Incredible. Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung looks the other way when his red-shirt men rally and intimidate people, but he now is in a panic because an anti-government group has grown from 300 to 3,000 and is gaining support daily. Mr Chalerm is reacting like a scared rabbit. I wonder what he'd do if he was ever turfed out and brought to charge.
He might join his buddy Thaksin Shinawatra in the Emirates for leisurely lunches and endless games of golf, reminiscing about the good old days. The winds of change are already blowing, Mr Chalerm. Make your reservations now.
BULLYBOY MANGO
A monk's life? That's rich
Re: ''Monks accused of materialistic lifestyle'' (BP, June 16).
One of my ancestors had a son who died in the US Civil War in the 1860s, so he applied for a ''dependent's pension'' in Pennsylvania.
It took him more than 20 years to complete all of the paperwork before he finally received the benefits, leaving me with 152 pages of documents about the family, but he invested all the money with a ''minister of God'' and it all disappeared within a few years.
That minister also lived a lavish lifestyle.
Back further in history, there were Catholic popes who were . . . well, anything but proper monks.
All that Thais expect is that this kind of thing is handled correctly and quickly.
GUY BAKER
Phuket pledge all talk
Re ''EU tourists 'deserve better' in Phuket'', (BP, June 16).
Phuket governor Maitree Inthusut has pledged improvements in services for tourists visiting the island, including a plan to end jet ski scams.
Jet ski operators for years have been accused of extorting money from tourists who rent the units. Typically they accuse the customer of having damaged the craft and demand tens of thousands of baht for repairs or replacement. Their demands are sometimes backed by threats of violence.
The politicians and mafia running Phuket have told the same story for decades. Same story, different day. All talk, no action.
TOM ROSS
Poll win raises questions
No doubt the Democrats' win in Don Muang will lead to some head-scratching at both Pheu Thai and Democrat headquarters. The election result raises more questions than it answers. The people have spoken but what did they say?
Compared to the general election, Pheu Thai lost nearly 8,000 votes and the Democrats' gained just over 2,000, but did Pheu Thai voters switch sides or did the Democrats get more of their supporters out this time and the Pheu Thai voters stay home?
And if the Pheu Thai voters stayed at home, why?
Was it because they were expressing their disapproval of the government's flood-management or rice schemes, or was it because they were annoyed at the its failure to gain the release of UDD political prisoners and bring Thaksin back to Thailand?
DOM DUNN
Keep it credible, Teerat
The new government spokesman, Khun Teerat Ratanasevi, should learn, above all, to be honest and credible. To me, his main job is to present the Yingluck Shinawatra government in the best possible light. To do this, he must have all the facts and, equally importantly, must scrupulously tell the truth if he is to be credible.
Thus, when he said that Ms Yingluck is not a puppet of her brother, if he'd have been Pinocchio, his nose would have grown by at least a metre, for Pheu Thai's own key election plank was, ''Thaksin thinks, Pheu Thai acts''.
The Interior Minister told The New York Times that he consults Thaksin frequently, and Thaksin's lawyer Noppadon Pattama said the infamous rice scheme was Thaksin's doing (not the prime minister's). What he should have done was point to whatever she's done that was important and clearly her work, and not his _ if there's anything that would qualify.
BURIN KANTABUTRA
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