For the last six months I have been negotiating with the BF&M Life Insurance Co. Ltd. In April, I was notified that my Health Insurance premiums would be increased by 65 percent. No sir, that is not a typographical error it is sixty five percent. I am now paying the full amount.

The reason quoted is that I am now in a higher risk being over 65 years of age. The fact that I passed that stage two years ago is beside the point. My question is why hasn't the premium been lowered, because being a senior citizen if I go into hospital, Government picks up 80 percent of the hospital bill. The facts are that I have been in hospital once in the late `60s for two days and in outpatients for minor accidents. The major item the insurance company has had to pay for is a major medical I get on a yearly basis with my GP, which is preventative medicine.

I was told that if I had to be sent to the US for a heart condition this could cost $50,000.00 and I hadn't paid that much into the system. I worked it out.

I had paid somewhere between $80,0000 to $95,0000 over the past 35 years.

Being in the health field I asked them what they would do if I was to raise my fees by 65 percent. I guess the patient would have to pay the difference.

It was interesting to note that in your August 31, 2000 edition, Mr. Titterton was reporting half year profits of 41 percent.

I cannot afford to retire when the insurance companies are bleeding me financially.

ANTONY SIESE City of Hamilton Put Bermudians first October 11, 2000 Dear Sir, Just as you have given Typical Bermudian (TB) great space to address his/her points on Bermuda, I hope that you have the integrity to allow me the opportunity to address them.

Firstly, it should be known that Bermuda is not the only place in the world with "ruthless'' immigration policies. In some parts of California's high-tech regions (near Silicon Valley in particular), development of new internet businesses has been suspended. Faced with gentrification, residents have demanded strict economic planning to preserve their communities. In my opinion, attempts to intrinsically link demand for foreign labour to problems with long term residency are quite shallow.

Bermuda's labour demands for foreign labour cannot be refuted, but the length of time which foreign workers are allowed to stay certainly can. Sound economic and social planning dictates that there be limits on the expansion of businesses, as well as both the volume and length of stay of work permits.

Please note that not one recommendation in the PLP Government's Green Paper includes forcing LTR out of Bermuda. The Permanent Residency Certificate gives LTR the right to work and retire in Bermuda, while denying them the right to vote and purchase property below a specified ARV. LTR should be thankful to Bermudians, as their own countrymen would never allow an influx of foreigners to this magnitude.

Despite popular beliefs, removing the ARV restriction does have an impact on land resources. If you give 200-plus families the right to purchase property at any ARV level, then you will increase an already astronomically-high demand for land purchases. The irony is that many foreigners are aware of this and have used certain legal loopholes to circumvent the law. It is a well known fact that for years foreigners have been using private trusts to bypass Bermuda's restrictions on foreign ownership of Bermuda property. While it may be older black Bermudians who are the most vocal on immigration, race and LTR, it would be foolhardy to presume that they are the only ones who are angry.

Older blacks have suffered the worst, but there is a large group of jaded black Bermudians who are discontented as well. Many of us came out of a segregated era where our parents were still denied economic opportunities. Now you have Bermudians who have done everything that they were told to do to become successful, only to now realise that Bermuda has not moved in the best interests of Bermudians.

This new generation of black Bermudians (white as well) is looking around at a country that you claim to have prospered under the UBP. But, we look around and see one bedroom apartments renting for $2,500. We see Tucker's Town, Pokiok, Strawberry Hill, Fairylands, Flatts Village, Darrell's Wharf, Mizzentop, the new Whale Bay Estate and the UBP's plan to develop the Southampton Naval Annex into yet another luxury neighbourhood. If Bermuda is supposed to be for Bermudians, and if Bermudians have prospered so much under the UBP, then why has every major development of property over the last ten years been priced for a market that excludes even wealthy Bermudians? Additionally, you would have to be socially bankrupt to think that only insurance professionals, accountants or lawyers should be able to buy a house in Bermuda. This would not be the moral definition of a successful economy by any stretch of the imagination.

Further, saying that it is black Bermudians who kept the UBP in power is an incredibly racist idea. TB has excused white voters for supporting as he/she put it, a "racist and corrupt'' UBP. I thought that voting for the party that protects the interests of Bermudians, regardless of race, was the responsibility of both whites and blacks. Black Bermudians are quite aware that the vast majority of whites have voted for the UBP no matter how badly they have managed the country. We don't need TB to point this out, as historically the majority of white residents remind us every Friday at 5 p.m.

that they integrate with us only when they have to. Nevertheless, if TB believes that blacks are responsible for electing the PLP, then inherently whites would seek to keep the PLP out of power. If this is true, then why on earth should Bermudians, who voted the PLP into Government for the first time in 30 years, give the vote to foreigners who would traditionally vote for a "racist and corrupt'' UBP? The sad truth of this mess is that white residents have either fooled themselves into thinking that Bermuda was genuinely integrated, or really did not desire genuine integration in the first place. We've seen far too many foreigners come to Bermuda with regard for nothing but their own accumulation of wealth, even at the expense of Bermudians. This generation and the generation behind it are not going to assimilate into the status quo as blacks before us have. We are demanding to be respected as the owners and heirs of this land whether it be prosperous or poor. We simply believe that Bermuda should be for Bermudians first, and we will welcome people into our homeland as we feel it is appropriate for Bermuda. More to the point, we are demanding the same consideration that foreigners demand in your own countries The sooner that whites realise this, the sooner we can work towards genuine equality. The sooner we work to genuine equality the sooner we can get beyond the acrimony that has been brewing for generations.

NO ABORIGINE Sandys Parish Regiment needs reform October 16, 2000 Dear Sir, I am a private soldier in the Bermuda Regiment. I started in January, 1998 and as my tenure draws to an end, I pause to reflect upon the lessons I have learned and my views on the role of the Regiment moving forward into the 21st Century.

All countries should have mandatory service for men as well as women and the Bermuda Regiment plays a necessary role in our society and can be an effective tool to deal with numerous scenarios that may be played out on these islands.

But a tool is only effective when used effectively. The Regiment does represent a healthy microcosm of Bermudian society and there is a wealth of talented individuals i.e. doctors, lawyers, athletes, multiple language speakers, technicians and skilled labourers. However, historically, the Regiment has had trouble retaining many of these individuals and it does not, in my view, provide the opportunity for those with little education to better themselves by learning a skill that will stay with them beyond their service and enable them to find a decent job.

For three years we are taught the basics, and I do mean basics, of patrolling, fieldcraft, conducting internal security operations, riot control and guarding key points. The training schedule from year to year is almost identical; the first half of each year being spent learning conventional warfare techniques, something that has little use on an island which has minimal open space and is almost entirely urban or suburban. After a two-week camp overseas in Jamaica or North Carolina, the remainder of the year is devoted to internal security training. The odd weekend camp is thrown in to test our retention of the material. These skills are mainly useful in a military context, but as stated, few of the private soldiers remain in the military.

It should, then, come as no surprise that morale is low, many conscripts fail to register or attend camps and soldiers do not wish to remain in the Regiment once they have served their time. No trades or job skills are taught. Instead the training the soldiers receive is repetitive; mind-numbingly repetitive.

Recent attempts to modernise the training with more focus on team building command task exercises, as opposed to the standard square-bashing polish your boots and clean your weapon approach, were well publicised failures as certain elements in the Regiment did not appear to agree that the training curriculum required any change.

I feel that part of the solution lies in funding. As a private soldier I am not privy to the accounts of the Regiment but based on the quality of equipment we are issued, the lack of diversity in the training and the low pay the private soldier receives, methinks that Government should possibly loosen its purse strings.

Another part of the solution, in my view, lies in identifying new concepts in creating an effective and skilled fighting force. In the US and other countries there are ROTC programmes in every college which provide the opportunity for a young person to get an education, paid for by the military, in exchange for service. I do not see why this model cannot be replicated in Bermuda.

By way of example, assume a hurricane hits Bermuda and Longbird Bridge at the Airport end is completely destroyed, severing the only land link between St.

David's and St. George's and the rest of the Island. The Regiment would have already been called out to assist Government in getting vital elements of the island operational again. It could not, however, rebuild the bridge itself as there are no engineers in the Regiment. Normally, Works and Engineering would be called in for this task but assuming a worst case scenario as one often must in the military, only the Regiment is on the scene. How is this problem resolved? If a soldier was keen to become an engineer, why not send that soldier away to get an engineering certification and arrange for him to stay on in the Regiment for a certain amount of time and teach others these skills? The Bermuda Regiment could be so dynamic that all members would feel proud to wear the uniform and serve their country. Young people could want to join rather than look at the lists of names in the newspaper with dread fearing theirs may be included. The Regiment could be viewed as a tool to get ahead in life and an institution, which, if you work hard, can give you real rewards while you serve your country.

Recently a Government appointed review board assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the Regiment and made proposals on how it can be improved. Their findings have not yet been released and so far no changes have been implemented.

GREG BROWN City of Hamilton `How long?' goverment October 15, 2000 Dear Sir, I find Premier Jennifer Smith's silence on the issues facing Bermuda very uncomfortable. Enough time has passed for her to have settled into her position and to have gotten the lay of the land.

We are supposedly a democratic country which means the people have a right to know what is going on in government. Our fate lies with government and if government does not perform for the good of country and people, then country and people will not perform.

When the PLP won the last election a lot people were happy. These people were saying, "At last!'' Now they are saying, "How long!'' How long will it be before some of the promises that were made are fulfilled? How long will it be before priorities are taken care of -- the priorities that were left behind by the UBP, such as education, housing, crime, drugs, traffic, tourism, Club Med and so on? So far, we have gotten, or are getting, overspending -- oversized cars -- personalised license plates -- fast ferries and floating docks -- and these are not priorities! The PLP call themselves "the people's government''. A more fitting name would be "the Premier's Private Government because she has locked herself inside of the Government and has become a recluse to the very people that voted her party into power. The Premier has created the impression that she is unapproachable. Her attitude reminds me of a mother whose children cannot communicate with her, and that "Momma's'' word, regardless, is the final word...there is no room for discussion! Needless to say, it does not go that way.

We live in a democratic country -- not a country that is run by dictatorship.

The people have the vote and the people are entitled to have their say.

Whenever such important matters arise like the constitutional changes which are now being discussed, this issue should go before the people. Issues like this should not be a "done deal'' as it affects the whole population. Imagine waking up one morning to be told that you can only drive your car once a month or you cannot send your children away for higher learning. That would be ridiculous, and that would be dictatorship.

If the Premier's silence on the many issues facing Bermuda, and if her invisibility to the people of Bermuda is because she is not sure of her responsibilities and the procedures in running a country, then she should gracefully resign and let a more knowledgeable person take over the reins.

Let's face it, everyone is not cut out to be a born leader. I know I could never do the Premier's job, in act, I wouldn't want it...but let's be honest -- with all that is facing this little Island, we drastically need some good, solid leadership. We need people who can turn this Island around so the majority of the people are happy and content with their lot. So that we may be able to afford to educate our children to excellence, so that they may become the leaders of tomorrow. So that we may lie in bed at night without fear of someone crawling through our windows to rob, and/or, rape us. So that we may walk our streets and be safe. So that people can afford to put a roof over their heads and food on their tables. If people are happy and comfortable, problems diminish. You know, when it comes down to the bottom line, I(and I am sure a lot of other people feel the same way) do not care who runs the government as long as it is run in the right way for the good of the country, and for the good of the people.

If I go into an establishment and receive lousy treatment on? I blame it on lousy management because this shows that management is not communicating with staff. Government, you are management and you are not communicating with the people! PAT FERGUSON Warwick