Too much cuteness

So do Pony Up! play music, or what [ "Rough and tumble and tender," Jan. 8]? And since when have you guys been able to afford to have Hugh Hefner do your interviews?

Seriously though, why is it that when an all-female band makes a name for themselves they have to swim through a sea of shit that no male band, however pretty, however hip, would ever have to face? Can you imagine even the most candy-coated male pop band being tarred with the brush of "Ultra-mega cuteness" and then asked only about their dating and screwing habits? They'd probably get asked at least one question about the fact that they were a band that wrote and performed music, right? That'd be one more than Raf Katigbak summoned for Pony Up! Good work, gentlemen.

» Jesse B. Staniforth

Schooling on Bully

Hey guys, thanks for the coverage and support in the Noisemakers issue ['Funded by your lunch money," Jan. 8]. One little thing: while I design a lot of the stuff for Bully Records, I couldn't possibly take credit for the screenprinting. Laila at Alphonse Raymond pulls all our stuff. I frequently forget to credit her on the printing - that's how I'm living. If you wanna buy some new Bully material, we'll have the new "Signify" 7" for sale Friday night at Sala Rossa. Be there or have your pipes freeze!

» Sixtoo

Foosball fiend delighted

For nine months, I have worked to bring some exposure to the sport of foosball. I would like to take this moment to congratulate Patrick Lejtenyi for an incredible story ['Foos fanatics, Dec. 18] and to praise you for having such a wonderful asset within your company.

» Adam Imanpoor

Two states the only solution

It is encouraging to see a letter from a Palestinian sympathizer who, at least to some extent, acknowledges the role of his fellow Arabs in their plight. That is just one of Edward Abramic's points to commend [Letters, Jan. 8]. One can also agree that they should no longer be under Israeli control and that the state that will hopefully be created out of the various processes under way cannot be a Bantustan-type hodgepodge of disconnected communities.

I would also agree that "God gave me this land" is the motto of Jewish religious fanatics used as the reason they should control all of the territory of mandate Palestine 1922–1948. That is not the reason so many Jews have moved there - by and large peacefully - in the last 120 years.

I would quarrel with a couple of points. Mr. Abramic writes, "The Palestinians are an indigenous people, having populated their land aeons ago." Actually, they arrived in the 7th and 8th centuries C.E., at the point of the sword, defeating the Byzantine authorities and sharing the land with many other peoples, including the Jews who had once been the majority, were still there in number, and had been so continuously since at least the 13th century B.C.E. So I guess both populations are indigenous.

How long a people are in place is not the issue. That they are a part of the land means they deserve consideration and rights. That is true of the Europeans in Zimbabwe, the Europeans in North America and the Arabs in Palestine/Israel, all of whom have not been where they are as long as others, but have been there long enough.

In addition, my phrase "Arab armies attacked Israel" is a commonly used one and is absolutely not racist. To clarify slightly, the armies of six Arab countries i.e. Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, attacked the Palestinian and Israeli states created by the UN. The Palestinians had made one of their many mistakes in not accepting the state awarded them. They wanted more. These armies were defeated by the Israelis who then took over control of some of the Palestinian State; Egypt and Transjordan annexed the rest. The Palestinians made another mistake in protesting only the Israeli gains, not the annexation by the two Arab belligerent powers. I hope that helps.

In the end, the events of the last century preclude a single state in the region. The only hope for a just settlement is a primarily Jewish Israel recognized by, at peace with, and having normal relations with neighbouring countries, along with a primarily Arab state in most of the West Bank and Gaza, in no more than two parts, with no Israeli troops or settlers in its territory, and essentially the same rights and privileges as Israel. This cannot happen too soon!

» Ken Frankel

Correction

The profile of furniture designer Drew Nener in last week's issue was written by Chantal Martineau, not Natalie Philpot. The Mirror apologizes for the byline error.

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