reassure the people of Bermuda that Berkeley is, or will be, fit for occupancy by approximately one thousand teachers and students without such a hearing.

DAVID M. SKINNER<$>Recognition an EU<\p>matterFebruary 24, 2006

I read with interest Lilla Zuill’s coverage of the very successful World Insurance Forum in which I had the pleasure of participating.

During the panel discussion of which I was part I was asked about the process of mutual recognition between the European Union and Bermuda for the regulation of reinsurance companies. This is clearly a very complex area and I fully appreciate that the debate may have added to that complexity! But there is one important point that needs to be very clear. The matter of mutual recognition is for the EU authorities, not — as the article suggested — for the UK’s FSA.

All that said, the main message from my remarks at the panel — about the importance of coordination and communication between the FSA and the BMA — came across loud and clear, for which many thanks.

DAVID D. STRACHAN

London, UKLet bike riders decideFebruary 26, 2006

Dear Sir,

I was a little upset to see the announcement on our weather channel this afternoon that the Causeway was to be closed to two-wheel traffic until further notice. I no longer ride a bike so perhaps I am living in the long forgotten past and need an update. However, I can still ride.

If I had a bike and was living in St. George’s, as I was before, I would be a lot more than a little upset by this notice that would make me a law-breaker by riding my bike on the Causeway tonight. I rode a bike for about 30 years in Bermuda in all kinds of weather.

I would support the ban when hurricane force winds are blowing. Note that I did not say are expected! Gales in Bemuda are a normal of life. Let us ignore USA practice of closing roads every time there is a little problem. Yes, please post a warning, and ban the tourists. Let those residents who are experienced riders make their own decision about when they will incur extra expense to get to work, or to get home when a wind comes up while they are out. Perhaps we need a bike riders’ organisation to express the bike riders’ perspective to Government. I suspect that the persons who make the decision to ban two-wheel traffic on the Causeway are riding around out of the weather in cars. I would ask readers who ride bikes and disagree with me to go public and write a letter too.

For the rest of you, if you say nothing, nothing will change. We are more and more becoming an over-regulated society.

BERTRAM GUISHARD

City of Hamilton