I have seen losses in farming in my family for years and I am still stuck in farming because I am a landowner. Recently, persons took off with $140,000 worth of fertiliser from my father. We reported it to the police and nothing has come of it. People steal the coconuts and nothing has come of it. The public never sees anything. This receipt-book system is garbage. I am not a registered farmer and don't foresee being one as the system is not thought-out. It's a failure.

- C.L., of a farming community

in Jamaica

I was astonished when I read UWI Professor Bernard Headway's proposal - 'Buy back guns to curtail crime' on page A3 in the Gleaner, Tuesday, May 27, 2008. He had referred to this as a gun-buy-back drive to help rid Jamaica of illegal guns. However, it is my opinion that if the government should yield to this suggestion, then the present influx of the gun trade will become a bigger and more lucrative business, hence, the murdering spree would be more intensified and devastating. The fact that this method was used with some success in some American cities does not means it would. To me, adopting this strategy is like paying Satan to continue the wrongdoing.

-E.N. Perkins, Mandeville

I am sending out once again ideas for dealing with crime. Many of these ideas were put out forward during the time that the Citizens Initiative Organization of Jamaica was active. I would suggest that the print media reserve a section of their papers each week to publish solutions to deal with crime and to help to bring pressure to bear on all those who have the responsibility to ensure that we live in a peaceful and safe country. We are definitely in a crisis. We worry about hurricanes and earthquakes but we are killing more than 1000 per year!

- Vernon Derby, vderby@yahoo.com

I am not surprised at the outburst for or against the Prime Minister's stance on homosexuals. His answer was both polite and intelligent and to assure the international press that Mr Golding was not only speaking for himself but for the majority of Jamaicans. Some years ago there was a political slogan "Jamaica not for sale". For us, a sovereign state, bowing to international pressure to accept homosexual activities as a way of life, is to sacrifice moral principles for a bowl of porridge. We fully appreciate that it is not the only sin but we can ill afford this one. Mr. Prime Minister, Jamaica is solidly behind you on this one. Don't change course.