February 9, 2004

Dear Sir,

Mr. Shorto's essay on intelligence ended with some broad statements about the war in Iraq, which are popularly held and which I cannot understand:

1. "The forces of terrorism, while not yet defeated, are in retreat." ? No, not particularly. The Chechens are alive and well and hitting the heart of Moscow. Afghanistan is still a complete mess and the Taliban operate in the south. Only one person has ever been convicted of crimes relating to 9/11.

2."The number of places in the world where they can feel safe has shrunk down close to none." ? Except for Saudi Arabia, Iran, the West Bank, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Chechnya, Sri Lanka, ect.

3. "Libya has given up an advanced nuclear weapons programme." ? But it wasn't advanced. Most of it was whimsy. There was no infrastructure, no intellectual backup and no production programme. Gaddafi needed US support for his bizarre regime and now he has it. He traded his notional nuclear programme for American goodwill. He will now cash in.

4."Critics of the Iraq War really ought to quit their kibbitzing and focus on how very lucky the world was to have had at least some leaders in place who had the courage of their convictions, and who were determined to do the things that so obviously needed to be done." ? Except there weren't any terrorists in Iraq. Many were funded and came from Saudi Arabia. Are we going to invade there? No. We already have that oil sown up. To this day there is no established connection between terrorists of any kind and Iraq. It was a good thing Saddam was removed.

He was helped in power by the firm support of several people currently working in the White House. I suppose Bush may have had a responsibility for removing him. Why did Americans make friends with this parasite? Because he cooperated with the west on oil. Once he didn't he was instantly enemy number one. How's that for courage of convictions? How's that for making the world safe for democracy? And if we are to make the world safe for democracy, when are we invading Turkmenistan? Who? Turkmenistan, a little-noted country east of Iraq under the hand of a classic Stalinist dictator. When are we invading Turkmenistan? Never. Not until they develop their resources. Then we will all hear about it, guaranteed. For democracy. Yeah, you bet.

5. "Is the world a safer place for Iraq? You bet your sweet patootie it is!" ? Iraq had nothing to do with September 11. Shorto's technique here is to lump all enemies together and say they are part of the same problem. This is also George Bush's approach. His attitude seems to have been: "Get on the ground and start pushing these towel heads around." This attitude has been insulting the people of the Middle East for decades.

My brother noted once that because western attitudes towards the Middle East are so lousy, we feel compelled to go back there every seven or so years to put things back the way we like them. He has been proven correct. We will be back in another seven years. One day someone is going to walk into a place like Haifa with a nuclear bomb in a suitcase. Then all hell will break loose. The West is going to wonder how it all went so wrong.

JOHN ZUILL

Pembroke

February 4, 2004

Dear Sir,

Here is an observation and effort to seek clarification regarding the Visitors Industry Partnership Programme. In a VIP advertisement in on Friday, January 16, 2004 I noticed a very disturbing result, the heading for the award in my opinion quite clearly speaks for itself: "The most promising young person award". Now if you look very carefully you will see there are three persons in the line up, two of whom are obviously "young persons" and certainly deserve this award, the third person in the line-up doesn't seem to fit this "young person " description and I am very disturbed by this.

In my opinion this could throw a very dark cloud on the selection/nomination process and unfortunately it compromises the integrity of this programme as a whole. The question is this, how old is this individual and how could he be selected as a finalist in the first place in this category? Certainly there wasn't a lack of nominations in this category, I know this as fact. This observation by no means is intended to reflect negatively on the individual finalists ? just the process. I am sure he and all the finalists deserved these prestigious awards and I would like to express my congratulations to all!

R. KENNEDY

Pembroke

February 8, 2004

Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to the article "Buried Alive" on the front page of on February 7, 2004. I was sickened, like most of the people of Bermuda I am sure, that there are individuals among us who think nothing of inflicting pain and death upon defenceless animals. For that man to go with a mere nine months imprisonment for torturing and killing a dog and a puppy is a slap in the face to people who work so hard to look out for animals' welfare and rights. I wonder how many other individuals are out there who would think nothing of duct taping an animal's mouth together and burying it alive rather than taking it to a vet! Where is the justice for animals on this Island?

I beg the Government of Bermuda to address this problem before the cruelty to animals in Bermuda gets even more out of hand. Torturing, fighting, starving and neglecting animals seems to be the hobby of a growing number of people who do it knowing that if they get caught they will merely get a slap on the wrist. There has to be much longer prison terms and higher fines for people who are involved in any type of animal cruelty from leaving their dogs tied up all their lives with no attention and companionship to people who bury them alive. The Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves should have given the murderer, Steven Phipps, the maximum prison term of 12 months and fined him as well. I hope that the proliferation of these acts of terrible cruelty will result in the Government increasing the penalties which the courts can impose on the perpetrators.

WHERE IS ANIMAL JUSTICE?

St. George's

January 19, 2004

Dear Sir,

I have read with interest the letter dated December 7, 2003, sent to you by Mr. Daren Trott, who had the courage to sign it with his name, concerning conscription for the Bermuda Regiment. He writes and I quote: "I do not see what the function of the Regiment is and I believe this is a problem for many people." He goes on to say that as far as he can see the role of the Regiment is largely ceremonial. What Mr. Trott does not say is that joining the Regiment provides much needed discipline and a sense of achievement and hence worth to many young men, who sadly lack self confidence and the wish to achieve more.

Even the present CO of the Regiment is quoted as saying that he was reluctant to join the Regiment, but once he had served in it for a few months he began to appreciate how it benefitted him and he progressed through the ranks to the top. Many officers and NCO's in the Regiment have said the same thing. the fact is that many prominent Bermudian to day have served in the Regiment. I agree that, as a 31 year old, Mr. Trott has the right to feel that the age limit for conscription is too high. Perhaps it should be lowered to 25, when most students have finished their university education.

A short stint in the Regiment, which only involves a few days a year and short summer camp, provides a valuable educational experience for young men and they may decide to stay in the Regiment and become a captain, a major or even CO of the Regiment, as several have done. A point to remember is that if Bermuda becomes an independent nation it will certainly need a Defence Force, as we will no longer be able to rely on Great Britain in time of need.

JOHN GILBERT

Paget

January 7, 2004

Dear Sir,

After reading the paper yesterday about the Anchorage Road People who are angry at Government for trying to upgrade the homes down there I could not help but write. Forgive me if I appear a little insensitive, but I would not be complaining if I was paying $644 per month for a two-bedroom apartment as one of the tenants was quoted. Most people I know are paying $1,500-plus for two bedrooms elsewhere in Bermuda. At that rent one would think that they would have been saving all of these years to purchase a home of their own.