Northeastern voters only reacting to govt failures

Re: "Pheu Thai proves hold over Northeast", News, June 29.

Political experts claim the big win by Pheu Thai in Si Sa Ket and Sakon Nakhon proves Thaksin's popularity remains strong in Northeast.

 I disagree. I think northeasters are fed up with the government's lethargy in dealing with falling prices of agricultural products, notably rice and corn. They are frustrated and are asking, "Abhisit, you are prime minister. Now what?"

 Meanwhile, I am surprised there is no whining from the losers about the election being rigged or votes being bought. Well, maybe not yet.

MEECHAI BURAPA

CHIANG MAI

Not quite the right solution to the problem

To assume that Thailand's troubles started with the "yellows occupying Government House and the airports" is just as naive as to believe that the 'reds' are the source of all evil.

 The root of the problem lies fairly and squarely with their puppet master, the "absent man".

 If Mr George Cuppaidge's recipe for a solution were applied, then - due to the numeric domination of the North/Northeast over the rest of the Thai population - Thaksin would become prime minister again, who then, however, would have to govern the country from inside a prison. Some solution!

WOMBLE

BANGKOK

WHO needlessly crying 'wolf' over flu

While having everyone stay home and wear masks might be a method of preventing the spread of flu, it is an economic disaster for millions of businesses, and should only be considered when indeed, the veracity of the flu warrants it.

 So far, the WHO is playing wolf when it need not.

 Since our company sells visitor maps at hundreds of outlets, we see clearly the drop in tourist numbers.

 Under the first WHO worldwide scare, Sars, we witnessed a 50 per cent drop in our business.

 Then there was bird flu and its accompanying drop in tourist numbers.

 Now, with this third scare, swine flu, since renamed type-A (H1N1) since the nick-name led to scores of animals being slaughtered for no reason, we once again see the terrible economic effects of the WHO worldwide health scare. Our sales in Thailand have plummeted, and news reports indicate travel has been affected on a worldwide scale.

 What 'big bad wolf' has the WHO saved us from?

 Sars turned out to be relatively mild with the Associated Press reporting 700 deaths by May 2003, bird flu has claimed less than 200 people to date since their worldwide warning, and now H1N1 looks like it will be another close-shave. Are these warnings meant to justify government positions (and jobs) or to really serve the public?

 In fact, a June 10, 2009 update by the U.N.'s World Health Organization (WHO) states that "74 countries have officially reported 27,737 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 141 deaths" and of these the WHO stated the pandemic appears to have moderate severity in comparatively well-off countries, and the case fatality rate (CFR) of the pandemic strain is estimated at 0.4% (range 0.3%-1.5%)", and Thailand's Permanent Secretary for Public Health, Prat Boonyawongvirot urged the public not to panic as "the mortality rate… was just one in a thousand." In other words, the WHO goofed again.

 It is not the first time medical personnel got it wrong, as the WHO itself notes in " Swine flu of 1976: lessons from the past" (http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/6/09-040609/en/): "In 1976, a late winter outbreak of swine flu at a military base in the USA led to fears of a devastating pandemic. President Gerald Ford announced a plan to vaccinate everyone in the country. By the end of the year, 40 million out of some 200 million Americans were vaccinated for the new strain, but no pandemic appeared and public health credibility suffered."

 Your heart is in the right place, WHO, but causing panic before the facts are in, is like culling pigs because someone shouts "swine flu".

 The damage is done, and I only hope that when next the WHO "plays wolf" the world reacts because it is necessary. May I appeal to the public to travel, please, since with everyone in the industry slashing rates to survive, it may be another decade before you see travel bargains like those being offered.

AARON FRANKEL

BANGKOK

Cartoon was probably misinterpreted by reader

Stephff's cartoon may have been confusing to a newcomer, but someone familiar with his work knows that he is "the" political cartoonist, drawing relentlessly against injustice and hypocrites, regardless whether they are rich, powerful and influential.

 He is certainly not after sensationalism unless it is to condemn it, and his cartoon of Neda on YouTube, renamed YouDie, is just about that.

 Offended Reader made his erroneous interpretation. I believe most of The Nation's readers understood Stephff's true message.

MARC BOGERD

BANGKOK