I am writing to express my disappointment upon reading the article on the nurse's rally held on Friday, December 15, and reported in the Gazette the following day.

"The nurses claim top ranked Allied staff such as X-ray technicians are paid just a dollar or two less than nurses, who carry more responsibility and have to have substantially more training''. I am an expat medical imaging technician. I have an American equivalent degree in Diagnostic Radiology, and a second degree in Diagnostic Ultrasound. I have recently gained the American post graduate qualification in Vascular Ultrasound.

You may see me as less responsible than a nurse, but I am the person to see when you come to see: When you have an ectopic pregnancy, Your mother is worried about a breast lump.

Your friends fibroids are wearing her down.

Your auntie has a blood clot.

Your grandfather has an Aortic Aneurysm.

Your brother has kidney stones.

Your granny had a stroke, Your husband has gallstones, We arrange our weekends and evenings around our on-call. There are no movies, concerts, restaurant meals or alcohol when someone might need my skills. I like to think that I work in a professional and caring department.

I recognise that I am in your capable hands when I come into Emergency, need surgery, care on the ward, dialysis, ICU, have a baby, go into a home for the aged, need psychiatric care, etc.

We are all professionals. Without each of our skills, the medical system could not function. I do not have the qualifications to do your job. Can you do mine? It is sad that the nursing profession only compares hourly pay rates, and yet our employment conditions are quite different. Nurses currently enjoy a monetary bonus to encourage retention, which the allied health workers have never had access to. Expat nurses at KEMH enjoy the job security of three year contracts. My contract is up for renewal every year. Many nurses at KEMH are provided with uniforms. I have to buy my own.

I am disappointed if the BPSA had encouraged Bermuda's nurses to bash fellow professionals and BPSA members publicly. I will try to act a little more humble in the presence of all nurses, now that I know that I am poorly qualified and lack responsibility. I really didn't know what I was thinking.

Please stop criticising my position and qualifications to the media. It is highly unprofessional and I hope my union, the BPSA will publicly distance themselves from such divisiveness. Allied Health workers may not be as fashionable an issue at the moment, but we do pay our union dues and deserve equal protection from, of all people, fellow professionals and union members.

LEONINE KNAUS Qualified Allied Health Professional Not setting an example January 1, 2001 Dear Sir, Today I witnessed such a sad scene at the St. David's Cricket Club grounds that I had to write and comment. During the senior soccer match, the rain fell and various people opted to seek shelter. One particular gentleman chose to seek refuge in his green car - 31257. He then expected everyone standing to the left and the right of his car to "move out of his way'' so that he could see the entire game. Unsatisfied with the response, he then drove his car in the direction of the people "standing in his way''. Just when I thought that I had seen stupidity and immaturity at its worst, this imbecile then opened his car door cursing and ranting and raving at a young teenage boy (apparently the car touched the boy and he naturally complained to the man about it). The man then proceeded to tell the boy - after a good cursing out -that he "paid for his spot'', and if he had to drive over everyone on it, he would. What utter foolishness! Since when do people "own'' spots at a football game? Yes, everyone pays a fee to spectate, and depending on the venue, the public is given the "privilege'' to drive their vehicles onto the grounds; however, the grounds are to be enjoyed by all. Those who chose to watch the match from their cars have no more rights then those persons who choose to stand up. If you can't see, then so be it -that's one of the cons of sitting in your car - you won't be able to see as much.

As a young, Black male college student, I was embarrassed and disgusted. What is this island coming to? And this man was clearly a parent - as he had his two sons in the car with him. What rotten and negative behaviour! I thought that it was bad enough that he criticised and shouted negative comments at the U-21 players of Southampton Rangers in the previous match, but I guess I was mistaken -the worst was yet to come. Young Black males in Bermuda are looking for positive Black male role models, and it's unfortunate when things like this occur. Not only was this man rude, selfish, and disrespectful, but he also lacked simple common sense. For he yelled that he teaches his children to respect all persons, yet his actions were obviously contradictory. Children learn by example. And all of the "cut tails'' don't mean a thing, if parents turn around and behave like wild animals. Black men such as this gentleman need to show us young Black males, how to solve problems - not create them, because violence by any means isn't a solution.

But there was a bright spot in all of this. One of our strong Black women took over the reigns of the situation (a scene that's becoming all too familiar in our society). A young Berkeley teacher, Miss. Swan - tried to defuse the situation and get this man to reason.

She point blank asked him, "What kind of example are you setting for your young people?'' (in addition to a whole slew of other questions and comments).

I was impressed not only because this lady showed guts, but because she wasn't afraid to challenge this man on the principles of the issue in a cool, calm and collective manner, when everyone else watching this farce had an attitude and thought this man to be an idiot. Now, that was role modelling positive behaviour, and that's the kinds of things more older Black men in this country need to be showing the youth if Bermuda truly wants to save the young Black male. We don't want to hear any more lectures. We want to see more Black men leading by example. But in the meantime, I'll keep in mind the words that Miss. Swan said to the teenage boy, "Sometimes the youth have to show the adults how to handle situations.'' SEEKING ROLE MODELS Pembroke Learning from the past January 2, 2001 Dear Sir, The recent article published by you on independence did not bring out a key point which is central to the whole debate. It is this; concentrated political authority enables government to exercise unrestrained power. Why should this be a problem? In a little noticed book published in 1995, Professor RJ Rummel of the University of Hawaii reported that during the 20th Century governments have murdered over 170 million of their own subjects - this does not include the 39 million killed during international and civil wars. This means that for each and every hour of the last century, almost 200 people were killed by their own government, roughly three per minute. The question is why anyone would want to concentrate even more authority in mankind's most brutal institution? The answer is that most politicians seek power, and anything that increases their power is considered a success. And why would governments commit such crimes? Professor Rummel's answer is clear "Power kills, absolute power kills absolutely''.

An appropriate answer to my point that independence is likely to lead to greater centralised power would be, "Bob Stewart is out of his mind - nothing in our history would even suggest that we have anything in common with these evil regimes''. And that would be right.

I cannot imagine for one moment that our Bermudian politicians harbour such evil ambitions.

Before the 20th Century, Germany was a land of poets, philosophers, musicians, and was a leader in all civilised virtues except one -- they did not have a tradition or history of limited government where power was dispersed. In the 1930s, they elected an unemployed house painter with no education who turned out to be the world's most efficient racist, and one of its most efficient killers. Many reasonable people in Germany in the 1930s believed that predictions of the horrors and murders that occurred there were alarmist.

They could not imagine for one moment that their German politicians harboured such evil ambitions. Of course, they were naive and wrong as were the Russians with Stalin, the Chinese with Mao Tse Tung, and the Cambodians with Pol Pot.

Under our present constitutional arrangements with the British Government in which power is shared, we enjoy a free insurance policy which, amongst other things, guarantees the constitutional liberties of free speech, the rule of law, a free press, an independent judiciary and a whole host of other democratic freedoms. To jittison these guarantees in order to assuage the psychological insecurities of people like Walton Brown and Ralph Commissiong is to take an enormous risk for a small community. The demonstrated record of governments where power is concentrated in a few hands is truly awful.

We should always remember the words of Woodrow Wilson "the history of liberty is the history of limitations of government power, not the increase of it''.

Steamroller government was the bane of the 20th Century causing millions of deaths, misery and tyranny. Let us not run the same risk in Bermuda in the 21st Century by giving too much power to government.

ROBERT STEWART Flatt's