Off to bad start

Re: "Political parties' activities limited pending newcomers", (BP, Dec 19).

It is a telling irony that even the pretence of a feeble start of a qualified return to democratic practice depends on the unaccountable politician-in-chief exercising the supremely anti-democratic Section 44 of a constitution that is at heart opposed to democracy and the good morals that found it.

Felix Qui
Back to driving class

If the military is serious about protecting the inhabitants of this country, it seems to me that instead of submarines, it should be buying enough cars with dual controls for every high school in the country, so they could teach driver education to every teenage child across the nation.

They could also use these cars to teach adults guilty of serious traffic infractions such as running red lights, speeding, or drink driving in night-traffic education classes.

Clearly the biggest threat to the nation right now is bad drivers who are killing themselves at a record rate. A serious driver education programme needs to be implemented as soon as possible.

Taxpayer
Cut to the chase

Re "E-tickets take hold, but penalty points on ice", (BP, Dec 21).

Don't waste time and money collecting fines.

The only way to expel bad drivers from Thai roads is nothing short of their immediate arrest and jail without suspension.

RH Suga
Blame where it's due

A BBC online news headline, "Could Aung San Suu Kyi face Rohingya genocide charges?", presents an interesting scenario. If indeed she can be brought up on genocide charges for failing to intervene in the Rohingya crisis, then perhaps she should be. She obviously hemmed, hawed and denied the atrocities when the UN head of the Human Rights commission asked her to intervene. It was her government's response, not that of the military.

Jingle Bell
No peace deal here

One of the major reasons why the small state of Israel is able to survive in a hostile regional environment, surrounded by the whole Arab world, is the strong economic, political and military support it gets from the US.

With such a strong back-up from the US and disunity in the Arab world, Israel has a good bargaining position to negotiate a favourable peace with the Palestinians. Nobody knows what would happen with US support even in the near future, as US faces increasing problems of its own. But instead of a peace settlement, Israel has chosen to grab more land from Palestinians and more suppress their resistance. This only creates more hatred, more victims on both sides, and uncertainty for the state of Israel.

Guena
A little research

I took the advice of Yankeleh in his Dec 18 letter, "Israeli history," and checked a few books from the local library, among them: The Invention of the Jewish People, Verse, 2009, by Shlomo Sands; The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, Cambridge, 2004, and A History of the First Arab-Israeli War, Yale, 2008 by Benny Morris. These books, written by Israeli historians, give an account of the refugee problem sharply at odds with Yankeleh's view.

In particular, Morris gives a full account of the "Lydda death march", a wholly premeditated expulsion of 70,000 Arabs from the Arab Mandate, carried out by the Israeli Defence Forces.

Przemo Kranz
No books needed

I don't need to go to the library to learn about Israeli history as suggested by Yankeleh. I've been studying this issue my entire life! It's a stinking lie to say the Palestinians in 1948 left on their own free will. Even former Israeli prime minister Rabin admitted they were driven out.

Eric Bahrt
Off the mark

By changing the title of my Dec 16 letter, from "Global dysfunction" to "UK prestige on wane", you changed the whole gist of my comments. At no point did I mention any waning in the UK's prestige, just the ill-considered decision to leave the EU.

Bernie Hodges

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