The list goes on

September 20, 2010.

Dear Sir, Please allow me in your valuable editorial to bid Dr. Brown, Premier, a farewell and a Bermudaful goodbye! Now, Mr. Editor, it's been five years on for the GPS in this taxi saga. I must begin by stating I've been a public service vehicle driver for nearly 38 years. I want to make a statement and comment about GPS in Taxi:

1. Has GPS improved service? No.

2. Does one get a taxi quicker? No.

3. Is GPS dangerous to the public and unsafe? Yes.

4. Does GPS make the taxi driver more money? No.

5. Is GPS an added unnecessary cost to the taxi owner? Yes.

6. Is GPS in taxis around the world been banned? Yes.

7. Is the taxi man any safer? No way.

8. Does thousands of dollars get sent out of Bermuda for the GPS rental? Yes.

9. Is voice two way radio more effective and more coverage of the whole island at one time? Yes.

10. Has GPS in taxis failed all around? Yes.

11. Should the new transport minister ban GPS? Absolutely.

12. Does the taxi man get a high percentage of work from GPS or voice? No, you only get 20 percent of work from GPS or voice. Will it take a taxi man killing a person by looking at his GPS for the powers that be to get rid of it? Maybe by then it will be too late. The pedestrian will be dead.

13. Is GPS a distraction? Yes.

14. Has the taxi man serviced the industry well before GPS with or of the travelling public? Example more ships, more hotels, more military bases in Bermuda? Yes.

The list goes on and on, Mr. Editor. So I'm publicly asking for the safety of the driver and public, please ban GPS by the new Transport Minister. Should the road safety council have called a ban on GPS? Definitely. I may Mr, Editor end by stating GPS has failed all around. Thanks, Mr. Editor. Yours truly a taxi man patiently waiting the next election and so is my family whom I may add has over 100 taxi drivers.

A SUPPORTER OF –TWO WAY RADIO VOICE

P.s. All taxi companies are struggling to survive.

What Zen can teach us

September 4, 2010.

Dear Sir,

Life has become very complicated, hasn't it? The world changes sometimes in ways that hardly seem positive. People worry about security, politics, money, relationships and status. Everyone seems so busy; it is almost as if one tries to distract himself from himself. We talk on cordless phones while typing e-mails and sending faxes. We schedule meetings on our PDAs while attending meetings via the Internet. Then we check our caller ID and voice mail to see what calls we missed. We listen to our MP3 players while working out. Take the laptop computers on the road, send instant messages to the people living upstairs in our homes because we are too busy to walk up the stairs. Zen can teach us peace, contentment, and happiness in the twenty-first century — or any century. Zen teaches us to relinquish control.

Trust is possible only if first you trust in yourself. This has to happen within you first. But if you don't trust in yourself then no other trust is ever possible. And the society destroys trust at the very roots. It does not allow you to trust yourself, it teaches all other kinds of trust — trust in the parents, trust in the church, trust in the state, trust in God and infinitum. But the basic trust is completely destroyed. and then all other trusts are phoney, are bound to be phoney. The society does it deliberately, on purpose, because a man who trusts in himself is dangerous for society — a society that depends on belief. Its whole structure is based in creating robots and machines, not men. It needs dependent people. They are seeking their own kind.

ZEN PSYCHOTHERAPIST

Pembroke

A ridiculous idea

September 29, 2010

Dear Sir,

I thought I had seen it all until I opened yesterday's edition of your newspaper. In the paper was an article indicating that the Rotary Club are seeking permission to place a clock in the centre of Crow Lane roundabout. It was not April Fools Day, so I guess they are serious. However, I have to ask why such a ridiculous idea is being considered? Hopefully permission will not be given. In fairness to the Rotary Clubs, I am very familiar with the wonderful work they do around the world. Their achievements in helping those in need and those who are sick is well recorded.

If Rotary has surplus cash to throw away on a clock, surely there are more important things, which need attention in Bermuda. For example, they could purchase a mobile leaf vacuum truck for Government. Such a truck would be a huge asset to help clear our roads after a storm. Rotary could also start a fund to help pay for people to once again clean our roads, cut the verges and bring Bermuda back to the pristine condition it once was.

NOT A CLOCK WATCHER

Devonshire

Don't be soft

September 29, 2010

Dear Sir,

I expect the Mirrors programme is to be commended in its efforts with young people. However, we should remember, and the courts should remember, that these people still need to be punished for their crimes. Just because these young criminals, responsible for beatings, break-ins, etc, attend a short course does not mean that they should be given shorter or lighter sentences. We hear all the time that these young thugs "come from good homes'. Where were the parents when their children were out late at night breaking into homes? We must remember the families, who have lost loved ones and the families who have not only lost valuable items in break-ins, but the young children who are now suffering emotionally, afraid to sleep in their bedrooms at night. So let's not be soft on these young criminals when sentencing. They need more than a smack on the wrist.

SEEKING TRUE JUSTICE

St. George

MP's comments unfair

October 1, 2010

Dear Sir,

Re: Trevor Moniz's comments in The Royal Gazette on Kellan Lewis. Trevor Moniz, how dare you make such assumptions when you don't even know the facts about Mr. Kellan Lewis and using him in your political arena to score brownie points. Please do your research first, before you assume. Mr. Kellan Lewis was invited to a party by Creyneisha Joyiens and her family, who are his personal friends. Kellan was led to the Lord nine months before that incident by Deacon Steven Ebbin and attended church regularly. Kellan's speech was to his cohorts not the media. He had no idea that his speech would be published in such a manner. If it has helped just one person, we are thankful. The Mirrors Programme has helped Mr. Lewis in more positive ways than one, and we are very thankful and blessed to them and Deacon Steven Ebbin for having them in his life at this time.

JOYCE MARTIN

Sandys

Race legacy and crime

October 2, 2010

Dear Sir,

I understand a new political bipartisan task force headed by PLP MP Mr. Randy Horton has been created to investigate the root causes of gun crime, and although every and any action taken to help the community understand the underlying root causes is critical, I would like to make a suggestion to the members of the new Joint Select Committee. I am hoping the Committee has already read in detail the 2007 Hopkins Report and 2009 Mincy Report, but before you begin your work, please read the reports listed at the bottom of this letter, all of which have for years been gathering dust on the shelves of Government. Each and every one of these reports contains valuable information, and most importantly suggestions, to guide the Committee. What is frustrating is that many opinions and findings contained in those reports continue to be completely applicable today, yet actions were never taken.

It is my belief that a root cause for today's violence is based on 400-year old anger, frustration and despair. When a young man looks in the mirror and doesn't like what he sees, perceives no hope for the future and can't articulate his frustration and anger, that hate and despair is then directed inwards. Is it then surprising that these same young men have little issue with injuring or killing those that "look like him"? Until we all have a clearer understanding as to how the legacy of slavery, segregation and overt racism continues to affect our psyches, both black and white, and continues to materialise as racial stereotypes, structural racism and internalised racism, we will continue to repeat history and spend time and money on reports which give us answers, only to then have them gather dust till the next killings. 1969 Wooding Report "Report of Commission following 1968 Civil Disorders" 1978 Pitt Report "Report of the Royal Commission into the 1977 Disturbances" 1978 Clark Report "A Comprehensive Report towards Racial Integration and Economic Equity" 1992 Tumin Report "Report on the Criminal Justice System in Bermuda" 1994 Newman Report "Bermuda's Stride Toward the Twenty-First Century" To help the Committee and the public these reports can be found on the www.uprootingracism.org website.

LYNNE WINFIELD

Sandys

Print licence numbers

October 3, 2010

Dear Sir,

Why are there hardly any Police arresting people for text-driving and cellphone driving with the name of the driver then printed in The Royal Gazette? Is there a logical reason for this? If so, I would like to know since just yesterday afternoon, a black Peugeot driven by a text-driving male almost cleaned out the car I was riding in. Too bad I never got the licence plate, but then again I've noticed, licence plate numbers of people who do dopey things on the road never ever seem to end up in the newspaper. If The Royal Gazette is brave to mention about people running around with a gun firing it at people this shouldn't even be anywhere close to that. All it is simply letting the people know what to look out for and that those same people should be arrested so that their foolishness doesn't go beyond what happened on that day, to continue and someone dies in the end. People who do these things aren't godly in that sense but rather satanic because they should know not to drive that way yet they do it anyway.

NEARLY HIT

Devonshire

P.s. If I had the licence plate number of the black Peugeot that came close to hitting the car I was in around Harrington Sound I would have appreciated it more if the license plate number was in bold print so that everybody in the island could know who this idiot was.

Ferry strange …

October 1, 2010

Dear Sir,

I heard Senator Marc Bean say this regarding the Fast Ferries: "It's just maintenance issues, which is a result of boats coming to the end of their life." The first set of fast ferries were bought seven years ago and cost taxpayers in the region of $1.3 million each. Only seven years old and at the end of their life already? Could this be due to lack of proactive maintenance or did the PLP Government purchase an inferior product from the start? Can anyone tell me the age of the Bermudian which happens to still be in service? I think it's a lot longer than seven years! Methinks further investigation is in order before we shell out more taxpayer funds on replacements!

CLINTON J.A. PAYNTER

St. George's