Re: “Sin City races NCPO to clean up its act”, (BP, Aug 31).
Pattaya, a family destination. All I could do was read and giggle. No one in the world will make a dent in Pattaya, not the police, not the army, not anyone.
Pattaya is so steeped in corruption, from top to bottom, involving almost everyone from police to tourism operators to the Russian mafia, that any attempt to change its current financially lucrative structure based on the sex trade, ripping off tourists and so on, will be met with revolution.
Every country has its “special” areas. Amsterdam has its government-controlled red-light district, Bangkok has its own. What goes on in Pattaya needs to be regulated and controlled, but that is easier said than done.
It is quite a challenge and an undertaking for the stout-hearted only. Considering the revenue Pattaya brings to Thailand via its tourism industry, it would be very foolish, rather stupid actually, to eliminate it all.
Pattayan Mango
The great mark-up
One way Andy Phillips (“Medical monopoly”, PostBag, Aug 30) could avoid the 10-times higher mark-up on basic pharmaceuticals at a private hospital is to inquire, before paying the bill, if these same drugs are available over the counter. If so, just ask the doctor to write a prescription and fill it at a local drugstore outside the hospital.
I learned my lesson when a hospital in Bangkok billed me 1,075 baht for a skin lotion that I found was 35 baht at a local pharmacy on Silom Road. That was quite a mark-down.
Granted, some drugs are only available from hospitals. It is always best to ask if a generic has been made.
Jack Gilead
Big egos in power
In “The Life of I”, Anne Manne outlines some of the core aspects of narcissism: a huge hunger for being admired; an egotistical sense of uniqueness, superiority and entitlement; impulsiveness, a lack of empathy and a willingness to exploit; “and perhaps most importantly of all, a retaliatory aggression when the inflated ego is threatened”.
Narcissists have high self-esteem which turns out to be unstable, hence the revenge impulses against anyone who attempts to put them down. Social relationships are shallow and behind the mask of charm lurks contempt and indifference.
Wow! Here we have a general representation of large numbers of senior world politicians and business executives (think “CEO”), along with those in other areas, including religious leadership. No wonder the world order is in serious danger of further decline.
But why, as participating citizens of this disintegrating planet, do we continue to enable so many disturbed and self-centred people to reach high office? The world could and should be so different.
John Shepherd
Fear the fanatical
Freelancer James Foley’s brutal murder by the militants of Islamic State (IS) is a shocking iteration of the group’s barbaric behaviour. IS has sent a clear message to the world: It will not stop at anything to reach its goals.
An offshoot of al Qaeda, but more violent, IS seems hell bent on proving its “credentials”. The fact that IS may have recruited thousands of foreign fighters is a cause for concern. Thailand needs to be vigilant, too, as the toll in the southern violence is mounting. The enemy as such is invisible and more danger is lurking.
R Srinath
Gaza tragedy
I was stunned by the mind-bogglingly narrow-mindedness of a writer who could suggest that the Israeli prime minister was the only loser in the recent war (“Netanyahu is the only clear loser of the Gaza war”, Opinion, Aug 29).
A city under destruction is a bad enough, but with more than 2,000 deaths, I would suggest there are many families that feel their loss is far greater than Mr Netanyahu’s. Just where is Daniel Gordis’s humanity?
Lungstib
Chiang Mai
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