Unintended and unforeseen consequences

Cars were just too noisy and too dirty. Pollution was the unforeseen consequence.

No country, organisation, or individual is free from making decisions that have unforeseen consequences. Some consequences, however, have far-reaching effects.

Currently, the Thai Education Ministry seems to be at the epicentre of a storm of unforeseen consequences.

The political correctness course required of all expat teachers costs Bt7,000 as well as an uncompensated investment in time.

Ultimately, this investment will have to be borne by the schools and not by any teacher worthy of being called a professional. This, I think, is an unintended consequence.

I've been told by school administrators that they cannot hire teachers aged over fifty years.  This age threshold is now in many job ads and so prevalent that I think it must be an edict or a nod and a wink from the Education Ministry.

I also think it is ironic that two of the administrators who told me I was too old to be hired were themselves in their "golden" years. In a society that venerates age, I wonder how the ministry can justify this arbitrary rule.

I am retired and could teach for no

pay, but I'm not a one-man NGO and to

do so would undermine the teaching

profession and fellow teachers who

are underpaid. And this is an unintended consequence I'm not prepared to make.

Forrest Greenwood

Nakhon Sawan

Move to make Constitution more democratic

Re: Embassies told to brief foreign govts April 28

I see that our ever-thoughtful Foreign Minister is to instruct Thai embassies to explain to poor confused foreign governments the reasons for the compelling need to hastily make the "military" Constitution more "democratic". No doubt they will be expounded as it is clearly damaging the smooth governance of the country and irreparably harming the economy. So it must, as a matter of supreme urgency and above all other government business be amended as a necessary and selfless mission for the salvation for the Kingdom.

I am given to a quote from Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Act III, Scene 2, - "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". It was spoken by the queen to her son while they observe a play taking place on a stage. The character in the play was denying something with particularly unconvincing vigour.

Fred Morrice

Bangkok

Thailand's stance on drug licensing sensible: Oxfam

Oxfam is seriously concerned with the US Trade Representative's increasingly aggressive posture towards Thailand for its use of compulsory licensing.

    This year's Special 301 report fails yet again to recognise the sensible choices Thailand has made in balancing intellectual property protection with the basic health needs of poor people.

Oxfam strongly supports Thailand's use of compulsory licensing to ensure affordable access to key medicines to treat HIV and Aids, cancer and heart disease.

The Thai government should continue to resist international pressure.  Without affordable medicines, millions of poor people would be directly affected,

their vulnerability to ill health even greater.

Apart from resisting this pressure, Oxfam hopes the Thai government continues to broaden the use of compulsory licensing to other essential medicines the poor cannot afford.  

Yowalak Thirachow

Bangkok

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