Just when I thought that you guys were off to a good start, you had to go and ruin it. Last month I had the absolute best time reading the three interviews on independence, and actually felt that the Royal Gazette was making a strong attempt at good journalism. I can't remember the last time I felt enlightened by reading the paper, but these interviews certainly were a welcome change.

But now today I read the headline on fear stopping some people from signing the UBP's petition, and I am left with one question: Would you be please explain to your readers exactly what is the criteria for a story getting a leading headline? Actually, in this case how does this particular story become news at all? What seems most frivolous is that we are well aware that certain people have had fears of riots, fears of the PLP running the economy into the ground, fears of the sky falling, yadda, yadda, yadda...all things directly associated with the UBP losing power, for oh too long. But this time, we have 50, out of 8,500 people who were supposedly so afraid that they asked for their names to be removed from the petition. Let's do the math...50 in 8,500 equals 0.58 percent. So to clarify, of those who signed the UBP's petition, a total of 0.58 percent were so frightened that they wanted their names removed. Not even one percent of the total voting population, not even one percent of registered voters, not even one percent of those who signed the petition! Exactly how is this a headline? Exactly how is this worth the 75 cents I spend to learn about the important things that happen in my country? I read the paper to be advised about the important things that take place, and I have no interest in the ridiculous fears of a handful of ultra-paranoid people! What's the PLP Government going to do -- issue them parking tickets? They don't have the economic power of the UBP, so I can't quite see what else they can do that would justify any fears at all. Just out of curiosity, did your reporter ask Ms Gordon how many names were removed because of a change of opinion? How about the age, status and racial make-up of those who signed? I wouldn't want to accuse the Opposition Leader of spin-doctoring her adventures, but to me these only seem to be reasonable questions to ask in the pursuit of excellent journalism.

NEED THE INFO Sandys Parish Standards have fallen January 21, 2001 Dear Sir, Having read the recent Royal Gazette articles about the present trials and tribulations of being a Police Cadet, and having been a Cadet myself before putting in 34 years with the Police here prior to my recent retirement, I feel compelled to pass the following comments on the situation.

While I sympathise with both the youngsters themselves, and their parents and relatives who want them to make a success of their time with the Police Cadets, I do feel obliged to point out that the Bermuda Police (and thus the Bermuda taxpayers) are paying these youngsters about $23,000 each per year to be Cadets, and are supplying them with free uniforms, free dental and medical care, and free further education into the bargain, so they are entitled to expect a decent return on their investment, namely, Cadets who will eventually join the Police proper as educationally well-rounded young adults. It's not the fault of the Police that the current Cadets are not up to acceptable educational standards. Any such education should have been completed before the child leaves school, and any failings in that area should, I feel, be laid fairly and squarely on the shoulders of those geniuses who decided to adopt the middle school/one big senior school system back in the late eighties. When this system was first mooted, nobody, but nobody, was in favour thereof. The parents didn't want it; the teachers didn't want it; and it had been a proven failure anywhere else it had been tried. Why, then, were we stuck with it? I've been asking that question of many people for the past 12 years, and nobody has been able to come up with an acceptable answer. I obviously have a few theories, but none that would be acceptable for general publication! (I've also noticed that the vast majority of the Education Planning Team, that dreamed up the current system, don't have their children in it: Surely that speaks for itself!).

When I applied to join the Bermuda Police back in 1966, even though I had already been a Policeman for two years, I either had to have three GCE `O' Levels (one of which HAD to be English), or I had to pass the Police entrance exam. Fortunately, I already had the requisite `O' levels, but even back then the said entrance exam was what I would have considered dead easy `O' level standard, and I can assure you that it hasn't got any harder over the years! One of my former colleagues told me that, when he joined about 20 years ago, the minimum requirement was still three 'O' levels including English, but none of his intake had any less than five. Why, then, have the educational standards of the Police dropped so badly over the past two decades? And why, then, are they having to drop the standards still further in order to attract sufficient numbers of new Bermudian recruits? And why, then, are so many of these recruits not making the grade? And why, then, is Government still so reluctant to let the Police recruit in quantity from overseas? To my mind, the Police need a good mixture of Bermudians and non-Bermudians: The Bermudians for their local knowledge, and the non-Bermudians for their varied backgrounds, varied training and impartiality. Is that a problem? I don't think so! Government (both past and present) has a lot to answer for, in the fields of both education and public safety, and I would respectfully urge all concerned to give very serious consideration to these problems (and then actually DO something about them!) before it's too late.

DAVIE KERR St. George's A strange Christmas January 23, 2001 Dear Sir, This history period I experienced a new phenomenon with our Christmas tree.

The moment it came into the house, my two dogs went a little crazy; alternatively barking and growling at the tree and generally acting badly for all 12 days. It was as though the tree had triggered something deep inside their primitive canine psyche. I was reminded of another Christmas in a far-off land.

Once upon a time I had a cook by the name of Oken who spoke good English, having been educated by the Catholics. One drawback was that although he was a good cook and understood the principles of fire and water, electricity was something new. Very early on, Oken discovered that when he opened the refrigerator door the light came on and when he closed it the light went off.

This in the context of his previous pagan experiences meant there was a juju spirit living in my refrigerator; very powerful magic. Needless to say, Oken spent more time trying to catch the juju asleep than he did on his other duties. When Christmas came around a group of us got together and decided dinner would be at our house. In due course, a large turkey turned up and was immediately placed in the refrigerator under the watchful eye of juju. At that time the city was experiencing a series of "brownouts'' known locally as "NEPA done quench'' and we, on Victoria Island were no exception.

Unfortunately, not yet being accustomed to the ways of Africa, I did not realize how Oken would react to this new challenge. We found out later that when the electricity went off and juju was unable to look after the bird, Oken would take it out and look after it himself. Power being restored; he replaced it under the watchful eye of juju.

All this came to light, so to speak, when time came to cook the turkey. After a few minutes it was apparent that something was dreadfully wrong. The bird was disposed of, Oken was in disgrace and Christmas dinner was cooked by ourselves; chicken, ham, yam and cassava was the order of the day. A Bermuda-ful Christmas was had by all.

DOUGLAS C. ROBERTS Don't blame the cats January 23, 2001 Dear Sir, In response to the letter printed in the Royal Gazette on 22 January 2001, I am only too pleased to state the Bermuda Audubon Society's view on feral cats.

It may also be viewed on our web site at www.audubon.bm.

The Facts about Those Cats. A survey in Australia showed that one feral cat eats as many as 3,600 native animals or birds per year. Another study on Macquarie Island reported that each cat kills roughly 300 sea birds a year and that they have been responsible for the extinction of at least two local species. In the United States, a study in Virginia indicated that cat-killed birds in the state are calculated to number 26 million. In Wisconsin cats kill an average of 19 million songbirds and 140,000 game birds in a single year.

Many studies clearly show that cats, whether feral or domestic, have a driven instinct to kill other wildlife. "Say it ain't so! That adorable little ball of fluff snoozing on the sofa is a killer -- one of the major predators of wildlife?'' "Not my cat'' is the usual retort. "She gets all the food she can eat at home.'' Bermuda would be foolish to believe that statistics would show a different behaviour by cats here. The fact is that cats hunt for the sake of hunting and in the process kill wildlife no matter how much food you feed them and as long as they have access outdoors. Our concern is focused particularly on BFAB's (Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau) policy of setting up feeding stations for feral cats, some of which are on Parklands or on adjacent nature reserves that are critical habitat for endangered native species. As for feeding ferals, particularly on public lands that provide habitat for native species, it is inconceivable that anyone would think we should use parkland to put an abundant, non-native species over a rare or declining native species. It just does not make sense. We know that cats in Bermuda eat a number of songbirds including the threatened bluebird. We also know that they are responsible for invasion of longtail nesting sites. In addition we know that they kill a large number of lizards and who knows how many of the endemic skinks. What we do not know is just how many species are under threat because of cats and how long it would take them to be driven to extinction.

Cats cannot be blamed for killing wildlife. It is the responsibility of cat owners to ensure their cats are safely indoors. The Humane Society of the United States, the American Humane Association and other groups are working with the American Bird Conservancy on promoting the "Cats Indoors'' programme (see www.abcbirds.org). The Campaign for Safer Birds and Cats (more information available upon request). Because many members of BFAB in Bermuda also support this programme it is hard to understand how they can reconcile this with the maintenance of feeding stations in outdoor areas. It is time for Bermuda to take a serious look at the problems caused by all feral and domestic animals in the environment and implement effective legislation and action before it's too late.

ANDREW DOBSON President, Bermuda Audubon Society