OPINION

No easy way out

Re: "A way out after two trials in two decades", (Opinion, Aug 25).

The history of Thailand indicates that transitive governments created by coup makers don't bring the desired reforms or strengthen the rule of law. Military-led governments in any country have a stranglehold on the executive and judiciary. The people in the current government who continue to demand neutrality in all situations are usually not neutral but in favour of the status quo. Any entity which is above the law can't be trusted to uphold the rule of law. It is the same when a political party comes to power. Unless, civic education is enhanced and reforms are aimed to empower people, nothing much will be achieved. The only way to bring reforms is to promote dialogue, debate, discussion and deliberation. This requires overhauling the educational system. There is no easy way out as long as Thai people are asked to cooperate, or else.

A perfect stranger posited this to me via email: "If Yingluck has truly 'disappeared from the map', is this a case of [Another] One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest?" Whatever her wrongs were, facing the ambience that currently exists in the Land of Smiles is hardly the choice of free and wise minds.

Justice is one thing, predetermined outcomes not always so. If it turns out she caught wind from a friend that worse was to be worst, decision time was simple.

As an Englishman who has lived in Thailand for the past eight years, I have nothing more than a passing interest in Thai politics. I wonder, however, if the junta considered all of the possible ramifications of the prosecution of Yingluck Shinawatra. It seems to me that the action has given Ms Yingluck an enormous amount of publicity and has provided a rallying point for anti government feelings. The action now taken to stop her followers attending the trial verdict stresses the unease felt by the government.

The action of prosecution of a prime minister also creates a precedent. As a hypothesis, a future democratic Thai parliament decides that the purchase of expensive military equipment was a reckless waste of public funds. What then?

Two English idioms come to mind to cover such situations: "Let sleeping dogs lie" and "Never make a rod for you own back".

Re: "Songkhla power plant sit-in an energy wake-up call", (BP, Aug 25).

Coal is and never will be "clean" no matter what filters etc are put in the chimneys to cut down on pollution. It requires a large amount of land to store the coal and more land to store the waste ash. How will the waste ash be disposed of? Solar and wind power need a lot of space but power is free from the sun and the wind and there is no residue to get rid of.

Re: "Trumping arguments", (PostBag, Aug 24).

Watson's letter suggesting that Al Jazeera was a reliable non-popular news source and therefore a trustworthy alternative to the western MSM is not accurate. From online resource Media Bias Fact Check.com's rating of Al Jazeera: "They often publish factual information that uses loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favour liberal causes." If Al Jazeera has "articulated how Mr Trump has been slow to react to white supremacists" they have articulated an opinion in the guise of news.

Please see the following video, https://youtu.be/YuaI83fNQfs, showing President Trump in Washington immediately after the Charlottesville incident condemning white supremacists in the strongest terms. He is factually proven in this video and many others of not supporting white supremacists, yet the MSM, of which Al Jazeera is a full fledged member, refuse to accept and print the truth.

The US has been in many "police actions" for many decades. When we kill people we need to depersonalise them. In Korea and Vietnam we called folks "gooks". When these soldiers, in the millions, are "re-integrated" into a general population of which a large percentage of are also followers of one of the Abrahamic religions, a very bad dynamic results. Those religions are premised on the basic tenet that "man was created in the image of God". No matter what image that conjures up, some folks are going to match that image more than others.

In Thailand the word farang is used very often. Yet it is not racist, even though it means a "white person". What do I know about Thailand? The last time there was a war with Thais in it, it was with neighbours. Notwithstanding Thailand's own efforts with us in then South Vietnam, which I thank you for. And Thailand is a Buddhist country, not at all Abrahamic. When there are problems, they tend to occur in tourists areas because there are more tourists there, many of whom may be from the US or close allies of the US. Is all of this not true?

A recent ABC News poll showed that 9% of Americans see nothing wrong with supporting white supremacist groups. Since 62% of the American population is non-Hispanic white, that means that probably about 15% of white Americans think that way.

People keep asking why Donald Trump seems to like those people. To me the answer is obvious: Without those people he couldn't get elected as a dog-catcher!

As a subscriber to the Bangkok Post, I'm most concerned and disappointed that your publication has resorted to publish what amounts to hate mail. The Aug 20 letter, "World of sociopaths", by Marigold and the follow up letter by "Peter Fairless" are a hate-filled attack on Eric Bahrt. In case you're not familiar with the phrase "to put someone out of their misery", it simply means to kill them (as one would euthanise a pet dog that was suffering). There's no ambiguity about the intended meaning here.

I should state that I have no personal connection with Eric Bahrt and often disagree with his views. However, like Eric, I'm also Jewish and am acutely aware that hate speech such as this can degenerate into something even more sinister.

Re: "Defending Trump", (PostBag, Aug 22).

Michael Setter's criticism of my letter points out that President Trump has on many occasions said that he disavowed racism, which is I admit is true.

However, he also said for six years that Barack Obama was born in Africa; that his own inauguration crowd was the biggest ever and bigger than Mr Obama's; that there were 3 to 5 million fraudulent votes that caused him to lose the popular vote, etc, etc.

In fact The New York Times published a detailed list of lies and falsehoods made by Mr Trump and details at least one every day for the first 40 days of his presidency.

Mr Setter also implied that I called Mr Trump a racist without investigating the facts. Actually I said Mr Trump's rhetoric supported white supremacists. David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan later thanked Mr Trump for his comments.

At least I am not alone in my views as a poll yesterday showed that twice as many Americans condemn his comments on Charlottesville as agreed with him.

The "facts" on Mr Trump's racism are that in 1973 he was sued and had to settle for systematically discriminating against black people in housing rentals; he took a full-page advertisement out demanding the death sentence for five black youths accused of rape and stood by his action even after they were proved innocent; he called Mexicans rapists; demeaned the Muslim parents of a US soldier who had been killed in action and declared that "Islam hates us".

Obviously these are real facts, but perhaps Mr Setter was referring to "alternative facts".

Re: "Airline profits hit turbulence in Q2", (BP, Aug 17).

Thai Airways continues to haemorrhage billions in losses -- more than 5 billion baht in red ink in the second quarter alone. Thai officials blame increased prices of jet fuel and adverse currency exchange rates for the losses. But these losses surprisingly occurred at the same time as THAI enjoyed near record-high load factors.

At the same time, according to the International Air Transport Association, 24 major airlines around the world posted net profits of 213 billion baht in the second quarter. It would thus seem that higher jet fuel prices (which, in any case, are far from record levels) are not preventing other airlines from earning profits.

So, why is THAI continuing to flounder? Could it be that THAI officials still have not come to grips with the serious management inefficiencies plaguing the airline? Airline officials should be challenged to explain these losses more thoroughly and outline exactly how they are going to turn the loss-ridden carrier back to profitability.

Thailand's non-elected leaders spending taxpayer money, are like people who are addicted to gambling. The junta (like addicted gamblers) know there will be problems with the big-ticket Chinese deals. The Chinese (like casino owners) know that future Thai governments probably won't be able to pay back the loans. But that's okay for the Chinese. They win on both sides of the issue, whether or not the loans are paid back.

The non-elected "leaders" in Bangkok care mostly about self-enrichment and maintaining power. They spend taxpayer money foolishly on unneeded arms and over-the-top infrastructure, including unneeded speedo trains. Those expensive trains will be money-losers, if they ever get running. Thailand won't be able to pay back the money (roughly 50 years of payments, at billions of baht a year) and China will likely gain possession of assets and property that once were Thai.

True story: In my youth, I was a pot dealer. One steady customer got angry at me, for checking in with him weekly to see if he wanted to buy more pot. His reason: It was hard for him to say no, so he told me: "Don't tempt me and my addiction to pot!" It's the same with China continually hitting up on Thai officials (and other small countries), always proposing big-ticket expenditure. The little countries' officials can't say no. They're addicted to wanting to spend, spend, spend.

I had this marvellous idea to make loads of money. First you need a service that is mandatory for a large number of people. Then when they come to get the service you make it extremely difficult and time consuming. You then get family or friends to open offices which charge a load of money getting that same service that the public have tried and failed to get because of the obstructions put in the way. Now, while the front door is blocked with lines of people trying to access what should be a simple service, you open the back door to all those friendly agents carrying the loads of cash they have charged because they have access the public does not have. Your daily pay comes from the front door but your massive bonus comes from the back.

Marvellous idea I thought but anyone trying to get a visa in Chiang Mai recently will know that I've been beaten to it.

The government wants to make the sidewalks, and therefore, Bangkok more attractive by removing street food vendors. Instead, it should eliminate hundreds of 7-Elevens, McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc. Give the streets back to honest Thais with their cheap, delicious street food.