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Published on January 4, 2008

Pity those who lack mentors

Flickering candles lighting shadowy passageway

Through darkness halo aura afterglow.

Adviser to young Telemachus in

Homer's Odyssey wise guise dispelling

Superstitions based on being afraid

Wisdom begins by conquering fears.

Paying homage to revered teachers

Who have touched sensitive nerves

Knowledgeable trustees inspiring trainer

 coaches

Shared fateful moments cherished forever.

Cultivated garden nurturing enriched soil

own seeds cannot be uprooted

Tending to fragrant blossoming buds

Likewise prickly wildflowers thorny weeds.

Life ultimate true believer guru

Learning from experience upon experience

What to-do next know-how savvy

Rediscovering vitality hidden within one-

self.

Wisdom acquired not hereditarily transmit-

ted.

Blowhard windfall impossible to direct

Changing misbegotten ideas trimming sails

Past errors reinforce future success.

Charles Frederickson

Bangkok

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Are we not supposed to nurture our own kind?

Re: "Disasters and disease keep humans in check", Letters, January 3.

I have read some opinions on The Nation's letters page that have made me slap my forehead in disbelief, or splutter my coffee all over the cartoon, but there have been few doozies like yesterday's letter from Ken Albertson. Unless I mistook the intent of Ken's letter, he is basically advocating an end to research into human avian flu prevention because, he says, diseases are a good thing and thin the human pool out (as wars and other horrors do).

Wait, let Ken speak for himself: "At first glance, bird flu (and Aids and malaria) may seem nefarious, but in a broader view they can be seen as nature's way of mitigating the adverse impact humans are having on the planet."

I hope Ken's intent was satirical. If not, it is a preposterous and sick statement. He would suggest that health scourges such as bird flu, Aids and malaria be left to run their course through the population as they will, and thus let the cockroach population live in peace and able to flourish. The ability to prevent diseases and ease the suffering of those afflicted is, in my view, the greatest advance modern man has made.

Not to put this into an unintended context, but surely Ken's noble call on behalf of the animal kingdom would end up threatening a group of people who he is certainly not to be counted among: those in the developing world, non-Westerners, without education or economic opportunities. It's all well and good to admire the mountain views, Ken, and the beautiful nature up in Chiang Rai, but let's remember we're all in this humankind thing together.

BF

Bangkok

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New govt will do what it likes with the AEC

Re: "CNS must respect the poll result, and new govt must respect the AEC", Letters, January 2.

I always read with interest the well-reasoned and well-informed letters from Burin Kantabutra and have found little, till now, to disagree with.  However, in his most recent letter addressing the statements of Defence Minister General Boonrawd and ex-Council for National Security (CNS) head General Sonthi concerning their reported intention to protect the AEC, I feel he is mistaken.

I fully agree that in a true and mature democracy the Army has no place in the running of a country, but sadly Thailand is not a true or mature democracy. It does not enjoy the real separation of powers that is needed in a true democracy. Its institutions are neither sufficiently robust nor free from political influence. Those that crave and attain power in Thailand cannot be trusted to act in an impartial way, as self-interest runs amok. Abuses were legend under the deposed regime. That is why the country is where it is today. 

When Burin Kantabutra says that a democratically elected government must be allowed to do whatever it wishes because it has been elected it's foolish, even if he says it in jest or for ironic effect.  Any executive anywhere in the world needs to be held in check by a variety of restraining mechanisms including an active and free press to prevent abuse. If these are not present or incapable of functioning properly then there is an implicit duty on any institution that is capable of preventing clear abuses to most certainly warn and, in my opinion, act to defend the good of the state.

Moreover, to suggest that to protect the AEC from dissolution would in some way put the CNS in the same category as the Burmese junta and set Thailand back 10 years does him no credit at all.  And, to imply that the forum of world opinion would restrain Samak and his puppet-master from achieving a total whitewash of Thaksin and his retinue of cronies by clear abuse of process is nothing short of delusional.

John Symons

Bangkok

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A caring hand for neglected strays

You might be interested in the following story: Gill Dalley, originally from the United Kingdom but who has lived in Phuket for the past four years, has recently been named An "Asian of the Year" by the leading Singapore-based news channel, Channel News Asia.

She is the first non-Asian ever to be nominated and will be the subject of a documentary currently being filmed by the channel.

A remarkable person, Gill, and her husband John, have devoted their lives since retiring in Phuket to solving the island's stray dog problem and run an organisation called the Soi Dog Foundation (www.soidog.org), a registered Thai charity.

Three years ago she lost both her legs and had damage to both arms after contracting septicaemia when she rescued a dog from a flooded field, and was infected with a rare bacteria from the muddy water.

After weeks in intensive care she returned to Phuket from hospital in Bangkok three days before the tsunami, but despite losing her best friend to that disaster and being confined to a wheelchair, spent several days counselling survivors and their families at hospitals in Phuket and further north in Takua Pa, until professional help arrived. Her husband John helped in the recovery and wrapping of bodies. After that she returned to working with the dogs, which she often does seven days a week.

She has recently started an education programme in schools with a view to changing the attitude of local people to animals here, as well as continuing to work in the field, catching dogs in need of treatment and sterilisation at the organisation's shelter and clinic.

P Richmond

Phuket

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