So we now have a new Budget, $620 million to be spent on an Island of twenty square miles. Sounds like something one would see on a comedy TV show.

However, the Government is showing us once again that they are going to do what they do best, spend money, especially ours. Conspicuous in its absence as usual is any benefit for the seniors. One would have thought that with all the new taxes being imposed, seniors would have been given a discount on such things as vehicle licences, fuel and cellphones. Of course, one might ask why would seniors need such things? -- and the answer being that bus stops are not always easy to get to, especially when walking becomes a difficulty, so a car is important, and as for cellphones, one needs to be able to call for help in case of an emergency, especially if one happens to be in an isolated area.

With the cost of living going up in leaps and bounds these added taxes will present an added strain on those with fixed incomes. If the `people's government' did away with unnecessary expenses such as super fast ferry and sold their big cars, as a well as a number of other unnecessary things, then there might be room to give the people who helped to build this country, a break.

SEEING IT AS IT IS Pembroke Listening to who? February 25, 2001 Dear Sir, The Hon. Mr. Cox said "We have listened to the people and we have answered''! Does he really think that putting up the licence fee for their cars and adding more on their gas bill is helping the people? It is more like holding them down. The working class people who have cars have all they can manage to keep their cars on the road. They need them for work and their families. What kind of "listening'' was he hearing, surely not the poor working man and women that is for sure. What a laugh.

THE PEOPLE Devonshire Marijuana for tourism February 26, 2001 Dear Sir, Allow me to respond to the article published in the Bermuda Sun regarding the number of people who admitted to using marijuana, and those who say it should remain illegal. The results of the polls taken in these areas are not surprising to me. They only serve to reinforce, once again, how terrified a great many Bermudians and residents are to speak their minds on controversial issues. For instance, if we were to take a poll on how many racist people there are in Bermuda, the result would probably show that there are none. Who is going to admit to that? Should the result be considered reliable information? We know better. We all know that here in little old Bermuda you can't say anything to anyone without it somehow "getting back'' and if you don't believe me let the Bermuda Sun ask about that in one of their street polls. If the NDC (National Drugs Commission) is going to accept those poll numbers as being reliable then it is existing in a fool's paradise and will never bring our serious drug problems under control.

Using these unreal numbers I would like to present some real ones. The poll shows, erroneously, that only 7.5% of the Bermudian population use marijuana.

This amounts to approximately 4,200 people. (Isn't that a laugh)? Let's assume that each of these people consume an ounce of marijuana a month. (A very realistic amount for marijuana users). Marijuana in Bermuda is fetching anywhere from $400 to $600 an ounce, so let's take the low figure of $400.

These 4,200 people are pumping $1,680,000 (one million six hundred and eighty thousand dollars) into the Bermudian economy. That adds up to $20,160,000 (twenty million one hundred and sixty thousand dollars) a year. This is in real time folks. It's happening all around you right now. Who is getting all the money? Can you imagine what the numbers will look like if marijuana was made available to our tourists as an alternate social substance, like in Amsterdam, and now several other places that are leaders in the tourism industry? The only way for ALL of Bermuda to share in this wealth is to legalise and industrialise marijuana. This one bold move will, almost immediately revive our flagging tourism, earn millions of dollars in revenue, and because marijuana is a safer, less harmful product than our current legal drug, alcohol, we can expect to see a reduction in the serious, constant alcohol related behaviour that is happening every single day in Bermuda. Pick up any newspaper any day of the week and have a read, it's all there. If someone somewhere, including the press, knows of any problems that are being caused in Bermudian society by marijuana use, (except for those caused by the courts with the persecution of consumers) they are keeping it a secret from the rest of us.

Some time ago I challenged the NDC to supply any information they had on the number of people that was receiving treatment for marijuana addiction. There are none. Additionally the NDC could not tell me specifically what problem marijuana was causing in Bermudian society, or any society for that matter. If it doesn't look like a duck, and it doesn't quack like a duck, it's probably not a duck.

In approximately ten years the Bermudian Government is going to be faced with paying huge amounts in pensions to hundreds of baby boomers. Where is that money going to come from, our youth? Are we going to saddle future generations of our young workers with burdensome taxes to support us in retirement? Those who advocate killing this golden opportunity better remember that their pensions are only as secure as the Government. If it does not get the money in, it can't pay it out.

When other places in the world was taking the lead by looking at and legalising gambling, we couldn't decide, and we still can't. It really does not matter too much now, because gambling is common, it's everywhere. Whenever we do it (if we ever do) we will only be playing "catch up'' to our competition, bringing up the tail end so to speak. The leaders in the industry have already reaped the real profits. We, the followers will only pick up the crumbs they dropped.

Marijuana has been decriminalised in several destinations around the world and is being actively considered in many more. We now have another chance to be among the leaders in this extremely profitable industry. Leave it too late and we will once again, bring up the tail end, and miss out on the huge profits and benefits. Bermudians must take bold steps if they are to continue living in the style to which they have become accustomed. Or we can all lower our expectations. How about that? In closing, the Bermuda Sun reported that Delaey Robinson is an avid advocate for decriminalising marijuana when all he has done is to merely mention it, once. You see what I mean about terrifying the public with inaccuracies, hysteria and persecution for merely mentioning the word? How can the polls be believed? AL EASTMOND Devonshire The system works February 27, 2001 Dear Sir, As of late we've experienced a resurrection of independent proponents, who in some manner cite reasons for Bermuda's shortcomings, and who all seek independence for an island nation with one of the top living standards in the world.

As a consequence the numerous proponents are prepared to discard a system...which to a large degree AIN'T BROKE. True we have our problems -- with this and that which needs to be fixed; but `holy moly' when one contemplates the every day misery which abounds in the world -- to abandon the systems which raised us to where we are surely has to be declared far from our best interests.

By no other reason than the primary reason for our good fortune down the decades has to be our proximity to the United States, by far the richest nation on Earth. And if agreed -- such means we who live on this small ribbon of islands, a few hundred miles distant, will largely and forever depend on this same proximity.

Which infers, if we declare independence and "go it alone', among other developments we would straight ways forfeit the persistent and mellowing `clout' of the USA's closest and most enduring ally... The United Kingdom. And if so -- such would be a declaration which could undermine the factors which serve to promote our primary economic bastion international business.now as offshore bases have ceased to be of strategic concern.

WILLIAM SCOTT Smith's Parish Too many fat people February 27, 2001 Dear Sir, It is more and more evident as I look around that we are facing a real obesity problem in Bermuda (and in all the world which does not go to sleep hungry every night) and with it a huge upswing in Type II Diabetes. While there seems to be treatment enough for diabetics, I wonder why we don't have an obesity specialist who can treat those patients who are obese but do not have diabetes. While I commend the job that is done by dietitians and weight loss centres, it is time that obesity is treated like a life threatening disease.

Most doctors dismiss their patients with a wave of the hand and advice such as "Eat Less. Exercise more'' without carefully monitoring their patients and using some of the excellent anti-obesity drugs that are available.

J.K. WILLIAMS City of Hamilton Look after your rights February 27, 2001 Dear Sir, Your front page story of February 19, that highlighted the Senior Magistrate's `exasperation' at letters being sent by businesses to homeless persons forbidding the homeless from coming on to their property does not paint the full picture of what is happening in this country.

It is painfully clear that the saying that `a country which pays little attention to its rights soon finds that those rights are lost as a matter of course', is holding true in Bermuda.

Approximately four years ago, the then-Commissioner of Police introduced a policy of getting businesses to send out letters to persons (who had a conviction(s)) of `trespassing' on to their property. I do not know if the public was informed of this but I happened to be working as a part-time security guard at a hotel at the time during my break from college in the USA.

At work one evening I received a photograph of someone I knew, with the caution from the manager that this individual must not be allowed on the property and if he is seen there, the police should be called immediately. My inquiries revealed that this man had committed no crime either against the hotel or the proprietor. I thought that this was a mistake, but my fears were soon realised when I was told in response to a specific question that this policy was sanctioned by the police and I did not have the right to question it. Mr. Editor, I thought that this policy was unfair since at last in the case that I referred to, the individual had straightened out his life and was not involved with the police for more than three years. I was horrified to find out that later that these photographs were taken while the suspect (at that time) was in police custody. In other words, they were police photographs. I have been informed that up to early last year the police were still sending out such photographs with some regularity. If this is not an abuse of the rights of citizens, then I do not know what is.

I was therefore not surprised to learn from the inquiry into `Police Investigation of Serious Crime' last year, that lawyers had complained that the police were to some extent selecting which lawyers should represent suspects held in custody.

Indeed, it was clear that the right of a suspect to select the lawyer of his choice was perverted into a privilege of the police to determine if a suspect should even have a lawyer present, and, more cynically, which lawyer is satisfactory to the Police.

Soon after the fiasco of circulating police photographs to hotels was put in place, there was talk of installing CCTV in the City of Hamilton. I thought that this was a mere joke at first until the Corporation of Hamilton, like the government of the day -- ever willing to follow the advice of `experts' from abroad -- started to give credibility to this idea. At the time, there were several incidents of handbag snatches and perhaps, many persons rationalised then, that these cameras would go a long way in representing evidence that could be used against these individuals who were essentially attacking the economic wellbeing of this country.

I thought that even in such circumstances, installing CCTV (after reading about the history of their widespread use and abuse in the UK) should have been carefully thought out. As far as I can ascertain, there was little input from the public, in fact the public idly sat by employing the jaundiced rational that if one does not commit crime there ought to be no fear of cameras. Indeed, as far as I can remember, only one progressive lawyer out of the total intelligentsia of this country made his opposing views public. As everyone is now aware, cameras became a reality. And there is even talk of extending their use. What a country! It seemed not to have mattered that the use of cameras in the UK originated out of a totally different public threat i.e. the use of bombs (particularly in London and other heavily populated areas), by the opposing factions who were battling for primacy in Ireland. For the most part the UK public was willing to forgo any rights in the face of such life threatening situations.

There were no parallels in Bermuda. Consequently, the poorly thought out idea in Bermuda produced some ludicrous results. Only in Bermuda would the authorities laud a multi-million dollar CCTV that happened to catch a few thieves stripping or stealing cycles. It is worth noting that at the time of the installation of the cameras the majority of handbag snatches occurred on Pitts Bay Road, yet, not a single camera was installed there. I suspect that to this day Pitts Bay Road continues to carry the same notoriety. Clearly, the use of these cameras was thought out purely along the self-centred interests of the business community with little thought of the wiser implications for the country as a whole. Meanwhile, beggars continue to harass and at times intimidate visitors in the City of Hamilton. But that does not matter, what apparently is more important is that every time I decide to use a public toilet I can be assured that someone in Prospect or elsewhere in the island is watching me.

It is known and proven that cameras, at best, merely shift crime from one area to another, they do not eradicate crime. More importantly, nothing can substitute for the presence of police officers on the streets, a lesson that the police are not prepared to learn or even consider. To all those persons who are prepared to sacrifice their rights to the technology of the cameras I would say to them, if cameras are so great let's install them all over the island from Middle Town to Tucker's Town. You may be surprised at what is revealed.

If anyone doubts the cascading effect denied or abused rights have on a community; one only has to refer to the meetings held last year to discuss the issue of long term residents. Almost to a man, (including some sitting MPs), the core argument used by persons who were against granting long term residents the rights they deserve was that since the rights of Bermudians and long term residents were trampled upon or breached in the past, the same should apply to long term residents now and presumably in the future.

They may deny this, but in essence, this was their case often made without considering the logical conclusion of this dangerous and misguided view. As a resident of the USA, one thing I will always cherish and protect while living in that country is my rights. Bermuda has taught me that if a community treats its rights carelessly, it will lose them; and once lost, it usually takes extraordinary measures to regain them. The reason for this is that a new mind set must first be cultivated in order to build the appreciation necessary to understand what has been lost.

I therefore applaud Mr. Warner for informing the DPP's office, the police and the public, that even persons who are mentally ill still have rights and that the courts will not usurp the function of a psychiatric hospital to assist the authorities in abusing the rights of the citizen.

We would all do well to remember that the rights of all of us are infinitely connected and interchangeable with the rights of those who are least able to defend themselves.

EVERETT DILL Warwick