A bipartisan suggestionDear Sir,Please allow me to give support to the Honourable David Dodwell's speech in the House of Parliament on Friday in which he urged the government and specifically the Minister responsible for public safety, Randolph Horton and Dr. Ewart Brown, Minister for Tourism and Transportation to implement methods that would give more safety to our visiting tourists and protection from the crimes that are increasingly being perpetrated on them. I.e. purse-snatching,beach theft and theft in their hotel or guest house accommodation.

Mr. Dodwell suggested we should review the Criminal Code and create a category of specific crimes against tourists with much stiffer penalties. I support this view and feel such laws should have been implemented yesterday. Surely everyone can understand that crime against our guests whether on holiday or business is a crime against our economic welfare. As great a friend to Bermuda as Mr. Slayton, the American Consul is, should crime against visitors continue to increase, he will have no option but to advise his government to issue an advisory to the American people that Bermuda is not a safe place in which to travel. Likewise England and any other country from which we draw our visitors will have to do the same.

Mr Dodwell urged our mindset should be Bermuda is in the tourist business whether our visitors come for a holiday or for commercial purposes. They are all our tourists and we spend a great deal of money and energy urging them to come here. We should there ensure their safety. Altering the law is only one thing we can do. I am certain there is much more we can do to cause all Bermudians and all who live here to create a safe environment for our visitor. So Mr. Editor I plead — as Mr. Dodwell did — to the Ministers of Safety and Tourism and Transport and our Attorney General to accept this as a serious bipartisan suggestion and do what they can with our help and support to make Bermuda safer for our visitors.QUINTON L. EDNESS CBE. JP

WarwickPhoto served no valueJuly 3, 2006

Dear Sir,I will be haunted for some time by the sight of a young person's blood spilled across the front page of The Royal Gazette on Friday June 30. His friends and family, however, will grieve over the publicity attendant on these images for the rest of their lives. Is that addition to their pain just? The easy answers that come back allocate blame almost instinctively. "He was a poor rider and a menace to others." "He was asking for it." "People should see what happens to idiot cyclists." Yet when you sift out the truth of the incident, all that remains is that a much-loved young man made a terrible error in a brief instant of time for which he paid the ultimate price.

Why is it acceptable that his payment be accounted for above the fold of the front page of our newspaper? Why must his family and friends endure this cheapening of his otherwise wonderful life? Has it been decided that we are generally in need of a shock, or visceral satisfaction of our own righteousness? Well that sure worked, and it likely sold a few extra newspapers, but in my respectful submission it is utterly dehumanising. Perhaps some justification could be found if such shock therapy was shown to prevent deaths. We know all too well though that it does not.

Children are programmed to feel invulnerable and they simply know "that it will never happen to me". Please, Mr. Editor, be careful to weigh the suffering of eternal pain against a bit of short-lived shock value when considering whether to allow your front page to be soaked in blood next time. Regardless of the benefits to circulation.LINDSAY MCCANN

SomersetDon't move the cruise shipsMay 12, 2006

Dear Sir, I am actually writing on quite another subject, but have to mention how surprised I was to read the letter in today's Royal Gazette regarding daylight saving. I can honestly say that with all the people I have spoken to on the subject, I have not met a single one who is not delighted to get an extra hour at the end of the day. The words speak for themselves; 'saving daylight'.

What a blessing at the end of a working day to have time to go to the beach, do some gardening, meet friends, take a walk, and all before dark. My only concern is, why can't we have daylight saving all year round? It was light this morning at 6 a.m., and as for children going to school in the dark, better that, than coming home in the dark. More crimes are committed at six at night, than at six in the morning.

My real concern at the moment is the plan to build so-called 'Golf Villas' on the Southampton Hotel golf course. Give me a break. Surely the Department of planning can see through this hoax, and say a firm, no! It is really up to them. There is land enough up there for any number of condos without ruining that charming golf course. Golf villas, my hat. As for that hairbrained scheme to build hotels and God knows what on our lovely Hamilton waterfront, it is just too stupid to warrant comment. Did these so-called foreign architects ever visit Bermuda?

The whole idea is just so way out that one wonders who could have actually agreed to and paid for such nonsense.These guys must be laughing all the way to the bank. I suppose we will never know how much of the taxpayers money has been wasted on those plans. Personally, I would hate to see Front Street without the cruise ships; it is such a beautiful sight at night, when they are all lit up, and in the daytime, the passengers go shopping (we hope). I do agree that the parking should be moved from Number One Shed to Church Street, where a three or four story parking lot could be built on the site of the proposed new hotel. We all know that the hotel will never come to anything, and we desperately need more parking space, away from Front Street.

As for the container docks, it should be remembered that, first and foremost, Hamilton is a port, and the docks are so far to the east of Front Street that they do not impose on the heart of the city. Anyone who has done any cruising, knows that in most ports of call, one has to literally walk between the giant containers to get out of the port area.

We have far too many foreign "Axperts' messing about in Bermuda. Our own people know best, and any of the plans that we have already seen are better than that nonsensical scheme to build on and ruin our unique harbour. It is time to pass the plans for the new bank building. Anyone who takes the trouble to look at these plans, by visiting the Department of Planning on Parliament Street will see that they are very tastefully done. The bank has promised that there will be space for retail (not retail banking) on both Front Street and Reid Street, and the Reid Street entrance looks to be particularly attractive. We have to face the fact that we are going to have to build up, and with so many seven story buildings in progress, and few as well thought out as the Trimingham's building, let's let them get on with it. The whole area is a disaster at the moment. I feel a lot better for getting all that off my chest.E. RABEN

PagetA card of thanksMay 4, 2006This was sent to Ms B. Misazaka and Primary 3 students Victor Scott School and copied to The Royal Gazette.Dear Ms. Miyazaka and the students of Primary 3,On behalf of everyone at The Bermuda TB Cancer & Health Association, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for your very generous donation of $1,500 raised after your students heard the inspiring story of Terry Fox and his run across Canada to raise funds to fight cancer. Primary 3's efforts in raising this donation is a wonderful example of enthusiasm, commitment and teamwork and we are most honoured to be recognised as the charity that you chose. Special thanks to each and every one of you for giving up a treat, or something special and staying committed to the cause. We hope you enjoyed your visit to our health facility for the presentation of the cheque - we certainly enjoyed having you here!

We plan to use your donation to continue our mission to education everyone in our community about cancer, cancer prevention and other health conditions that impact our lifestyles. Specially your donation will go towards the purchase of some new digital breast scanning equipment we are hoping to buy — its very expensive in the detection of breast cancer, and we are that much closer to buying the equipment because of your generosity. Did you know that we have educational programmes, presented by our Education Officer, and we can come into your school and talk with all the students during an assembly about safety in the sun?

If your School Principal would like our Education Officer to come to Victor Scott School to make this fun and interactive presentation called the "Slip Slap, Slop — Sunsmart" programme please contact me and we can arrange a time in early June, before the end of term and before everyone heads for the beaches and the damaging effect the sun can have on young skins. Once again, we would like to say a sincere thank you and we are enclosing a Certificate of Appreciation for you to display on your classroom wall.PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR

The Bermuda T.B. Cancer & Health AssociationWhere is the $800million?June 13, 2006

Dear Sir,Bermuda, where is the 800 million dollars? It amazes me that there is an extremely large sum of the public purse that is unaccounted for yet the majority of our Government Leaders see fit to give themselves a raise? Once again, my question is where is the $800,000,000? I am confused.

If any one of us were to go into any Bank and take out a loan and then we become delinquent on that loan, there would be no way for any of us to get additional funds without being accountable for the funds that are outstanding. Now I know that this is a rather simplistic example, but the issue at hand is not a complex one either. Please tell me how our government can continuously be unaccountable for their actions?

What message are we giving our young people? It is critical that each one of us thinks about what is really happening here. I am of the opinion that any requests for a raise in salary for our Government Leaders should be taken to the voters. If the request is justifiable than I am sure any intelligent, taxpaying voter would be more than willing to support the request. If we, the general public, must be accountable for our actions then or Leaders should be required to be responsible, and accountable for theirs. And again I ask, where is the 800 million dollars? Bermuda, we need not lose focus, for we will ALL pay a dear price in the not too distant future.C. LAUREEN BASSETT

Smith'sWhat ails us...Dear Sir,Bermuda, the people have spoken! The people of the land elected a government they believed would bring change to a system they thought would improve their lot in life; with free speech, economic growth, racial equality, freedom to live in whichever district they find dwelling. There was never a problem of where shall I worship on a Sunday, or where shall I shop, or where shall I eat, or what car can I drive or not drive, because...

Bermuda, what ails us at this present time is not an issue that is life threatening, because the issues that are seeping into the main stream as issues have been a way of life for as long as the issues of those demanding that the law of the land be changed to accommodate them. One can demand that the Government enact laws to give us the right to live, work or play wherever; but whenever, and however we desire, is not a governmental issue. It is a moral issue. When one sees and hears that the Government is not securing laws to protect the citizens from unfair practices, we than have the right to voice our objections, and hold the Government to its platform policies. After securing a platform for a voice for the people, we see and hear the very same people demanding, threatening, accusing, and misusing the power invested in them, to change or amend laws to make people like them, because of their insecurity, is tyrannical.

Bermuda, that is the reason the sitting Government was unable to agree on the demand of a selected few. The issue is a moral one. A government cannot legislate morality. They can legislate laws and by-laws to maintain law and order. The whole legal system is written according to the Biblical Law, the very same book most people are afraid to read, research or refer to. The very same rules that are legislated in the law books are guidelines taken from the Book of Law: The Bible. Read the first five books. The saying, "History repeats itself" is revealing in these books. Read it for your own salvation. I found this information myself, when I searched the scriptures, seeking to work out my own salvation.

Bermuda is great in the information era, so I shall share the information with you, Bermuda. One book I find that most people will not research is the Bible. It has nothing to do with "Christian". Read for yourself before you respond to issues. What prompted me to write this letter to Bermuda? It is the headlines in the newspaper; "Stand up and be counted!", "MP confronts church elder for stance on failed bill", "Cowardly MPs urged to redeem themselves" and the opinion letter to the Editor of The Royal Gazette, June 1, 2006, from a lawyer working in London — "Church is wrong on all counts". I wish with all my heart, the same passion was given to the issues of human rights for the poor, the widows, the foreigners, the people of colour, the people of non-colour , the disable, the teen scene, the drug scene, and the educational system.

Look what I found in searching the scriptures on what is right, in Proverbs 21 verse 2, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondered the hearts." That was the King James version. The New International Version says: "All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart." Also, in Psalm 78 verse 37 it is written: "For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant." And "their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant." I only have these two versions to go by, nevertheless, I hope Bermuda would check this out before we use our positions in the Government to "...do anything it wants".

Furthermore, I did some more searching and look what I found in reading Leviticus 18 verse 22: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." And in First Kings 14 verse 24: "And there were also Sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel."

In Romans 1 verse 24 to 28: "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up into vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient."

Well, I certainly learned something today. Now I know whey the caged bird sings! Bermuda, this is a moral issue not a legislative issue. "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Romans 12 verse 18. (NIV) Thank you for helping me to understand you.ROOKES

City of HamiltonA note of thanksJune 30, 2006This letter was sent to Marie Ginette of XL Investment Management Ltd. and copied to The Royal Gazette.Dear Marie Ginette,On behalf of the ponies and staff of Bermuda Riding for the Disabled we would like to thank you and your awesome group from XL for your help on XL's 20th Anniversary Global Day of Giving. The stables have never been so clean and polished from the highest rafter beams to each water bowl and manager. An unused ramp was demolished and not a nail was found on the ground after all the wood was neatly stacked.

How fortuitous it was that all this happened just before the visit to out stables of Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal. If the energy put into that morning's work is indicative of how you all work in your offices, XL is lucky indeed. Please convey our thanks to those involved. You are always welcome back! With kind regards,MOYRA BENBOW

BRD Manager