Re: "Calls for blood must be nipped in bud," (Opinion, June 12).
I agree wholeheartedly with Sanitsuda Ekachai that political bullying is the last thing we need in our country.
However, we cannot solve the squabbling between two kids by pointing our finger at one side only. We must identify the real cause and source of the bickering too.
It is true that one side of this verbal warfare is seen as over-reacting. But what good does it bring if we fail to identify and condemn the side that started the brawl? Also, I don't think it is right to refer to one side as the "right-wing ultra-royalists" without also pinpointing the other side that started the fight as being the "left-wing Leninist zombies".
Please don't get me wrong. I am as angry as Khun Sanitsuda is -- just viewing the issue from a different perspective.
Vint Chavala
Insurance unneeded
Re: "Immigration reality", (PostBag, June 13).
Puck2 is misinformed. The health ministry stated at the outset that foreign insurance companies can provide the required sickness cover. Of course, we later found out that holders of one year extensions of stay issued by Thai immigration anyway do not currently require any medical insurance.
Barry Kenyon
Harsh cocaine reality
Not that I have tried, but the people who have snorted cocaine, or for that matter taken any mind-bending drugs, as in the case of a contender for the position of British prime minister, reckon that it gives them a high akin to being all powerful with a total disregard for the well being of people and laws.
Some have even thought that they are able to defy gravity and fly.
The trouble with this never ending quest for power either through the consumption of drugs or thinking it is your god-given right, to gain and hang on to power, is the fact that the day inevitably comes when the drugs wear off, the people you have tried to fool see you for what you are, a cheat and liar, and the quest is brought to an end by candidates with more integrity and credibility.
Brian Corrigan
Kite-flying dilemma
Re: "Anecdotal evidence", (Postbag, June 12).
The discussion continues over the proper use of "to beat" and "to beat off". Some say it can be used interchangeably and some say no. The Thai language has a similar dilemma.
Flying a kite used to be a favourite pastime for both adult males and boys in the mid-1960s. The "fly a kite" phrase as a figure of speech means different things in English, but in Thai it is slang for "masturbate (by a man)".
As a child I was always reluctant and embarrassed to respond when I was asked something like, "What are you going to do in the afternoon?" and I was actually planning to fly a kite, literally, of course.
Nowadays flying a kite (literally) is virtually extinct. You hardly see people doing it anymore. "Flying a kite" has lost its real meaning and is now synonymous with masturbation.
Somsak Pola
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