I'm so fed up of snobby restaurant reviewers or travel writers telling the world how bad Czech food is, when in most cases, they have only eaten it at tourist traps in the center ("Assuming the worst," Night & Day, Oct. 11–17). That is an example of bad food, period. For F's sakes, people, try sometimes going to places where there aren't any menus in English and you will see how good those Czech classics and soups can be, knedlíky included. Believe it or not, there are still many places in Prague, not to mention the rest of the country, where they are homemade! As for me, I'm going down to my favorite hospoda to get some zelná polévka s klobasou, guláš a pár piv, na zdraví, lidičky!

Max Bahnson

Prague

Professional travel hack Jeremy Maggs can go eat sushi till he grows fins! His comments about Czech food are very shortsighted and moronic. Obviously, he has never savored the deliciousness of smoked duck or svíčková with wild boar and cranberries washed down with a beautiful golden kvasnicové lager. Bet you can't get that in Johannesburg, Jerry! Now, go choke on a frogleg, you myopic loser.

John Arce

Prague

Surely Mr. Bahnson is missing the point? If you like fairly heavy, starchy, greasy food with little seasoning and never want to eat a cooked or fresh vegetable again in your life — if you just want to fill your pupek on the cheap — Czech cuisine is perfectly fine. It's much better on average than most other cuisines of this Northern European type. I like it sometimes myself, and find it done better the further I get from Prague — the best Czech meals I've ever had have been in Olomouc.

Within the cuisine, there has always been the problem identified in the article that the average Czech restaurant has to appeal to overwhelmingly price-conscious customers. Additionally, in Prague, the average pub/restaurant cannot afford to keep a decent cook, as competent cooks get hired by higher-end places. The average Prague cook doesn't give a damn, and it shows.

Comparing the cuisine to other countries' — well, you can't really compare it to the food of a land with sun. The Hungarians, Serbs and Croats like their meat and stodge, too, but they also know what peppers and tomatoes are for.

And certainly there is nothing in Czech cooking that can compare to the sophistication even of French cuisine bourgeois or its Italian equivalent. This is a reflection of the fact that the Czech palate is just not sensitive to anything subtle. On the other hand, the average Czech palate is a lot more educated now than in the early 90s.

Jeffrey Rubinoff

What a waste of paper. I agree with other comments that say it is very tiresome that the Prague Post continues to support writers who complain, complain, complain. Word choices like "nasty" to describe a culture's cuisine and casual references to "slurred words" shows the juvenile nature of the writers. Whatever happened to the professionalism of The Prague Post?

John Crane

Prague

I'm horrified that my tongue-in-cheek article has caused so much of a furor.

My visit to the Czech Republic was the absolute highlight of my year — I loved the people, the beer and mostly Prague, which is far more beautiful than Paris.

I plan to return when I can.

I still think dumplings are bloody awful — but no offense to your readers or chefs.

Jeremy Maggs

South Africa

Eastern threat

Thank you for writing this truthful article ("Putin's story," Opinion, Oct. 18–24). When the Iron Curtain fell, all fools thought that Russia would become a "normal" democracy. (What is normal democracy with the U.S. acting like a dictatorship?)

Anyway, whenever I warned about Russia, my friends laughed and found me pessimistic, to say the least. Well now ...

Marlies van Dijen

Netherlands

Ready, steady, go

It's refreshing to see young men taking a challenge and believing in themselves ("Thriving in a competitive market," Real Estate, Oct. 18–24). They will be successful!

Jacques Comer

Ocean, New Jersey, USA

Area expertise

I am writing to make a few comments regarding the article "How to buy a rug." (Real Estate, Oct. 18–24) While I appreciate you printing my advice, there are several inaccuracies in the story.

You say, "You can also find carpets knotted together with silk or kilim." In fact, kilim is a technique, not a material. The carpets I was discussing are normally knotted together with silk and wool.

It is not correct to say "wool that is fat and dry makes the carpet more durable." Wool that is fat makes the carpet more durable.

Wool that is shiny and smooth is not called "dead wool," a term that refers to dry and coarse wool.

China and New Zealand are not known for their silk rugs — there is no carpet production in New Zealand. Wool from New Zealand is exported to carpet-producing countries. China and Iran are known for their silk rugs.

The cost of Persian carpets, at least in my shop, does not start at 200,000 Kč [$8,850], but rather 20,000 Kč.

Nisan Jazairi

Prague

Havel's 70th

Assuming Joan Baez was not an "official" representative, it is regrettable that no "prominent" person seems to have been there to represent the United States ("Hope and Glitz," News, Oct. 11–17). Perhaps in the future, the U.S. will more actively become part of the community of all the world's peoples.

Dolores Kokes Speidel

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Wiretapping

I am sorry that Peter Sellers is not alive ("Spying a thing of the past? Not by a long shot," Opinion, Oct. 4–10). He would jump at the chance to have a part in a movie about the unbelievable antics by these politicians.

Dusan Tichy

United States

Hell on wheels

It's a shame that one sad incident leads to mass negative publicity ("Czechs drive Segway mini-boom," Business, Oct. 4–10). This invention offers the opportunity to carry out long tours of the city while exerting less effort and learning new skills. Hopefully, people will be able to weigh up the pros and cons of this vehicle before condemning it to the "danger zone" prematurely. I for one am keen to try it when I next return to Prague and hope they won't all have been recalled.

Marvin Nyadzayo

London

No turn un-Stoned

Ha-ha. Steffen Silvis proves here that he's a raving lunatic ("Mawkishness for hawks," Night & Day, Oct. 4–10). Perish the thought that there were real, live heroes on 9–11. Why, the very idea only serves the interests of the vast, right-wing conspiracy!

I've heard so many moonbats cry that Bush & Co. squandered the unity that we had in the immediate aftermath of 9–11. By spitting on the memory of those who risked and lost their lives to try to save others on that day, Silvis proves here that such unity never existed.

Silvis' rant also belies an underlying inferiority complex. If he were to acknowledge the heroism demonstrated on that day, he would also have to acknowledge that he's not worthy of guys like Dave Karnes (whose name Silvis can't even be bothered to spell correctly), who are willing to put their lives on the line so that guys like Silvis can be free to write such idiocy. So Silvis reduces Karnes to the typical left-wing stereotype of a military man by calling him an "automaton." Like many on the left, Silvis probably doesn't have any idea of just how smart and dedicated the typical Marine noncommissioned officer (likes Karnes) is. In fact, I doubt that he knows anybody in the military; otherwise, he wouldn't write crap like this.

I haven't even seen the film (Stone lost me when he made the appalling U-Turn), but this review makes me want to add World Trade Center to my Netflix queue, just to spite moonbats like Steffen Silvis.

Brant Hadaway

Miami

A great review. I think it is an American tradition in movies to depict heart-wrenching tragedy in such a way as to force every ounce of emotion out of the audience. The cinematic devices to do this have the effect of making the event being depicted seem distant and almost like a fairy tale. Let us remember the horror of that day and not get tied up in the symbolism of man's struggle between good and evil.

Simon Varley

Folsom, California, USA

Missing Czech chow

I, too, got used to deep-fried chicken wings, hamburgers, nachos and similar pub fare — only in North American pubs ("This pub's for you," Night & Day, Oct. 4–10). All of these are standard fare saturated in saturated fats with fries saturated in saturated fats and perhaps a little of coleslaw and/or pickle.

It is soul "shuddering" food with occasional reprieve with deep-fried cod or halibut saturated in saturated oil.

However, as I said (and as author of the above article said), I resigned my palate to indifference and even learned to sort of like it.

My point is that constant complaining about Czech cuisine by North American expats (that is so prevalent in North American cuisine critics) is getting tiresome.

It is not that North American cuisine is really that gourmet with its blah taste well overpowered with deep frying.

Anyway, I live in North America and I eat North American food (out of necessity), and most of the time I am not complaining, although I often wish that I can have some of those delicious Czech meals — as long as they are not spoiled by Western cuisine as is so often happening in "better" restaurants.

Now, I said it, and deal with it!

Jiri Hubacek

Victoria, BC, Canada

Missile exchange

1) The base will bring jobs, the payroll of U.S. servicemen and women. ("Conspicuous in its absence," Opinion, Sept. 27–Oct. 3). 2) These are interceptor missiles. 3) If the big one (World War III) happens, we all get blown to hell. 4) So, let's eat jitrnice and drink the Budvar, and don't sweat the small stuff.

Dusan Lipensky

United States

The first question that needs to be asked is whether the deployment of a missile defense system is a matter to be determined by NATO, and whether, under the NATO treaty, a decision by NATO to deploy such a system is binding on member states. If that's the case, a referendum would be pointless.

Brant Hadaway