To the Editor:



Olympics: L.A. connection

As a longtime resident of Los Angeles, I fail to see how Prague could be any less prepared to host the Olympics than this city was before 1984 ["Olympic Daydreams," News, March 14-20]. Los Angeles, then, had nothing that could even remotely be called rapid transit, nor did the average citizen even want the Games.

Our only plus was that our Coliseum was still functioning as a sports venue and the University of Southern California had a state-of-the-art swimming facility. The reason why Los Angeles was selected was due to the organizational genius of Peter Uberroth and the total cooperation of our then-Mayor, Thomas Bradley.

I have spent some time in Prague while on vacation and I cannot see why it should not be capable of hosting the Summer Games. A large sports stadium and swimming venue would, of course, be mandatory, along with ample lodging facilities. The size of the host city is not paramount. Prague is attracting outside capital and growing at a healthy rate, and will most likely continue to do so.


Charles Jones
Calabasas, California



Views on Cuba

Ivan Pilip and Jan Bubenik ought to have their asses kicked instead of coming home to a hero's welcome ["Fallen Angels," Feb. 21-27]. Their ill-advised and incredibly naive trip to Cuba landed them exactly where they deserved to be, in jail. What could they possibly expect, stopping off in New York and Miami to scmooze with the Cuban dissident reactionaries and accepting funding from the Freedom House?

The result of these shenanigans is that they put incredible heat on the quickly-left-behind dissidents they visited and had to be sprung by the chairman of the Czech Senate, flown there to get down on his knees before Castro. Some heroes.


James Freeman
Jablonec



The Czech government is free to make whatever comments it desires about U.S. policy toward Cuba ["Kavan struggles after remarks on Cuba sanctions," News, March 21-27], but it is unlikely that sanctions have had much impact on the degree of brutality on that island.

Sadly, the Czech government does not appear to have learned much from the recent imprisonment of its two legislators, although it should feel lucky to have gotten them out of prison. That incident may have the unintended consequence of giving the Cuban communist regime more ability to crack down on dissent.


Joel Monkarsh
California, via e-mail



What torture?

Every so often I check in on The Prague Post and see another article claiming torture and beatings after the protests last year ["Amnesty Assails Police," March 14-20]. Unfortunately, I never see any actual examples, only a lot of innuendo (Did they tear off fingernails? Use cattle prods? Force readings of 1950s beat poets? No Saturday cartoons?).

Torture is a serious allegation, as serious as the boulders I saw protesters throwing at policemen. Until you have an actual horrific example of police abuse, perhaps you could hold up on the full-scale tilt against the police performance?


Bill Eldridge
Prague 1



Red lights

As someone who has subscribed to The Prague Post since day one, I write to deplore certain aspects [of coverage] overemphasized by the editors.

In the March 7-13 issue, you selected as the Page 1 headline ["Sexual Politics"] an extremely unpalatable and unpleasant item. And not content with that, you have caused every one of your readers to be confronted with a large photograph more suited to certain limited-interest magazines.

It would be pleasant were you to moderate, rather than magnify, these articles.


Geoffery Macdonald
Domousice, north Bohemia



Sad story

I've just read your sad story online about unwanted pets in Prague ["Waiting for the end," Feb. 21-27]. I lived in Prague from 1995-1999, and while I was there I asked a veterinarian about adopting a stray animal. She indicated to me that such dogs were "crazy" or were ill. She advised not adopting an animal, but buying one instead -- she was also a breeder.

Perhaps this is the way many people behave. Perhaps this is why animals languish in shelters, and not enough people consider adoption. The country still has a long way to go in the care of its animals.


Deana Podelco
Via e-mail



Bad manners

I disagree with Jana Gandalovicova's comments on the subject of "Bad attitudes in shops" [Letters, Feb. 7-13]. I think that New York City is an exception to the rule and does not represent the rest of the North American continent. Personnel where I live are courteous, helpful and people actually smile at you! During the 30 years I have been living in Canada, I can recall only a few instances when a salesperson was rude.

In the Czech Republic, "Bad attitudes in shops" [and offices] are the norm. While I am willing to admit that in the past decade things have improved somewhat, there are still plenty of rude, arrogant and condescending employees there who treat the customer as if he or she were a bothersome jerk. However, as soon as one knows somebody -- be it a salesperson or a clerk -- one gets a very preferential treatment at the expense of others.


Zdena Vandoros
Ottawa, Canada



E-shivers

I read it with great interest the E-Male ["Heard at the Berlin dinner table, long ago," March 7-13] and literally had a sinking feeling hit the pit of my stomach at the last sentence. It was beautifully done.


M. Irlbacher
Nashua, New Hampshire



Get real

I find it so interesting (and tiring) when I learn about Americans who've been living here for months or years, always complaining about the "bureaucracy."

Well, I've been living in Prague for 6 months and I've had my Czech residency permit for 7 months. I applied for it before coming to the country, and yes, I had my work permit before arriving as well. The process from start to finish took two and a half months. Call me extremely lucky, or call me someone who has the patience to deal with "bureaucracy."

We Americans are extremely spoiled. People who come from the States are so used to getting things done yesterday that it is an absolute shock to their system when they are faced with that inconceivable of all things -- having to wait.

Yes, I know waiting is a pain. Yes, I know the language is difficult. But so is life. Simply put, go fill out all the applications you need to fill out, let the system do its thing and go have a beer in a dirty communist-era pub. Maybe then Americans will understand a little better why things work the way they work here.


Sanan Phutrakul
Praha 10-Strasnice



PR on IT?

Your article, "Better phone service prevails," [Telecommunication, March 28-April 3] appears to be a less-than-crafty PR article for Czech Telecom, rather than anything close to journalism.

For a future article I would suggest you talk to some of the Czech citizens and expatriates currently affected by an extremely slow privatization process, lack of number portability, and free choice in carrier selection.

While you're at it, please speak with a few of the many IT and telecommunications companies who have paid excessively high rates for Internet connections for years. Then, we'll have some real, if not depressing, reading.


David Henderson
Prague 2



Bud ... Czechvar

Great piece on beer and the effort to get Budvar into the U.S. ["The holy grail of beer," Business, March 28-April 3]. I enjoyed it very much. I am fond of Budvar, and I'd like to get Czechvar when available here.


Ron Rauscher
Austin, Texas





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