Griff graff

It is quite amusing to read Professor Griff's explanation about why he was asked to leave Public Enemy ["The Jew thing," Sept. 18]. According to Griff, he was kicked out of the band for being too "militant" and too "radical." But it seems to me that our dear professor was just plain old anti-Semitic. Nothing new here, folks. I mean, what would many of our entertainers and politicians do if they didn't have the Jews to blame for all their blundering careers? I must commend Mireille Silcott for not buying into Griff's pathetic attempt to whitewash his blatantly anti-Semitic comments.

-Avrum Nadigel

You can shove your job you-know-where

If you read Harris Black's helpful letter for job-seekers ["Take this job, please," (e)Mail, Sept. 18], he's not as helpful as he claims. Last year I hired Mr. Black to help me find a job after I read his ad offering job services. It turns out that for a fee of $100, Mr. Black was supposed to help me get job interviews for the dozen or so jobs he received each week. I guess he liked me so much he let me hire him for the low, low price of $70. The day after my last payment his phone was disconnected. I went to his office, which was empty. The only thing Mr. Black ever gave me was a tip on a "Help Wanted" sign he saw in a window on the Main.

So, Mr. Black, I want to tell you this: I think you have balls to print your name in the paper. And I think you have balls to insult the media, saying they fool people into thinking there are no jobs, when you are using the media with your righteous saviour letter to the editor.

-Sonia Thompson

A bike path in every driveway

Last week, Wade Eide wrote that he never has trouble getting to McGill by bike and therefore sees no need for a bicycle path along Milton ["Bike paths useless," (e)Mail, Sept. 25]. How disingenuous! Few have a problem getting to McGill along Milton--it's a one-way street westbound. The trouble is leaving McGill. Most cyclists already "vote with their feet" by riding illegally against the flow.

A bike path on Milton would be an easy and safe solution. And if Mr. Eide doesn't want to ride on it, fine--ride on Sherbrooke. But beware of flying doors and speeding cars. Most of us do not find it "not only safe but very enjoyable" (his words) to cycle amid the noise and fumes, while sharing space with trucks, buses and drunk drivers.

The facts speak for themselves: those countries that have successfully attracted large numbers of city cyclists rely on safe bicycle paths as a central part of the strategy.

Mr. Eide despises "segregation" of cyclists and motor vehicles. Does he decry the "segregation" of pedestrians on the sidewalk? Has he ever cycled along the marvellous and extremely popular network of "segregated" bicycle routes throughout Copenhagen, or Amsterdam, or any one of dozens of other European cities? I have. It's sublime.

The question is not "bike paths or no bike paths." Sometimes they're useful, sometimes they're dangerous (the Rachel path comes to mind). The question is: how can we make this town attractive to more and more cyclists? The cycle-friendly Netherlands aims to go even further: they have made a commitment to boost bicycle traffic to 40 per cent of all city trips.

So Mayor Bourque and City Council, here's a challenge: set a modest target of 10 per cent of all trips in Montreal by bike by the new millennium. Or are you too stuck in traffic to see the possibilities?

-Tooker Gomberg

Hooray for disco

Why are people always pushing or shoving disco music like it's either salvation or a form of bland corruption? When are people going to settle for the choice that they can either take the boogie or leave it? I'm gay, 33, do not have AIDS, have been listening to the stuff for 20 years and will continue to enjoy it until civilization grinds and cramps to a standstill.

Bashing disco is the same as bashing toasters or the electric lightbulb. What's the point? It was supposed to have all died out 15 years ago. Three years before the new millennium, 75 per cent or more of what was around during the 1977-80 disco boom is still here with us. Ranting and resistance are futile. Disco music is the crossover format, musically and socially, worldwide.

-Roger Hemsley