OPINION

PM out of control

It appears Nate Naksuk, the prosecutor who let the Red Bull scion off the hook, has not only been exonerated, but also has been appointed as a senior prosecutor to central Bangkok district.

I have always supported Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, but now I think the PM is playing with a card missing from his deck. Mr Nate is too controversial to still be on the scene. The PM should have made a decision long ago to get rid of this guy. The student protesters have been given more fuel for their fires of protest, and frankly, more and more people are agreeing with them.

The cronyism, nepotism, corruption and the flaunting of Mr Nate appears to be too much for anyone's craw these days. Either Gen Prayut does not see the writing on the wall or refuses to understand how his house of cards can crumble. The man has become oblivious to the real world around him, thinking himself so indispensable as to be untouchable. Rather than be an instrument to help bring about positive change, he has entrenched himself in his old buddy network of protecting those who would dump him and switch sides at the first opportunity if it benefits themselves.

The largest number of Thais living outside of Thailand live in California (about a quarter of a million souls) and every day I have expected some reassurance about their safety from the Foreign Ministry, but there has been absolute silence as 1.2 million hectares have burned and whole towns have been wiped out.

While it is true that most US-Thais live in southern California, there are a significant number living in the San Francisco area too. The Foreign Ministry used to be quick to reassure us that they are on top of protecting Thais living in foreign countries, but they seem to be missing in action here. Why?

It's a pity when the adverts on our local cable monopoly are more interesting than the programming.

They also serve to remind us of what we are missing as more and more programming disappears from the pitiful schedule currently on offer.

Years ago we lost all top tier movie channels and ended up with second class offerings of decades-old reruns. Recently the new Fox Life channel started advertising and promptly moved The Voice and The Good Doctor and who knows what other programming from the local Fox station.

Nascar is long gone as are the NCAA college football championships and the Animax channel. This morning, I woke up to watch the elimination game five of the Lakers and Rockets NBA series only to find the ever-present snooker championships on multiple channels which, by the way, is standard practice for True.

Many shows are broadcast on multiple channels making their line-up look more appealing than it is.

Fortunately, the purchase of a private VPN allows worldwide access to most international channels and the availability of streaming channels such as Netflix, HBO Max and Disney is actually better value than the Gold or Platinum line-ups currently on offer. For sports fanatics ESPN offers its own service and the individual leagues, NBA, MLB, and NFL, also offer individual programming at competitive pricing.

Hopefully more people will migrate to streaming services and maintain only a basic cable line up for local broadcasts.

This will hit the suppliers in the pocket which is the only place it matters.

I write this as an American so the emphasis is on US programming, but I am sure those of other nationalities have similar alternatives.