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Published on August 20, 2007

Your rounding argument is that now the British government finds itself in an invidious diplomatic stand-off, it will generate "long-lasting repercussions beyond the imagination". I beg to differ.

Years ago, when Margaret Thatcher was in power, she welcomed General Pinochet of Chile to Britain - a far more pernicious dictator than Thaksin could ever claim to match - like a long-lost brother. This incident caused outrage and astonishment amongst the people but did no lasting or visible collateral damage between Britain and Chile. The same will happen now: Britain, for the time being, will just stay mute.

But I am confused. In Sopon Onkgara's "Sidelines" he suggests: "If the legal battle were taken to London..." I don't get it; these crimes were committed in Thailand and should be conducted under Thai law. Just because of his concerns of a populist revolt if Thaksin were to return, it does not mean that responsibility should be shifted to Queen's Counsel in London. This will and should never happen.

I'm afraid that come the next election, whatever problems a mass mobilisation of the Thaksin faithful would potentially cause, should he ever be extradited, that due legal process must be brought on Thai soil, not English. To suggest that this wretched man be tried in Britain is just not right. One only has to look at the cases of General Pinochet and the Khmer Rouge generals to draw historical conclusions of what is likely to befall Thaksin in the short term as far as a trial in The Hague is concerned.

James Groveway

Bangkok

It takes all sorts to start an argument

Re: "UK courts won't throw ex-PM to the wolves", Letters, August 18.

Amazing that the Thailand we live in evokes so many contrary opinions in spite of the common base of The Nation's readers. A clear example is the letter by George Cuppaidge, who wrote about Thaksin's "presumption of innocence". After all that has been published, I am certain Thaksin is not innocent. One of many examples of his guilt is the fact that, as PM, the undisputed leader (without his consent, nothing could happen) sold land to his wife for a price far beneath market value. But George Cuppaidge still believes Thaksin could be innocent.

Other letters have asked how can the election be fair if one of the main contenders, Thai Rak Thai, is banned. In my world, of course, Thai Rak Thai should be banned. Weren't they convicted on the basis of ample evidence of electoral fraud? And George Cuppaidge wants to let them compete again, giving them another chance to corrupt the election process? Moreover, enough Thai Rak Thai politicians have found their place in proxy parties to allow the population still to vote for them. One wonders (or not?) how it is possible our opinions are that contrary, having at our disposal the same facts.

Thaksin's supporters still can wreak havoc and will cause a lot of problems in the future. To call a spade a spade is often enormously useful, as positions are clear instead of fuzzy and confused. Maybe I am too straightforward.

Egon Wout

Bangkok

Amazing wildlife still thrives in rural Thailand

I recently saw a little ball moving around in a bald spot on the lawn. Upon closer inspection, it was a marble-sized chunk of manure being manipulated by an odd looking ant-like insect. A moment later the ant came apart and I realised it was two small black beetles playing piggy-back while rolling the manure ball. Perhaps they had surmised the added height gave them additional leverage for their big job.

The big multi-coloured scarab beetles of northern Africa have been lifted to exalted status by devoted Egyptian artisans of antiquity, as depicted in awesome jewellery and such, but I didn't know scarabs could be found here in northern Thailand - yet there they were, two little black fellows, rolling a ball many times larger and heavier than they were.

Sometimes a particular frog will pay me a visit. No big deal, except when you figure the guy's about the size of my index fingernail. I've mentioned this to some Thai friends and they wave it away as no big deal, saying they are baby frogs. Granted, I'm no herpetologist, but these guys look fully formed and could possibly give a frog discovered in Cuba in the 1990s and dubbed "the world's smallest frog" some competition for the title.

I've also found giant worms, that my hill-tribe friends mistakenly call snakes, that might qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records, but that's another story. They're light purple with a yellow stripe along the back.

Ken Albertsen

Chiang Rai

Tourism softens attitudes of Cambodian villagers

Re: "Civilisation on stilts", Explore, August 18.  Congratulations to Phoowadon Duangmee on an exceptionally well-written feature in which he mentions the floating villagers on the enormous Tonle Sap in Cambodia. Before they discovered the benefits of tourism, those people were not so friendly.

A little over 10 years ago, a British couple were on the boat to Angkor Wat when the propeller fell off and they drifted steadily towards the village fishing traps. The crew warned everyone to stay in the boat's cabin, just as automatic gunfire raked the roof. Much shouting of explanations and apologies by the crew stopped the gunfire and most certainly speeded up the attachment of a spare propeller.

As the excitement died down, my friend, who is a mathematician, said to his wife: "By my calculations, we are going to be at least an hour late at Angkor." His wife, who was taking her degree in geography, replied: "And by my calculations, this water is at least one mile deep."

"Shut up," said another passenger, his nerves in shreds.

David Hardcastle

Chiang Mai

Exploring the poetic meaning of water

Re. "Well-off unlikely to save us from global warming", Letters, August 19.

Lung Kip is a poet, of course - which always leaves him open to being misunderstood. You left out the essential detail that Lung Kip flew backward to see what he did, and then said the swimming pools had never known the meaning of water shortage - which is not what he meant at all.

Lung Kip's observation that the lack of meaningful "inner structures" in the developed world is more responsible for the destruction of the planet than the existence of appropriate "infrastructures" in the undeveloped world intrigues me, but it's certainly not an easy discourse to act upon. How do we go about looking down from what he calls a "developed sky" as opposed to an "undeveloped sky", for example? What aeroplane do we need for such a Journey to the East, and what outlandish site do we have to go to make such a post-modern booking? Or do we just have to screw up completely as he obviously did in his trip home by not flying eastward through the mere six time zones that separate Paris from Bangkok but by flying westward through all those other 18 -i.e. backward? Is it madness he's talking about, or astral projection? Folk medicine, relativity or just plain old poetry?

My own hunch is that Lung Kip does know what he's saying, and for this reason I was a little disappointed when he referred to the swimming pools he looked down on from his backward flight as having "never known the meaning of water shortage". For we all know, the simple facts about our limited water resources by now, we savvy ecologists with our "smart planning and investment". What we don't know about is the meaning of water.

Christopher Woodman

Chiang Mai

Don't be fooled by health foods, especially soy

In the August 15 issue of The Nation's "Business" section, we learn of a company's promotion of soy in children's drinks. I assume that this drink is meant for the children's health, not just as a thirst-quencher. Unfortunately, this company - most probably unknowingly - is misleading the public. Soy not only is not a healthy drink, it has severe deleterious effects on health. The work of Mary Enig has shown that soy is full of hidden dangers but is worldwide being heavily promoted - purely for financial gain - to an unsuspecting health-conscious public.

 If a soy-only formula is fed to children, they intake the equivalent of three birth-control pills a day, from its high oestrogen content. This effects sexual development in boys and girls. Soy interferes with mineral absorption - iron, zinc magnesium. Soy interferes with protein absorption. Soy interferes with the normal working of the thyroid gland, occasionally leading to extreme obesity. Soy is associated with liver, pancreatic and thyroid cancers in numerous animal studies. Fermented soy products don't have these adverse effects.

If Thai parents are serious about their children's health, they should not accept statements that imply that because a product is naturally occurring, it is necessarily healthy. Many toxins exist in nature. Soy, and that is the non-GM version, is full of them.

Thomas Turk

Bangkok