Foolish protesters
The moment I read the Binyamin Netanyahu article [“Bibi comes to town,” Sept. 5], I was virtually certain that the pro-Palestinian group who were planning to stop the man from speaking at Concordia would achieve their goal. They would resort to violence and vandalism which, in a confined central space like the Hall building, would get the place closed in a flash.

That’s precisely what occurred. These people, unfortunately like most Palestinian organizations, have no concept of democracy and believe that free speech is for those who agree with them. It happens on a small level, such as this one, and on the main level in PLO-administered territories. It will keep peace at bay frequently, Palestinian independence indefinitely, and play very effectively into the hands of right-wing Israeli hardliners who want to prevent a Palestinian state at all costs. I hope Mr. Elatrash and his gang of goons feel proud of their work.

I’m no fan of Netanyahu, but he’s an important player in Middle East politics and a possible future Prime Minister of Israel. It’s worth hearing what such a person has to say. Furthermore, a university should be the perfect environment for the expression of ideas, however controversial. I would have no objection to hearing people like Arafat and Hussein speak, even though I might be offended by every other word they uttered.

The Concordia administration is to be congratulated for having the courage to allow this event to be scheduled. But they lacked wisdom in allowing it to take place in the Hall building, where at least all classes for the period would have had to be cancelled and, given the record of the protesters, was almost certain to be damaged. Life and health of the people in it were also at risk.

In the end, the protesters helped the cause of Israel, hurt the cause of Palestinians, caused damage, broke laws, interrupted studies, violated free speech and provided some good clips for the 6 o’clock news. Way to go guys!

Meanwhile, that wily old fox Benjamin Netanyahu was likely chuckling on his way to his next engagement. If I were more of a conspiracy type guy, I’d suspect the Israelis put them up to it.
-Ken Frankel

Leary not so lax

I thought Scott Saxon’s article on Salvia Divinorum [“Salivating over Salvia,” Sept. 5] was good, especially the trip report. But I strongly disagree with the author’s offhand comment, “where Leary encouraged acid to anyone who could stick out their tongue, Seibert prefers to keep Salvia away from thrill-seekers and casual day-trippers.”

Timothy Leary always said that acid was serious stuff, and that, while it was useful, it could also be dangerous. In fact, in his autobiography, Flashbacks, he proposed that a licensing system be used to control drug use. While getting a license to smoke marijuana would be as easy as getting a driver’s license, getting a license to take LSD would be as difficult as getting a piloting license for a commercial airplane. Leary was at least as careful about LSD as Seibert is about Salvia.
-Mark Côté

Hays ’n’ Ebert

This is regarding Matthew Hays’s “Go back to America!” run in with Roger Ebert at the Toronto Film Fest [“When worlds collide,” Sept. 12].
Matthew Hays: you lack couth. As a journalist, couldn’t you have thought of anything more witty or appropriate to yell? Even if Ebert was making an ass of himself, he’s exactly the kind of person who the Toronto Film Festival wants to attract. The whole point of the damned festival is to showcase how beautiful and friendly Canada is to those elitist, arrogant assholes who make movies, in the hope that they’ll return to our great country, with American money to spend.

As a journalist, as a Canadian, you lost all of your credibility by resorting to hate-speak, becoming an uneducated Palestinian child.
-Adam.

Survival guide omissions

The following entry was inadvertently omitted from the Records/CD section:

Inbeat: Specializing in house and techno on vinyl. A great start for club DJs. 3814 St-Laurent, 499-2063.

Missing from the Working in Montreal section was the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi network, a free employment and internship service for anyone between 16–35, www.cje-ndg.com has a link to a directory of centres.