Good afternoon Margo. It is rare for me to provide observations on anything that is ever written in print. In almost 50 years, I have only commented once and that was to the author of a book called 'Wild Swans ' which was written several years ago. I wrote to congratulate her on her excellent, beautifully crafted work on her life's' experience and she was gracious enough to write back.

However, I feel compelled to write to you about your book 'Not Happy John' and to say to you, that I found it both compelling and frightening; having said that, I would also thank you for the gift given.

Gift, you say? - What Gift?

The gift of insight that now compels me to begin to think very carefully about governments at work - 'welding their will' to public opinion; their actions surreptitious and seductively maneuvering towards swaying the community in a scurvy manner causing us to lose the very thing we prize the most - our democratic right to be informed automatically and without censorship by our servants (not our masters) - the government.

Here is my gift to you in return. I would like to share two thoughts on two issues which you raised in your book as food for thought.

* Cross Ownership of the Media - a thought that both government and the media moguls would do well to remember:

'The power of the media, whether direct or indirect, is a real power which acts on us, which modifies our behavior, our tastes and probably our thoughts. Like all authority, it cannot be applied at random. Otherwise that power becomes arbitrary and irresponsible. The power gives media men responsibility comparable to religious or political responsibility. In their own way they contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a human community. The well-being of that community should be their first concern.'

* Religious Charities who challenge government on the plight of the disempowered - a thought that government would do well to remember:

'In the correlation between ethics and politics, should deep moral convictions form the guideline for the political practitioner, man and his society will reap far-reaching benefits. It is an absurd assumption that religion and morality have no place in politics and that a man of religion should seclude himself as a hermit'.

Source: 'The Dalai Lama - Book of Daily Meditations 2001.