Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________DEBUNKING THE "ETHNO-BOMB" BY JEFF STEIN (12/02/98)

I'm surprised the Israeli "ethno-bomb" story got any attention at all. History has taught us downtrodden Arabs that negative press about Israel usually gets buried. For example, did anyone in the U.S. hear about the Israeli student riots that paralyzed the whole country last week? I'm surprised Salon missed that story.
I'd be interested to hear the hypocritical Israeli government's reaction to the Sunday Times report. Besides, don't Israelis already know that Arabs are Semites too? We often refer to Jews "affectionately" as cousins, therefore any bomb targeted at Arab genes will also wipe out a few million Sephardic (non-European) Jews as well. Of course, this should bring back the long-buried debate about Jews being a unique race or just another religion like Christians and Muslims.
-- Ziad Al-Duaij
Kuwait

_______________GO WITH THE FLOW BY JENN SHREVE (11/30/98)

While I appreciate the sincerity of the women who recommend reusable tampons and washable pads, I doubt I'm the only woman who was disturbed by this piece, for reasons of convenience, privacy and, ultimately, public health.
I live and work in New York City. I can't imagine where or when, during the part of the day that I am away from my home, I could make time to wash out a blood-soaked apparatus in private, even if I wanted to. I have a healthy body image and no shame about my own blood, but please!
I think there are public health issues that weren't addressed in the piece. Do the women who favor these products feel it's appropriate to wash them out in the sink of a public restroom in, say, the local bookstore or restaurant? In the workplace bathroom while chatting with the boss? I would be extremely unhappy to be washing my hands next to someone who had hers in a sink filled with her own blood.
Sometimes I feel as if there is a cult of menstrual-blood gals. There is nothing sacred about getting your period! It's your body doing what it does, that's all. I'm 44 and have been getting my period for 30 years, and I'm grateful that tampons are available all over the world. And without meaning to sound disrespectful, maybe that woman who suggests stringing beads to "distract yourself" from your period just has too much time on her hands. I'm happy you keep publishing things that at least make us think.
-- Beth Lee Segal
Brooklyn, N.Y.
N E X T+P A G E+| More on tampon alternatives; plus Clinton's so-called perjury

_______________DEBUNKING THE "ETHNO-BOMB" BY JEFF STEIN (12/02/98)
	I'm surprised the Israeli "ethno-bomb" story got any attention at all. History has taught us downtrodden Arabs that negative press about Israel usually gets buried. For example, did anyone in the U.S. hear about the Israeli student riots that paralyzed the whole country last week? I'm surprised Salon missed that story. I'd be interested to hear the hypocritical Israeli government's reaction to the Sunday Times report. Besides, don't Israelis already know that Arabs are Semites too? We often refer to Jews "affectionately" as cousins, therefore any bomb targeted at Arab genes will also wipe out a few million Sephardic (non-European) Jews as well. Of course, this should bring back the long-buried debate about Jews being a unique race or just another religion like Christians and Muslims. -- Ziad Al-Duaij Kuwait
_______________GO WITH THE FLOW BY JENN SHREVE (11/30/98)
	While I appreciate the sincerity of the women who recommend reusable tampons and washable pads, I doubt I'm the only woman who was disturbed by this piece, for reasons of convenience, privacy and, ultimately, public health. I live and work in New York City. I can't imagine where or when, during the part of the day that I am away from my home, I could make time to wash out a blood-soaked apparatus in private, even if I wanted to. I have a healthy body image and no shame about my own blood, but please! I think there are public health issues that weren't addressed in the piece. Do the women who favor these products feel it's appropriate to wash them out in the sink of a public restroom in, say, the local bookstore or restaurant? In the workplace bathroom while chatting with the boss? I would be extremely unhappy to be washing my hands next to someone who had hers in a sink filled with her own blood. Sometimes I feel as if there is a cult of menstrual-blood gals. There is nothing sacred about getting your period! It's your body doing what it does, that's all. I'm 44 and have been getting my period for 30 years, and I'm grateful that tampons are available all over the world. And without meaning to sound disrespectful, maybe that woman who suggests stringing beads to "distract yourself" from your period just has too much time on her hands. I'm happy you keep publishing things that at least make us think. -- Beth Lee Segal Brooklyn, N.Y. N E X T+P A G E+\| More on tampon alternatives; plus Clinton's so-called perjury