OPINION

Govt still off track

Re: "SRT loses final battle over B25bn Hopewell payout" and "PM to chair Sino-Thai rail signing", (BP, Oct 28).

I wonder if others appreciated the irony that on the very day on which courts finally closed the book on the financially disastrous and ill-fated Hopewell rail project, the government signed a new multi-billion baht commitment for yet another superfluous rail project that is sure to lose money.

The Spanish philosopher, George Satayana, famously noted that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". Apparently, there are many in Thailand who have already forgotten the Hopewell fiasco.

Re: "Donald Trump's last stand ... ", (Opinion, Oct 29).

Yes, indeed. "American apartheid", which raised its ugly head during the Trump era will only end if there is a voter tsunami on Nov 3. Mr Trump's leadership has only brought disgrace to the USA and its people. The "Early Voting Line" cartoon on the opposite page is testimony to the sad state of American democracy. The so-called "superpower", which often uses its tanks, missiles, air power, ships and drones to confront and challenge other countries, is incapable of providing voting booths and equipment for its own people to exercise their right to vote.

It is quite possible that during the pandemic the mail-in ballots will turn the tide and throw Mr Trump and his cronies out of the White House. Four more years of his rule will only lead to more degradation, leading to the extinguishing of the "freedom torch" held in the caring hands of Lady Liberty. On Nov 3 Americans have a chance to show that people power is supreme.

Covid-19 has knocked Thailand's tourism sector to the ground. As people consider possible venues for when they can travel they will see that Bangkok has world-topping pollution. The educated and better financed traveller will do their research and quickly see that Chiang Mai regularly tops the charts for PM2.5 pollution. They will not come.

If the Thai tourism sector is to recover from Covid, it must be free of pollution.

There are 400,000 Thai army personnel, mostly invisible to the public, on bases around the country and there are 200,000 police officers dotted around the country. Is it not possible to put these resources, paid for by the people, to address the problem?

If Covid knocked Thai tourism to the ground, PM2.5 is the knife that cut off its head.