December 1, 2004

Dear Sir,

Politics is like geology. Deep underground you have the lava of public discontent. This is usually only mildly discontented but it never solidifies into a well-governed structure. It's always turbulent. Occasionally it will get irate and heat up but it usually simmers down. For example ? as will often happen ? a politician says something absolutely ridiculous and offensive. There will be a brief burst of heat but it calms down when the public get confused about the what the politician meant.

Since the politician usually didn't know any better than anyone else what he or she meant, it is difficult for people to get really upset about it. So people give up trying to understand and calm down. Above the strata of public discontent is the layer of governmental ego. This is a very deep important layer, very heavy and oppressive on the layer of public discontent. Much less goes on here than in the lower layer. In fact it is almost crystallised.

Things do happen only under circumstances of extreme irritation of the public discontent. In cases of extreme and palpable public irritation, discontent begins to produce hot air which builds up underneath the layer of governmental ego. This causes heat . Suddenly governmental crystalisation ceases and the political ego is moving and doing things; a very uncomfortable situation. So the government releases these gases. They shoot into the stratosphere, solidify into a substance called blame and fall on top of the governmental ego. This is even more of an irritant to the ego. As the weight on top of it get heavier of course it oppresses public discontent all the more. More gas is released, more blame is created.

The governmental ego heats up more and more and as it does, in order to protect itself, it expands. Governmental ego is a substance that has no known limit in its ability to expand. It grows from a mound, to a hill and finally a mountain. The slope of this mountain gets higher and higher. The mass of blame gets larger and larger. The weight on public discontent gets more and more, it gets hotter and hotter. Something must change. And it does. The governmental ego gets so high that the grade of its sides gets very steep.

The huge mound of Blame suddenly avalanches downward into the swamp of the Civil Service. There it disappears completely and no one knows where it goes. The Civil Service swamp contains a substance called General Orders which obliterates all blame by hiding it in its depths. You wouldn't want to look. Its very sticky, turgid and absolutely impenetrable. The whole situation cools suddenly. The weight on public discontent is reduced. Governmental ego does not deflate. But its nature it never grows smaller only larger. All blame now falls from the sky, down the slope and into the swamp. The world is at peace once more until the next time.

JOHN ZUILL

Pembroke

December 4, 2004

Dear Sir,

This letter goes out to the young lady who stayed around at Junction Lane last night after a bike accident. Not many young girls her age would have done what this young lady (she's younger than I am which is why I call her that, also I don't know her name) did and was willing to do if I was unconscious considering she said she knew CPR. I probably should've asked for her name when she was telling me to get off the ground (which is good since a short time later a fire truck came by and she was telling the guys that if I was still lying there I would've been rolled over), but I did not.

Another person I would like to thank is the guy who called 911 for an ambulance and also let me call my mom's house. Yes, there were other people who came around asking if I was OK but other than the firefighters and ambulance guys who helped last night, these two deserve a thank you. Again thanks to all who were involved.

I hope the Editor puts this in the Letters to the Editor column since I am never going to forget that incident even though I don't remember much about the car except that it was a silver grey Opel which had, I think, tinted glass and the rims were not shiny and the girl was light-skinned. Also the guy was light-skinned and had a cell phone.

December 7, 2004

Dear Sir,

"This island is boring ? we need more excitement." That's what everyone says. One place that could be a lot more exciting is Bermuda's roads. They are just too dull. Sure, having bikes pass you on a corner going 60 kph is kind of exciting, and when the rider is trying to leave as little space as possible between their bike and your car it adds to the thrill but there is a lot of room for improvement. Bike riders should drag one foot more. Even white folks who aren't so coordinated should try it.

Whether you are on a bike or in a car you can make things less dull on this Island by driving with an i-pod or a cell phone. Try having some really important conversation while you are driving. It would really liven things up. Of course never use your indicators and what about "eyepatch Tuesdays" where all drivers wear an eye patch for the day? We'll have this place hopping in no time.

Or, I know, there's that really narrow part of Harbour Road that has serious thrill potential. They should leave those cones and that hole in the wall there for a long time. Actually why not add more cones, oh this is good, and then they could even increase the width of cars allowed on the roads! If we all pull together, we can make Bermuda less boring. Thanks to those of you who have already started.

SNAPPY THINKER

Sandys Parish

December 2, 2004

Dear Sir,

The news in this morning's Royal Gazette of plans for a 'Dolphin Park' is so sad. What a euphemistic way of describing an assault on the freedom of marine mammals. The display of captive marine mammals is repugnant, and serves no genuine scientific purpose whatsoever.

I am so encouraged to read we have a growing number of young citizens with courage to speak out and an understanding of their responsibility to the environment and our fellow creatures. To those wishing to help this cause, one of the most useful contacts is:

Craig Redmond

Campaigns Officer

The Captive Animals' Protection Society

PO Box 573, Preston, PR1 9WW, UK

Phone/Fax: 0845 330 3911 (Direct line 0845 456 9381)

infocaptiveanimals.org

www.captiveanimals.org

DR. A. M. WARE-CIETERS

LPAE

League for Protection of Animals and the Environment

November 25, 2004

Dear Sir,

With all this discussion in the Gazette about transport on the Island, I'd just like to add my little bit. Due to all the traffic on the roads, because of the carelessness of some drivers and purely out of an attempt to make the most of the public transport system and eliminate even more fumes from our already poisoned planet, I choose to take the bus to work. This however is proving to be as stressful as driving.

Firstly, I live on Tee Street. As a fairly main road with no sidewalks it can be quite dangerous walking along that road. Drivers do not slow down when they see you, they try and scrape between you and traffic coming the other way. I spend quite some time pinned up against the wall waiting for all traffic to clear, and with wider vehicles being allowed on the Island now I can't imagine how much worse it's going to get.

Secondly, on my return from town I have to cross Middle Road to get to Tee Street. Since there are no traffic lights near Tee Street and no zebra crossings, I can often wait four to five minutes before I feel it is safe to cross. And thirdly, most of the bus drivers drive far too fast ? I often wish I had a seat belt on to make me feel safer.

The one other thing that I'm sure deters many people from using public transport is their terrible timetables. Bus Routes One and Three only run from town up to 6.15 p.m., that's it, and with them coming only every 30 minutes if you've just missed one or one doesn't show that's a pretty long wait. I'm tempted to go back to using the car!

December 1, 2004

Dear Sir,

I am sure I am not the only one wishing to congratulate Dale Butler on his excellent article in Monday's . What a treat to hear a person with such a positive attitude, and one can only hope that his message gets through to others. As for too many expats being employed in Bermuda, the truth is that employers would much prefer a competent black person to an expensive import, one who has to find accommodation etc. and get paid accordingly.

This Island is bursting with opportunities for everyone, and there are no excuses anymore. Mr. Butler was one of the best teachers that Bermuda ever had, and it is a shame that he gave up his position to join the wrong party on the hill. Education is the key to success, and more teachers of his calibre are desperately needed. I remember reading a letter to the Editor from one of his students, after his resignation, bemoaning the fact that he was leaving the school. That is about the best recommendation a teacher can get.

E. RABEN

Paget

WONDERING

Sandys Parish