I was troubled by John Arnone's letter suggesting that dogs only be granted rights if they are faced with the same responsibilities as humans. John Arnone's sarcastic response to Eric Bahrt's letter ("Introduce law to stop mistreatment of dogs", Letters, July 3) about introducing national laws to protect dogs reflects blatant insensitivity and indifference to the mistreatment of animals in Thailand.

I would like to remind John that not all laws are passed on the basis of "responsibilities" of the subjects concerned and that not all humans are expected to carry out certain responsibilities under the law in order to enjoy fundamental rights. Laws to protect children, the aged and the physically and mentally disabled are some examples of how society values the rights of vulnerable individuals without expecting them to meet the "responsibilities" expected from others.

I'm sure John is unlikely to suggest that children should be charged with a felony for biting anyone or put in jail for disturbing the peace because of loud crying in public places, which he (perhaps humorously) recommended in the case for dogs in the form of a bill to protect humans from them if dogs are to enjoy protection under the law.

I would also like to point out that dogs have made their share of contributions to society, which it would be utterly ungrateful not to acknowledge. For instance, many professionally trained dogs assist the visually impaired in their daily lives.

Finally, we need seriously to face the fact that the problem of stray dogs has largely been created by people. Stray dogs exist because of irresponsible dog breeders and owners who breed and abandon their pets without neutering them, while the public sometimes has no choice but to ignore the conditions of street animals. Thereby, it is indeed our major responsibility to introduce and uphold laws protecting animals, including stray dogs that are homeless ultimately because of us. After all, it was Mahatma Gandhi who once said: "One can measure the greatness and the moral progress of a nation by looking at how it treats its animals."

Dog breeders, dog owners, the general public and lawmakers should all prioritise the ethical treatment of dogs in this society under the law. Thais embody the compassionate spirit, and I am sure many in Thai society will echo my outlook on protecting those who are voiceless and helpless, including dogs. I commend Eric Bahrt for drawing attention to the plight of street dogs and encouraging us to push for a dogs'-rights bill. I would be interested in starting a campaign on ways people can get involved in helping street animals at the community level. I encourage concerned readers and animal-lovers to join me in finding solutions for the stray animals in our society.

Amreen Choudhury

Bangkok

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Thai capitalism in a sorry state compared to the West

Re: "Homespun wisdom", Opinion, July 2. I can only say it's utterly irresponsible to compare Western capitalism with Thai kleptocracy - a system of government characterised by greed and corruption.

Either Sumet Tantivejkul hasn't got a clue about what he's talking about or he and the writer are attempting to blatantly brainwash Thai readers of The Nation.

Because to compare Western capitalism (maybe excluding Italy and Greece, to some extent) and Thai capitalism is like comparing a horse to a poisonous king cobra.

I simply fail to comprehend how anyone sane could compare the two.

Sumet talks about trees and forests and how much they are worth.

Yes, in Thailand that is extremely common, even illegal logging on a grand scale, because everything is for sale in Thailand, which incidentally helps cause flooding and landslides each and every year throughout the Kingdom. But in Western countries, such as New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Canada, to name a few, forestry is done on a sustainable basis, where one tree is cut down and a new one is planted to replace it.

The distribution of wealth in Thailand seems primarily to be concentrated on and around the rich and corrupt (not sure if they are one and the same) exchanging money for brand-name goods in super-luxury department stores, where no ordinary hard-working Thais could ever dream of shopping.

In Western countries, car pollution is also considered important to keep down, whereas car pollution in Bangkok gets worse and worse each and every day of the year.

I could carry on forever about the differences between Western capitalism and Thai kleptocracy, but by that article being published in The Nation, it shows I am probably wasting my time. But at least I have tried to change your minds, which is what politics in the West is all about.

We don't even sue each other over political differences.

That's called "capitalistic democracy", in case you've never heard of it.

And I thought that The Nation was a reasonably intelligent newspaper. Maybe I just need new glasses.

Lisa Ahlqvist

Bangkok

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Keep one carriage free of TV commercials on Skytrain

There is a simple answer to the argument over whether there should be noisy closed-circuit televisions on the Skytrain: reserve one carriage on each train as a quiet carriage, without the intrusive television.

This system has been adopted on railways in the UK, where mobile phones are banned, and it makes for a peaceful environment.

Let the Skytrain operators prove they have all passengers' views in mind and sacrifice some of their profit motive for the sake of passenger comfort. If it were the centre carriage, then those of us who would prefer to choose what we listen to would instinctively know where to go.

Christopher Hope

Bangkok

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News photos compound pain for victims of violent crime

Re: "Publication of young rape victim's photo condemned", News, July 6.

First your house gets robbed, then you see your daughter get raped in front of you by primitive men, and then the media rapes you all over again.

The media talks about how someone lacks political ethics. The media writes about how to have manners in public and so on.

The media should reflect on its own actions and see how lacking in ethics it is.

As much as the media is to be condemned, the customers who stay silent on this issue are to be blamed, as well.

The papers will print pictures of their own family members depicted in any way possible if they sell. I have never once read a complaint in these rogue papers condemning them on this issue.

Although it is nice to see this article in The Nation criticising the two papers, the papers that actually published the picture won't even budge.

It's not the first time I've complained about this issue, but I see it hasn't helped much, so I beg the media: please, stop this nonsense! My children read the obscene papers you publish. Please stop raping victims all over again.

Chul "Cho" Chang

Nakhon Pathom

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Foreigners' complaints focus only on their own selfish ends

The July 7 Letters section contained two letters that upon initial scrutiny appeared unrelated: the one from Michael Weldon ("Restrictions on foreigners aiding regional competitors") and the one from Thomas Jordan ("Night construction making for sleepless suburban nights").

If you really consider these two letters, though, it begins to become evident that the first is a question whose text contains its own answer, and the second is verification of the correctness of the answer.

Michael Weldon is chiding Thailand for losing economic gain by limiting foreign investment and restricting foreign migration. It goes without saying that all of Weldon's arguments are centred round money, because he feels that is the only thing that will more Thais to action.

Evidently he wants to be here because he feels Thai priorities are in line with his own.

I admit I sometimes feel his analyses regarding this country are spot on; however, in the case of immigration, I think the Thai government, in an effort to keep the profits of plunder in their own hands, has unwittingly taken the correct path to maintaining Thailand as Thailand.

Thomas Jordan's letter was demanding more laws, in this case regarding night construction, because he lost some sleep while a neighbour was having large trees planted in his backyard.

I admired his embellishments of what actually took place: "One tree ALMOST fell on the electric wires".

I don't think Jordan either thought or cared about the fact night-time is the only time one can move large trees around Bangkok.

All he was concerned about was that his sleep was interrupted for one night, so thus Thailand should become a police state.

It is because of people like this, whose sole motivation in life is money or the need to have their rights protected, that Thailand does not want farangs too deeply entrenched in Thai life.

They have enough home-grown problems and don't need to import any or add to the ones that already exist.

As for myself, I have two Thai children by a Thai woman, and I would prefer to go on reporting in every three months and having my house remain in my wife's name if it will aid in keeping the number of foreigners in Thailand to a limit.

That may sound strange, but it is because I prefer to have my children's future include a strong Thai culture.

They don't need more money or control.

They need an identity and roots, something long ago lost in the consumerism-based, "Big Brother" managed melting pots of America and Europe. Gentlemen, you have all but infected Bangkok. Be content with that.

John Arnone

Yasothon