Biting hands that feed

The Thai government appears to believe only foreigners are criminals and terrorists.

What about the ilk of the Red Bull heir and other Thai fugitives who could have been stopped at the airport before they fled, if they too had traceable SIMs, as the government now suggests foreigners should have? And what about the insurgents in the South? Are they not Thai?

Why is the Thai government making such xenophobic laws, when tourism is such a major part of the country's GDP?

Tom Banker
And the winner is?

I hope I'm not being too cynical by wondering if any politician has a vested interest in the supply and sale to foreigners of location-tracking SIM cards.

But, this being Thailand, surely I must be mistaken?

Martin R
Time to intervene

Re "Running on empty", (PostBag, Aug 11).

I would hardly call Lobzig's comments mocking or griping. Let's simply look at the reality of American "intervention", friendly or not. The United States "admonishes" others. When the selected "others" reject American "admonition", we get results like Vietnam and Iraq.

Khun Daniel should notice that many other countries who are admonished or advised, simply thumb their noses at it all. Cuba, Zimbabwe, Iran, Syria, are just a few examples.

I have as yet to see the US intervening militarily in Latin American countries, although former president Ronald Reagan did make such an attempt.

Times have drastically changed since, and more American allies are thinking twice and three times before aligning themselves with American foreign policy which at times simply advocates that might makes right.

David James Wong
Please go, Pokemon

Having observed Pokemon Go in a busy commercial building yesterday may I just say that Pokemon Go, must go! Maybe, Thailand could be the first nation with the intestinal fortitude to ban this supposed "augmented-reality mobile game".

Who will be the first to lose his/her life? Probably, an innocent bystander.

Are we breeding a befuddled, robotic-like, non-thinking set of millennials?

How can a non-communicable, unsociable cohort of our population be our future leaders?

Colin Rose

Priorities all wrong

Re: "RTP seeks wiretap approvals without court orders", (BP, Aug 11).

Let me get this straight … the police have regularly been breaking the law by illegally obtaining phone records from telecommunications service providers. So, now, instead of taking action against those rogue police units, the Royal Thai Police wants to change the law to legitimise these illegal acts to "protect officers who are performing their duties"?

Something is really amiss in the RTP when it gives priority to protecting its own officers over people's legitimate rights.

Of course, there are instances when wiretaps are justified, but those cases are rare. That is why progressive democratic countries make it somewhat difficult for police to obtain approval (usually requiring consent from the courts) to open personal mail or listen in on private phone conversations.

Allowing police to wiretap in the four broad types of cases indicated would essentially give RTP carte blanche to invade the privacy of anyone in the country at any time.

Such powers could easily be abused by a police force already suspect when it comes to ensuring individual rights. It would be a huge step backwards for Thailand to cede these treasured rights to privacy and individual freedom.

Samanea Saman
11 Aug 2016 11 Aug 2016
13 Aug 2016 13 Aug 2016

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