LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
When making a plea to the PM, you must speak his language - that of money
Re: "Ten points a different Thaksin might want to consider", Opinion, September 6.
With due respect to your editorial opinion, the 10-point guidance you provided to Thaksin is very unlikely to be taken seriously by the man, since most points require personal sacrifice. However, if you deal with him in the language of wealth and strategy, we may see the light at the end of the tunnel. I would inform him that once he announces that he plans to abstain from running as premier in the next election, the SET index would shoot up by an unprecedented level of at least 70 points in one day. By the end of the year it could go from its current level of 700 to 850. His family's wealth would rise accordingly. As he likes to say, a government's task is to give added value to its citizens. Well, here it is, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, with one stroke, the whole country would love him. He would stymie all of the hatred against him and our whole nation would let out a huge sigh of relief and go back to their daily lives with promises of peace and prosperity. Lawyers would have less work and civil groups would have less to complain about and their efforts would dissipate. As a strategy, this is a loss of one battle for him, but it is winning the war that counts. It is a lull in power for him in order to attain bigger gains in future. He still has a good chance to win the war with his brain and hopefully improve human relationships. His announcement would even be viewed by some quarters as the actions of a martyr for peace and stability - a man who sacrifices for the good of our nation, rather than a cheat and selfish man. His opposition could still accuse him of lying again, but the gratefulness of the whole nation would be so overwhelming that any doubt is not likely to be taken seriously. I can guarantee that if he makes this announcement, he would have a better family and business life. So, in the name of our nation's guardian angel, Siamthevathiraj, GO! Songdej Praditsmanont Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------- Shed no tears for animal tormenting crocodile hunter
Re: "Crocodile Hunter killed by stingray", News, September 5. How much sympathy is the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin entitled to? After spending a career tormenting animals, one of them finally got its revenge. In fact, as anyone who knows anything about stingrays would tell you, it's extremely unlikely the stingray would have attacked Irwin if it wasn't feeling threatened. About a year ago Irwin held up his own baby boy just out of the reach of a crocodiles' jaws in order to impress a crowd. Here was a man who would risk even the life of his child for money. Like people who run disgusting circuses and those horrible elephant shows, Irwin claimed that what he was doing had educational value. But when wild animals are abused in an environment that is totally unnatural for them, the only thing you learn is how callous and insensitive human beings are, if that's what you really want to find out. Eric Bahrt Chon Buri ------------------------------------------------------- 'Auk pie': a savoury recipe for Thailand's political future
Recent kerfuffles in shopping malls and elsewhere have reminded me of a long-lost recipe of my grandmother's for "auk pie". Take one auk (the great auk, pinguinus impennis, has alas been hunted to extinction, so the common guillemot, uria aalge, may have to do). Feed your auk over several months with not less than 73 billion ears of the finest golden corn. Press your auk on a bed of straw in a convenient container (a slightly used ballot box will do). Your auk will expire humanely of its own accord. Prepare popular flavouring vegetables (carrots, turnips, pak choi and the like). Pluck and dress your auk for the oven, putting the straw to one side. Heat oven to very hot. Moisten your auk and vegetables with generous lashings of Singapore Stock (available at most online exchanges). Prepare a self-raising pastry lid and cover. Bake until thoroughly cooked. Consume your auk pie with relish. Distribute pre-selected straw lengths for a poll to establish who is the Chef des Chefs. Lahar Singh Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------- Expiration dates on prepaid cards a predatory practice
Re: "Ready to dial the competition up after prepaid card rip-off", Letters, September 6. I sympathise with the unhappy customer who wrote complaining of the policies of mobile phone operators in Thailand. The whole concept of three-day, one-week, or even one-month expiration dates on prepaid phone cards is utterly absurd. The concept benefits the predators at the expense of their prey. And the Thai people have meekly put up with this shameful situation. It is a testament to the corrupt regulatory apparatus that the mobile-phone operators are allowed to pursue a business model with themselves as predators and their customer as prey. John Francis Lee Chiang Rai ------------------------------------------------------- Article had it backwards as to whom is exploited online
Re: "Internet sex victims", News, September 3. I agree with Chul 'Cho' Chang's letter, "Article perpetuated Thai prostitution stereotype", (Letters, September 5). I would go further and say the article was a load of one-sided, uninformed racist rubbish. The article seeks to reinforce the victim mentality of Asian women and stereotype foreign men as perverts, sexual predators and paedophiles preying on poor, defenceless Asian women. The fact is that many Thai and other Southeast Asian women mentioned in the article do very well financially because of their online exploits. Many are making small fortunes through having multiple relationships with foreign men who they rarely, if ever, meet. These foreign men are led to believe that there is the possibility of having a serious relationship with the woman. Yes, the men are being lied to and cheated. Who's the victim here? The sources of the information used in the article (Empower Foundation, etc) are yet again seeking to blur the lines between child exploitation and that of prostitution involving foreigners. It has been accepted by many that the Thai sex industry caters overwhelmingly to Thai men, with foreigners being the tip of the iceberg. While I don't deny that there have been isolated cases of child abuse by foreigners, these activist groups are blowing the whole thing out of proportion and trying to place the blame entirely on foreigners. These feminist misandrists seek to overhype or create problems where there are none simply to justify their existence and funding, and to give vent to their hatred of (foreign) men. If the article had been objective it would have at least mentioned the other side of the coin to Internet relationships in that large numbers of men are scammed out of their money, sometimes their life-savings, by women they meet online. If anything, the Internet has provided ill-intentioned, scheming women with greater opportunity to cheat and ruin the lives of men. A Man Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------- Samaritans offer empathetic ear to those in times of crisis
Re: "Suicides on the decline: ministry", News, September 6. The Samaritans of Thailand would like to thank The Nation for its report on the gravity of the suicide problem in Thailand and the role of our organisation in suicide prevention. The report, however, incorrectly states our newly introduced English-language hotline number as (02) 713 6790. The correct phone number should be (02) 713 6791. I would like to provide your readers with some additional information about the group's work. The Samaritans of Thailand is a charity organisation with a history of over 27 years in Thailand. Our principal objective is suicide prevention. Throughout the past 27 years, Samaritan volunteers have worked hard to provide active, non-judgemental, and empathetic listening services on the phone to distressed and suicidal people in Thailand. In order to serve the needs of Thailand's expanding expatriate communities, our English-language crisis intervention service will be launched on September 7, 2006. English-speaking volunteers, trained in crisis intervention, will be available to answer calls and provide emotional support to depressed callers and those at risk of suicide. All services are provided on an anonymous basis and are free of charge. Thai-language services are also available daily from 12pm to 10pm at (02) 713 6793. Trakarn Chensri Director Samaritans of Thailand Bangkok ------------------------------------------------------- Student protester continues to waste away in Burma prison
I am writing to express my concern for the continued imprisonment and poor health of Myo Min Zaw, a student leader who was arrested for peacefully protesting against the poor human rights situation and lack of quality education in Burma. He was arrested in September 1998 at the age of 22, accused of "agitating unrest" and eventually sentenced to 52 years' imprisonment. September 14 marks the anniversary of his arrest. A recent update via the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) states that he has been suffering from acute skin complaints and his nails are dropping off from fungal infection. This report comes directly from his mother who visited him in Mandalay prison recently and complained that prisoners were not allowed to receive medicine, cooked food or even milk powder from outside. A spokesperson from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) told the DVB that there was no proper medical assistance inside Burmese jails and prisoners were suffering because they had to drink unclean water and eat unhygienic food. Myo Min Zaw's case violates Articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that state "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression", and "everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association". Julie Smith New South Wales Australia
Send us your views in an instant E-mail your opinion, with 'Letters to the Editor' in the subject box, to: letters@nationgroup.com
|
