July 26, 2005

Dear Sir,

I read with interest the column entitled 'The Abysmal State of Our Schools', which appeared in of today's date. The writer, Christian Dunleavy, draws a parallel between the recent power outage and the state of public education.

What is abysmal is Dunleavy's ability to think things through fairly and sensibly.

He, like some others, criticise the public education system, from a vantage point of complete ignorance. They themselves may not have been products of the Bermuda Public School System, their children are not associated with the Bermuda Public School System, nor do they ever have any intention to associate themselves with the Bermuda Public School, no matter how good it may ever become.

Dunleavy's comments are absurd and divisive to say the least. They negate the efforts of trained teachers and of disciplined students. They are insulting to the thousands of parents who have entrusted their children to this school system. Worst of all, they imply that if your child is a student in the Bermuda Public School System, they will automatically emerge unskilled and uneducated. Please tell that to the scholarship recipients who have emerged from our schools. Tell that to those who did graduate from public education and who are gainfully employed or who are furthering their education.

Mr. Dunleavy asserts that the "abysmal" state of public education is the root of every social problem in Bermuda. It is perhaps a truer characterisation to say that the Bermuda Public School System has as its clients a diverse group of students who reflect many of the social issues that Bermuda itself experiences.

It is intellectually dishonest for Dunleavy not to acknowledge that a number of factors impact on student success ? and not all of them has to do with the "system".

To be fair, such chronic intellectual dishonesty is probably due to his refusal to take off his partisan blinkers and acknowledge anything positive that comes out of this Government.

We are improving the Bermuda Public School System continually. Many of our students are adhering to the high standards we have introduced. Many of our students are active and productive in the community and doing well in school. A variety of programmes cater to students with all sorts of needs.

While it is easy to make blanket statements that condemn a whole system, it would be far better for those who fault a system to step up to the plate and to offer tangible assistance in terms of their time to assist those who are in need.

THE HON. TERRY LISTER

Minister of Education and Development

July 27, 2005

Dear Sir,

I agree with Cecile except, I won't leave behind my name. Olympics/other sports, you can watch freely on stations like ESPN, ESPN2, NBC, TNT and a few others and just because the same guys who managed to get the Bermuda national cricket team into the 2007 World Cup are playing, suddenly CableVision feels it is necessary to put a price tag on the sport (of course I don't watch cricket but that's besides the point).

It's bad enough what happened to Bermuda in the past, regarding ESPN (it is now in Spanish even though, most people living in Bermuda are either Portuguese or English-speaking individuals and I'm not saying it should be Portuguese however, it should be that if an individual is Portuguese he/she can watch it in their language likewise, with the English-speaking Bermudians on the Island). Why is CableVision so greedy regarding how much they can make off of pay-per-view Cup Match?

WHAT GIVES?

Pembroke

July 22, 2005

Dear Sir,

During the past month I have had several friends and family members visiting me. I have taken my guests around the Island and for the most part we have had very enjoyable experiences.

I am however concerned about a few trends I have noticed with regards to taxi service. Several times I went with my guests to restaurants or town in taxis. Every single time I entered a taxi I was disturbed to see that the head rests had been removed from all the seats. Head rests are not installed in cars as decoration. They serve a purpose. They will prevent your neck from snapping back in the event of a collision which as we all know happens frequently on our roads.

In addition to the lack of head rests the seat belts are often intricately rolled or tucked so far into the seat you feel like you are going to lose your arm pulling them out. On one trip I was trying hard to dig my seat belt out of the seat and the driver, sounding irritated that I was undoing his fancy work, told me that I was not required to wear a seat belt if I was sitting in the back. I told him that I valued my cognitive abilities and did not want my skull to meet his windshield.

Taxi drivers should respect all their passengers well being enough to make every safety measure available to their customers.

SUSAN THOMAS

July 26, 2005

Dear Sir,

La Leche League of Bermuda, in conjunction with the World Breastfeeding Alliance, is pleased to join over 120 other countries celebrating World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 to 7) and Breastfeeding Awareness Month (August).

To highlight this important occasion, we are thanking health care professionals in the community for protecting and promoting breastfeeding, by delivering healthy snacks to doctor's offices and to the Maternity Ward. We will also distribute information sheets and brochures designed to assist pregnant women and new mothers. We will hold a support meeting, as well, on August 13 at 10.30 a.m. at the hospital, to discuss breastfeeding and good nutrition. We would like to extend appreciation to Lindo's Family Foods, Lindo's Market and the MarketPlace stores for supporting our efforts and encouraging families to make healthy choices. They are providing shopping bags during Breastfeeding Awareness Month that feature information about La Leche League.

While many Bermudians are aware of the importance of breastfeeding, many mothers end up weaning in the early weeks. Studies show that babies are less likely to develop ear infections, respiratory illnesses and diarrhoea when breastfed exclusively for six months.

Breastfed babies are less likely to be obese in childhood. Expectant mothers and their partners are generally aware of the advantages of breastfeeding but confusion about duration, doubts about their own ability and perceived inconvenience often overshadow their decision to nurse their infants.

La Leche League, a registered charity, has helped thousands of women in Bermuda over the past 18 years.

Our services are free of charge and our Volunteers are trained and accredited. We invite anyone in the community needing encouragement, information or support about breastfeeding to contact us at 236-1120.

LENA OSTROFF

Chairperson

July 21, 2005

Dear Sir,

I am writing to share of my recent experience during the labour and delivery of my daughter at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

I was apprehensive about labour and had attended The Bradley Method of Childbirth, which focuses on natural childbirth, without medication, in aiming for as natural a birth as possible. My partner and I had done a lot of reading and our doctor was supportive of my wishes!

Labour started at home, and we managed to stay at home for a good 60 percent of the labour. When I got to KEMH and the maternity unit, the staff were brilliant.

They were knowledgeable, compassionate and understanding. They had read our "birth plan" which had listed our wishes and worked with us to ensure it was the kind of birth we had hoped for!

It was. My daughter was born safely and medication free, and I feel this was helped by the support of the staff there. The ongoing care was excellent.

Whilst everyone was good, I want to say a special thank you to Lisa Blyden (Bradley teacher and lactation specialist), Erica Cullen (midwife), Lani Simmons (student nurse), Dr. Terry Lynn Emery and midwives Elaine, Jane, Amanda and Diane.

Keep up the good work!

HAPPY MOTHER

Pembroke

July 27, 2005

Dear Sir,

Yesterday I saw the full page ad in which Belco assured us we would soon be able to stop conserving and return to the rampant energy use that has made them so wealthy.

Anyone who buys into that business as usual nonsense is begging for a repeat performance. I am not opposed to profits and I generally support the autonomy of private industry but Belco is the sole provider of a vital strategic asset and the Government must take a stronger hand in regulating the operation.

Conservation and load management should be the rule, not the exception. In the absence of a national grid of energy producers to fall back on, every opportunity to power our homes, businesses and ultimately the grid from alternative sources should be strongly supported.

To this end Belco must be required to:

Offer off-peak rates to encourage customers to help manage the load profile, a carrot to compliment the stick; the annual threat of rolling blackouts. Running domestic water heaters and clothes dryers only at night would save megawatts for daytime air conditioning loads.

Install new metres which would not only support off-peak rates but also be of the type which can be run backwards if a customer generates excess power at their home or business which would be fed back to the grid. All the issues of safety have been addressed in the other countries that already do this.

Support distributed generation and alternative energy systems by purchasing the excess power generated by home/business-owners (via Solar Photovoltaic or other means) at wholesale rates, offsetting the cost of installation.

Provide discounted rates and project financing to customers who use energy conservation technologies because their expenditure benefits us all.

Belco has done very well by its 19th Century facility but the answer is not to grow a single point of failure. A better solution is to conserve, diversify and spread the load.

The failure to encourage alternative energy and conservation as a matter of strategic policy resulted in a major blow to our credibility as a developed country and a viable business jurisdiction.

Belco must be compelled to do their part to ensure it never happens again.