Hugely entertaining

October 15, 2008

Dear Sir,

I am writing to congratulate all those involved in last weekend's Festival of Sail at Barr's Bay Park. If the aim of this event was to raise awareness of sailing in Bermuda, then I believe it succeeded admirably. My six-year-old son had an absolutely blast dressing up as a pirate, being taken out on a 420 dinghy by Gregory, one of the fine young sailors from the Bermuda Sailing Association, and being shown around the beautiful Spirit of Bermuda by one of the young crew members, all of whom seemed proud and enthusiastic to be associated with the vessel and its excellent leadership programmes. Add to that the excitement of the Gold Cup finals and the Junior Gold Cup and it made for a hugely entertaining and educational afternoon.

It was especially pleasing to see a broad mix of the community both involved in the event and visiting the various attractions. Sailing still suffers from a white elitist image that is no longer fair and there was plenty of evidence at Barr's Bay Park to prove that sailing is a challenging and rewarding sport and leisure activity for people from all backgrounds and a reminder that as Bermudians, our marine heritage is very much a shared one. I hope that many of those who attended will have been inspired to take sailing lessons, join a club or enrol their children in a sailing programme.

It was instructive to see examples of the different classes of Bermuda boats on display — perhaps in future this could be expanded with owners or class members on hand to talk about their boats along with a practical demonstration. Might I also suggest that the event also include booths or displays from all of the island's many sailing clubs and associations along with more opportunities for non-sailors to "get their feet wet" and take a sail — perhaps aboard the Spirit of Bermuda itself. Nevertheless this sort of event is long overdue and I hope it will grow from strength to strength in the years to come. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and at least one little boy can't wait for sailing camp next summer!

C.T. GIBSON

Warwick

Setting the record straight

October 9, 2008

Dear Sir,

We write in response to Mr. Dunleavy's opinion piece printed in the October 8 issue of your paper. We would like to set the record straight with respect to the last two diplomatic visits to Washington. During those visits Premier Brown and Consul General Slayton have met with a wide cross-section of American leaders, including President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, House members from both political parties and the following Senators:

¦ Sen. Max Baucus (D – MT)

¦ Sen. John Ensign (R – NV)

¦ Sen. Lamar Alexander (R – TN)

¦ Sen. Mel Martinez (R – FL)

¦ Sen. Norman Coleman (R – MN)

¦ Sen. Susan Collins (R – Maine)

¦ Sen. David Vitter (R – LA)

¦ Sen. John McCain (R- AZ)

¦ Sen. Sam Brownback (R – KS)

¦ Sen. Barack Obama (D – IL)

In addition, we have met with senior staff of the following agencies:

¦ The Department of the Treasury

¦ The Department of Commerce

¦ The Department of State

¦ The Department of Homeland Security

We do not wish to ever take sides in any domestic political debates here in Bermuda. We do, however, have a duty to keep the facts straight.

ASTRID BLACK

Press Affairs Officer

United States Consulate

Discourage such disrespect

October 10, 2008

Dear Sir,

The Bible is a library of books written over a long span of time, the most recent written about 2,000 years ago. Wise commentators realise that it cannot be treated as a volume written within a lifetime by a single person because it reflects the beliefs, fears and inner feelings of a population which varies greatly in intelligence, knowledge and understanding. There are multiple themes and multiple perspectives. The editor of the Faith section of the Bermuda Sun failed to appraise the true worth of his featured article by John Anthony Burchall in the 10th October 2008 issue.

We should respect all sacred writings, and especially those that do not reflect our own beliefs. It is smart to know when you do not know or understand. It has become common in our times to show lack of respect for sacred writings. Our editor is in keeping with modern trends. However I cannot agree with the lack of respect shown by John Anthony Burchall to Pastor Gary Simons, neither of whom I have met. An established, experienced pastor should be listened to carefully. I believe that our society in failing to respect all belief systems, including non-Christian ones, is digging a pit for itself. It is one of the distinguishing marks of a decaying and dying society. We should discourage such disrespect. We agree with freedom of speech, but a wise publisher does not need the threat of litigation to avoid printing untruths.

This article also demonstrates the dangers of a superficial reading of sacred writings. They are called sacred because previous generations treated them with a respect which we now eschew. When sacred writings are treated as mere literature they are generally misunderstood, because the truths they contain defy academic analysis which has no place for the dimension of belief or faith. Despite all of this, if our readers will carefully study the passages outlined by Mr. Burchall in their full context, they may discover for themselves even without faith, but by using a consistent academic approach, as he too may well do someday, the errors of his interpretation. May the Lord rebuke him. Time will tell.

BERTRAM GUISHARD

C.c. The Bermuda Sun

Sensless and dangerous

October 17, 2008

Dear Sir,

Please explain to me why we still allow motorised vehicles to use our Railway Trail. I live in Sandys and walk the railway trail between Somerset Bridge and Sound View Road on a daily basis. I am constantly being pushed into the trees by speeding motorcycles using the trail as a racetrack and short cut. These bikes range from 50cc to 150 cc.

I believe I am correct in saying that only pedestrians, equestrians, pedal cycles and 50cc bikes currently have the right to use these trails, unfortunately that is not the case. I have even seen cars parked along the trail as far down as Fort Scaur.

I do occasionally see a Police car doing a drive through but they never seem to be around when needed. I would bet that if a police patrol bike or car spent a few hours along this stretch every week, they would add a significant amount of money to the Government coffers, issuing tickets to the many speeders and people riding oversized bikes.

The easiest way to fix this problem would be for the Govt. of Bermuda to ban all motorised vehicles from the railway trail. Exceptions would be: people needing direct access to their homes along these trails and for emergencies such as rerouting traffic due to road works or vehicular accidents on main roads. I would also allow access for tourist and their rental bikes only. The railway trail is a beautiful adventure for our visitors and a way of seeing Bermuda from another perspective.

Other than these reasons, I find it senseless and dangerous for motor bikes to still be using the trails. Every day you have families on pedal bikes with kids, moms pushing strollers, people walking and jogging. Every few minutes a motor bike comes through and people have to scramble to get themselves and their kids to the side to avoid being hit.

Sometimes you get the occasional rider who respects that there are other people on the trail and will be doing the speed limit or slow down to give people time to move over. Other times you can hear the bikes from a few hundred feet away screaming towards you and it's only a matter of time before someone is hit or two bikes collide in opposite directions. I respectively call on the Minister, who's Ministry these beautiful trails fall under, to pass a law banning motorised vehicles from all Railway Trails with the exceptions as mentioned above.

TREE HUGGER

Sandys

Employment Tax time

October 16, 2008

Dear Sir,

Your correspondent "Small Business Owner" (SBO) must have been in business only for the past couple of months. SBO would have otherwise known that Employment Tax is payable on or before the 15th of January, April, July and October. One does not need an advert to remind one and should be placed on a calendar or on a computer.

This is the biggest problem in the world today, not just Bermuda, blame someone else for one's own inadequacies. My credit card is maxed and I have a problem paying it off. I need help so the banks must extend more credit, which will allow me to get into a greater debt. If you don't have the money you should not spend it. Be responsible for your own actions or inactions.

ANTONY SIESE

City of Hamilton

Better connections?

October 17, 2008

Dear Sir,

I note with interest the front page article in today's newspaper (October 17) regarding moving the PGA Grand Slam of Golf to Port Royal Golf Course. I particularly note the comment attributed to Mr. Wendell Brown, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, with regard to the appointment of a 'Director of Agronomy'. Obviously Mr. Brown has a better 'fast-track' system with the Department of Immigration than most employers because the advertisement for the position was in your newspaper yesterday with a closing date of October 24.

POTENTIAL EMPLOYEE

Pembroke